Schalke 04 is not only on the brink of sporting collapse, but also faces a storm of fan anger at Saturday’s general meeting.
FC Schalke 04 is once again at the bottom of the second division table, its financial situation remains precarious, and the club’s management is under heavy criticism: the traditional club, which has fallen from grace, is facing a turbulent general meeting. “The situation is dramatic,” said former coach Peter Neururer in an interview with the Sport-Informations-Dienst (SID), “things cannot continue as they are at the moment. It’s not just in sporting terms that things are going in the wrong direction.”
On Saturday (11:04 a.m.), supervisory board chairman Axel Hefer and the dual executive board Matthias Tillmann and Christina Rühl-Hamers will have to answer to several thousand members in the arena about a series of failures, bad luck, and mishaps that have brought the former Champions League regular into existential distress.
“The biggest problem is that there is zero sporting competence at the top of the club,” says Neururer, who, as a member, hopes for “clear, concrete questions and clear, concrete answers” without things getting “loud and angry.” “Then there has to be a decision on how to proceed,” says the 69-year-old, because: “Schalke 04 has never been in such a bad way.”
CEO Tillmann, who has been in office since the beginning of the year and was given considerable power by Hefer, his long-time colleague on the board at hotel comparison portal Trivago, is particularly hard pressed to explain the situation. His track record is poor. Eurofighter Marc Wilmots was a mistake as sporting director, as was the contract extension with coach Karel Geraerts, who has since been fired. New coach Kees van Wonderen has also made little impact so far. “Who came up with the idea that he’s the right man for Schalke?” asks Neururer.
Squad planner Ben Manga was installed as the new strong man, but of his 15 new signings, only striker Moussa Sylla has so far proved to be a reinforcement. Neururer believes that what the former Frankfurt chief scout is doing at Schalke “from his position” is “horribly bad.” Tillmann has since admitted that they were “perhaps a little too bold” and “focused too much on potential and the future.”
Hefer is also beginning to suspect that his CEO may be overwhelmed by his sporting responsibilities. The supervisory board boss, who is not up for election on Saturday, has already been thinking aloud about reviving the abolished and, in view of the horrendous debts, probably also cut sporting director position.
In addition to the sporting misery, finances are the most explosive issue. Despite strict cost-cutting measures, Schalke is still €162 million in debt. Even more dangerous is that its negative equity has increased to €104 million – but it must be reduced by at least five percent by the end of the year, otherwise the club faces a points deduction next season.
Tillmann plans to present his plan on Saturday, which involves bringing in fresh money through a development cooperative. Members will be asked to buy shares in the arena. The proceeds will primarily be used to “reduce legacy liabilities.” Schalke currently pays €16 million a year in interest and repayments alone. A coronavirus loan, originally worth €35 million, still has to be repaid, and two fan bonds with a total volume of €50 million will mature over the next three years.