FC Schalke 04 has fired coach Frank Kramer. But the 50-year-old is not the sole culprit of the misery. Sports director Peter Knäbel and sports director Rouven Schröder also play an important role.
It was a breakup that was inevitable. But not only the results of the past few weeks spoke against Frank Kramer. FC team Schalke 04 conveyed the impression of a lifeless, hopelessly overwhelmed, unstructured and aimless collection of football professionals who could no longer get even the simplest things sorted out.
The coach Kramer is responsible for this complete system failure on the pitch, and he has now felt the consequences. So far, so normal in Bundesliga business.
Knäbel and Schröder look on without doing anything
However, the question arises as to what influence those responsible for sports director Peter Knäbel and sports director Rouven Schröder have in this unfortunate situation?
At first, both of them led the club into this situation with their eyes wide open. In this case, the constantly repeated mantra of the “urgently needed rest in the club” forced them into an incapacity to act. Kramer’s tactical mistakes, the trainer’s sometimes curious lineups, his incomprehensible analyzes of the games played: both seemed to ignore all of this. It couldn’t be what couldn’t be.
And so Knäbel and Schröder watched the slow decline and were slowed down by their own maxim of calm. They didn’t want to realize how the team, like every single player, got more and more into a negative spiral under Kramer – and has now reached the (supposed) low point.
Service provider not replaced
Looking back at the summer after the resurgence, those responsible decided to tear apart the successful team – in which a close-knit community had formed – and to build in supposed reinforcements.
Top performers like Ko Itakura and Malick Thiaw left – and no comparable replacement could be found. Also because the financial situation, combined with the self-imposed, rigid compulsion to save, offered no room for manoeuvre.
Against this background, the commitments of the offensive players Sebastian Polter and Kenan Karaman seem like panic buying. The club has a mini budget of 28 million euros – and has a debt of around 183 million euros.
Courage is required
Knäbel and Schröder’s self-created (financial) compulsion and the commitment of a coach, who was never blessed at S04, led the club in the wrong direction. The dismissal of Kramer is therefore only the first step.
The only solution to get out of this dilemma is to increase the financial risk. With the current team, Schalke are not competitive in the Bundesliga. In addition to a new coach, the team needs significant reinforcements, especially in defence.
Knäbel and Schröder are now challenged to find new, clever but also courageous (financial) ways during the winter break to end the home-made system failure. Otherwise FC Schalke 04 cannot be saved this season.
