An intense collision triggers a significant alarm at Schalke 04.
Once more, historical powerhouse FC Schalke 04 finds itself on the brink of ousting their head coach. Karel Geraerts is facing conflict with the team's recruitment director, Ben Manga. The tension is palpable, and a resolution meeting has yet to occur - due to Manga's time off.
The fledgling season is only six games old, and impatient traditional side, FC Schalke 04, is back to an old habit: the coach's seat is shaky once more. Geraerts, the man in charge for eleven months, is wrestling with dual challenges. The Belgian coach is gearing up for another relegation battle, having earned just four points from the opening four second division matches. And the new influential figure, Manga, has openly critized him.
"Pressure at Schalke has never been a new thing," Geraerts stated before Friday's game (18:30 on Sky and live on ntv.de) against Karlsruhe, a confrontation that holds special significance and potential drama for him. His Schalke journey began with a 0:3 loss against KSC. "I witnessed things that left me astounded," he recalled.
Geraerts needs the cure urgently
If a similar scenario unfolds on Friday at Wildpark, it could also be Geraerts' 32nd and final official game as coach. And Schalke could be making its 33rd coaching change since the turn of the millennium. "If the coach's position is under scrutiny, I can't halt it," said Geraerts, "when things are not going well, there's a lot of talk, but the sole remedy is three points." This restorative has been administered only eleven times under his leadership, with just one occurrence thus far in the current season.
The fact that condemnation is coming from the source, and in public, isn't helping matters either. Scout Manga, who was hired in May along with his team to serve as the recruitment and scouting director, has made yet another wholesale turnover of the Schalke squad with fifteen new signings. Manga's ambition is to seek out young, talented players at an affordable price, develop them in Schalke, and subsequently sell them for a profit - as he successfully did with the cost-free transfer and subsequent €95 million sale of World Cup runner-up Randal Kolo Muani from Eintracht Frankfurt.
Newcomers become a topic of contention
This plan has won approval from the club's management, with the intent of injecting money into the struggling traditional club while aiming for a top third placement in the table, aiming for promotion no later than 2026. However, Geraerts has, to this point, shown limited or no reliance on Manga's discoveries such as young defenders Felipe Sanchez (Argentina) and Martin Wasinski (Belgium, both 20). The recruitment director publicly voiced his dissatisfaction, shifting blame for the season's poor performance onto Geraerts: "He has alternatives, he can tinker." Geraerts countered, "I am giving all I've got for Schalke, and I'm not playing politics."
A resolution discussion has yet to transpire, as Manga is currently on vacation. Instead, CEO Matthias Tillmann and sporting director Marc Wilmots confronted Geraerts at the start of the week. "We spoke about this move," Geraerts reported, although the specifics "remain confidential." His compatriot Wilmots has thus far continued to back him. But what can happen in case of a defeat in the Wildpark?
Despite being only six games into the season, FC Schalke 04's historical struggle continues, with coach Karel Geraerts once again facing criticism. This time, it's from new recruitment director Ben Manga, who publicly criticized Geraerts' use of the new signings. The tension between the two could escalate further if Geraerts fails to secure a win against Karlsruhe.
