Three points amidst a sea of draws

By: Jamie | October 26th, 2009

First, can I say, of course – of COURSE – Marko Marin finally manages to grab the Bundesliga goal he has deserved for over a month – when I’m not able to watch! Oh, life.

Second, well done Werder, for being the only team in the top four to pull of a rather emphatic win. It figures that our impressive run of clean sheets would be broken by a team in the relegation zone rather than a Hoffenheim or a Leverkusen. And only thirty seconds into the match. Woe. Tim Wiese must be furious at being so close to that clean sheet record only to have Sestak rip it away from him (and indeed he was, according to the Bremen website). But losing their extended clean sheet must have been the impetus for Werder – they were so mad that they proceeded to smash four past Bochum. Hunt and young Marko in the first half, Borowski in the second, and Özil finishing Bochum off into injury time. 4-1 to the Green-Whites.

Three vital points and, considering the other top four teams only managed draws, we have snuck in above Schalke (hooray!) and sit merely one point behind joint leaders Hamburg and Leverkusen.

So, is it too soon to be asking what our title chances might be like? The Green-Whites have certainly been convincing me lately that they would be up for the fight, but I’m not going to sing it from the mountaintops just yet. Last season is always the stark reminder of how different a team can be during the autumn and into the spring. Hoffenheim were Herbstmeister, then proceeded into an absolute freefall after the mid-season break. Meanwhile, Wolfsburg seemingly came out of nowhere during the spring to demolish opponents (sadly, Werder included), rocket up the league, and claim the championship trophy.

So I doubt I will be content to argue Werder’s claim to the title, basically, until we win it. The Bundesliga is as tight as ever. I don’t think anyone will be galloping away with the title – it will be close like it was last season. And I’m very much looking forward to seeing what happens. Unless Bayern or Schalke win. Then I’ll be mad.