Schalke's on fire again: Coach Frank Kramer is coming under more and more pressure after the third loss in a row. The 50-year-old is still on the bench against Hoffenheim on Friday, but it will probably be a final. Apparently the search for a successor is already underway.
The pressure is increasing, the search for a successor has probably already begun. After only three months as coach of FC Schalke 04, Frank Kramer is already threatened with the end. Kramer should have been alarmed at the latest since the worrying 0: 4 (0: 2) on Saturday afternoon in the crisis duel at Bayer Leverkusen. Sports director Rouven Schröder initially made no attempt to support Kramer after the district club's poor performance, which was not suitable for the Bundesliga. Schröder didn't even want to speak after the game. He later issued a statement about the club that appears unequivocal: "Our team's performance today disappointed us immensely." You can hardly express your dissatisfaction more clearly.
Goal scorer Simon Terodde had a good feeling in the "first 30 minutes. Then we begged for it until half-time and that shouldn't happen to us," he emphasized on Sky. You know yourself "that we have to improve in every respect," added goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow. The fact is, however, that Schalke in Leverkusen could not keep up with the increased pace of the factory club. Here the deficits of the Schalke team became clear, time and again the S04 pros only saw the heels of their fast opponents. And Bayer with the new coach Xabi Alonso capitalized on it. Schalke only withstood the Leverkusen offensive game for 37 minutes, with the 0:1 through the strong Moussa Diaby (38th) all dams broke.
On Sunday, however, after an objective analysis with everyone involved, Kramer led the player replacement training. On Friday against 1899 Hoffenheim he will be on the bench again. But it could be the last time for now if there is a fourth defeat in a row. "The coaching staff around Frank Kramer, the team, we are all challenged to show an improved performance in all respects against Hoffenheim," said the statement from the sporting management. The many fans had already made their displeasure known and at the end of the game clearly and repeatedly called "Kramer out". After three defeats in a row, the miners have fallen deep in the table.
The 50-year-old has hardly had much credit in the area since he took office after being promoted again under interim coach Mike Büskens. Arminia Bielefeld's former coach was viewed too critically as a temporary solution. According to reports, Schröder had previously tried in vain to find other candidates. The reason why some of them had apparently waved their hands off was clearly visible again on Saturday: the existing squad of the clammy traditional club is hardly suitable for the Bundesliga. "That wasn't good," admitted goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow and Kramer said: "Today we were clearly the inferior team. We weren't able to defend the pace too often and weren't clear enough in our build-up." This was nicely paraphrased for the unbearable pounding without a recognizable game idea.
Otherwise, Kramer's statement sounded very much like a continuous slogan of perseverance. "We also showed that we can stand up when we're struck down," he said. "My job is to analyze and find solutions with the players so that we can do better next week. Anything else is not my concern." The top candidate for a possible successor is the former Bochum coach Thomas Reis, who allegedly would have liked to come in the summer but was not given the go-ahead. Meanwhile, Reis is on leave with his unloved neighbor and would be available.
