analysis
FC Schalke 04 has slipped into a downright precarious situation in many areas. The club needs a change, which has now been heralded with some personnel decisions.
When large companies get into trouble and the business model no longer works so well, they often talk about a tanker that has become extremely sluggish. This (linguistic) image could currently also be applied quite well to FC Schalke 04. The Revierklub hasn’t moved for some time now. Quite the opposite.
In purely sporting terms, things are looking downright devastating at the moment, the professional team – self-proclaimed promotion candidates – is currently on the verge of falling into the 3rd league. The situation in S04’s core business is threatening, even if the season is still long. The warning signs are clear. If there was further relegation, the club’s existence would simply be at risk.
Great responsibility for the employees
There have also been problems for a long time when it comes to sponsorship, internal structures and some other areas. After all, the Schalke Group is currently responsible for around 400 permanent employees. As well as an even larger number of freelancers, especially on home game days. Financing must also be secured for the future. Actually a personnel dimension of a better-off Bundesliga soccer team.
And to make matters worse, the club continues to be burdened by an enormous debt burden of around 180 million euros, which severely limits the ability of those responsible at Schalke to act and makes tough austerity measures unavoidable. A mixed situation that is not suitable for looking particularly optimistically into the future. For a company in a comparably precarious situation, one would probably start to talk about a restructuring case.
Personnel change
In order to get these diverse problems under control, FC Schalke 04 has begun a personnel shake-up. The renovation is underway. In the sporting area at the beginning of the week with the replacement of the head coach position. The Belgian Karel Gearets should lead the team into safe waters in the short term and back into the Bundesliga.
But above all the change in the position of CEO is likely to have a more lasting impact on the development of the club, which has around 178,000 members. 39-year-old Matthias Tillmann is the successor to the hapless Bernd Schröder, who was recently given early leave.
Accusations from the clique
Tillmann, who starts his new job on January 1, 2024, does not seem to be a random choice. Together with the S04 supervisory board chairman Axel Hefer, the financial expert – who has already worked in New York and London – worked for seven years, including on the board of a company in the travel industry. There, Tillmann had proven to be assertive and decisive and did not shy away from unpopular measures.
Qualities that those responsible apparently consider to be particularly important for the future of the club. “We are convinced that for the further development of the club we need someone at the top who has a wealth of experience across departments”said Hefer.
After this became known, Hefer was often accused of being a clique. In these difficult Schalke days, however, trusting work with a former, close colleague seems to be more important to Hefer than the risk of this decision.
Change into a modern company?
But what exactly is supposed to happen? According to information from the Sportschau, the speed of implementation of decisions – not least by Tillmann – should be significantly increased at the sluggish tanker Schalke – on a small and large scale. In order to significantly increase the ability to act.
In addition, clear goals should be set for the individual departments with the help of data-based and extensive surveys. For example, when it comes to sponsorship and the search for a new main sponsor or other important areas. In the future, the changes should even extend into the area of sporting competence, for example when surveying the fitness values of professionals.
Out for Knäs next summer?
The football club’s particularly emotional approach at Schalke is intended to be brought closer to the planning and structures of a modern company. Tillmann, a Schalke member since 1995, is not a proven football expert; he himself played fourth-rate in the amateur league.
It can therefore hardly be assumed that, under these conditions of change, sports director Peter Knäbel will continue to be responsible in this position after mid-2024, when his contract expires. There will probably be some (personnel) changes at S04 in the coming months.