[Torretta13]

..hi guys, I have never followed the Bundesliga religiously, but I am going to try to pay more attention to German soccer in general, and Schalke in particular. So I would appreciate any relevant info. about this year's edition of the Schalke club. What is the "basic, must have info." that any legitimate Schalke fan should know? I am doing research into the history of the club, and the club's performance this year, but I would GREATLY appreciate it if any knowledgeable Bundesliga and/or Schalke fans could chime in and offer me some tips on how I can be the best Schalke fan possible. Thanks guys.

[BayernWake]

Why Schalke, out of curiosity?

Just so you know, Schalke are probably the 2nd most hated team in Germany! Not that that should stop you.

["Eisenfuß" Eilts]

Schalke is a workers club with a large fanbase and a great stadium.
The fans there have a lot of might, that means the club management
does usally decision based on the mood in the stadium.

Players and managers have partwise very diffcult working conditions there
and often decisions are done the management, that seem stupid for fans
of other teams.

That´s one of the reasons, why other fans don´t like the club. Another
one is, that there play some players, that don´t have a good image in
Germany, such as Kuranyi, who drove once from the national team home
by car during a match, because he wasn´t playing, or in the past players
like Poulsen, who played dirty. A third point is the behavior of some fans
at away matches.

Nevertheless the club has many positive sides. The club has an interesting
history, passionate fans (partwise fanatic), a great stadium and there are
always news around the club. For the coming season they signed the coach, that became this season champion with Wolfsburg.

You will get for sure more opinions/information at the bigsoccer Schalke forum

[Torretta13]

Hey guys, thanks for the replies. I guess I chose Schalke due to their history, which is quite fascinating. I also didn't want to be a Bayern fan, since that is kinda rooting for the team that always wins, that everyone loves, no? Kinda boring, you know?

In regard to your comment Eisenfuss, can you explain a little bit more about the power that the Schalke fans have over the club's management? Do I interpret your response correctly if I assume that you are saying that that Schalke's management is prone to making a lot of knee jerk reactions/moves to appease the whims of a passionate fan base? Is that what you were saying? The management actually is intimidated by the fans, and makes moves (player acquisitions/coaching hires/firings)to appease them, even if those moves aren't really all that wise in the eyes of the rest of the league? IS that what you are saying or am I wrong? Thanks.

Originally Posted by Eisenfuß" Eilts;17794003]Schalke is a workers club with a large fanbase and a great stadium.
The fans there have a lot of might, that means the club management
does usally decision based on the mood in the stadium.

Players and managers have partwise very diffcult working conditions there
and often decisions are done the management, that seem stupid for fans
of other teams.

That´s one of the reasons, why other fans don´t like the club. Another
one is, that there play some players, that don´t have a good image in
Germany, such as Kuranyi, who drove once from the national team home
by car during a match, because he wasn´t playing, or in the past players
like Poulsen, who played dirty. A third point is the behavior of some fans
at away matches.

Nevertheless the club has many positive sides. The club has an interesting
history, passionate fans (partwise fanatic), a great stadium and there are
always news around the club. For the coming season they signed the coach, that became this season champion with Wolfsburg.

You will get for sure more opinions/information at the [URL="http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?p=17667710#post17667710

bigsoccer Schalke forum [/URL]

["Eisenfuß" Eilts]

Originally Posted by Torretta13

The management actually is intimidated by the fans, and makes moves (player acquisitions/coaching hires/firings)to appease them, even if those moves aren't really all that wise in the eyes of the rest of the league? IS that what you are saying or am I wrong? Thanks.

Yes, there were such ridiculous moves in the last years, where coaches (Slomka, Rangnick) got fired, when the club was on a UEFA-cup (4./5.) or even a CL (1.-3.) rank.

[Torretta13]

thanks EisenFuss, I appreciate the info. Are you a Schalke fan? You seem to know a lot about Die Knappen!

["Eisenfuß" Eilts]

Originally Posted by Torretta13

thanks EisenFuss, I appreciate the info. Are you a Schalke fan? You seem to know a lot about Die Knappen!

No, i am a Werder Bremen fan, but I live close to Gelsenkirchen.

[Torretta13]

cool, thanks EisenFussen. Just FYI, I sent you an PM. If you check your inbox it should be in there. Thanks again for your help, I appreciate it.

[blue nose uk]

Hi, myself and a couple of friends at work are going to follow the Bundesliga next season and we are looking at clubs. I had it down for Karlsruche, Arminia (sp), Bochum, Hoffenheim and Schalke - the reason, they all wear blue as my team, Birmingham City do (i'm a very simple person ). I was looking at the reports of the final games when i came across the fact the Schalke are referred to as the "Royal Blues". Birmingham play in Royal Blue so for me, i'm going to take an interest in Schalke next season.

Told you i'm a simple person

[Homa]

Rangnick got fired after he said he would leave at the end of the season. Granted Assauer, the manager, sniped against him all the time but he was pretty much the only one. I'm still pissed at Assauer for this. All in all the fans wanted Rangnick to stay but ce la vie.

Schalke played horrible, horrible football last year even though it was successfull. But it was obvious that there had to be some changes. Slomka's sacking came at a bad time, no argument there, but the reasoning was understandable.

A large part to these bad decision lies in the power vacuum that opened up after Assauer lost his influence (or better his good touch) and left the club. Müller, trained by Assauer himself, succeded Assauer but could never establish enough respect and influence in the club to keep things quit. Therefore the surroundings constantly flooded the media with rumours and internal matters. Müller's lack of charisma and his bad media management didn't help either.
Some bad choices (transfers, coaches) led to an expensive team this year that not only played horrible football but also wasn't successful in any way so Müller and Rutten (coach) both got sacked mid season.

To end the power vacuum the chairman of the board, Tönnies, lured Felix Magath away from Wolfsburg and gave him a job comparable to a football manager in the EPL. He is now responsible for all things related to the football side of the club including transfers, coaching, tactics etc combining the job of a traditional German football coach and a manager.
Unfortunately Müller's transfer have left the club without much money so Magath can not only not go on a shopping spree but has to lower the payroll down from 55Mio€ to 45Mio€. At least the financial situation isn't as dangerous as it was when Assauer left a couple of years ago.

Schalke does have some nice young players: Neuer, Höwedes, Kenia even Rafinha, Westermann, Jones, Farfan or Kuranyi aren't that old. They sorely lack, for quite some time now, quality in the offensive midfield. There are some rumours about new players for that position but nothing is finalized and it probably won't be someone who will inspire a lot of confidence or optimism. So the defence and hard work will have to carry the team again.

As a positive note, if you can read German, you probably will never be short on news about Schalke. There is hardly another club with as much (bad) press, Bayern obviously, maybe Dortmund.