Last Saturday, FC Schalke 04 went down 4-0 in a struggling Leverkusen team. Many fans of the Royal Blues then demanded that coach Frank Kramer be kicked out. But the club decided against it. The upcoming home game against TSG Hoffenheim should now be decisive for Kramer’s future.
“Our team’s performance disappointed us immensely. Frank Kramer’s coaching staff, the team, we are all challenged to show a better performance in every respect against Hoffenheim,” announced the club after the disastrous performance in the BayArena.
Thus, the club management denied the wish of some fans and is holding on to the controversial coach for the time being. Of course, a board shouldn’t respond to the wishes of some supporters either, but the question arises as to why Frank Kramer gets a final against Hoffenheim at all?
It could already be seen in Leverkusen that Kramer, who was fired last season for being unsuccessful at Arminia Bielefeld, who were relegated to the Bundesliga, seems at a loss. The 50-year-old initially relied on a back four against the fast Werkself winger. That completely backfired. Both oldie Maya Yoshida and Tobias Mohr, who came from the second division of 1. FC Heidenheim and is actually an offensive winger, let Jeremie Frimpong play dizzily on the left side of defence.
Although the Schalke head coach switched to a five-man chain at half-time, the drop was as good as sucked by then. “It didn’t work out. I have to put my shoes on,” admitted Kramer after the defeat.
But also offensively the Kramer-Elf gets nothing on the chain. Against the ailing Leverkusen, the former U-national team coach relied on the dual leadership of Simon Terodde and Sebastian Polter – again unsuccessfully. The Royal Blues only tried to play with long balls, but the Werkself’s back three with Jonathan Tah, Edmond Tapsoba and Piero Hincapie took the Knappen forward duo completely out of the game.
Kramer did not make any adjustments to the structure of the game either, and so attempts were made throughout to transfer the first line to the two strikers with long balls. Of course, the Schalke defense is limited in terms of build-up play. But Kramer’s focus on the much-mentioned “impact” of his team hardly allows for playful approaches from his team.
So the question arises again: Why does Frank Kramer get another final? It doesn’t seem as if the football teacher can turn the tide and with Thomas Reis, who has just been released from VfL Bochum, his successor is already ready. The 49-year-old is said to have been a topic for a long time in the summer. And according to Sport1, the name Adi Hütter has often been mentioned in the Ruhr area.
Of course, the goal is to stay in the league and so far the Royal Blues have not even been in a direct relegation zone. But Schalke made fatal coaching decisions in the relegation season and initially stuck with David Wagner for too long. Later, the handles of Manuel Baum, who could not win any of his ten games, and Christian Gross, who could only collect five points, were also extremely unlucky.
This article was originally published on 90min.com/de as a final for Frank Kramer at Schalke: why actually? released.
