Just a few days over a year ago, Liverpool swept in at the last minute during a pursuit that Bayern Munich thought it had wrapped up — Florian Wirtz — allowing Arne Slot to sweep in and convince the young German that his plan was better than anything the Bavarians could show him.
Wirtz believed in Slot (the perils of youth) and made his decision to pack his bags for Merseyside.
In a very similar scenario, Bayern Munich was the clubhouse leader on Newcastle United attacker Anthony Gordon for months and, yet again. allowed another club to come and swipe a prized transfer target.
This time it was FC Barcelona.
Hasn’t anyone at Säbener Straße seen Glengarry Glen Ross? (NSFW clip below):
Aside of the inside details we already know, surely more will be revealed (check out everything on the pursuit here). Maybe Bayern Munich will come out of this shining again —the Bavarians did use Wirtz’s arrival at Liverpool in an advantageous way, as it freed up an easy signing Luis Díaz.
That move worked out brilliantly. Maybe this time, though, it will not turn out so lucky.
This is not a debate on whether or not Wirtz or Gordon is worth the money ultimately spent on them (both sides of that argument have valid points), but more of a critique on identifying the ‘ideal target’ and closing the deal. Rightly or wrongly, there is a perception that Max Eberl was worked over in negotiations with Alphonso Davies, Jamal Musiala, Joshua Kimmich, and Dayot Upamecano. With more two more big losses (Wirtz, Gordon) on his resume, Eberl’s ability to close a deal is coming more and more into question during a time when he is — allegedly — under heavy scrutiny from supervisory board members Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Uli Hoeneß.
To be clear, Eberl has done some amazing things, but inside the walls of Säbener Straße the perception of him could be different than that of many fans.
Bayern Munich supporters can sit back and wait until Plan B emerges, but a marquee club like FC Bayern cannot keep getting beat on players that it pursues for months, leads on, and then sits on its hands as other clubs spring into action.
Most importantly, though, it is about this two-year window. Sure, a club like Bayern Munich expects to be a serious threat for a treble every year, but it has the right coach and its has the right core group — now Bayern Munich just needs a few more players.
Gordon, a player who Kompany reportedly wanted, could have been one of those add-ons. Don’t get it wrong, though, Bayern Munich can absolutely find another player, but will he be as good a fit as the coach or the club thought Gordon would be? It is a legitimate question and one that maybe should have been further explored before Bayern Munich took a laissez-faire approach with the negotiations.
Bayern Munich is in a precarious spot. Specifically, seeing Paris Saint-Germain have Bradley Barcola as their bench option in the Champions League is what spurred the Bavarians to get fully serious about this move for Gordon.
Bayern Munich’s three big stars (Harry Kane, Michael Olise, Luis Díaz) all racked up a massive amount of minutes this season and are playing in the World Cup. Can the club expect all three players to be fresh and healthy for 2026/27? That might be asking a lot.
Jamal Musiala getting back to his old form is not a certainty. Serge Gnabry had a great season, but had a big injury and it fair to wonder if he can do it again. Karl is young, developing, and is hopefully ready to make the next big leap toward stardom. However, there are a lot of “ifs” associate with each player.
Moreover, Kompany wanted this deal and has earned the trust of fans and the club alike. In the end, Bayern bailed on a deal over €10 million in potential add-ons. To win big, sometimes you have to take chances and Gordon might have presented a risk, but there was also potential for a big reward as well.
Maybe there was another reason why things turned out this way, though. For entertainment purposes, you could consider a couple of our patented Tinfoil Hat Theories:
FC Barcelona was bullied into outbidding Bayern Munich on Gordon to prove to Hoeneß they are not broke after his comments last weekend.
Hoeneß purposely made those comments to push Barca into overspending on Gordon because Bayern Munich wants Marcus Rashford, who is now likely head back to Manchester United after his loan expires. There is a little hope for Barca to keep Rashford after inking Gordon, but it might prove tough.
Those were fun, eh?
So…what should the club do? Who should they get? What is the next course of action?
For starters, rip that damn coffee machine out of Säbener Straße for the time being.
Song of the Week: “Time for Livin’” by Beastie Boys
Back in the late 80s and early 90s, Beastie Boys were mostly known for their work in the rap / hip-hop world, but they were a group with multiple talents — including actually playing instruments (which — believe it or not — was a big knock on them at the time).
In 1992, they released the “Check Your Head” album and it was a mix of some songs that sounded like the old Beastie Boys (“Pass the Mic” or “So What’cha Want”), but this featured track represented a foray into the expanded music universe for Beastie Boys.
With a real punk feel and sound, this always captured my ear:
Entertainment Rundown
Daredevil: Born Again — Season Two
Okay, let’s get into the second season:
Picking up right where the first season left off, Matt Murdock and Karen Page are in hiding, The Kingpin (aka Wilson Fisk) is running rampant with his Anti Vigilante Task Force, and tension is everywhere.
The primary themes of the show are Fisk’s rise to power, his abuse, of power, and Daredevil’s undying need to get him out of power.
Sometimes with this show, it is hard to compartmentalize where the rest of the superheroes are while Fisk is running wild in New York. Spider-Mian? Where are you, pal? Marvel wants a comprehensive universe, but it does open itself up for a lot of holes.
The core cast of Charlie Cox (Daredevil / Matt Murdock), Vincent D’Onofrio (The Kingpin / Wilson Fisk), Deborah Ann Woll (Karen Page), Arty Froushan (Buck Cashman), and Clark Johnson (Cherry) are all awesome.
I have to say that I was impressed by the work of Michael Gandolfini (Daniel Blake). Yup, James Gandolfini’s son. You can see a lot the same facial expressions and mannerisms. His character was conflicted to say the least, but Gandolfini did well with it.
I will say, it was nice to see Matthew Lillard in the show. His role as Stu in Scream was awesome.
We saw the return of Jessica Jones and Luke Cage, which we assume will be for future Disney work (whether its within this Daredevil show or on their own adventures).
My absolute favorite part of the season was watching The Kingpin absolutely wreck all of those rioters. We had seen glimpses of Fisk’s power all season, but that was an impressive — and fun! — display.
There were some terrific fight scenes for Daredevil this season as well.
I am always against superheroes revealing heir secret identities. Take that for whatever it is worth.
Overall, the season was a good continuation of the story, but it is hard to think that being on Disney has not dulled the show’s sharp edges. It’s not the same as the Netflix version, but it is still good…just not great. While I liked the second season, it would be hard to argue that it was as good or better than the first season. The third season could determine whether this show has a future or not. I hope it does as I like the story and the characters, but is it doing enough to win over new fans or convince old fans to stick around? That will ultimately make the decision for Disney.
Rating: 7.50 / 10.00
The Punisher: One Last Kill
This is an easy review as this was a one-off show that Jon Bernthal pushed to make. Let’s quickly dive into the details:
The entire show was 48 minutes, which is wild.
The first half is actually kind of uncomfortable as Frank Castle is dealing with major PTSD as the neighborhood around him is unraveling.
Of course, there is always some trouble for good, ol’ Frank — and he rises to the occasion like no other which made for an awesome second half of the flick.
Bernthal was great (again) as The Punisher and the minimal commitment for this made it very easy to watch and absorb.
Overall, it was exactly what I hoped it would be — I did ding it a bit for the first half, which was a rough watch. Any fan of The Punisher will appreciate this and it is a seamless fit into his overall storyline at Disney. Admittedly (again), I do like the Netflix version a little better, but there is a price to be paid for rollin’ with The Mouse.
Rating: 8.00 /10.00
Note: Remember, I try to avoid spoilers as much as I can, so I do try to not get too specific where possible.
Predictions
Well, here we go again!
Germany is back in action on Sunday against Finland and it is becoming increasingly more difficult to understand what Julian Nagelsmann is doing.
While the match vs. Finland appears to be one that Germany should win easily, let’s harken back to the dark days of 2022, when Hansi Flick’s squad performed very poorly in their World Cup tune-ups. That lingering stink never left the squad as they — again — got bounced in the Group Stage in Qatar.
What a massive disappointment that was, but enough about the past. As much as people will want to say this does not matter — it does. Germany has to establish itself right now. There is no holding back or waiting, it is time to get after it (even if the coach seems like he is about to unravel).
Prediction: Germany 3-0 Finland.
We are starting a new prediction season with this game (for the UCL final, though, will count toward last season’s record….I know, I am a stickler for such dumb things).
Here are some other predictions for the weekend:
Champions League
Paris Saint-Germain 3-1 Arsenal
International Friendlies
Iran 2-1 Gambia
Andorra 1-2 Iraq
South Africa 2-0 Nicaragua
Bosnia-Herzegovina 1-0 North Macedonia
Scotland 3-0 Curacao
Ecuador 2-1 Saudi Arabia
South Korea 3-0 Trinidad & Tobago
Mexico 2-1 Australia
Japan 2-1 Iceland
Singapore 3-0 Mongolia
Switzerland 4-0 Jordan
Czechia 2-1 Kosovo
Cape Verde 1-2 Serbia
Poland 1-0 Ukraine
United States 1-2 Senegal
Brazil 4-0 Panama
Bulgaria 1-2 Montenegro
Slovakia 3-0 Malta
Norway 2-1 Sweden
Türkiye 2-0 North Macedonia
Austria 3-0 Tunisia
Colombia 3-1 Costa Rica
Canada 2-0 Uzbekistan
Croatia 1-1 Belgium
Georgia 2-1 Romania
Morocco 4-0 Madagascar
Wales 2-1 Ghana
Haiti 0-1 New Zealand
Albania 1-0 Israel
DR Congo 0-2 Denmark
Netherlands 4-0 Algeria
Luxembourg 0-5 Italy
Poland 1-1 Nigeria
Sweden 2-0 Greece
Spain 3-0 Iraq
France 3-1 Ivory Coast
Mexico 2-2 Serbia
Canada 2-0 Ireland
Belgium 4-0 Tunisia
Portugal 4-0 Chile
Bolivia 0-3 Scotland
Prediction Records
Total: 532-352
Perfect Picks: 55
Bundesliga Last Matchday: 3-6
Bundesliga Overall: 167-139
DFB-Pokal: 52-11
World Cup Qualifiers/Friendlies: 164-95
Champions League: 100-80
Club World Cup: 39-23
Club Friendlies: 4-0
Franz Beckenbauer Supercup: 1-0
If you are looking for more Bayern Munich and German national team coverage, check out the latest episodes of Bavarian Podcast Works, which you can get on Acast, Spotify, Apple, or any leading podcast distributor…
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