Schalke: Frank Kramer “a poor dog” – Thomas Reis as successor?

Frustration among fans, coach disillusioned

The sporting oath of disclosure was followed by the verbal one, when Frank Kramer sat at the press conference, visibly battered after Schalke 04’s desolate performance in the DFB Cup. “It leaves me almost speechless how we played this game. The defenselessness with which we went to work today is a mystery to me,” admitted the 50-year-old head coach in light of the 5-1 second-round defeat at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim. Sports director Rouven Schröder avoided clear statements about Kramer’s sporting future on Tuesday evening in Sinsheim.

“I don’t want to talk about personal details at all,” Schröder said when asked whether Kramer would still be on the Gelsenkirchen bench in Sunday’s Bundesliga game for the relegated team at Hertha BSC. You will first “give your opinion” in the hotel. “The end is open.” He also asked the players to do the same – if necessary even with a beer, which is known to loosen their tongues a bit.

“Frank Kramer is a poor dog. Who would like to swap places with him at the moment?” said Schröder, shaking his head in desperation. After the last four Bundesliga defeats in a row, including the 0: 3 on Friday also against Hoffenheim, the sporting management around Schröder Kramer had granted a grace period. And now? When asked if he believed there was a chance of still being there in Berlin, Kramer replied sarcastically: “To the surprise of everyone, there was no exchange.”

Does he feel let down by the team? “That’s always the question. I’m part of the team. I’m just assuming now that the players, for whatever reason, have been overrun. The most important thing is FC Schalke 04,” said the football coach, who succeeded interim coach Mike Büskens in the summer and has a contract until 2024.

Second attempt to Schalke? Ex-Bochumer Reis traded

“It was indisputably the worst performance of the season, it doesn’t get any worse than that,” said Kramer. After the final whistle, his players only hesitantly ventured towards the guest corner, the head coach himself stayed with his assistants near the center circle. The “Kramer raus!” shouts from the fans who had traveled with him resounded at him there too. As a possible successor, “Kicker” and “Sport Bild” bring ex-Bochum Thomas Reis into play again, who was already a topic at Schalke in the summer. Although S04 cannot pay a fee – Reis is still contractually bound to VfL until the end of the season – Bochum would save around 500,000 euros in salary if the contract was terminated.

The Schalke professionals and also Schröder have to ask themselves after this performance whether they are even suitable for the first division. In any case, the overwhelmed Schalke were presented by Hoffenheim in front of 15,633 spectators in Sinsheim. “Just say: It’ll be fine – it won’t. That’s what we also clearly told the team: that it doesn’t work like that,” said Schröder. You won’t win a game this way. “One thing is clear: we can’t survive in Berlin with such a performance,” he added. The fact that it was his birthday on this pitch-black day – his 47th – was something the Schalke sports director didn’t want to think about that evening.

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