Ja, welcome to another edition of the Rötliche und Teuflisch podcast. I’m your host Werner and my friend Jakob joins me as always. How are you Jakob.
Jakob: I am good. Quite good. Really good.
Werner: And you have every right to be. We are one-third of the way through the season and we are top of the table.
Jakob: Ja, and nobody predicted it.
W: Our beloved Kaiserslautern was supposed to be fighting valiantly against relegation …
J: But here we are.
W: Ja, but here we are. Take that pundits. We don’t care what you think.
J: The 2.Liga is a bit topsy turvy. Werder Bremen are in the relegation zone. Osbnabrück who got promoted along with us are sixth. Düsseldorf are ninth and Hannover are tenth. Schalke is third, this is unsurprising. So is Nürnberg in second.
W: I’m baffled by Werder.
J: It is baffling. Marc van Bommel has been fired which isn’t surprising.
W: They’ll turn it around, won’t they?
J: Ja, they’ve got the talent and the money.
W: Enough about Werder already. I am done with them, I don’t want to even think about them anymore.
J: What would you prefer to think about?
W: How about our scoring. Four goals in the last five matches.
J: Right. Yet we’ve won three and drawn two. Clearly, our defense is solid.
W: Ja, our defense is good but we have to start scoring more.
J: We have hit the woodwork a remarkable ten times in the last five matches. Four in a single match against Greuther Fürth.
W: Ten?
J: Ja, ten.
W: I know we have hit the woodwork a lot, but ten? Wow.
J: And if you look at our xG for the last five matches, our average xG is 1.48. That’s nearly 1.5. So the statistics show we are creating plenty of chances. Just watching us and you know we’re so close so often. But the last pass doesn’t connect or the cross was a millimeter too high and etc.
W: Here’s a bottom line statistic: Muhammed Kiprit has seven goals.
J: Ja, and he’s even missed a few matches injured. So, ja, Muhammed is playing really well. So is Marlon Ritter and Rene Klingenburg. They are a dominant force in the midfield.
W: Didn’t Pucci call them a dynamic duo?
J: Ja, I believe he did.
W: But Billy Arce. He’s so erratic.
J: That’s true. But he’s young and adapting to German culture. Don’t forget how hard it is to play in a foreign country when you’re young.
W: He’s 24.
J: Okay, fine. I’m just saying its hard.
W: Ja.
J: So far he’s been a good buy but not great. Sorry, a good free transfer as we haven’t bought anyone for money.
W: Maybe someday.
J: While Arce is promising and Kiprit delivers, Saydou Bangura has one goal and one assist.
W: Ja, we rely on Kiprit too much.
J: And our panic transfer deadline buy, loan signing Nikolaj Möller hasn’t been great. Nor has Jacopo Murano.
W: I had such high hopes for him. Mainly because how beautifully his name rolls of one’s tongue.
J: Ja, so we’re the Kiprit-Ritter-Klingenburg show until further notice.
W: We should talk about the defense.
J: Ja, lets.
W: Its good.
J: Ja, true. Tied for least goals with Schalke at nine conceded in twelve. Pucci seems to have settled on Molla Wagué as Boris Tomiak’s partner.
W: Ja, Oliver Hüsing hasn’t inspired confidence, has he.
J: No, he hasn’t. So Wagué isn’t much with the ball but he sure defends well. Hüsing and the other two central defenders … uh … Ibrahima Cissé and Hamza Çetinkaya are probably better on the ball and better passers, but clearly Pucci wants the better defender in there.
W: So we’ve got competition for the left wing back?
J: Ja, Amilcar Silva and Lorenzo Filippini are very different players. Silva is either hot or cold it seems. Filippini seems more reliable and Pucci has been picking him over Silva. The fullback from last season, Neal Gibs doesn’t even make the bench anymore.
W: Why do you think that is?
J: Gibs was good enough for 3.Liga but its clear that Pucci doesn’t rate him.
W: And Zimmer?
J: Ja, our captain is the regular starter, but Robin Becker is getting a decent amount of playing time. Both are solid.
W: And we never talk about Avdo Spahic.
J: Ja, he and Julian Niehues are automatic. Both are ultra reliable, steady. Not really much to say. They do their jobs and do them well.
W: Alright, lets talk about a match yesterday.
J: Alright, its become a regular occurrence, we score then defend the lead. The goal was a bit of bad luck for Holstein Kiel as the defender judged the arc of the ball wrong because of the strong winds. Muhammed assumed he’d miss it and was in alone on goal.
W: Ok, but we were pretty lucky late in the match, weren’t we?
J: Definitely. They created numerous chances and even hit the crossbar. But we held.
W: But we held. That’s really been the story this season, no?
J: You speak the truth.
W: Alright, lets get to questions. I have one from your Mom.
J: Alright. What does my Mom have to say?
W: Okay, jokampner222 on Twitter asks if we’re going to sign a forward to partner with Kiprit.
J: Ja, I would think so. This summer Pucci brought in a busload of trialists for forward. He signed Murano and brought in Möller. I don’t think either are what we’re looking for. The problem we have just right now is we have no money to spend. I guess we wait and see if we have money in the summer. If Pucci gets a striker in January to pair with Kiprit, he’ll be a loan signing.
W: Do you have a question?
J: I do. Um … wait … I have it here somewhere … ja its an email … epucci at 1fck.com asks if we think we’ll get promoted again.
W: You’re kidding, right?
J: Um, no. The top boss himself.
W: So he listens to our podcast? I thought managers didn’t pay attention to media let alone social media.
J: Well, lets just answer his question.
W: Ja.
J: Ja, me too.
W: Well, there you have it. And lets end with the bombshell discovery that the manager listens to our podcast.
J: Or is at least aware that we exist.