Schalke

So come on Germans, giv us the lowdown.... why exactly are they sitting top of the table at present?

What style of football do they play? do they have any stand out players or any player thats been having a particularly good season?

And it looks like they may well be in the CL next season, how do you rate their chances? are there any areas of their squad that drastically need improving and has anyone been linked with them?

They have blue kits.

Since 1888 wrote:They have blue kits.

So do Stockport but you don't hear me raving about it

Schalke have a good young coach with vision, they finally have structure, a concept, a new board that actually cares about the club, and not about themselves foremost. Schalke used to be like Newcastle in England, great tradition, extremely passionate fans and therefore a lot of financial muscle, but a simply incompetent staff.

Schalke play a more pragmatic interpretation of a 4-3-3 system with true wingers. Not necessarily defensive, but not full blown attacking like Werder or Stuttgart either. They have quite a few class players, but most importantly, they finally look like a team and seem to be mentally more stable these days.

With the new Gazprom deal, Schalke are even richer now, and can afford to pay very high wages. Only Bayern can compete in this respect.

@ blut

So you think they'll flash the cash in the summer so that they can have success in Europe?

I'm guessing they won't be seeded to highly so their likely to get a pretty tough group if they do qualify.

and they have Lincoln..... although he was injured for a while.

Tweedle wrote:@ blut

So you think they'll flash the cash in the summer so that they can have success in Europe?

I'm guessing they won't be seeded to highly so their likely to get a pretty tough group if they do qualify.

The team needs a quality injection if they want to compete with the big guys!

Apparently Shalke are in for Emerson Boyce as they lack a truly WC DM.

Tweedle wrote:@ blut

So you think they'll flash the cash in the summer so that they can have success in Europe?

I'm guessing they won't be seeded to highly so their likely to get a pretty tough group if they do qualify.

They actually will be seeded quite highly, because they were quite successful in the UEFA Cup in the last few years, didn't do too bad in the CL either, were unlucky against Milan a few years ago.

But yes, I expect them to invest. They are a very compact, defensively strong team, and efficient up front. That's where they will put their focus on I guess.

Hows Kevin Kuranyi playing?

blutgraetsche wrote:

Tweedle wrote:@ blut

So you think they'll flash the cash in the summer so that they can have success in Europe?

I'm guessing they won't be seeded to highly so their likely to get a pretty tough group if they do qualify.

They actually will be seeded quite highly, because they were quite successful in the UEFA Cup in the last few years, didn't do too bad in the CL either, were unlucky against Milan a few years ago.

But yes, I expect them to invest. They are a very compact, defensively strong team, and efficient up front. That's where they will put their focus on I guess.

But what seed group? 2nd or 3rd?

If its third it'll be a struggle for them

Kuranyi is having a great year, one of Schalke's key players. Klinsmann didn't call him up for the WC, that shock made him rethink everything, and work on his game. He has drastically improved under their coach Slomka this season, is now playing for Germany also, scoring important goals (e.g. twice against the Czechs). He scored quite a few goals in the league also.

He is doing very well, and has become a serious competitor for Klose and others in die Mannschaft.

2nd.... They are the last team in pot 2

20 Schalke 04 Ger 9.4550 11.0170 6.5555 13.4885 24.4440 64.96

I don't expect them to be cannon fodder, even if they are seeded third. They are not easy to beat, like I said, quite strong defensively, with good and pacy wingers and fullbacks, especially Rafinha is class.

They can easily cause an upset if in normal form. They will take the CL very seriously though, it's not like they play there every season.

It may be another flash in the pan season for them.

I remember they were in the Champions League with us in 2001/2002 they beat us 3-1 at their place. But we won 3-2 at Highbury with Vieira diving and winning a penalty of Oliver Reck.

They had Sand, Mpenza, Vermants, Wilmots, Hoogendalem etc....

[quote="Tweedle"]

Since 1888 wrote:They have blue kits.

So do Stockport but you don't hear me raving about it[/quote]

Why not? It is obviously an important part of Stockport's march to global domination

In addition of having Kuryani they also have the two Turkish Haltintop brothers who are quite tatented.

Stuttgart to win the title? Now "FC Choking 04" lost and Bremen are still knocked out since last Thursday's...?.

Very organised team , very hard to beat , I expect them to spend.
Blut summed them up very well.
By the way Blut, who do you expect them to sign?
I think they have more chance of signing potentials then established class players outside Bundesliga.

They already signed Jones, one of the biggest idiots in the Bundesliga. Perfect signing for Schalke.

Ricardo Jol wrote:Stuttgart to win the title? Now "FC Choking 04" lost and Bremen are still knocked out since last Thursday's...?.

Like I said yesterday morning, before Stuttgart had to play!

Bremen's loss were quite predictable! I hope Puro put a lot of money on that game!