Meenzer 15347 Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 I was going to say (and at least it's eventually pointed out in the article), it's not as if there haven't been periods of Bayern dominance before. In terms of pure trophy haul they're not really significantly more dominant than Manchester United have been over here in the Sky era - I suppose the difference is the way they'll occasionally click into gear and just steamroller all opposition all season long, whereas at least Fergie's lot had the good grace to make it a close fight on occasion... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graing 15 Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 Stuttgart also have one of the most successful youth academies in the country, producing Germany internationals Sami Khedira and Mario Gomez among others, but their sporting director agrees that it is difficult to begrudge Bayern for their success or their spending power. "Sometimes it's a bit frustrating but on the other hand they've done a very good job for 40 years, it's the best club in Germany," Schneider says. "And it's not that they won the money in the lottery or that a Russian guy came to give them lots of money - it's the result of their work. It's something you have to accept. "It's our job to close that gap and we're working on that." Refreshingly honest take on the situation. Have to respect that. Wonder if Ashley has that attitude? I'm a Stuttgart guy. Wondering if they would be considered the NUFC of Bundesliga? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meenzer 15347 Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 I'm a Stuttgart guy. Wondering if they would be considered the NUFC of Bundesliga? Gotta be Schalke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fish 10674 Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 I'm a Stuttgart guy. No idea why, but this made me genuinely "LOL" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graing 15 Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 No idea why, but this made me genuinely "LOL" Do I get bonus points if you were drinking something at the time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fish 10674 Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 Do I get bonus points if you were drinking something at the time? I would disproportionately enjoy an evening of spit-takes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hostile_statue 0 Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 Gotta be Schalke. Apart from their biggest rival being one of the best and most popular teams in Europe. It would've been even harder being a Newcastle fan if our biggest rival had been Man U or Arsenal rather than the mackems... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tooj 17 Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2545978/Arsene-Wenger-closing-30m-Julian-Draxler-new-Thierry-Henry-finally-win-Arsenal-title.html Arsenal have moved a step closer to taking Schalke's Julian Draxler to the club with a deal expected to be finalised this weekend as Arsene Wenger's moves to consolidate his best chance of winning the Premier League title since his Invincible team of 2003-04. Schalke and Arsenal are still in negotiations for the 20-year-old but the player wants to move to the club and the expectation on both sides is that a compromise will be reached this week. Arsenal do not want to go higher than £30million while Schalke want close to £35m. Ultimately Arsenal are likely to agree to a deal with additional clauses that could bring the fee up to what Schalke want. The fact that Arsenal are willing to spend another huge chunk of money just five months after obliterating their transfer record by signing Mesut Ozil for £42m will come as an enormous relief to fans. Just as it seemed the club had lost their ability to get ahead in the transfer market, now there is renewed confidence at every level. It is 10 years since Arsenal truly dominated English football and, with Wenger's team now top of the League but short of attacking options up front, the club have decided not to rest on their laurels. Put simply, there may not be a better chance to win the title for some years and Arsenal do not want to let it slip by. They started the January window fixed on a loan move, first for Alvaro Morata from Real Madrid, then for Mirko Vucinic from Juventus, conventional centre-forwards to provide back-up for Olivier Giroud. The reason why Draxler was meant to be a summer buy - and why loan options were pursued this January - is because the player is not a centre-forward, hence Wenger's comment on Friday about not needing another 'wide player'. He does not, but Draxler is equally at home playing behind the striker. And Wenger sees much more in his game. He believes that he can emulate Thierry Henry and Robin van Persie and transform himself from being a wide left player into a centre-forward. That process will not necessarily start immediately as Arsenal will attempt to ease Draxler into the hurly-burly of a Premier League title race and he is likely to play in his more natural positions for now, wide on the left and in the hole behind Giroud. But Arsenal's attacking options are beginning to stack up. They are also becoming distinctly Germanic - at one stage on Friday night in the 4-0 FA Cup win over Coventry they had five Germans on the pitch in Per Mertesacker, Serge Gnabry, Gedion Zelalem, Ozil and Lukas Podolski. And throughout the club there seems an entirely different attitude and spirit this season. Friday night's game at one stage saw Mertesacker deliver the mother of all reprimands to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain after he gave the ball away, allowing Coventry a chance. Usually mild-mannered, Mertesacker looked more like Martin Keown confronting Ruud van Nistelrooy at Old Trafford, waving his arms wildly in the reprimand. Arsenal, it seems, have a lower tolerance threshold for mistakes than previously. 'We set each other high standards and, if you do something that's not good enough, you can bet one of your team-mates will tell you,' said Oxlade-Chamberlain. 'I gave the ball away and it resulted in them hitting the post. I knew I did wrong there. Per just gave me a nice, friendly reminder and that's what you need. 'We do have characters now, strong characters with a lot of experience like Mathieu Flamini and Per, who have been around the game for a long time at a very high standard. And with new signings coming in that makes it even more exciting. 'This group of players, the spine of the team, have been together for two or three years. It's starting to form that togetherness and that helps in the style of playing.We know what we expect of each other. Even when we're not playing well, we know how to grind results out.' It has been a while since an Arsenal player sounded so assured about his team's prospects. Add Draxler to the mix and that confidence will only surge again. Wenger will be hoping that in itself will help propel him to the title. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tooj 17 Posted March 9, 2014 Share Posted March 9, 2014 Watched Bayern win 6-1 away at Wolfsburg yesterday. It's remarkable how Guardiola has actually improved upon what they achieved last season. People like to throw at him he's only managed the best teams so can't be that good but he really is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isegrim 9680 Posted March 9, 2014 Share Posted March 9, 2014 Watched Bayern win 6-1 away at Wolfsburg yesterday. It's remarkable how Guardiola has actually improved upon what they achieved last season. People like to throw at him he's only managed the best teams so can't be that good but he really is. IMHO the most remarkable thing is that he changed their style of play. That's where other managers like Klinsmann and van Gaal didn't succeed and therefore failed in the end. For me Guardiola is a very good example what impact a manager can have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Park Life 71 Posted March 9, 2014 Share Posted March 9, 2014 IMHO the most remarkable thing is that he changed their style of play. That's where other managers like Klinsmann and van Gaal didn't succeed and therefore failed in the end. For me Guardiola is a very good example what impact a manager can have. Baldy has done well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopCat7 0 Posted March 9, 2014 Share Posted March 9, 2014 I've no idea why the other German teams even bother. Pretty much this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Park Life 71 Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 (edited) Had a strange feeling about Arsenal tonight. Considering a cheeky monkey on it. Edited March 11, 2014 by Park Life Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Gloom 21760 Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 a monkey is never cheeky. that's a big bet at those odds. a score would be cheeky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewerk 30167 Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 20/1 to qualify. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Park Life 71 Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 a monkey is never cheeky. that's a big bet at those odds. a score would be cheeky. Well spotted, I meant Pony.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Gloom 21760 Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 Well spotted, I meant Pony.. it's like saying i did a cheeky 10 gurners. only half a bean can be considered cheeky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meenzer 15347 Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 Uli Hoeness jailed for 3½ years for tax evasion. Ouch! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewerk 30167 Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 Mein Gott! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tooj 17 Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 Going to have to give this a read like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tooj 17 Posted April 6, 2014 Share Posted April 6, 2014 Off to watch Union Berlin on Friday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tooj 17 Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 As I've posted on here I've just returned from my trip to Berlin and on the Friday night I managed to catch the Union Berlin and FC Köln match at Union's Stadion An der Alten Försterei ground located in the Eastern part of the city. Not many people might know much about FC Union so here’s a bit of background information; they play in Bundesliga 2 and what makes the club a bit special is their fan base, which is one of the reasons I went to Berlin in the first place. In 2004 their fans donated blood and sold it off to German hospitals to raise enough funds so that the club could pay the licensing costs to enable them to play in the fourth division. This culture runs thick throughout the club as everything that is done is fan centric; in polar opposite to the way Newcastle is ran. As luck would have it Köln are top of the league so at least it would be a competitive fixture (Union currently lie 8th). The match was scheduled for an 18:30 KO and we went along to for 17:00 when the gates opened to try and soak up any pre-match atmosphere that there might be. Well we weren’t the only ones lined up for 17:00 and by 17:30 the surrounding areas within the stadium was completely full. Despite this there were several stalls located around serving both beer and food. I ended up getting both a bratwurst and a steak sandwich (greedy twat but when in Germany and all of that) and I have to say it was the nicest food I’ve ever had at a football match and superbly priced. The bratwurst (pictured below) only cost €2.00! As kick-off approached we ended up going to the terraced section that we were located in (behind the goal in the same section as the ultras) and I was allowed to carry my beer with me too. The fans all lofted their scarves above their head to sing the club’s anthem (Eisern Union) which is apparently a bit of a pre-match ritual and it was a truly amazing experience, which continued throughout the full 90 minutes. The signing was constant, fans jumping up and down, stands signing back and forth with each other all match. Not one sign of negativity towards the players, constantly backing them and urging them on (despite losing the match 2-1), showing levels of encouragement I have never seen before. This must surely give the players so much extra energy in the match, to go that extra mile for those amazing fans. The Köln fans were something else as well and certainly added to the experience. As mentioned Union lost 2-1 (had two goals disallowed) but the football on show was of a really good standard and surprised me quite a bit. Possibly because I’m using to watching some Championship games and the football isn’t that pleasing on the eye but this was real end to end stuff with the ball being played on the floor at the same time. Union even had 3 people up on the half-way line when they had a corner! (Also their fans went mental whenever they got a corner and repeatedly launched the same chant every time they won one). I can’t ever remember being to a game with an atmosphere as intense and brilliant as that one (I didn’t think it was possible that 21,000 fans could ever make that much noise!). Even with such intensity amongst the fans there was no sign of trouble whatsoever. When we were walking back to the U-Bahn station after the match fans from both sides were mingling together, people were allowed to drink even when police were there and they seemed to treat fans like adults and this showed in the positive behaviour towards each other. When the Köln fans were being given their police escort all of a sudden some sort of German folk music started blasting out of the police PA system which was a totally surreal moment, especially as they then all started singing along to it. Again no sign of anger directed towards them from the Union fans. Then on the Monday we went back around the stadium as we needed to pop to the club shop in the centre of Köpenick and I managed to get a photo of the team bus (see below) that was parked up and nip into the open gates and take some shots of the ground. It was a truly unique experience that I would definitely do again and for anybody that wants to experience something that you can no longer get with football over here, then go and you won’t regret it. I’ve put a link below for what the signing of the anthem normally looks like and another bit of signing from different matches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monkeys Fist 41930 Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 Superb. That's what you get from fans instead of customers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Carr's Gloves 3788 Posted April 16, 2014 Author Share Posted April 16, 2014 As I've posted on here I've just returned from my trip to Berlin and on the Friday night I managed to catch the Union Berlin and FC Köln match at Union's Stadion An der Alten Försterei ground located in the Eastern part of the city. Not many people might know much about FC Union so heres a bit of background information; they play in Bundesliga 2 and what makes the club a bit special is their fan base, which is one of the reasons I went to Berlin in the first place. In 2004 their fans donated blood and sold it off to German hospitals to raise enough funds so that the club could pay the licensing costs to enable them to play in the fourth division. This culture runs thick throughout the club as everything that is done is fan centric; in polar opposite to the way Newcastle is ran. As luck would have it Köln are top of the league so at least it would be a competitive fixture (Union currently lie 8th). The match was scheduled for an 18:30 KO and we went along to for 17:00 when the gates opened to try and soak up any pre-match atmosphere that there might be. Well we werent the only ones lined up for 17:00 and by 17:30 the surrounding areas within the stadium was completely full. Despite this there were several stalls located around serving both beer and food. I ended up getting both a bratwurst and a steak sandwich (greedy twat but when in Germany and all of that) and I have to say it was the nicest food Ive ever had at a football match and superbly priced. The bratwurst (pictured below) only cost 2.00! As kick-off approached we ended up going to the terraced section that we were located in (behind the goal in the same section as the ultras) and I was allowed to carry my beer with me too. The fans all lofted their scarves above their head to sing the clubs anthem (Eisern Union) which is apparently a bit of a pre-match ritual and it was a truly amazing experience, which continued throughout the full 90 minutes. The signing was constant, fans jumping up and down, stands signing back and forth with each other all match. Not one sign of negativity towards the players, constantly backing them and urging them on (despite losing the match 2-1), showing levels of encouragement I have never seen before. This must surely give the players so much extra energy in the match, to go that extra mile for those amazing fans. The Köln fans were something else as well and certainly added to the experience. As mentioned Union lost 2-1 (had two goals disallowed) but the football on show was of a really good standard and surprised me quite a bit. Possibly because Im using to watching some Championship games and the football isnt that pleasing on the eye but this was real end to end stuff with the ball being played on the floor at the same time. Union even had 3 people up on the half-way line when they had a corner! (Also their fans went mental whenever they got a corner and repeatedly launched the same chant every time they won one). I cant ever remember being to a game with an atmosphere as intense and brilliant as that one (I didnt think it was possible that 21,000 fans could ever make that much noise!). Even with such intensity amongst the fans there was no sign of trouble whatsoever. When we were walking back to the U-Bahn station after the match fans from both sides were mingling together, people were allowed to drink even when police were there and they seemed to treat fans like adults and this showed in the positive behaviour towards each other. When the Köln fans were being given their police escort all of a sudden some sort of German folk music started blasting out of the police PA system which was a totally surreal moment, especially as they then all started singing along to it. Again no sign of anger directed towards them from the Union fans. Then on the Monday we went back around the stadium as we needed to pop to the club shop in the centre of Köpenick and I managed to get a photo of the team bus (see below) that was parked up and nip into the open gates and take some shots of the ground. It was a truly unique experience that I would definitely do again and for anybody that wants to experience something that you can no longer get with football over here, then go and you wont regret it. Ive put a link below for what the signing of the anthem normally looks like and another bit of signing from different matches. What's it like watching a football match with 10,000 mr Tumbles? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fish 10674 Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 Cheers Tooj, good read that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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