Champions League - Chelsea vs Schalke 04

Naw, it just shows you don't know Schalke if you think they are in crisis when it is actually just their normal state of mind XD

They were also ravaged by injures when we played them back-to-back in the CL last season and, despite the eventual 3-0 results, they did make a decent fist of both, so I'm by no means expecting a walk in the park.

Well, they are still/again ravaged by injuries. They have almost a full squad out injured:

Giefer (GK)
Santana (CB), Kirchhoff (CB), Kolasinac (LB), Fuchs (LB)
Matip (CB/DM), Sobottka (DM)
Goretzka (CM), Meyer (AM), Farfan (LW)

Ah, "only" 10 players, not a full team, but still...

I know, I mentioned it in the preview - but even I wasn't aware it was that many

Well, they have had 8-10 players out for months now (varying ones). And still in their infinite wisdom, they decided to loan out Kyriakos Papadopoulos to Bayer Leverkusen

On the plus side, this allows the kids from the Knappenschmiede (Schalke's academy) to get playing time rather early and not too little.

Their youth team beat and knocked out our's in last year's Youth League, as I remember.


Even though we did beat them 2-0 and 1-0 and finished 8 points ahead of them in top spot in the group stage

Well, stuff like that is why I'm convinced that it is absolutely impossible to say how Schalke will show up in the CL tie.

If they have a good day, they can actually play at eye level with anybody, but if they have a bad day, they can easily get kicked out by a 3rd division team like in this year's DFB-Pokal.

ATM they are what we call a "Wundertüte" (literally a "bag of miracles") - you always wonder what you draw out of it. (In German it's a pun, by the way: "Wunder" = "miracle", "wundern" means "to wonder")

Am well looking forward to Wednesday, in any event

Same here. As a matter of fact, I'm more or less expecting a drubbing, but then, each time the German media call for Jens Keller's head with increased volume, it often happens that the players suddenly deliver and come up with an unexpected good result (like the draw with Bayern), so that Jens Keller is left alone until the next week

In the middle of such a poor injury situation and the media is calling for his head?

Absolutely. Yesterday there was even a several minute long report on Sky where they analysed why Jens Keller was a scrub and that it would be the best for Schalke if he would be fired rather sooner than later.

Ever since Jens Keller became Schalke's head coach, the media always wrote that he wasn't good enough, that he should be fired and they always brought up free coaches (Tuchel, Schaaf, Veh, just name any coach who is out of a job at any given time) that could better fill the position etc.

I almost have the impression that there is a conspiracy going on trying to destabilize Schalke with all the anti Jens Keller fire, but then, many fans want him out, too, despite Keller just having led Schalke to the best Rückrunde (second half of the BL season after the winter break) in Schalke's history... As I mentioned, Schalke is a capricious diva.

BTW, here's a German language editorial about Schalke's typical problem - I guess it should be comprehensible enough if you run it through Google translate: http://www.welt.de/sport/fussball/bundesliga/fc-schalke-04/article132233509/Auch-Keller-wird-am-Schalker-Groessenwahn-scheitern.html (LOL, just noticed that the name "Keller" got translated as "basement" or "cellar" several times XD)

Hm, that's puzzling


It's weird seeing a national media so wholly against a manager of their own nationality (especially one doing so well) when what we're so used to in England is the media sucking off all British managers even when they're complete shite

Well, maybe it's the fact that most German clubs have German managers, so one more or less won't hurt - and of course, Schalke is always good for headlines, at least in the Ruhr Area.

probs 6-0 to chelsea

rwo power wrote:Well, maybe it's the fact that most German clubs have German managers

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True.

That's certainly not the case in England

@Shed - Just for fun, here's where the BL coaches are from:

Spoiler:

Sorry for the OT.

My prediction?
Chelsea 3:0 Schalke
sounds about right.

That's how both matches ended last year, as you'll remember. Can easily see it being the case again.

Schalke always has been, and always will be, a joke of a club.

The Keller story reminds me a bit of Slomka, he too was a then no-name coach who performed actually pretty well for them, but they fired him as the pidgeon on the roof is prettier than the sparrow in hand.

Before Slooka had been assistent of Rangnick, who they fired under ridiculous circumstances as well.
Their coaches tend to be dead men walking weeks before they're eventually fired, since the board doesn't seem to have any discipline or mental decency

Assauer, the wanna-be pimp player

Always aiming for a league championship, and establishment as a top club, always falling ridiculously short.

Magath was fired while they were in the CL quarters and had qualified for the cup final

He likely aggravated their always dire and messed up financial situation too, with his "buy 35 players and see who's any good" policy

Then they get coaches back they fired and it's the same treatment all over again

Rangnick came back and gave up mentally exhausted.
Then they get fan favourite and club legend Huub Stevens back, who had won the UEFA cup with them, they do great and win steadily, then a typical break in of a few weeks and whoops he's fired again

Then they get youth coach Keller, who's likely capable but not a very imposing personality, and they treat him like scum from day one


They will never get it together, as they are inherently stupid.
A joke of a club.
Also I blame bad karma, due to the fact that their president kills THOUSANDS of pigs every day.

I could mention that our president turns those into sausages when he's not doing jail time, but that's not important

@Hans
But in Keller's case it is actually worse as it is not only Schalke and the fans who want his head ever since he was appointed, but the media as well. With Rangnick or Stevens, the media were at least supportive, IIRC.

Costa played a full part in today's training, Lee Parker said on Weekend Review earlier.

Höwedes hopes Schalke can rise to Chelsea challenge:
Schalke skipper Benedikt Höwedes is hopeful that the Bundesliga side can shrug off their disappointing start to the German domestic season when they travel to London to play Chelsea in the Champions League on Wednesday
http://www.espnfc.us/uefa-champions-league/story/2036082/benedikt-howedes-hopes-schalke-can-rise-to-chelsea-challenge

"We have always managed to put in good performances in the Champions League, even when we were not having the best run in the Bundesliga."

"We don't have to make the running against Chelsea, and that might be an advantage."

Jens Keller:

"We are not at eye level with Chelsea at this time."

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Horst Heldt:

"Chelsea are certainly not the easiest opponent for us right now."

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Klaas-Jan Huntelaar:

"Every match is a new match. We need to change things, otherwise we'll be facing a very difficult season."

— via ESPN

Uh-oh. I think this might turn into a steamrolling. Newest info from SSNHD is that Benedikt Höwedes might be out injured, too. This would mean that Schalke only has two healthy CBs left: 19 year old Kaan Ayhan and 18 year old Marvin Friedrich...

Christ

Indeed. I wonder if Jens Keller did something bad in his past life and karma now catches up with him. -_-

Marvin Friedrich only had his Bundesliga debut on Saturday when he was subbed in for the last 20 minutes in the match against Borussia Mönchengladbach. On the plus side, he has the title as Germany U19 Euro Champion 2014. ^^

rwo power wrote:Indeed. I wonder if Jens Keller did something bad in his past life and karma now catches up with him. -_-

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That or the training ground cook has gone rogue -