Bobby Wood’s season has been a struggle, but his club manager says he hasn’t given up faith just yet.
Wood hasn’t scored a Bundesliga goal for Hamburg since August 25 as the forward has played a total of 1089 minutes without finding the back of the net. The extended drought has seen the U.S. Men’s National Team forward bounce in and out of the lineup, making 16 appearances with 14 starts through 21 matches.
Despite his struggles, though, his manager, Bernd Hollerbach says he doesn’t want Wood to change.
“Of course Bobby would rather put the ball in,” Hollerbach said, according to Hamburger Morgenpost. “It is important that he shows commitment and does not get stuck. I’m sure if he keeps this up, he’ll score goals again. Bobby is not having a good time. But I told him to stay positive. If he keeps working well and shows commitment, then he will reward himself for it.”
Wood and Hamburg currently sit second to last in the Bundesliga, three points behind 16th-place Mainz and 15th-place Werder Bremen. The club returns to action on Saturday against Christian Pulisic and Borussia Dortmund.
Wood not scoring is hardly their only problem. I don’t understand wh clubs like this don’t go out and spend more during transfer windows. The difference between first and second division football is big enough that you figure that it would be worth it for them to spend $15 or $20 million to get 3 or 4 good players if it means they could stay up.