Is Bayern Munich Sufficiently Prepared to Contend for the Treble?

FC Bayern has made some good additions to their squad. After a disastrous 2010-11 according to their standards, is Bayern prepared to return to the highs of 2009-2010?

I will present both sides of the argument and the reader's job is to tell me which side of the argument he/she resides with.

Five Reason Why Bayern are Prepared

The last line of defence is different from next season

 In goal is a complete giant and a supremely confident player, Manuel Neuer. Neuer pulled off numerous wonderful saves last season and is widely considered the best keeper in the world at the moment.

Neuer wants to win titles, and he was a big part of Schalke's run to the German Cup win and to the Champions League semifinals. The best thing about Neuer is he does not have any weaknesses.

Collecting balls following crosses was supposedly his weak point but he has seemingly overcome that. Considering that Bayern's defence is still not very strong, Neuer is the perfect person to have at the back.

The addition of Rafinha means that Bayern have two complete fullbacks for the first time since Willy Sagnol's days 

Rafinha and Arjen Robben look set to have a perfect partnership on the right side of the pitch. This also allows Philipp Lahm to switch back to the left side.

Lahm, in my opinion, at least is marginally better on the left side of the pitch.

Bundesliga.de, the official website of the Bundesliga, recently compiled Lahm's statistics on both sides and apparently, Lahm happens to be a better defender on the left.

Bayern needs his defensive side more than his attacking side. Also, Lahm will link up with Franck Ribery. Ribery is seemingly very excited about Lahm's switch to his flank.

The coach has a very good philosophy

 The coach is prepared to make changes in tactics and take up a slightly more defensive minded approach. While Leverkusen attacked most of the time last season, they had quite a few 1-0 and 2-1 wins under their belt.

Leverkusen in-fact conceded more goals than Bayern last season, but the difference was that Leverkusen could shut down tight matches with the exception of perhaps one occasion (against Bremen) while Bayern couldn't.

Also, Bayern failed to score in a few matches where teams parked the bus in front of their goal. Every fan was literally yelling for Louis Van Gaal to change his formation but he refused to.

Jupp Heynckes will play with two strikers when he feels is right as he did when he was in charge of Leverkusen.

The strength in depth is better this year

 Nils Petersen and Takashi Usami might be little known players. However, last season, at one point, Bayern didn't have a single striker available.

Thomas Mueller played as striker in one match as a result. Miroslav Klose's experience might no longer be there, but the youthful Nils Petersen and Usami will provide ample backup.

Usami will also provide backup for the oft-injured players.

After every major international tournament involving the European sides Bayern suffers immensely as they provide at-least seven to 10 Germans to the national side

 This summer, none of the Bayern players had to play for their country in major tournaments. A summer filled with rest should do the FCB squad a world of good.

P.S. I was looking at the stats of last season. Bayern scored 81 goals in 34 matches, outscoring Borussia Dortmund by 14 goals. Their defence was the league's third best and conceded 40 goals, one more than Mainz but 18 more than Borussia Dortmund.

This again proves that defences win championships. What do you make of this stat?

Five Reasons Why Bayern Aren't Prepared

The central defence is still weak. Holger Badstuber, Breno, Anatoliy Tymoschchuk and Daniel Van Buyten all have their pros and cons 

At least one excellent and experienced central defender is required. Neuer can pull off as many saves as he wants but Bayern will still concede goals at unwanted moments if a good central defender is not purchased. Karl Heinz Rummenigge has promised to look elsewhere if Jerome Boateng does not become available.

Usami and Petersen are untested as far as the Bundesliga is concerned

 Usami plied his trade in the J-league while Petersen played in the 2.Bundesliga. Whether they will come good for Bayern is questionable.

The competition at Bayern is fierce and playing time might be hard to come by for these two. This could lead to some disgruntled members in the squad.

A good central defensive midfielder is required. Arturo Vidal might not join this season

 Bastian Schweinsteiger did not look good without Mark Van Bommel next to him. Also, while Luis Gustavo does well in that role, Gustavo is not a leader of the Van Bommel mould.

The same applies for Tymoschcuk. Jupp Heynckes can always play three defensive midfielders to cover up the defence but the offence might then suffer.

Rummenigge is confident that the FCB midfield is fine the way it is.

The lack of fullbacks as backups might be a problem

 Lahm hardly gets injured but if he does, there will hardly be an adequate cover. Hamit Altintop who is a fantastic utility player is not around and a player of similar fashion should be acquired.

David Alaba is seen by Heynckes as a midfielder and shone recently in a friendly against Trentino. Diego Contento has his ups and downs and is not the safest option in defence.

The same goes for Danijel Pranjic.

Some time will be required for adjustments

 Robben will need to get used to having Rafinha playing behind him while Neuer will have to get used to the new defence in front of him. Some points will be dropped in the beginning of the season.

If the time taken to adjust is too long, Bayern's hopes of winning the Bundesliga especially will disappear quickly mainly because it was the dropped points at the start of the season that cost Bayern the championship last season.

So, do you agree with me or not? I would like some of your thoughts.