“No striker who will score many goals here”

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In the middle of the relegation battle, every club depends on an accurate striker. In the Bundesliga, with Stuttgart, Hertha BSC and Schalke, some clubs can sing a song about it. The offensive silence is especially noticeable in the royal blues from Gelsenkirchen. They have scored just seven goals in eight games since the start of the second half of the season. Over the whole season so far there are only 21 goals in 27 games, Bochum’s second worst offensive scored nine times more in the same number of games.

In an interview with the “Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung”, a legend of FC Schalke, Klaus Fischer (73) sees Michael Frey as one of the culprits. The German was a goal threat personified in the 1970s, scoring 183 goals in 295 games. The Berner, on the other hand, is still waiting for his first goal after twelve games. And even though he has already scored three goals, is enthusiastic, runs many balls and throws himself into every game, a striker is always measured by his goals. “If you play up front and don’t score, the criticism will come sooner rather than later,” says Fischer. He was sometimes asked what was going on after two goalless games.

The pressure is immense

For Schalke coach Thomas Reis it is clear: “Michi has to be more in the center, sometimes he wants too much, he even wants to throw in.” Frey’s move from Antwerp to Schalke should have helped end the goalscoring drought. Asked about Frey’s work ethic, Klaus Fischer says: “I doubt that’s enough. Frey is not a striker who is going to score many goals for FC Schalke.”

In addition to the Swiss, last year’s goalkeeper in the 2nd Bundesliga, Simon Terodde, also missed the goal. In the current season, he was only able to cheer three times. The 35-year-old has been consistently accurate throughout his career in the second highest league, almost always scoring more than 20 goals from the 2014/15 season onwards. But in the 1st Bundesliga it doesn’t seem to work.

The pressure in Gelsenkirchen has steadily increased in recent weeks, the upcoming games are all so-called six-point games for the royal blue, victories are a must. So also next Friday against one of the direct competitors, TSG Hoffenheim. If the knot in the storm doesn’t untie, they’ll lose touch with the spares at Schalke and probably have to plan another season in the second division and the mission of promotion. (nsa)

Source : Blick