Coach ignores new signings
Explosive dispute causes major alarm at Schalke 04
12.09.2024, 20:34
Once again, a coach at the traditional giant FC Schalke 04 is facing dismissal. Karel Geraerts is publicly arguing with squad planner Ben Manga. The fronts seem to be hardened. There has not been a clear-cut discussion yet – because Manga is on vacation.
The new season is only six weeks old and the always restless traditional club FC Schalke 04 is already practicing an old ritual: the coach is once again in turmoil. Karel Geraerts, who has been in office for eleven months, has two problems. The Belgian and the Royal Blues are once again looking at the bottom of the table with only four points from the first four second division games. And the new strong man, squad planner Ben Manga, has publicly criticized him.
“Pressure is nothing new at Schalke,” said Geraerts before the away game on Friday (6.30 p.m. on Sky and in the live ticker on ntv.de) at Karlsruher SC, which is a special and highly controversial one for him. His time on the Schalke coaching bench began with a 0:3 debacle at KSC. “I saw things there that I couldn’t believe,” he said looking back.
Geraerts urgently needs the “medicine”
If something similar happens in the Wildpark on Friday, the 42-year-old’s 32nd competitive game could be his last. And Schalke could make its 33rd coaching change since the turn of the millennium. “If there is discussion about the coach, I can’t stop it,” said Geraerts, “if things aren’t going well, we can talk a lot, but the only medicine is three points.” But this medicine was only administered eleven times during his time in office, and only once in the new season.
The fact that criticism is coming from central sources – and in public – doesn’t help either. Talent scout Manga, who was hired in May with his own staff as director of squad planning and scouting, completely overhauled Schalke in the summer – with 15 new signings. His plan: sign young, talented players cheaply, develop them further at Royal Blues and then sell them at a high price – as he did brilliantly at Eintracht Frankfurt, especially with runner-up Randal Kolo Muani, who was brought in on a free transfer and sold for 95 million euros.
Young newcomers become a bone of contention
This line has been approved by the club management, so money is to come into the coffers of the highly indebted traditional club. At the same time, however, the aim is to reach the top third of the table and to achieve promotion by 2026 at the latest. But Geraerts has so far relied little or not at all on manga discoveries such as the young defenders Felipe Sanchez (Argentina) and Martin Wasinski (Belgium/both 20). The squad planner publicly expressed his displeasure and blamed Geraerts solely for the weak start to the season: “He has alternatives, he can tinker.” Geraerts countered: “I give everything for Schalke, I don’t play politics.”
There has not been a clarifying discussion yet because Manga is on vacation. Instead, CEO Matthias Tillmann and sports director Marc Wilmots took the coach to task at the beginning of the week. “We have spoken about this action,” reported Geraerts, but what exactly “remains internal.” His compatriot Wilmots has supported him so far. But what happens if the Wildpark goes bankrupt?