According to a new article from Kicker, Michael Skibbe has planned to continue the season without a new forward. Is this the right decision? Without Amanatidis, Liberopoulos, Fenin, and Korkmaz, who else can play forward at the Bundesliga level? Right now it seems like we "only" have Alex Meier. Is this the chance for young talents to come up and show their ability, like Tsoumou, Hess, Alvarez? (just off the top of my head, I could be missing someone) Or do you think Skibbe is just saying this so we don't expect too much? On the other hand, Skibbe had stated before he will only get a striker that he has coached before, and now it seems like there are none left that fit the shoes we need to be filled. What's your opinions on this I would really enjoy hearing what you guys have to say!

Hey
i think there will be no new striker in the winter period. If it was my choise i would get someone. Not a someone with a good technique but someone who is good in scoring. But we wint get a problem if we don't buy someone. Korkmaz isn't hurt badly he will surely be in the first game against Bremen. And adding to the ones you already named tehre is Tosun. And i think all of them are skilled enough to play Bundesliga. This would be a big chance for one of them to make it.

Gekas didnt join, I heard for salary reasons, and i respect that decision by Eintracht. There is a certain salary average at the club and bringin in someone on loan who earns far more than the others might spark bad vibes in the team. I'm also not sad that Lincoln was not signed, i reckon he didnt commit fully to the club but wanted to move on after being seen at Eintracht - and he's a bit of a diva and hot headed (-> red cards).

The club is looking for a striker that can help straight away, fully developed and experienced. Skibbe said that Gekas was a hot lead but that there are no more hot leads currently. I think we're in a good table position to give the youngsters a chance, it should be good for their development and experience to move up to the next level. Better now than if we would be in relegation battle.

One more info: Steinhoefer is now on loan to 2. Bundesliga team Kaiserslautern who are top of the table. They do not have a clause in the contract to sign him in the summer. A good move I think as he can prove himself and if his performances get better we can have him back. I'd like to see him stay long term at Eintracht.

Steinhoefer went to kaiserslautern which is a very good move, as he would see absolute minimal time on the field in Frankfurt for the rest of the season. Rafik Djebbour, the Algerian national team striker is not coming anymore after both clubs had agreed before for him to come on loan with an option to buy. Now we have Primorac in the training camp with us, as a test player to see whether he is Bundesliga quality or not. I do not think that we should buy anyone else unless they are an obvious improvement and a stand-out player. We already have 26 points, why not let the younger players get some experience, who knows who might be the next Marin. After the Djebbour transfer problem that eventually made the deal fall through, there are new rumors that Skibbe is unhappy with Heribert Bruchhagen as of late, and he wants out at the end of the season.

Yep Skibbe is unhappy and keeps repeating that in public. Either he wants to get things to change or he really wants to get out at the end of his contract. I think he should have known when taking over, I just cannot believe that he was not made aware of the financial situation and strategy when his contract was settled.

And the Djebbour transfer - well all of a sudden AEK Athens doubled the fee and wanted it straight away efore it was a loan fee with the option to sign him in the summer) - pretty weird behaviour and a high risk to pay upfront for a player that no one had seen live before. I'm sure even Skibbe agrees that this was a too high risk to take.

Primorac will also not join for now, they keep an eye on him until the summer.

BTW - we have 24 points so far

I know that Amanatidis and Fenin are injured.

Are Liberopoulous & Korkmaz also injured?

If so then this is a real serious case of very bad luck.

Schobberobber schrieb:BTW - we have 24 points so far

Correction - 27 poiints

yessssss!! 27 points indeed!!!

and you - eintrachtami - specifically will be interested in the fact that we seem to have signed Ricardo Anthony Clark on loan til the end of the season.

But I do not know much of him other than he was sent off in a Confed Cup game v Italy after 33 minutes for foul play against Gattuso

And after kicking an opponent he was penalized with the record ban of 9 matches once in the MLS.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricardo_Clark

Presuming he is meant to replace Baijramovic for now in defensive midfield as the latter will have an op again.

Always a good correction when you can add three points to the tally!!!!


As for Clarke, I know him from going back to his college playing days and also with his time with the Dynamo. He is a def midfielder that can move forward, good spped and vision. I was never really sold on his on ball skills though. The rumor is that he will be key in the US' plans for the world cup in holding down the def with Onyewu on the sidelines. He is known for his physical style and should mix well with Herr Franz. I think that he should be much more successful than Caio and Mehdi was in transitioning to the Bundesliga.

With this signing I think that we will see a much more crowded midfield which will slow down the opposition quite succesfully. With no true forwards to speak of the counter attack will be of vital importance. What do you think

I'm really curious but right now I don't have an own opinion about him. The US played well last summer in South Africa - he must have been part of that team, so I really hope he can help us.

here's another link on Clark:

http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/66/united...ht-frankfurt

26 caps for the states is not bad i reckon.

interesting, maybe even promising signing!

cheers
SR

Well I think Clark will be a good fit to our style of play in Frankfurt. I am lucky that I was asked to attend the press conference for the official announcement to act as a translator for Ricardo Clark. If you have a question you would like for me to ask him leave it here and I will ask him as I am interviewing after the press conference for the Feb. 2010 English Newsletter. The press conference is scheduled for 13:30 CET , 21 Jan. 2010 so any questions after that time will not be able to be asked. For the American fans Germany is 6 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time.

Greetings, Eagles!

A Houston Dynamo fan here. A Ricardo Clark fan, too, or more simply "Rico" as he is known in Houston.

In short order I think you will come to appreciate what Rico brings. Outstanding vision, better than average speed, seldom caught out of position. His naughty feet make him a brilliant tackler. He looks for his opportunities to push into the final third and is a real offensive threat with the ball on his right foot. His quiet, almost shy, off-field personality is the opposite of his aggresive defensive style.

Do not be alarmed by the MLS record suspension he received in 2007. It was completely out of character and, as you might suspect, there is a story behind the story. He drew the suspension for kicking notorious dirty player, Carlos Ruiz. At the time, Ruiz was playing for Dynamo arch-rival FC Dallas and it is not exaggeration to say he was hated in every other MLS city for underhanded play and diving tactics. This incident is well documented on You Tube. Clark jumped to head a pass out of the box and Ruiz jumped into his back, knee first. Both men fell to the ground, Clark got up and kicked Ruiz in the shoulder area. In true Ruiz form, he stumbled a couple of steps then fell to the ground holding his face! I would never condone what Clark did but sometimes its true that the man who throws the second punch draws the harshest punishment. And sometimes, enough is enough. Clark left the pitch to a standing ovation and received another as he passed through the stands in civilian clothes the next game at which there was no shortage of, "FREE RICO," banners. Clark is class and quality and will be missed by all Dynamo fans.

I wish the Eagles much the success and look forward to following its progress and Rico's through the end of the season. And take care of Rico, we need him in the red, white and blue in South Africa!

Have fun,
DynamoGuy

Thanks for the info. hope you stick around and follow him through our newsletter....

Michael Skibbe has got his striker that he wanted. Maybe not Theo Gekas, but Halil Altintop is at practice with Eintracht and they are working on a contract that will see the Turkish striker move to Eintracht until the end of the season with a clause to purchase the player. Will he do well enough to take Amanatidis' spot for now? I know no one is the leader and striker that Amanatidis is but I would like to hope that Altintop can perform better than Liberopoulos. What are your opinions on this? Add me as a friend on facebook =) C.J. Zitterbart

I will wait till the signing is officially confirmed as there have been too many near misses recently!!

After watching Liberopolous last two performances, it's definitely time to get another striker in. Fenin and Korkmaz coming back from injury will give Eintracht more of an attacking threat although I shouldnt complain too much as recent results have been good.

Was also good to read some positive reports on Clark from people who know his game.

Altintop is confirmed now. After all a quite exciting transfer period for us!

I really think Liberopulos gets some harsh criticism he doesn't deserve (also in other German threads). He has a high work rate towrds the midfield and defensively, and with little support from midfield and only a few players playing near him his options are limited. I reckon he does a good job for what is possible, and a good striking partner and a more attacking tactic will see him score again also - he came close a few times.

On another note Oka Nikolov might be on the move to New York where Red Bull are bulding up a MLS team. It's not confirmed but the 2 year contract Eintracht offered to him has not been signed.