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Originally Posted by Vipers31

I was more impressed with Dante than I was with Boateng, and I really think those two are battling for the spot next to Badstuber, rather than pushing him out of the regular lineup. In any way, with a long season and hopefully an extended stay in the CL beyond the early stages, being able to rest a guy is huge for our hopes in the Bundesliga. Can't say enough about Dante. He looked really comfortable given the small amount of time he's been on the team.

Oh I agree, just wanted to comment on Boa, who I think is poised for a breakout year next to Dante. I think their skills not only compliment each other, but Jerome will also learn a lot from Dante. Dante is great though and i should've given him more attention, he played the way Hummels did last season, already. He's going to be their best CB and it's the spot next to him that Boateng and Badstuber will have to fight for.

Originally Posted by Vipers31

I don't quite feel that way about our midfield. Especially Kroos left me pretty unimpressed recently. He's taking the speed out of the game so often. I found his decision making to be quite off. As for Gustavo, I really appreciate the guy, and he's outstanding against the ball. The issue is that playing for Bayern, in the vast majority of games there is very limited use for that rather one-dimensional skillset of his. Against the Real Madrids of the world, he's a guy I love to have, but on ~ 30 of our league matchups, he's a position that could be upgraded - which I think is why we're looking as hard as we do at Martinez.

Kroos is coming off a great season and his chemistry with Schweini was astounding before the injury. Playing into that is why I like Gustavo, in Schweini's absence he will free Kroos to play even more aggressively. I do agree that his skillset isn't vital for a lot of your league matches, but I think he'll help in the big games and will be someone you can work around as all of your CBs are so strong on the ball. Although as you say, Martinez would be a much better fit and a welcome upgrade.

Originally Posted by Vipers31

Very realistic scenario, and it's going to be interesting to see, especially if Robbery get used to playing the way they can with Mandzukic. I don't think Gomez is untouchable, in any way, so if the team works well without him, he'll have to wait for his turn (which will come). This year could really turn into crossroads for his career in Munich - yet again.

That's what I'd hope happens. But I'm skeptical.

Originally Posted by Vipers31

I think so. Getting Martinez would help that, I suppose.

I dunno, I just see Schweini rushing back before he's ready and hurting himself again. Gut feeling. Hope I'm wrong though.

Originally Posted by Vipers31

Actually, I doubt it. Sure, we've been vulnerable to counters, but all things considered, we didn't give up a lot of goals. Teams won't start pressuring against us and score goals that way, so unless we stop conceding altogether (which I'd have no issues with, at all! ), I guess counters and deadballs is what it will continue to be.

Fair point, but ultaimtely you lost the CL because a deadball leveled the score and you lost to Dortmund in league and cup because of counters. You had a strong defense, but in the biggest games it got beat and can improve.

Originally Posted by Vipers31

I'm actually not sure if Götze will be in to start the season. He just hasn't played a lot ever since his injuries, and I think you can tell he's not quite there on many levels. Wouldn't be surprised to see him come from the bench in their opener, given how Kuba has apparently looked, especially.

Thus the when tehy're all healthy part ;-)

Originally Posted by Vipers31

Yeah, that would have made sense, but I always feel the positive impact of keeping such a guy with the team gets overlooked. Sure, playing time matters, but with a kid like him coming up from Cottbus, I actually believe that simply practising with the type of talent you have in Dortmund is going to be better for him than going right back to a Cottbus-type (or even an Augsburg-type) team and play in bunch of games, that would require him to play a very different game. Obviously, that doesn't work forever, but for the first six to twelve months, I can see some upside in having him around there even if it results in limited playing time. At his age, that's not where player development happens, IMO.

Bittencourt looks ready for the Bundesliga, like Goetze and Draxler his instincts are way beyond those a teenager should have. While I appreciate the idea of keeping him and integrating him into the team, I think his youth plays against that, meaning because he's so young, loaning him away to improve his skills further and get used to 1st Bundesliga defenders, makes more sense because when he comes back in a year he'll still be a teenager and he'll still have Reus, Goetze, Kuba, Perisic and Grosskreutz to pass for PT. So next year you take a kid who's already gotten experience against BL defenders and start integrating him into the team.

Originally Posted by Vipers31

I am actually not too sure there. Subotic has come down to earth, IMO. He's a very good defender when he's on, but he is rather inconsistent. I think his loss to a hypothetical injuray could be dealt with by Santana, who's pretty solid.

What I was trying to get at is that if one of them goes down they're left with the other one and Santana as their only experienced CBs. Leaving the remaining two with a beastly work load competing on three fronts.