Before the start of the winter preparation for the 3rd division, the remaining twelve professionals from MSV Duisburg will receive their individual criticism.
After 13 players from MSV Duisburg already received their forecasting half-year report in the first part (read here), only the second part follows with the remaining twelve players. The focus here is on the offense.
Kolja Pusch
Adductor problems and flu set the forward back in the fall. Since the end of November, the former Krefeld player has been back in the lineup and scored a dream goal against Dresden. Nevertheless, Pusch is not making enough of an impact overall.
Forecasting grade: satisfactory minus (3-).
Alaa Bakir
Bakir remains dogged by injury luck. Apart from six of the first seven games, in which he failed to meet expectations, the winger was out due to meniscus problems.
Forecasting grade: adequate (4).
Hamza Anhari
The young Anhari was substituted ten times and was last left out of the squad twice. The home-grown talent is still eligible to play for the U19s and had a great opportunity in the narrow home defeat to Ingolstadt in mid-November when the score was 1:2 shortly before the end.
Forecasting grade: adequate (4).
Alexander Esswein
The big earner and offensive player with a lot of Bundesliga experience, who was planned as Stoppelkamp’s successor, is the biggest disappointment of the first half of the season. The veteran scored the first goal from the penalty spot against Ingolstadt, but also seems to have an attitude problem. The result: Boris Schommers has hardly been using the 33-year-old lately.
Forecasting grade: inadequate (5).
Niklas Kölle
After his long shoulder injury, Kölle is the bearer of hope at MSV. The left winger identifies fully with the club and is one of the few offensive players who can be trusted to pull off a stroke of genius. Since his comeback in mid-November, the summer signing of the previous season quickly developed into a key player and scored three goals in the last three games of the year.
Forecasting grade: very good minus (1-).
Thomas Pledl
Pledl suffered the same fate as Kölle and did not return quite as strongly as his attacking partner. The former Bundesliga player is good at dribbling, but misses too many big chances. However, we can still expect a lot from him in the second half of the season.
Forecasting grade: satisfactory (3).
Tim Köther
The 22-year-old can be used flexibly on the left side. After the beginnings in front, Schommers pulled the former Heidenheim player back into the back four. In his case, the opposite is true to Baran Mogultay. Defensively, Köther is vulnerable, but at least he dares to cross the ball halfway dangerously.
Forecasting grade: sufficient (4).
Robin Müller
Both Ziegner and Schommers quickly placed their trust in Müller. The substitute had initial difficulties making the leap from the regional league to the 3rd division. His first goal of the season against Dresden showed the potential of the former St. Pauli player.
Forecasting grade: sufficient (4).
That leaves the four outfield strikers. Pascal Köpke, Benjamin Girth, Chinedu Ekene and Phillip König have scored zero goals between them. For this reason alone, the quartet deserves a grade of insufficient (5) in the forecasting category.
Ekene was allowed to prove himself ten times, but he lacks the third division class. He was not even in the squad six times in a row in the final sprint, but he is also injured. The same applies to König. After a brief flurry in the summer preparation, the 23-year-old is more often not part of the squad than he is on the pitch.
Ziegner and Ralf Heskamp had high hopes for Von Köpke. But the son of former national keeper Andreas Köpke was also miles away from his top form. Added to this is his high susceptibility to injury. Knee problems have sidelined the striker since October 21. Return: unknown.
Girth, on the other hand, proved at least in the pre-season that he knows where the goal is. The former Braunschweig player only played against Dresden from the start because Sebastian Mai was suspended. It is not without reason that at least one new striker, ideally with second division experience, is to be signed in the winter.