Schalke 04
'Null Fear'
Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V.
Founded 4th May 1904
If you know anything about German football then you will have heard about Schalke 04. Known for their incredible track record of producing quality youth prospects. The talent factory has seen the likes of Manuel Neuer, Mesut Ozil, Leory Sane, Julian Draxler and Benedikt Höwedes graduate, proving the Schalke Youth Academy proving it to be one of the best in Germany, if not the world.
In 2017/18 season Schalke finished runners-up to Bayern Munich meaning that in just 3 full competitive seasons they finished rock bottom and were relegated to the second division.
Recent times however haven't been so kind.
Much like Barcelona the club is run 'democratically' by a fan association with presidential elections. And in the same vein Schalke was mismanaged financially. Unlike the former which has the global appeal to attract superstars Schalke finds itself in difficult place post-Covid. The sales of Leroy Sane, Julian Draxler, Thilo Kherer and Manuel Neuer brought in £150m between 2011 and 2019. The replacements brought were Breel Embolo, Nabil Bentaleb and Sebatien Rudy failed to meet the high expectations or fees that came with.
With a constant turn over of managers and lack of interest in club turnover. The Schalke slump finds them the lowest they've been since the 1990/91 season.
It all looks dandy right? Until I point out. Schalke have failed to win a title since 1958. Finishing runner-up in no less than eight seasons.
The task is simple.
Take the crown.
Dethrone Bayern Munich from the Bundesliga Epoch.
Win the first Champions League for Schalke 04 in their history.
Fixing the financial damage? How bad is it?
If you were a Premier League club. It might not seem too bad. However being a Second Division German side. Things aren't too great with the board paying just over half a million for the next 23 years.
The media predict us to finish second only behind Werder Bremen. In the Bundesliga 2. The top two teams are promoted automatically and the 3rd placed team goes into relegation play-offs with the lowest teams in the Bundesliga.
The squad looks to have some real talent with several potential 5* players in there.
However my immediate concerns are that Salif Sané who is our best centre back is out for 3-4 months with torn knee ligaments. As the highest earner at the club by almost £10,000 per week isn't ideal given he appears to be injury prone so moving him on seems to be of interest.
Another financial issue is Ralf Fahrmann who is our best goalkeeper who is closely followed behind on £49,500 a week. He starts transfer listed.
As good as these two players are. We can't afford them moving forward. Already spending over on our wage budget which is contributing to greater debt.
Thankfully it seems the youth development factory seems to be showing no sign of slowing down and getting these players game time is essential moving forward from a financial and a performance perspective.
'Playing with No Fear'
I really want to tactically impose ourselves onto our opponents and give our flair and attacking players the best opportunity. Playing with freedom is very important and therefore I'm looking to constantly play with a good balance to recycle the ball as quickly as possible to greater enhance our chance creation.
Ideally I'd like to play with a different style forward however Simon Terodde is very much an old-style Target Forward and doesn't have the physicals to press. Additionally our centre backs don't have the ability to play it out from the back just yet.
'Null Fear'
Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V.
Founded 4th May 1904
If you know anything about German football then you will have heard about Schalke 04. Known for their incredible track record of producing quality youth prospects. The talent factory has seen the likes of Manuel Neuer, Mesut Ozil, Leory Sane, Julian Draxler and Benedikt Höwedes graduate, proving the Schalke Youth Academy proving it to be one of the best in Germany, if not the world.
In 2017/18 season Schalke finished runners-up to Bayern Munich meaning that in just 3 full competitive seasons they finished rock bottom and were relegated to the second division.
Recent times however haven't been so kind.
Much like Barcelona the club is run 'democratically' by a fan association with presidential elections. And in the same vein Schalke was mismanaged financially. Unlike the former which has the global appeal to attract superstars Schalke finds itself in difficult place post-Covid. The sales of Leroy Sane, Julian Draxler, Thilo Kherer and Manuel Neuer brought in £150m between 2011 and 2019. The replacements brought were Breel Embolo, Nabil Bentaleb and Sebatien Rudy failed to meet the high expectations or fees that came with.
With a constant turn over of managers and lack of interest in club turnover. The Schalke slump finds them the lowest they've been since the 1990/91 season.
It all looks dandy right? Until I point out. Schalke have failed to win a title since 1958. Finishing runner-up in no less than eight seasons.
The task is simple.
Take the crown.
Dethrone Bayern Munich from the Bundesliga Epoch.
Win the first Champions League for Schalke 04 in their history.
Fixing the financial damage? How bad is it?
If you were a Premier League club. It might not seem too bad. However being a Second Division German side. Things aren't too great with the board paying just over half a million for the next 23 years.
The media predict us to finish second only behind Werder Bremen. In the Bundesliga 2. The top two teams are promoted automatically and the 3rd placed team goes into relegation play-offs with the lowest teams in the Bundesliga.
The squad looks to have some real talent with several potential 5* players in there.
However my immediate concerns are that Salif Sané who is our best centre back is out for 3-4 months with torn knee ligaments. As the highest earner at the club by almost £10,000 per week isn't ideal given he appears to be injury prone so moving him on seems to be of interest.
Another financial issue is Ralf Fahrmann who is our best goalkeeper who is closely followed behind on £49,500 a week. He starts transfer listed.
As good as these two players are. We can't afford them moving forward. Already spending over on our wage budget which is contributing to greater debt.
Thankfully it seems the youth development factory seems to be showing no sign of slowing down and getting these players game time is essential moving forward from a financial and a performance perspective.
'Playing with No Fear'
I really want to tactically impose ourselves onto our opponents and give our flair and attacking players the best opportunity. Playing with freedom is very important and therefore I'm looking to constantly play with a good balance to recycle the ball as quickly as possible to greater enhance our chance creation.
Ideally I'd like to play with a different style forward however Simon Terodde is very much an old-style Target Forward and doesn't have the physicals to press. Additionally our centre backs don't have the ability to play it out from the back just yet.