According to a report from kicker journalist Georg Holzner (as captured by @iMiaSanMia), Bayern Munich board member for sport Max Eberl might under fire at the club as things could be festering internally about the executive’s progress (or lack thereof) in revamping the team and its budget:
There are some irritations behind the scenes over Max Eberl, especially in terms of contract extensions and communication with the club’s higher-ups. Within the club it is said that Eberl tends to do it all alone. Regarding the extensions, the club’s top management is very surprised by the reported figures for Davies & Musiala. After all, before the start of the season, Eberl was clearly given the task of reducing the wage bill – without making concessions for individuals.
The lack of a deadline from Eberl for the players, such as Kimmich, is also viewed very critically internally. Likewise, the club’s goal was to offload several big earners (like Goretzka and Coman), which Eberl has not managed to do so far. After a year of record revenues and impressive profits, Bayern are in danger of being in the red this financial year – therefore the supervisory board is taking a very close look at the finances and on the further actions of Eberl, on whom the pressure will grow in the next weeks.
That is interesting to say the least. For his part, Eberl addressed the kicker report during his press conference on Friday morning.
”I smiled to be honest. We don’t need to talk about a lack of communication. We try to make the best sporting decisions not just for today but also for tomorrow and the day after tomorrow,” said Eberl (as captured by @iMiaSanMia). “Christoph Freund and I are trying to manage the complexity between football, finances and planning.
“This real-time reporting is something that brings a lot of speculation and discussion. It’s a new form of journalism. We’ve hardly had any questions about Kiel, which is a pity because every game is important. But that’s how it is in the window.”
While not necessarily operating under a gun or anything, Eberl clearly has objectives for things that he needs to achieve, but none of them are coming easily.
Want to cut the budget? Good luck convincing another club to take on Coman, Gnabry, or Goretzka at this point. Coman and Gnabry have serially underachieved, while numerous reports have indicated just how badly Eberl wants to get rid of Goretzka (not exactly creating the best — or any — leverage).
Overpaying for Davies and Musiala could become a reality as the numbers that each player will get likely exceed where the club thought it would need to go last summer. Leroy Sané’s pending free agency is a whole separate issue that needs to be dissected as well.
Bayern Munich has issues that need to be fixed and it seems — if true — that kicker’s report indicates not everyone internally is sure that Eberl is the right man for the job.
Bavarian Podcast Works — Weekend Warm-up Show Season 4, Episode 29
Bayern Munich is in the middle of quite a few things at the moment, so let’s try to tackle some of the most pertinent topics of discussion. Here is what we have on tap for this edition of the Weekend Warm-up Show:
- Mathys Tel’s transfer situation is a failure by the club, the coaching staff, and the player. None of them had a plan for this season and it led to this.
- If Tottenham Hotspur wants to pay a crazy fee for Tel, Bayern Munich should sell him.
- No one should be calling for Vincent Kompany’s head, but he does need to be held accountable for the team’s performances of late — and his man management, which is leaving a lot to be desired.
- Niko Kovač was hired by Borussia Dortmund…is that a good fit?
- Bayern Munich could miss out Xavi Simons as he looks likely to make a permanent move to RB Leipzig.
Song of the Week: “What’s on Your Mind (Pure Energy)” by Information Society
I can’t explain why, but this song has popped into my head a few times lately, so — what the hell — why not.
Released in 1988, Information Society snuck in the pure 80s sound of “What’s on Your Mind (Pure Energy)” right before the musical carousel was going to turn again. Enjoy:
Bavarian Podcast Works — Preview Show: Bayern Munich vs. Holstein Kiel
Bayern Munich is coming off of consecutive “meh” showings and could use a boost — enter 17th-place Holstein Kiel, who is not playing all that bad at the moment.
Could this be the match where Bayern Munich’s attack finally looks like its old self? We’ll see…
Let’s talk about all of that and more on the Bavarian Podcast Works — Preview Show. This is what we have on tap:
- A look at the recent form of each team and where they fall in the Bundesliga table.
- A look at the rosters and injuries for Holstein Kiel and Bayern Munich.
- A guess at Bayern Munich’s starting XI.
- A prediction on the match.
Predictions
Bundesliga
Bayern Munich needs to have a better showing than it did in its previous two matches. There are a lot of reasons to doubt that it could happen, but — at some point — this team needs to break out of its funk.
A lot of what happened will depend on Vincent Kompany’s lineup selection, which has left something to be desire of late. While no one is expecting Holstein Kiel to display its DFB-Pokal voodoo from 2021, they could potentially frustrate the Bavarians.
In the end, Bayern Munich is too good and too strong to be held down for long in this match.
What about a little #ArpMagic? Eh…probably not.
Prediction: Bayern Munich 4-0 Holstein Kiel
Other Bundesliga Predictions:
- Werder Bremen 1-2 Mainz 05
- Heidenheim 1-3 Borussia Dortmund
- VfB Stuttgart 2-0 Borussia Mönchengladbach
- VfL Bochum 0-2 SC Freiburg
- St. Pauli 1-2 FC Augsburg
- Union Berlin 1-3 RB Leipzig
- Eintracht Frankfurt 2-2 Wolfsburg
- Bayer Leverkusen 3-1 Hoffenheim
Prediction Records
- Last Week Bundesliga: 2-7 (Through Matchday 19)
- Overall Bundesliga: 80-91
- UEFA Nations League: 81-66
- Champions League: 81-63 (Through Matchday 8)
- DFB-Pokal: 40-16 (Through Round of 16)
- Total: 282-236
- Perfect Picks: 43 (when the score and winner is predicted exactly)
