In a special letter to members, the board, supervisory board, and players of FC Schalke 04 address their fans. Here’s what the players and club have to say.
After a disappointing 3-5 defeat against Fortuna Düsseldorf, FC Schalke 04 continues to stumble toward League 3. Despite the threatening situation in the standings, not all players seemed to have realized that the Royal Blues are now fighting to avoid relegation and that the goal of promotion is a distant prospect for the time being.
Now, the executive board, supervisory board, and players of FC Schalke 04 have addressed the club’s fans themselves in a special letter sent out on Monday afternoon.
In it, those responsible admit to mistakes in the composition of the squad and vow to do better in the upcoming winter transfer window. The letter reads: “The reasons for the current situation are complex, but we will deliberately keep them brief here: Mistakes have been made in the composition of the squad, some ideas have not worked out – we take responsibility for that. Players have not yet taken on the roles for which they were intended. The structures that are supposed to support and strengthen them are not working as they should to enable top performances. As club management, we will do everything in our power to correct these mistakes during the winter break. We will also act decisively when considering possible squad changes.”
The FC Schalke 04 management expects the team to stay focused and passionate for 90 minutes and secure three points against Osnabrück (Friday, 6:30 p.m.). These “basic virtues” must be demonstrated throughout the entire game from now on, not just for one half or less.
“We know how serious the situation is. We are aware that the upcoming games are of fundamental importance. The three games before the winter break are about collecting important points for Schalke. Our focus is on each week before the necessary measures are implemented in winter. The team, every single player on the pitch, the entire licensed area is called upon. We will support them with all our strength so that we can present a united front on Friday,” the statement continued.
The team, which has recently squandered a lot of goodwill among the loyal Schalke fans, has also addressed the fans in a self-critical manner: “We ourselves are very unhappy with the current situation. What’s more, we are ashamed of some of our performances in recent months! We had set ourselves much higher goals – every single one of us! We are very disappointed that we have failed to live up to the expectations of you, our members and fans, and also our own expectations. After a performance like the one we delivered in the first 45 minutes on Saturday evening, we all feel disappointment, emptiness, anger, and shame because we know that Schalke 04 is not worthy of this. There is no excuse for the first 30 minutes.”
This feeling among each individual carries the risk of breaking apart, blaming each other and digging in further, according to the team’s letter. However, the players of the crisis-stricken FC Schalke 04 say they do not want to “sink into self-pity or self-doubt or point fingers at others, but rather get back on their feet and search for solutions by any means necessary.”
The pros promise their fans that they will “show a different side” in the three remaining games this year and continue to seek their trust: “We all have different expectations of ourselves and we will face this situation head-on and get through it together with you!”