Welcome to a rare Saturday episode of the Rötliche und Teuflisch podcast. Also, this is ten matches left in the season podcasat, too. I'm Werner and I'm joined by my cohort Jakob.
Jakob: Hi. Two for the price of one special today.
Werner. Ja, extra discounts applicable if you like and subscribe. So we played yesterday, let's start with that.
Jakob: Ja.
Werner: Alright let's move on.
Jakob: Just kidding. We had a big comeback against two long-range missiles launched by a man named Tobias Schröck. In the future, I would hope he'd be more careful. He's just lucky he didn't hit anyone with those.
W: He really struck them purely, didn't he?
J: The first one will be a goal of the seasons contender for sure.
W: Ja.
J: But we came back. Not two of our prettiest passing plays or anything. Rene Klingenburg got the vital breakthrough goal. Shakur Omar scored the equalizer from a really tight angle after a full-fledged melee right in front of the goal.
W: Did you wonder if we'd ever score?
J: I'll be honest. I was worried. It could have been a patch of ice we collectively slipped upon. They took two shots in the first half and Schröck scored twice. He's never going to do that again, he's not much of a goal scorer.
W: Pucci was bouncing up and down along the sidelines all match long.
J: Definitely one of his more animated games. He didn't admit it at the press conference afterwards, but he was worried.
W: Now lets move on. I don't really want to talk about a match in which a guy who never scores, scores the galazo of his life. Twice.
J: Ha, ja. Let us discuss what the end of the season, the run out, looks like. It looks good.
W: Oh, that's it then? We're done?
J: Essentially. We have ten games to go, we're up by 12 on Schalke for the 2.Liga title and 14 on Nürnberg and Armenia Bielefeld for automatic promotion. They're tied for points and goal difference but Nürnberg leads on head to head.
W: We probably have the toughest ten matches, though, don't we?
J: We play both Schalke and Nürnberg but at least we play them at home. We also play Sandhausen, Dresden and Hannover who are all top ten clubs. Aside from playing us, Schalke face Erzgebirge Aue, Karlsruhe, and Hannover. The point is that they have no room for error. Its not just that they are chasing us, Karlsruhe is only three points behind Schalke in fifth. So its a four team race for two promotion slots.
W: So, really the pressure on them could help us.
J: True. Also, whomever gets the third promotion spot will face either Hamburg or Augsburg in the relegation playoff. Hamburg is in 16th on goal difference. And its a tough, two-legged battle and you never know what will happen.
W: So I've been scribbling on a napkin. We need to either win six, that's 18 points, of our remaining ten or if Schalke slip up it just reduces that number.
J: Ja. Math is our friend this season. But I'm not worried. Marlon Ritter is just magic this season and Kiprit cannot stop scoring. With the added threat of Shakur Omar and our stingy defense, its just a matter of time.
W: Shall we go to questions then?
J: Ja, I've got one, may I go first?
W: Of course.
J: This is one is from your Mom this time. Gritdox on Twitter asks what players will be starting next season in the Bundesliga.
W: Good question. Kiprit, Ritter, Tomiak, Spahic in goal. Those for sure.
J: You forget Julian Niehues.
W: Ja, the forgotten man. Plays every minute, nobody notices.
J: I assume Klingenburg and Zimmer, our Captain. I'm not so sure about the rest. Billy Arce hasn't torn up the league and I'm not sure how well he'll do against better defenders. Obviously, we'll either need to extend Omar's loan or find a partner for Kiprit.
W: Left back?
J: Ja, I don't know. Amilcar Silva has another year left, but Filippini is more reliable and his contract expires this summer. So maybe we'll see a new left back. I am pretty confident Pucci and Hengen will bring in a load of new faces for our return to the Bundesliga.
W: Okay, I've got a question. Rattche1144 on Twitter asks if we'll have a transfer budget this summer. Good question.
J: I don't know. I assume we will. I don't know how big it will be, though. I mean, we're not going to go out and spend 50 million for a player on 100k per week. We've got a tiny salary budget. I assume Pucci and Hengen will have a little money to work with.
W: That's it.
J: We don't have any more.
W: So go away now.