After chaotic days for the club, FC Schalke 04 has huge hopes in the new coach Thomas Reis, who will not only breathe new life into the bottom of the table in the Bundesliga, but also bring calm and continuity to the chronically agitated Revier club. To do this, the 49-year-old has to get a large number of problem areas under control as quickly as possible.
Vulnerable at the back, harmless at the front and without ideas: At the latest, the sobering 2-0 home defeat on his debut against SC Freiburg last Sunday should have made Thomas Reis clear what a complicated task he has embarked on as coach of FC Schalke.
Before the trend-setting away game at fellow promoted team Werder Bremen (Saturday from 6:30 p.m. in the LIVE ticker), the trainer urgently needs to find solutions for the most pressing problem areas.
1. FC Schalke scores too few goals
With eleven goals scored, the Knappen, together with their neighbors VfL Bochum, have the worst offensive in the Bundesliga so far. It is noticeable that the team has enormous problems getting in front of the opposing goal from the game.
The victims of this development are the target players of Schalke: Neither the promotion hero Simon Terodde (two goals), nor the newcomers Sebastian Polter (one goal), Jordan Larsson and Kenan Karaman (each still without a goal) get enough into situations where they snap their shots -Qualities could play out.
The midfield is clearly lacking in creativity and speed – Reis will not be able to conjure up these deficits. Finding a system in which at least some of the well-known S04 attackers on paper could fit together would be a start to instill more respect in the opponents.
2. FC Schalke’s defense doesn’t look stable
After all: In the internal league ranking of the defensive lines, S04 is only penultimate behind Bochum, but 28 goals conceded are no glory for the royal blue defense.
Above all, the departure of fan favorite Ko Itakura, who could not be committed and instead moved on to Gladbach, could not be compensated. His compatriot Maya Yoshida, who was brought in as his successor, has so far not proved to be the reinforcement he was hoping for and was a security risk again and again due to the lack of speed.
Added to this is Schalke’s astonishing fickleness in set pieces and the lowest duel rate in the league (46.58% duels won). And as if all that weren’t enough, there are also personnel problems in the back team: six (!) defenders were recently out, including Thomas Ouwejan recently.
A Herculean task for Reis, who is forced to improvise. There is hope that the coach in Bochum showed a good sense of how to set up a team compactly, even with a small team.
3. The Veltins Arena is no longer a fortress
There were times when opponents feared the trip to Gelsenkirchen to the Veltins Arena cauldron. In the Bundesliga, however, the stadium has advanced to become a self-service shop, and nothing remains of the former fortress.
Only four points from six home games are simply not enough for a club that has spent the season aiming to stay in the league. Although the miners collected two points less away, they at least showed positive signs on several occasions.
So far, the Schalke fans have stood behind the team like one, even after defeats there’s encouragement instead of whistles. “I think the spectators have a very keen sense. They know the situation,” Reis praised the supporters after his debut against Freiburg.
The fans of FC Schalke have been with the team so far
But the new line manager will also know that staying in the league will not be possible without home points. Reis now needs to ensure his players turn the energy from the ranks back to their advantage. His credo: “We have to make sure that we’re disgusting for more than 90 minutes.”
4. Schalke’s leadership was no longer harmonious
In the wake of the sudden departure of sporting director Rouven Schröder, alarming reports of internal strife have come to light. According to “Sport Bild”, the popular manager’s exit was a process that lasted a few weeks.
The fact that the supervisory board criticized his predominantly weak transfers this season is said to have initially annoyed Schröder. The 47-year-old was also upset that the committee did not like the fact that Frank Kramer, who has since been fired, was given a severance clause in the summer. The resonating accusation: Schröder himself did not believe in the coach.
The camel’s back is said to have finally overflowed when it came to Thomas Reis’ commitment. Schröder reached an agreement with VfL Bochum for a fee of EUR 200,000 plus a further EUR 100,000 in the event of relegation. However, that was too much for the supervisory board. Schröder is said to have reacted to this with incomprehension, and shortly afterwards he was gone.
And what can Reis do for all the skirmishes? First of all nothing. The football coach has just joined a club that has always had trouble keeping internal matters within its own ranks.
But Reis is now one of the faces of the club in public, so it’s up to him to represent harmony and unity in sporting leadership to the outside world. Not so easy given the financial constraints of the Ruhrpott giant. After all, Reis isn’t known for being an obstructionist.
Heiko Lütkehus