Winston BiscuitSutekhWinston Biscuit Schalke onto their 2nd permanent manager (3rd manager incl an interim) of the season.
A win last weekend sees them 1 point outside of the relegation zone in the 2nd division
I remember hearing that the Bundesliga and the broadcaster had to have a meeting when Schalke went down from the top division as it was so seismic for the league. They are (were) the 2nd most supported club in the country and have a big history. Seems weird to see them now fighting to avoid dropping into division 3
How have they managed to get in the mess they are in, is it just bad luck, players and management or are there other factors.
Shambolic decision making, but also a couple of hefty slices of very bad luck.
6 years ago they were runners up in the Bundesliga, but it sounds like they had a couple of disastrous years of transfers, both in and out, and immediately after that covid happened which hit their finances really badly too. They went down, came back up with their finances still not in great shape, then Russia invaded Ukraine, the German govt imposed sanctions on Russia and so Schalke had to cut ties with their main sponsor, Gazprom.
If they do get relegated then it's been said their financial situation breaks the rules of the 3rd division so they would drop to the 4th, the highest regional amateur level, and all players, coaches and directors contracts would be cancelled.
https://bulinews.com/the-tragic-downfall-schalke-04
Poor sods, that run of luck is unbelievable, you’d hope that the authorities would give them some leeway if they did get relegated.