der Berliner

You are not alone there. Perhaps we just throw in something like "bad day at the office" to make us feel a little better ...

At Hoffenheim, our last public pre-season game, you would like to see a starting line-up and tactic for the next few weeks. Once the CL qualifiers happen by, we need a settled team.

Maybe we give Matondo some respite. He will most likely be Wright's replacement in the squad, and possibly leave in not too many months because of his lack of game time. On the other hand, he looks like a winger-version of Sakala, always trying, but with even less end product. That said, we have given better players much more time to settle and given the tactics (if any) and squad rotation (if any) of recent months, there is no wonder that some people can't find their feet. Who knows whether a couple of goals in weeks to come will make him outshine Dessers and Co.. In that respect, my glass on him remains is half-full.

Maybe Beale's approach will be, that we simply outscore the opposition! 😱

Unless they prove us otherwise in weeks and months to come, IMHO, Roofe is still our most clinical striker. Lammers looks to me more like the Laudrup type of attacker, Dessers a straight centre forward who feeds off others, and Sima a decent enough left sided attacker / striker. Who knows where Danilo fits in, but if we pay serious money for Dessers and Danilo, it is most likely them being meant to be first choice. Sakala fits in all across the front line, always a pest, always a danger - even if his end product is lacking somewhat (but is - without doubt - still there). MB has a task on his hands to check out who is working best against what type of opposition. As of now, if everyone is fit, our attack force it heavily loaded with people, of whom we essentially know only Sakala, Cantwell, Roofe and Lawrence, the last two in patches only. The front and second row union needs to be made to click and while it may take a month or two, we won't run out of attackers like the last few seasons. That should give us some hope. My main concern remains the defensive, as we simply concede too many cheap goals. Get these chap fit and make it a back-3. We need to get this particular house in order.

If I had to pick a team for Hoffenheim and the games thereafter, to get some continuity in the line ups, it would be Butland Tavernier* - Balogun - Souttar - Ridvan Jack - Raskin Cantwell - Lammers - Sakala Roofe * Unless Sterling gets fit. Hagi, Sima, Matondo (yes), Dessers next in line, the others either don't look fit or up for it yet. There is so far no real cohesion up top, with people at times all over the place and vast spaces elsewhere. Against better teams, we need someone who can spot danger and works on it, usually Lundstram, but he was mentally still in the cabin when he came on, truly shocking and getting nowhere near the standard he is capable of. Truth be told, Jack didn't look at 100 % either, but he at least is focussed. We missed a decent DM at all three of their goals, who, as much as they were down to poor defending, were also quite lucky. On the other end nothing fell for us (bar Cantwell), with Lammers and Matondo unlucky. MB needs to get his starting XI sorted for the weekend, the training stuff should end tonight.

You have to give it to MB that he has selected high-caliber opposition to get his squad into shape. Good early pressure from us and what a strike from Raskin. After that Olympiakos came into the game and it was more or less even. IMHO, Dowell and Davies, along with Borna haven't really impressed me thus far tonight. Balance up top and AM doesn't look right, we'll see what MB will do.

Leaving Rousseau's addled line ups aside ... ... one of my first dictionaries of English was published in 1957 (fair city of Leipzig, deep in "commie land"), which is actually a picture dictionary. It has a neat draw of many a sports game and the football page gives you the goalkeeper, the right back and left back (either side of the penalty area), with centre half in the middle. Ahead of him the right and left half, ahead of those the centre forward, flanked by the inside right and inside left, with the outside right / right winger and outside left / left winger on the touch lines. Those were the days, right?! On paper a clear 3-2-5 or perhaps 3-4-3, if you count the outside left and right guys a "midfielders". That's how we should approach most games in Scotland, anyway.

At this moment, I would like to point at the OP 😎

... some might argue, that we (again) threw it away.

Quite a few ...

... and on another day, we might have horsed them 7-1, given the chances we missed. It's July still and if it was mid-September and we continue like Saturday (or, indeed, much of last season), I'd be worried.

Last I read was that if we fail in either qualification round, we will enter the EL group phase afterwards. Both side are beatable, but we, much like them, are not playing at full throttle yet, hence IMHO these early quali rounds are utter rubbish, and have been for years.

Ach well, he's only 26. By the time he gets to the age at which McCoist quit, he might have scored 200 more goals for us 🙂

For once in recent years, this window looks to be a good one 😉

All in all, a good run out, though we should have snatched a few more goals. Sakala, Cantwell, Roofe, and Lammers all make for a "press" line-up, Dessers and Sima probably more for the target-man roles. Some neat understanding and quick passing leaves you in good spirits, not to mention Hagi, Roofe, and Lawrence being in amongst them again. You do wonder who will be first pick at left-back ...

Watching the highlights now, Hagi could have had a couple, Dowell and Matondo another one each.

He will be happy that HSV like Newcastle provide tough opposition, so he can evaluate his players' current level of performance. Sima somehow doesn't look like a winger to me. Early days still, but the way he moves about looks more like a target man up top.

SAKAAAAAAALLAAAAAAA!!!!!! Anyone who wants to sell him, needs to have a hard look at himself! 😜

Joined in at around 25 mins and it's garbage so far, bar that one foray of Sakala. Obviously, it is up to these chaps to show on the field what they can do right now, so the manager can make a decision.

Yep, IMHO, he's the most lethal of our strikers (bar those new arrivals, which I have not seen much of yet). With him and Lawrence, my glass is always half full in terms of fitness. At the end of the day, every goal/assist will count, though.

Looks like Feyenoord is having a little trouble finding their replacement for Danilo, so we might have to wait a little longer for him. Good thing is: apart from any new arrival, we will have Hagi fit and running again, Roofe and Lawrence hopefully too. That's essentially 3 more quality players than we had for large spells of last season.

I see you are new to this thread 😉

Given that Cifuentes is seemingly arriving soon, and Raskin IMHO a certain starter, we might see back-up roles for both Jack and Lundstram soon. While this was the first real test and everyone looked a wee bit rusty (bar Cantwell, Wright, and Sakala), we were hard pressed in the first half despite having so many defensive players out there, big gaps appeared on either wing and I was wondering where Tavernier and Borna were at the time, or the DMs supposedly covering the fullbacks. Thing is, the back-line and DMs were our most settled players. As I wrote above, we need to check out who of our attack-minded players click best and chose them according to the opposition. Good to have so much quality to chose from.

Dunno whether Lövenkrands only remember his good days, but he had a knack of blasting chances that he now bemoans with Sakala and Matondo. Second half better, against a different bunch of players. Our press was more visible, Ridvan and Raskin should be first pick, not least against teams that play more open. I do wonder how we will utilize our attackers, Sima looked good at holding the ball up, but will probably be more useful in games in which we will have more possession. Lammers looked good, Dessers still to come in, likewise Roofe. Just knit those together in blocks that can play together. I know a better way to us Sakala's and Wright's pace and enthusiasm than to shift them out right now, both look as fit and clever as ever, and the season will be long again. Balogun looked rock solid (maybe the # 5 CH slot is not his yet), Souttar had a good game. Lowry ... that ability to stop the ball, look up and place a vicious shot on target needs to be utilized more often. All in all, a decent workout.