@Sheffield Gunner:
Well, I can only hand the praise and thanks right back to you!
You're right, especially because throughout the season, I've railed against other people who were saying that we only won the championship because everyone else was so bad--which is partially true, but on the other hand, we ended up winning the important games and even turned a few around after going one nil down. And as Lesley said, everyone gets what they deserve. Plus, we really have to hand it to Felix Magath for forming a team out of the chaos club that is Wolfsburg (remember, they only barely avoided relegation in at least the last two years)--he really is good at introducing and forming young players and his signings (e.g. Benaglio in goal) really have paid off.
And in the end, as I said, getting into the UEFA Cup via the UI-Cup isn't impossible--I just hope the lads take the competition serious enough and have managed to get back into footballing mode by then. We do need the extra revenue, even if the competition is a lot less lucrative than the CL, both money- and opposition-wise or where the five year table was concerned. Nevertheless, it's good to see the VfB back in Europe (even if it might be for a short while).
I forgot about Ewerthon... God, yeah. I'm so, so glad the Voronin rumour was just that, a rumour. "Bring in players wisely", and that's what I'm concerned about, especially with the two players that were already brought in. Sure, Jan Simak has talent and he had a stellar season at Jena--question is: Can he transfer that to the 1. Bundesliga and is he mentally prepared for the different sort of pressure? I mean sure, it would be great to have him replace Bastürk as OM, but I'm still a little wary, especially since I sort of followed his downfall back when he was with Hanover. However, since everyone deserves a second chance, who am I to start worrying and gnaw my fingernails before the new season has even started? Hild€ once said that he wouldn't give a judgement about the new season until after the tenth matchday, and that's what I'll stick to in regards to the new players. Well, given that they get enough time on the pitch until then.
Where Schäfer is concerned... I'm starting to think it might be the best thing for his psyche to leave the club. Too much has happened, really, plus, as was said before: He doesn't quite fit the system. Let's hope there is a nice club somewhere who will snag him up.
Meira has been sent off twice--but overall, his stats don't exactly look that well, at least where red cards are concerned (and that's just the league. He's always been a bit of a hot head and the reason why he was made captain was a) because he'd been captaining other sides before, b) he had enjoyed a fairly calm spell for a while and c) because the rest (i.e. Pardo) either hadn't been with the club for long enough or didn't have enough leadership qualities. And you're right, the age structure is one thing that concerns me as well. Back in the first CL season under Magath, there was more of a balance between young (Lahm, Hinkel, Kuranyi) and old (Soldo, Heldt) and especially the players sort of in the middle (Hild€, Meira, Bordon) and that's what we're lacking right now. Pardo has wonderfully replaced Soldo as a leader and position wise on the pitch, but it's not enough and Hitzl has been far too anonymous fora good part of this season, even if his return before Christmas sparked a short turnaround.
Where Lehmann is concerned--I want to wait out the EURO, to see how he does. One thing that concerns me is his age--not so much because of injuries, but because his form may go rather quickly in the next year or two. On paper, he seems like the perfect bridge or way to ease Ulreich into the game rather than throw him off the deep-end like Hild€ at the start of his career. And you're right, Jens is accustomed to working with a relatively young defense, so it mightn't be the worst thing. However, as I said, I'd like to wait out the EURO (which, considering how much the German back four has changed, should be a good test).
Where finances are concerned... It's not that long ago that the club was on the verge of bankruptcy (2002-ish), after which they had to rebuild it and rely on youth players rather than bring in new players from other clubs. And it worked, but apart from Marica's transfer last season, they have been understandably tight about the money. Which obviously goes for wages etc as well. What you suggest probably should be the way forward, though.
Again, thank you for the thoughtful and detailed response.
Home
it is.
