Sigh. The funny thing is that after all those really bad performances, it was really a few referee decisions that made the game today. That handball isn't a yellow card. It wasn't intentional, nor was the shot on net. And the pull down of Boateng for the first PK was an obvious direct red card for DOSGO. I think the referee really screwed us over, and I rarely say that. Whatever, Keller needed to go anyway. He's not an awful coach, just not ready for this level. I wish him the best. He seems like a decent guy.
On second thought I agree. When I think Schalke this season....the word "disarray" always comes to mind. The team has been like a couple that has a huge fight every weekend, then pretends it never happened after some decent makeup sex. You can only paper over the issues for so long despite some good matches once in a while.
Heldt says they will evaluate Keller's performance as a coach once the winter break starts. Nothing will happen till then.
This is a no brainier. There's no point in firing him now. That said, he's already done. It's just a matter of waiting until the break.
That's what needs to be determined by the winter pause so the new coach has as much time as possible to learn his new team.
Hadn't really thought of him but was thinking more of interim guy to conduct a full search in the summer so you can pursue a guy like Streich.
Perhaps. I'd be OK with that, but I'd be a bit worried the interim guy wouldn't be able to get things done. The rags have been running stories linking Schaaf and Martin Jol to the job. I really don't have a preference. I don't really think I'm qualified to judge these coaches.
I think we need to move forward, not backward. Also, I'm not sure he'd take the job after we fired him and replaced him with a clearly inferior coach. That incident just left a bad taste in my mouth. It would be really nice if we could get someone that will stay with the club for a long time. This club needs to think about it's long term future. I'd love to qualify for the CL next year, and I think we could both satisfy our long term goals and qualify for the CL this year, however we shouldn't sacrifice long-term stability for short term results...if that makes sense. Also, after some of the mildly questionable decisions heldt has made as of late, he needs to hit a "home run" with this one.
I'm not sure about the general competency at the club. Can't be so bad overall or would be in much deeper trouble. That said there are some things I don't like. Peters looks, to my eye, a bit overmatched for his position. Just one step too far for his abilities. Heldt isn't a bad manager but he is no genius either. Of course he is mainly judged on how the team is doing which to a substantial part depents on the coach. My biggest problem is Tönnies. Not because I think he is unqualified but because he has to fill responsibilites which are completely out of the scope of his job. Tönnies is busy heading his own company, how the ******** could he have the necessary time to lead a club of Schalke's size? I think he is forced into that because we lack a clear CEO who is the clear boss of the club like Watzke is in Dortmund. The only way Keller could stay is if he wins the next three games and Heldt didn't find a fitting long term replacement in the break. In that case it probably would be best to just muddle through with Keller until summer instead of hiring an interim coach for half a year. I think Keller is somewhat the victim of our injuries. The defensive is average at best so the offense has to carry the team but it got ravished by injuries. Our best striker has been out for months. Our center piece, Boateng, is constantly battling a weak knee and can hardly participate in training, Farfan was injured, Obasi was injured, Szalai has been battling nagging injuries for weeks, too, even Clemens got injured.. The only ones without too many problems were Draxler and Meyer, who are too young to carry the team. Of course even our defensive midfielders are injured: Höger is out, Jones has been fighting knee problems for month, Goretzka sucks up every virus between Schalke and Bochum, even Aogo is now out. The only one without problems is Neustädter but he has his head so far up his ass his hair is tickling his tonsils. For a new coach I would strongly prefer Tuchel, if we could get him in the summer. There is no way he leaves Mainz now in the middle of the season. Streich would be good, too, but I doubt he would leave his nice quiet gig at Freiburg for Schalke's meat grinder. If you really need a coach now, Schaaf and Di Matteo are looking good. Don't know if we could get di Matteo after he fell through last year. Schaaf brings his own problems with him not the least his shaky defensive record. On the other hand maybe that is what this teams need. The defense sucks anyway so ignore it and just get the best out of the attack, which is something Schaaf should be able to.
Draxler lays blame on players' errors, not Keller http://www.kicker.de/news/fussball/...lchen-fehlern-ist-jeder-trainer-machtlos.html Does anyone have the digital subscription to Kicker? Off topic, but I'm kinda curious about this part:
Schalke board to evaluate team performance (including Keller) today. http://www.kicker.de/news/fussball/..._schaaf_stellt-schalke-heute-die-weichen.html
Come on Mainz, fire Tuchel! Do it! NOW! ^^ I'm sending my best firing vibes up the Rhine. Maybe they help.
Conflicting reports. Keller zur U23 - Schalke-Vertrag für Schaaf schon fertig http://t.co/FCbzIfvHYp— BILD FC Schalke 04 (@BILD_Schalke04) December 16, 2013 RT @DerWestenSport Nach #WAZ-Informationen will #Schalke mit Trainer Jens #Keller in die Rückrunde gehen http://t.co/qLWRnlZJNi Gute Nacht!— WAZ (@WAZ_Redaktion) December 16, 2013
Who's the coach who can't defend? Where every game is end-to-end? SCHAAF! (Aah yeah...) Who's still playing 4-4-2, "We'll just score one more than you"? SCHAAF! (Can you dig it?) Aaron Hunt and Clemens Fritz, Who thinks that they are the tits? SCHAAF! (That's right sisters...) Who's in relegation form? Let's hope he weathers the storm: SCHAAF! THOMAS Schaaf...
I have an idea, each publication can run a story for each possible outcome of every event and run it before the event occurs. That way, they can say they reported it before it even happened!