Borussia Dortmund: The Edin Terzić Conundrum

Another poor performance from Borussia Dortmund at the weekend again raises questions about the team's mentality, the coaching and the position of Edin Terzic the manager.

There have been numerous poor performances from Dortmund this season including insipid draws both home and away. The recent 1-1 draw in the first leg of the Champions League away to PSV Eindhoven, although on the face of it a good result with the home leg to come, was met with criticism for a lack of aggression and desire.

The 3-2 defeat to Hoffenheim had a sense of inevitability the moment Dortmund conceded a second goal that was entirely of their own making. Neither Emre Can nor Nico Schlotterbeck covered themselves in glory in a passage of play that stunned the Signal Iduna Park crown into silence.

There were signs of improvement during the rest of the first once the team found some rhythm. Marcel Sabitzer looked assured in midfield and the home team began to threaten more.

Dortmund's improvement was rewarded with two quickfire goals from Donyell Malen and Nico Schlotterbeck. It always looked like a third was going to be necessary. That prediction came true when Hoffenheim regained the lead following a quickfire Doppelpack from Maximillian Beier around the hour mark.

From then on, Dortmund looked bereft of ideas and struggled to break down a resolute Hoffenheim. Karim Adeyemi and Jamie Bynoe-Gittens came on and offered some home but there was no end result.

Where does this team go from here?

There seems to be no obvious tactical approach or style of play and the players look to be lacking in confidence. This fragility was woefully exposed by Hoffenheim's goals, none of which were the fault of stand-in keeper Alex Meyer.

Edin Terzić seems unable to change things from the bench and his first approach is to stiffle the opposition. When this fails, there isn't the cut and thrust to put teams on the back foot.

Terzić retains the support of Hans-Joachim Watzke and Matthias Sammer despite his poor record of four wins from fourteen games. Perhaps Watzke is weary that sacking Terzić could be one of his final acts before stepping away from his position as CEO.

The fans are getting impatient and think that something needs to be done. Bayern acted decisively to announce the departure of Thomas Tuchel after the defeat to Bochum. Borussia Dortmund seem less willing to take such a step and it seems like Terzic is untouchable.

At this stage it appears that their league position is the result of circumstances rather than by design. Perhaps the only thing left of this season is an unprobeable run in the Champions League. If and when that comes to an end it could be the time to thank Edin Terzic for his services and look for a replacement.