It’s not far from Wiesbaden to Darmstadt. The two football stadiums are less than 50 kilometers apart, which should be particularly convenient: Paul Fernie, who was sporting director at SV Wehen Wiesbaden last week, will be taking up his job as sporting director at SV Darmstadt 98 next week and at least you don’t have to get used to a new environment, language and culture.
There is still enough to do. In the middle of April, planning for the new season is well underway. Discussions are being held, contracts are being extended, farewells are being prepared. It is important for the new manager not to waste any time. There are several construction sites waiting in Darmstadt. Even the boldest optimists have to admit that Fernie will be planning for the second division after last weekend’s 4-0 defeat against FSV Mainz 05.
Before the home game against Freiburg this Sunday (3:30 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the Bundesliga and on DAZN), his new club is nine points behind in the relegation zone with six games still remaining. The “Lilies” have not won in 21 meetings, which again shows how big the work is that Fernie has to do.
Darmstadt has by far the weakest defense in the league. The defense was hardly able to establish a three-man or five-man chain throughout the season. Coach Torsten Lieberknecht happily switched around, tried out numerous constellations or – to his credit – was repeatedly forced to do so due to failures.
Best games with veterans
Christoph Zimmermann, who was predestined for the role of defense chief and a guarantee of reliability in the promotion season, was out twice for longer and most recently sat mostly on the bench. Christoph Klarer plays the most minutes in defense. The 23-year-old Austrian has potential, but it was probably still a bit early for the boss role in the Bundesliga. The fact that there was a lack of consistency in this area after Patric Pfeiffer’s departure didn’t make things any easier for him – and is one of the reasons for the misery.
But there was also a lack of consistency in the middle of the midfield. The “Lilien” played their best games in the phase when they were able to rely on the veterans Fabian Holland, Tobias Kempe and the whirlwind Marvin Mehlem in the center. But here too, Lieberknecht was repeatedly forced to make changes. The Darmstadt team has used a total of 31 players in the current season. Co-promoted Heidenheim has 21. In the promotion season, the club benefited from an axis with goalkeeper Marcel Schuhen, Zimmermann, Kempe, Mehlem and striker Phillip Tietz – similarly reliable supports are needed in the coming season in order to play successful football again.
After this game it was clear to many that Darmstadt 98 would be back in the second division: The “Lilien” lost significantly in Mainz. : Image: dpa
But the biggest task remains finding a striker. After the departure of Tietz, who like Patric Pfeiffer moved to Augsburg, the “Lilien” tried many attackers: Fraser Hornby and Braydon Manu? Constantly injured. Luca Pfeiffer? Hardly a goal threat without Tietz next to him. Oscar Vilhelmsson? Good approaches, but still too young and inexperienced for the first league. And Sebastian Polter, who came in winter? Had one assist in nine games.
The best goalscorer for the “Lilien” is Tim Skarke with eight goals. Behind them are several players with three goals, including Mehlem. Fernie will do anything to keep him and Skarke. Whether this will succeed, however, seems questionable. Both are toying with the first league.
This text comes from the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung.
There is enough scope for the new sports director. 17 contracts, including those of loan players, are expiring. The newcomers have a lot of work to do here too. Those in charge trust him with the job because Fernie has “a very good network,” as President Rüdiger Fritsch recently said.
The Englishman, who turned 37 this week, never played professionally himself, began his career as a youth coach at Leeds United and then worked as a scout for seven years at four different clubs in England. He later became head of the scouting department at SV Wehen Wiesbaden and then held the same position at the New York Red Bulls for two years before returning to Wiesbaden as sporting director.
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“He has already proven in the past that, thanks to unusual and creative solutions, he always finds ways to work successfully even without an immense budget,” says Fritsch. Contacts in a cosmopolitan city like New York, the Red Bull cosmos and England. That reads well. But something else may have been decisive for the commitment: Fernie’s achievements on the doorstep in Wiesbaden.
