The Bayern Fans’ View On Wednesday’s Game With SB Nation’s Bavarian FB Works

Ahead of Wednesday’s Bayern Munich-Celtic game we spoke to Mike Lynch of SB Nation’s Bayern Munich site - Bavarian FB Works - to get the view of the Munich fans.

Firstly we spoke about the reaction from Bayern fans to the draw:

“I don't know if you watch the American version of The Office, but there is a pretty popular GIF of Michael Scott yelling "NO!" over and over again. Ya, that was me. As a Celtic fan myself, I hated that Celtic got drawn into another group that would be damn near impossible to qualify out of and much worse, against my other favourite team in Bayern Munich. On the plus side, however, every big club that comes into Paradise absolutely gushes about it's atmosphere, and I greatly look forward to seeing our reactions after that match.”

On Bayern’s indifferent start to the season:

“Well the fans’ reaction has been sheer and utter frustration. After bowing out of the Champions League last season earlier than expected despite having a so called "CL specialist" for a manager, a lot of fans were very apprehensive to start the season. When that start didn't go as well as it should have, a lot of us felt even more concerned than if this were Carlo's first season. The clubs reaction of course, has been to fire Carlo.”

Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Bongarts/Getty Images

What went wrong with Carlo Ancelotti this season and was firing him the right decision:

“What went wrong was a clear lack of communication between the manager and his players. I'm sure Carlo has a great tactical mind for this game, but if you can't effectively communicate it to your players, it's useless. Unfortunately this led to Carlo losing the faith of the locker room. In any sport, once a coach loses the room, he needs to go. So yes, regardless of who we might have hired in his wake, his firing was the right decision.”

On the early differences new manager Jupp Heynckes has made to Bayern in his very brief time in charge and is bringing him back short term a good idea:

“He has absolutely made a difference if you look at this recent match against Freiburg (Bayern won 5-0). Granted they don't pose the stiffest competition, but it looked like our guys were playing with a renewed vigour and purpose not seen under Carlo. That's the thing about Jupp, he keeps things simple for his players to understand and he knows how to motivate them. His practice sessions are also much more intense and the result showed last Saturday. Bringing back one of the most respected figures in Munich was absolutely a capital idea.”

Photo by Jan Hetfleisch/Bongarts/Getty Images

The Bayern players that will pose the biggest threat to Celtic:

“This depends on who is on the pitch. Thiago Alcantara played the entire match against Freiburg and seemed gassed near the end of his match so it's doubtful he plays, but there is always the big #9 looming at the front that any team needs to be wary of. Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Muller are in fine form and with the possibility of James Rodriquez going in Thiago's place, there will no shortage of linkup play on the attack.”

Photo by Adam Pretty/Bongarts/Getty Images

On the Celtic players that Bayern need to be wary of:

“Scott Sinclair for one absolutely needs to be circled for this match. I truly feel he is one of the best kept secrets in Great Britain and seeing him recharge his career after an unfortunate spell at Aston Villa has been pure joy to watch. Of course, if Moussa Dembele plays, he definitely needs to be watched over too as he is a threat to score at any time. Last but not least, Scott Brown might not light up the stat sheet, but he has an undeniable effect on Celtic every time he's on the field. He also brings a physicality to his game that I'm not sure our midfielders are going to be prepared for. Except Arturo Vidal. He would relish going up against Broony.”

And finally, a prediction from the game

“3-1 to Bayern. I think you guys will get one back since our all world keeper Manuel Neuer's replacement is less than ideal, but I don't see how Bayern could lose at home in Jupp's first CL game back at the helm.”

Photo by Jan Hetfleisch/Bongarts/Getty Images

Thanks very much to Mike for taking the time to talk to us, you can follow him on Twitter here and follow the excellent Bavarian FB Works here.