10 weeks of the Bundesliga - what's new?

In a bar after Saturday's edition of Der Klassiker, I discussed with a Bayern fan the issue of whether the German champions had intentionally set out to dismantle their rivals by buying key players - i.e. Robert Lewandowski and Mario Götze.

The question of whether Bayern are "poachers" is all the more heated since rumors are swirling that they also want to get their greedy Bavarian mitts on Dortmund forward Marco Reus.

"What are they supposed to do?" the Bayern fan said. "At his current price, he's a bargain. If Bayern don't snap him up, someone else will."

The man had a point. It's a badly kept secret that Reus can write his ticket out of Kloppville for a fixed sum 25 million euros, the buy-out clause in his current contract. In a world where roughly four times that much has been paid for Gareth Bale and Angel di Maria, and twice that amount for Mesut Özil, Reus is an absolute steal.

And that's a big problem for Dortmund. With qualification for the Champions League next season looking anything but assured, it would be a loyal player, indeed, who would wave away a big chunky pay raise to stay with BVB in the current circumstances.

Reus resisted Bayern's advances in the past, but that doesn't mean he won't change his mind. Or decide to move abroad. In any case, this won't be the last word on this subject.

New names in the chasing pack

With Dortmund currently in the relegation zone, seventeen points behind Bayern, it's safe to say they won't be challenging for the title this season. Schalke and Leverkusen, ten and eight points behind respectively, aren't exactly making the Bavarians quake in their boots either.

Instead, it'other teams are occupying the spots behind the champions this season. Second-placed Wolfsburg put on a superb display on Saturday, winning at a canter over a Stuttgart side, which really didn't play badly at all. They're one of the few sides in the Bundesliga with talents - like Ricardo Rodriguez and Kevin de Bruyne - who would have a shot at cracking Bayern's starting eleven.

And third-placed Borussia Mönchengladbach once again showed that they are one of the most cohesive units in the Bundesliga in handing high-flying Hoffenheim their first season loss. The Foals ruthlessly counter-attacked their opponents to impeccable effect - after holding Bayern Munich to a scoreless draw in the last round.

Next up: Dortmund. If Mönchengladbach get a result in that match, they'll surely feel that a Champions League spot is within reach this season.

New trend in coach selection

Once upon a time, larger teams that found themselves near the bottom of the table would hire big-name coaches to turn things around. These days they're just as likely to promote the youth team coach to run the big show. It's something fairly unique to the Bundesliga.

Hoffenheim, Mainz and Freiburg have had success with Markus Gisdol, Thomas Tuchel and Christian Streich, who earned their stripes further down the food chain. That might have influenced the thinking of Hamburg and Bremen, when they appointed, respectively, Joe Zinnbauer and Viktor Skripnik from the U23 sides.

They could have made worse choices. Under Zinnbauer, Hamburg have managed wins against Dortmund and Leverkusen and a draw versus Bayern. Likewise, a moribund Bremen came back to record an away victory over Mainz in Skripnik's first league match in charge.

On the other hand, promoting a youth coach isn't an automatic panacea: look at Thomas Schneider last year at Stuttgart.