[OPM]

Future secured - 2.Bundesliga welcomes FCN!

Goalkeepers:

29 Jaromir Blazek (34, € 700,000 from Sparta Prague - July 2007)
18 Daniel Klewer (30, free from Hansa Rostock - July 2004)
1 Alexander Stephan (20, from youth team)

Defenders:

3 Michael Beauchamp (24, € ? from Central Coast Mariners - July 2006)
4 Berti Glauber (23, € 680k from Palmeiras FC - January 2006)
5 Andreas Wolf (24, from youth team)
27 Jacques Abardonado (29, from OGC Nice - January 2008)
23 Matthew Spiranovic (18, € 50k from Australian Institute of Sport - January 2007)
25 Javier Horacio Pinola (25, € 1.5m from Atletico Madrid - July 2005)
28 Dominik Reinhardt (22, from youth team)
2 Lars Jacobsen (27, free from F.C. Copenhagen - July 2007)
16 Ralf Schmidt (21, back from loan, FC Carl Zeiss Jena - July 2007)



Midfielders:

6 Tomas Galasek (34, free from Ajax Amsterdam - July 2006)
11 Marek Mintal (29, € 150k from MSK Zilina - July 2003)
19 Jan Kristiansen (25, € 350k from Esbjerg FB - January 2006)
22 Marco Engelhardt (26, free from 1.FC Kaiserslautern - July 2006)
36 Jaouhar Mnari (30, free from Esperance Tunis - July 2005)
37 Sebastian Szikal (20, from own youth - July 2006)
24 Peer Kluge (26, free from Borussia M'Gladbach - July 2007)
10 Zvjezdan Misimovic (24, free from VfL Bochum - July 2007)
21 Dario Vidosic (20, free from Queensland Roar - July 2007)
34 Lukas Kling (17, free from FC Augsburg II - July 2007)


Forwards:

23 Ivan Saenko (23, free from Karlsruher SC - July 2005)
26 Christoph Weber (20, from youth team)
19 Jan Koller (35, from AS Monaco - January 2008)
32 Leon Benko (23, € 400k from Varteks Varazdin - July 2006)
33 Robert Vittek (25, € 1.2m from Slovan Bratislava - July 2003)
17 Nicky Adler (22, free from 1860 München - July 2007)
29 Angelos Charisteas (27, € 2.5m from Feyenoord Rotterdam - July 2007)

I am thinking about our future team. I listed the current squad above and marked the players likely / possible to leave in red. Express your opinion if i am right / what to change in this list:

Keepers:

Blazek - He's not going to make it here i think
Klewer - Too old, not good enough, we will try something new in 2.Bundesliga i think

I think one of the two Kaiserslautern keepers, especially in a case of their relegation would be a good choice (Sippel or Fromlowitz)

Defenders:

Wolf - He won't go to 2nd division, he wants to play national team. I think it is even doubtful to see him in FCN shirt if we stay up.
Pinola - I think more than enough clubs are interested.

A hard part of the team to pick possible exits, some of the teams that will be promoted might get interested in players like Reinhardt, Glauber, Beauchamp. It's a matter of money i think in the end.

Replacement? No idea. I can't really think of any good defender that would go in 2. Bundesliga. I think i need to lower my standards a lot.

Midfielders:

Mintal - not the old anymore, but still a quality player. Might remain here because of everything he achieved and the club did for him, but i can imagine he gets shitloads of offers from other Bundesliga-sides.
Misimovic - We only got him because we played UEFA-Cup and could offer a secure spot in Liga 1. goodbye Zwetschge!
Galasek - Old "wolve" is not going to 2.Bundesliga. Going to end his career. Maybe we can keep him in the club. (scout? youth?)
Kluge - Best new signing maybe this season, he will get the attention of Bundesliga clubs for sure.
Engelhardt - he's okay, maybe will stay, maybe go, hard to say
Mnari - Quality but allready in late stages of his career. He might stay or go to England? France?

Attackers:

Saenko - Russian princess is not even thinking about going one league down - we will see him in Bundesliga or at some good russian club next year
Vittek - I think he will leave either way, off to Spain or maybe a very good Bundesliga-club
Charisteas - Our most expensive signing ever, he is above average and played a good role this season - which makes him interesting for other clubs and i don't think he is up for 2. Bundesliga either. Matter of money.

JUST A PERSONAL PREDICTION - ADD YOUR TOUGHTS

Possible lineup without new signings for 2008/2009:

-------------Stephan/Sponsel------------
-Reinhardt---Spiranovic-Glauber---Schmidt
----------Mnari------------Kristiansen----
----------------Vidosic------------------
-Adler------------------------Benko-----
-----------------Koller-------------------​

 

[Tigerheart]

You think Koller would play 2nd league?

 

[OPM]

He signed a contract this winter for both leagues and i think he clearly expressed that he would go down. (for one season until 2009, 2010 for 1. Bundesliga )

He stated that this would be his last professional club, close to Prague, i don't think he will settle anywhere else again after just 6 months (+he might end his international career after Euro so no real "need" for a big club)

 

[Kajoo]

good analysis OPM.

mintal doesn´t stay if we relegate. his eficiency felt downhill so I don´t think it would hurt us that much.

wolf could stay, he´s a hardcore clubberer so he could sacrifice one season to get us back on top stage.

Don´t know about Kristiansen, isn´t he still danish international ? I doubt he´ll stay then.

With all the others I completely agree.

 

[Kajoo]

You think Koller would play 2nd league?

You think he´s good enough to play 1st ? :eekani:

Surprise, surprise, I thought you don´t rate our players at all

 

[Tigerheart]

What does it have to do with being good or bad? Weird

 

[OPM]

Kristiansen - hasn't been called up for national team in a long time as far as i can recall. + he was up for a transfer to Kaiserslautern before this season so he is okay with 2.Bundesliga. And good enough for it...

 

[audiollama]

I just thought of a similar thread. And your possible lineup really scares me on some positions.

I think Mintal would stay here. It's not that I want to be naive, but I think he'll stay because of the way he got treated here during his bad time. In the second divison he could be helpful again, which he is not at the moment.

Engelhardt.. hmm.. I'm unsure with him. Also with Kluge. I think both might stay here, only when the offer is too good we could lose one of them or both.

Kristiansen would probably stay, but maybe he wants to go. It's not that he had the best 2 years of his career with us, apart from that golden shot.

I could cry when I think of a nearly sure departure of Pinola. The only way of keeping him could be a conversation with Bader, when our manager tells him the plan for 08/09 which should include a lot of money. Not that money is a promotion guarantee, but when we don't get back after one season we might stay long in that division. So in case the actions from the board show players like Pinola that there's money to get back soon they might stay. I mean Pino, Wolf.. Mnari.. Kluge.. Misimovic (but maybe I'm too naive)

 

[Tigerheart]

Too naive :lala:

 

[audiollama]

Another thing that came to my mind. When we got relegated in 1994 it took us 4 years to come back and in that 4 years the whole football scene underwent a change in respect of the media coverage and TV money. In my opinion we had to suffer from that until our last promotion in 2004. Ok, everything in combination with our horrible debts from the 90's.

But I fear that this relegation could have the same effects. A new TV deal and possible the opening of the Bundesliga for foreign investors could throw us back for a few again. A prompt promotion could prevent this, but I don't want to think of a scenario with us having to play a few years in the 2nd division.


But... that thread implies that we are already relegated. It doesn't look good, but let's show at least a bit of optimism.

 

[audiollama]

Too naive :lala:

My brain also tells me that. :stress:

 

[OPM]

i completely agree with you audio, football once again is undergoing very big changes - i can see big investors coming, the 50% ownership rule surely will be rethought and more money will come into bundesliga. a relegation now would not only throw us back a year or two to rebuild a squad but a lot longer to gain just a few percent of the reputation we got ourselves in the past 4 years.

 

[Jon G]

It's frightening...

Yes, this season we have not been good enough but it would be horrible to split up some of these young, exciting players. Our defence has not been the best this season (much of which I personally blame on Blazek) but the potential of Reinhardt, Wolf, Glauber and Pino (all 25 or less), is immense. To have to replace these with inferior players could be disastorous.

The same goes for players like Saenko, Vittek and Misimovic - young players who can still get a lot better.

We must not only stay in the BL but also do everything to keep hold of the potential.

 

[audiollama]

i completely agree with you audio, football once again is undergoing very big changes - i can see big investors coming, the 50% ownership rule surely will be rethought and more money will come into bundesliga. a relegation now would not only throw us back a year or two to rebuild a squad but a lot longer to gain just a few percent of the reputation we got ourselves in the past 4 years.

The reputation, yes, and much more the sense of excitement in our town and around us... all that will go down the sink. That would be the emotional loss.

And although I am not 100% sure what I should think about that investor thing, but if it happens I don't want us to fall behind so much.

 

[Kajoo]

We aren´t relegated yet, however it can´t hurt us to be prepared on the worst possible scenario.

Wehen, here we go !

 

[audiollama]

And I will have a closer look on the Regionalliga Süd from now on. Bah.. probably against Regensbug or Ingolstadt next season..

 

[Tigerheart]

Wehen might swap places with you if you are that negative .

 

[Kajoo]

only team I don´t want to get promoted is Fürth.

 

[OPM]

:thumbsup::happy:

 

[Tigerheart]

Great pic