werder bremen

[panto]

I did not go to the game but when ever I here someone speak about it they always say how it was such a great victory, and is a good sign for the season.
But at every report I read the thing that pops out at me is that it was 1-0 to them at half time and 5-1 t us at full time.
Did Werder change their team at half time?
If they did then the victory is not that amazing. can someone please answer this qestion before I go mad.

[ron]

Their bus driver had a ticket for the early ferry, and they had to leave during the interval.

[Tktd]

I've been trying to figure that out too - everywhere I look I can't find the subs timings and although I was at the match - all the substitutions semi fell into on massive blur as they came quick and fast and relatively frequently in the 2nd half.

The thing though that you have to take into consideration is that with Werder Bremens first team on show for the whole first half we were only 1-0 down and still created opportunities , and with a team they put out which was one of their strongest and is in this seasons Champions League.

Also - You have to look at the quality of the goals. Very few substitutions were made before Zamora drew us level and for that goal he had completely caught them out defensively.

Then you have to look at the 2nd - Geras - It was just a top quality goal - the keeper had no chance and very few would so whether they had made substitutions that shot was of the highest quality and from quite far out - one their best team arguably wouldn't have had a chance to keep out.

That leaves us 2-1 up.

Then you need to take into account that we finished the game with only 3 of our first team playing 90 minutes. Those being Schwarzer, Hangeland and Hughes.

Eddie Johnson got on the score sheet too which suggests we didn't really have to play that hard, although his goal was calmly taken.


Basically no matter what happened our team still managed to put 5 past theres . Squad vs squad they had a champions legaue competent squad and we didn't. Either way it makes it impressive/ slightly glorified but merited none the less.

I would've appreciated a bigger and better picture from our last friendly - a more solid normal style game but you can't have it all.

Plus don't forget we also managed to keep a rather impressive Ozil and bay who is arguably one of the hottest proerpties in world football at the moment which I can imagine is no exact mean feet.

[Rupert]

My impression is that, in the first half, they identified where we were vulnerable, basically put pressure on John Pantsil, drew him out of position, then got down his flank and whipped in dangerous crosses.
At half time Hughes sorted it out, I noticed Duff and Pantsil working very closely together in the second half, Duff staying back to cover whenever JP went forward (which he did to reasonable effect on a couple of occasions) and Dempsey seemed to get more into the game too, leading to him supplying Bobby Z with the through ball which we equalised from.
We then brought on Zolly for Clint, and they basically couldn't handle him. Which could scupper Mr Dempsey's chances of starting next weekend, but he is an excellent fresh pair of legs to have in reserve should Bolton offer unexpected resistance.

[SouthfieldWhite]

First half we were shocking, especially Konchesky and Pantsil, Bremen could and should of been 3 or 4 nil up, our passing was slow and we look lethargic (sp) Bremen looked alot sharper than us.

Second half from the start we looked more up for it, passed it a little quicker and pressed them better, still think the turning point was when Gera came on who looked  class

[Banstead White]

I have to say for a "top notch / Champions league outfit' they looked a real mess defensively and perhaps seemed to be pushing quite high up the pitch. Credit though no side likes losing 5-1 so for me its an all round impressive performance......and the season hasn't started yet....here's hoping.. :clap_hands:

[HatterDon]

and now there's this:

http://hammyend.com/?p=7489

Bremen director rages after Fulham defeat
by Dan on August 8, 2010

Werder Bremen's sporting director Klaus Allof was furious after Thomas Schaff's side subsided to a 5-1 defeat by Fulham yesterday calling the team's performance 'naive and unprofessional'.

Allof was particularly shocked by Bremen's second half display, where they let in five goals without reply, and hinted that some members of the squad may not have a future at the club if they continue to perform that poorly.

We've been pretty satisfied with the pre-season preparations overall, and that extends to the first half here as well. But what happened after that left a seriously sour taste in the mouth. It was naïve and unprofessional.

It was catastrophic. We're also representing Germany here and the Bundesliga, and you just can't put on a show like that ... Anyone can have an off-day, but that's not what this was about. You have to be willing to put in the legwork and effort, always. But there are a few players who are not giving it 100 percent. And it has to be clearly stated, if they're not prepared to pull their weight, they have no future at Werder.

[AlFayedsChequebook]

The big change I noticed at half time was the switching of Duff and Davies on the flanks. Suddenly the team looked more cohesive (probably because the players had a better understanding). This was then reinforced when Gera came on. He sat in the hole and was relatively unmarked so caused havoc.

Dempsey had a poor game for me. He looked tired. I think his best position is drifting in from the left, so it will be between him and davies on that side.

[Jimpav]

I'm hoping that any Werder Bremen side is surely going to be better than what Bolton have to offer on Saturday.