VfL Bochum are stumbling through the season without a win, perhaps distracted by minor issues on the sidelines, which, if true, say a lot about the team.

VfL Bochum is currently fighting to finally celebrate its first victory in the Bundesliga in order to set an example in the relegation battle. The record so far is quite distressing.

First-round exit in the DFB Cup at second division club Jahn Regensburg, plus five defeats from the first six Bundesliga games, with only one point scored in the 2-2 draw against Holstein Kiel.

So you would think that there are far-reaching problems that Peter Zeidler and his team have to address. However, as the online magazine “Tief im Westen” and the “WAZ” are now reporting, there are side issues that make you think.

Because, according to the report, there is also internal discussion – not only, of course – about whether certain of Zeidler’s measures are right or wrong. The new coach is said to have imposed a ban on beer after matches and on trips home from away games. This apparently caused such a stir that Zeidler is said to have made concessions to the players before the match against VfL Wolfsburg (1-3), so a beer after a win seems to be okay now.

Two more points that, according to the WAZ, have upset some players. During away games, all players are supposed to gather in the hotel by 9 a.m., and after breakfast there is supposed to be a group walk – which usually takes ten to 15 minutes.

No beer after games, be back at the hotel by 9 a.m., take a walk together. And that’s for away games, every two weeks, 17 times a year in the Bundesliga: to an outsider, that doesn’t sound like hell on earth. If these are the problems of one or two players, you would think that the team can’t be doing too badly.

But it is: because even in October, VfL still has no three points on the credit side. Once again, the threat of relegation is looming, and once again a comeback is needed. The deficits could be discussed over a joint breakfast or walk, if that doesn’t seem too much for one or the other. Apparently, players or staff prefer to use the time to bring up such topics in public, perhaps to trigger a coaching debate.

This is almost as cheap as the many goals that have been conceded so far.