Schalke 04 is sinking into chaos: Moral rottenness is followed by internal decay

January 17, 2020: FC Schalke 04 defeated Borussia Mönchengladbach at the start of the second half of the Bundesliga season after an impressive performance 2-0. In the table, royal blue is tied with BVB in 5th place, just three points behind Bayern. A lot has happened in Gelsenkirchen since then.

Schalke is on the brink. The moral decline of the former Malocherverein has been observed for years. Financial problems have often shaped the club. Even before the corona break, the liabilities amount to almost 200 million euros.

In 2019 Schalke generated a loss of 26.1 million euros. Missing European qualifications, missing income due to Corona and ridiculously high salaries from messed up transfer periods, the minus will increase significantly this year.

Schalke 04: Possible spin-off splits the entire club

This is one of the reasons why the topic of outsourcing to Schalke is gaining momentum. In an interview with “kicker”, Marketing Director Alexander Jobst explained a few weeks ago: “We are currently working on a concept to give FC Schalke 04 a structure that on the one hand fits our club 100 percent, but on the other enables us to tackle higher goals again in the long term. ”

A new legal form could make Schalke debt-free again within a very short time and thus also competitive in terms of sport.

But turning away from one’s own association will further widen the division among members. Schalke 04 is a registered association, the members have the say. And they are proud of their independence. Here, too, there is a risk of more trouble in the club in the coming months and years.

Moral decline at FC Schalke

In addition to the financial problems, it is the moral decline that so angered Schalke fans. Clemens Tönnies first noticed in 2019 through racist comments. After the Corona outbreak in his slaughterhouse, he leaves the club – and leaves behind a disastrous economic and sporting condition.

At the start of the season in September, the former Schalke boss suddenly reappears in the stands of the Allianz Arena at the Schalke away game in Munich. The fans and the environment in Gelsenkirchen cannot believe it.

In addition, there are missteps on the part of the club, such as the termination of 24 employees of the transport service in the youth department for financial reasons. In addition, fans should fill out a hardship application in the spring to speed up the refund of tickets. All of this in an area where the average income is not particularly high.

Because of transparency on Schalke

After the completely screwed up preseason, those responsible announce new transparency. But at the season analysis press conference at the beginning of July, nothing of that transparency can be seen. Instead, it is often pointed out that disclosing facts in the economic and sporting area would not help. Once again, the fans just show incomprehension.

After all, the seasonal goals are clearly adjusted. Europe should no longer be dreamed of in the medium term. Instead, Schalke wants to stabilize again as an overall construct.

In the past few years the “miners” often suffered from a lack of or realistic self-assessment. Great ambitions were communicated, the means became smaller and smaller, but the objectives were not adjusted. At least that is about to change in terms of sport.

Schalke also athletically on the precipice

Two and a half months into the new season, everything has gotten much worse. S04 is in a nosedive, has been waiting for a success in the Bundesliga since January 17th, now for 24 games (!).

The current season is all about survival, which is illustrated by the 18th and last place in the table as well as the wretched demeanor week after week. In addition, the club eats itself up inside, it is destroying itself in the last few weeks.

The drama begins on matchday 1 with an 8-0 swat at Bayern. This is followed by a clear home defeat against Bremen (1: 3) and the expulsion of David Wagner. In the summer, sports director Jochen Schneider made a very clear and conscious decision in favor of Wagner as his coach, after ten days in the new season he changed his mind. Manuel Baum follows.

The coaching discussion is now also partly responsible for the “amicable” separation from Michael Reschke. The squad planner wants to part with Wagner after last season. Schneider prevails, but the start of the season finally proves Reschke to be right.

Dispute between those responsible

Reschke is also campaigning for a transfer from keeper Alexander Schwolow before the season. Wagner does not want the goalkeeper, instead insists on the transfer of a right-back. Schneider jumps aside Wagner. This breaks the relationship between Schneider and Reschke. It can no longer be cemented, the separation a logical consequence.

The nerves on Schalke are bare after the bleak performance in the 0: 2 against VfL Wolfsburg on the previous match day. In training, one day after the game, there was a tangible argument between Vedad Ibisevic and assistant coach Naldo. Both must be separated from the other players, the training is canceled. The club reacts a little later: Ibisevic is temporarily suspended, his contract terminated on December 31, 2020.

But that’s not all. Those responsible for Schalke are also suspending Nabil Bentaleb and Amine Harit – both actors have been noticed in recent weeks mainly due to poor performance and lousy body language.

In general, it doesn’t seem to be right in the Schalke squad. This becomes clear once again when it comes to the issue of wage waiver, which is a bang in the cabin. Two groups are formed in the team: The group of rejecters is still angry because of the outstanding bonus for the 2018 Champions League qualification.

In this context, they cannot understand the expensive separation of Sebastian Rudy and Guido Burgstaller, who cash in on them after their departure. For example, Rudy continues to receive around three million euros from Royal Blue despite the move to TSG Hoffenheim. In the end, however, the club can agree on another wage waiver with the players.

“I don’t know how we want to win another game like that”

And yet many players are amazed at the transfer policy and the squad composition. Rudy, Bentaleb and Mark Uth were all sent away last year; for the new season they should then bring back performances for Schalke as regular players. With little success.

Uth takes a deep breath after the Wolfsburg bankruptcy. “I’m so served, you can’t even imagine. It’s so sad to dribble here every time and just play powerless football,” says the attacker at Sky: “We’re one step too late every time, we don’t come into the duels. I don’t know how we want to win another game like that. “

After 24 games without a win in a row, and the drama in and around the team, nobody at Schalke knows that. The “Süddeutsche Zeitung” sums up aptly: “The club is going through a financial crisis, a sports crisis, an identity crisis, a leadership crisis and a cabinet crisis at the same time. Each of these crises has reached devastating proportions.”

The extent to which fans are ashamed of their own club: FC Schalke 04 is moving further and further away from its own identity.