German fans write analytical open letter of complaint

With two draws and a defeat under their belts in 2009/10, Bayern Munich aren’t going the right way about improving on their second placed finish in the last campaign.

It’s fair to draw a comparison between the historically successful Bavarian side and Liverpool, and it is also fair to say that Liverpool fans could benefit from the analytical nature of their German counterparts.

Instead of windmilling in with pessimistic talk of lost title chances - the type of attitude that the tabloid press has instilled in the typical English fan - Die Roten have written a detailed open letter to their club. It’s a studious analysis of their teams’ plight, compiled with all the unnecessary formality and meticulousness of the minutes of a local council meeting. How very German. Our friends at The Offside have provided a filleted translation:

1.1 The problem child of Defence
Bayern won the title in 2007/8 because of the strong defence, but since then the club has failed to strengthen in that area, and now Lucio has left for Inter. The club needed to sign someone like Darijo Srna or Jose Bosingwa at right back.

1.2 The failure to adequately replace Oliver Kahn
Basically, Kahn has not been adequately replaced. Neither Michael Rensnig nor Hans-Jörg Butt are good enough.

1.3 A catastrophic and uncreative midfield, and a lack of counterpart to Franck Ribery
There’s a lack of class in midfield. The loss of Ze Roberto, the faith in Bastian Schweinsteiger and the failure to sign Alexandr Hleb, Diego, Wesley Sneijder or Rafael van der Vaart all contribute to this. The latter two are still available, so act fast!

1.4 Louis van Gaal - curse or blessing for FC Bayern?
The new diamond formation is not popular, especially because playing Franck Ribery at the tip of the diamond (instead of on the left) prevent him from using his pace and making “inward” runs from out wide. There’s also some dissatisfaction with Mark van Bommell playing as a #6 instead of #8.

1.5 The principle of performance and the lack of application
The players need to be selected on merit, not reputation. Bastian Schweinsteiger is again the target here.

1.6 False pride during transfers, media spectacle of the Board
The club should have sold Ribery to Real Madrid and used that money to strengthen the team.