Disqus - Latest Comments for MarkMoll

Re: Bundesliga Winter Break Review: Energie Cottbus

MarkMoll — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 17:02:38 -0000

My statement about East German teams in the topflight is probably some of that subdued bitterness I have from seeing Nuremberg relegated last season bubbling to the surface. I think it just came out because FCN ended last season at 16th, and that's where Cottbus happen to find themselves at the moment.

Am I willing to accept that der Club is 80 years past its prime? Not yet.

Re: Bundesliga Winter Break Review: VfL Bochum

MarkMoll — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 11:09:38 -0000

That seems to be the new trend in forcing players out the door.

I do find it a bit odd that out of all the teams it was Leverkusen that picked him up. He's not the young gun type they've been focused on acquiring and playing. Do you really want a Bochum cast-off at this point, captain or not?

Re: Preseason Bundesliga Predictions Revisited

MarkMoll — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 23:44:19 -0000

If anyone is going to do it in the various European leagues then I think Hoffenheim provides a great model to follow. The anti-Man City or anti-Tottenham, if you will. Although to replicate Hoffenheim's success would require a large investment in both money and patience, which is difficult combination to find these days.

Re: Preseason Bundesliga Predictions Revisited

MarkMoll — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 11:24:06 -0000

I guess I was thinking if Hoffenheim can't even win the 2. Bundesliga how will they be a factor in a better league. But, well, there's nothing more to be said on that account. I'm actually most proud of my Cologne prediction, for what it's worth.

As for Bremen, you know, I thought this might be the year they'd end up being a bit more competitive in Europe. I'm rooting for all German teams (so they can boost the UEFA coefficient) yet I'm continually disappointed. I guess it's good (for everyone else) Nuremberg was relegated or you'd be hearing me complain about 1) how they're not going to get into Europe and 2) how there'll be no direct spots for the CL left because of how poorly German teams play.

Re: Photos of a Schalke Fan’s Trip to Leverkusen

MarkMoll — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 23:34:02 -0000

You're quite welcome. Just know that we expect some insightful commentary on all our Leverkusen stories from you from now on ;)

Re: die Tabelle lügen nicht! (Bundesliga Week 12)

MarkMoll — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 23:27:51 -0000

Good question. There's nothing as pithy in English as the original in German (although I think "Ohne Holland fahr'n wir zur WM" sounds even better).

Perhaps, if you'd like to be a bit cheeky you can give England fans a version of Sportfreunde Stiller's "'54, '74, '90, 2010": '64, '72, '76, '84, '08, 2012. Those being the years (quite a lot, too) they didn't qualify for the Euros (and assuming they won't qualify for the next one either).

Re: Football Manager Back To Ruin Your (Social) Life

MarkMoll — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 01:04:28 -0000

I think it was 03/04 when I signed Emile Mpenza from Standard Liege. The only reason he's so memorable is that he went on an immediate tear scoring a hat trick in each of his first six games. I couldn't tell you if he finished top of the Bundesliga scoring charts (I know he didn't manage to break Gerd Müller's record). He may not have even been my best signing of all-time. But he certainly had the best start of any of my players.

Re: die Tabelle lügen nicht! (Bundesliga Week 12)

MarkMoll — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 11:37:33 -0000

Oh no, it's even more absurd. I had suggested that you could have somehow translated the phrase as "the table is honest." Table here meaning the piece of furniture. Why it'd be honest, who knows. But there'd be fewer comments about grammar and more asking why articles are named for anthropomorphic home furnishings, that's for sure.

Re: die Tabelle lügen nicht! (Bundesliga Week 12)

MarkMoll — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 20:42:33 -0000

Es hätte doch viel schlimmer sein können: "der Tisch ist ehrlich" oder so ähnlich. Naja, wir wissen, dass es nicht gerade "richtiges und gutes Deutsch" ist. Wir haben nur a weng Spass mit der Sprache.

Re: What if the Premier League was American?

MarkMoll — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 12:01:17 -0000

I think Omaha, Nebraska would make a good Stoke, based on your criteria. Just as Nebraska is a fly-over state, Stoke is a team most others fly over.

Unfortunately the only comparison I knew before even reading the article involved dear old Newcastle and the Cubbies.

Re: Bundesliga Matchday 8 by the Numbers

MarkMoll — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 11:13:37 -0000

Yeah, they're overdue for a win. And I'm not saying this just because two months ago I picked Frankfurt to finish 7th. Then again I also thought Leverkusen would struggle to find a scoring threat. AND I didn't hold out a lot of hope for Hoffenheim. The list goes on... So to go along with my bad predictions, I think I've also jinxed my fair share of teams (sorry Bayern) to start the season.

That 5-pt note got me looking at other leagues and how they'd compare:
Belgium - 1st and 8th
England - 1st and 5th
France - 1st and 6th
Greece - 1st and 4th
Scotland - 1st and 3rd
Spain - 1st and 6th
Sweden - 1st and 2nd
Turkey - 1st and 7th

The only comparable leagues?
Well the Dutch, of course - 1st and 10th
Surprisingly also Italy - 1st and 10th
Portugal (but only 5 games played) - 1st and 11th

Re: Product Review: Objectivo Soccer Shirts

MarkMoll — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 21:30:36 -0000

It's always those small (er, ignore that) innocuous comments that seem to get people talking...

Re: Borussia Mönchengladbach Fire Trainer Jos Luhukay

MarkMoll — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 13:09:04 -0000

I think who Gladbach could really use is Klopp. Too bad he's working his magic at Dortmund. I've always considered Slomka to be someone who's good with good players (I know that sounds silly, but look at the mess Klinsmann's making at Bayern). I would like to see him back in the Bundesliga, but I'm not so sure anyone can save this sinking ship. Except, perhaps, for Hans Meyer.

Re: Bundesliga Roundup for Round 6

MarkMoll — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 23:10:58 -0000

Have we forgotten about our dear friends plying their trade in the 3. Liga? How will we keep up with the exploits of Carl Zeiss Jena?

Re: Bayern’s 2-5 Defeat to Bremen in Historical Perspective

MarkMoll — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 17:54:16 -0000

Mark don't do analysis, but if he did, it'd probably be the best analysis in the world. Anyway, that's your sphere. I like to play with numbers instead.

Re: The Sync: Bayer 04 v. Hannover 96

MarkMoll — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 20:12:36 -0000

Hm. You know, I may have to revise my estimates of Leverkusen's final table position. Helmes is really silencing doubters (I'm one of them), even if it was against Hannover. Maybe he's the long-awaited prolific replacement for Berbatov.

Re: Bundesliga Statistics: Week Four

MarkMoll — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 00:54:08 -0000

Jan had pointed out a few weeks back that I had been using some attendance figures that were off. I've dropped it for the time being. If I find something accurate and easy to collate I'll be back in business.

Now for a chart... that's actually something I've been thinking about more as a nice one-off project for when there's some downtime, like during the (recently shortened) Winter Break. I'm almost afraid of how much fun I'd have playing around with the chart instead of writing up posts.

Re: die Tabelle lügen nicht! (Bundesliga Week Four)

MarkMoll — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 01:34:09 -0000

I liked it... brought back fond memories of ol' Trapattoni

Re: How to Manage an International Dressing Room

MarkMoll — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 16:49:21 -0000

A bit of trivia for those of you interested, Energie Cottbus became the first Bundesliga side to field an all-foreign starting XI way back in 2001 (or so they tell me).

Re: The Set: Seven Reasons the Bundesliga Is Better Than the EPL

MarkMoll — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 19:07:08 -0000

I also enjoyed the post, perhaps because it reminds me of Uli-Hesse Lichtenberger over at Soccernet.com (who I'm quite fond of). Although I really don't need the incentive or justification to follow the Bundesliga, I like how he manages to dissect and present both the tactical and cultural bases of the league (and how favorably it tends to compare to, say, the EPL) Confirmation bias! Anyway, being compared to Herr Lichtenberger is high praise in my book, DP. Carry on.

Re: Schalke’s Keeper Worries Grow: Schober Injured

MarkMoll — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 08:24:11 -0000

You flatter me, good sir.

But, granting that the Bundesliga does feature a plethora of potentially (and some already) great goalkeepers how do we reconcile that fact with the number of goals see each week? Is there just a vast talent gap between the best and the rest with no room for mediocrity?

Re: AC Milan’s Oddo on a Season-long Loan to Bayern

MarkMoll — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 19:17:32 -0000

I suppose I'm more surprised by the appearance of another right wingback/defender rather than it specifically being Massimo Oddo. Yes, Altintop's reinjury of his foot is problematic, but there are now four players on the books suited to play RWB or RB (Sagnol, Altintop, Lahm, and Lell) and but only Lahm on the left with the departure of Jansen. If Lahm gets injured, then what? Playing a midfielder out of position? I suppose there's Oliver Stierle, a LB who's playing for the reserves right now, but that's not the answer either.

Re: AC Milan’s Oddo on a Season-long Loan to Bayern

MarkMoll — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 19:02:29 -0000

I think that's very true. Toni has made it clear that he'd like more Italians in the squad. I think that explains to a point Bayern's pursuit earlier this year of Milan's Andrea Pirlo and Gennaro Gattuso. I guess the third time's the charm when dealing with the Rossoneri.

Re: Marcell Jansen transfers from Bayern to Hamburg

MarkMoll — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 15:38:25 -0000

Believe me, I'm just as surprised as you are. In a perfect world (okay, my perfect world) Bixente Lizarazu in his prime suddenly returns to take over on the left and Lahm slides back over to the right. Lell hasn't earned my trust yet (and I don't think he's a particularly great option back there). Then again, I'm not in charge of making these kinds of tactical decisions.

Re: Bundesliga Statistics: Week Two

MarkMoll — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 08:26:17 -0000

Thanks Jan!

I was rather suspicious of the round numbers I had been seeing for attendance figures, but short of counting heads myself I didn't see how I could verify it. I guess where I now used to get information from did some rounding ;)