18, December 2020
Schalke 04: Come Back Rudi Assauer 0
The Bundesliga’s bottom club Schalke 04 on Friday confirmed the sacking of Manuel Baum after just 79 days as head coach, with Huub Stevens returning for his fourth stint to try to end their 28-game winless streak in the league.
Schalke are already on their third coach this season as Stevens, 67, replaces Baum, who was appointed on September 30 after predecessor David Wagner was sacked.
At the time, Baum was described as the club’s “last bullet” in the fight against relegation.
Wednesday’s 2-0 home loss to Freiburg left Schalke three matches short of the league record of 31 games without victory, set by Tasmania Berlin in 1965/66.
This Saturday’s home meeting with Arminia Bielefeld, who occupy the relegation play-off spot, is a chance for Schalke to claim a first Bundesliga win since January.
After nearly 30 years in Germany’s top flight, Schalke are six points from safety.
“The game against Bielefeld has enormous meaning for our club,” said Schalke director Jochen Schneider.
“The team needs a new impulse and we trust Huub Stevens and (his assistant coach) Mike Bueskens to bring just that.”
Stevens is a club legend having steered Schalke to their 1997 UEFA Cup final triumph, beating Inter Milan on penalties when Bueskens was in the side.
Stevens last stepped in at Schalke when Domenico Tedesco was sacked in March 2019.
The Dutchman led the team to a 4-2 win at arch rivals Dortmund the following month which kept Schalke in the Bundesliga at the end of the 2018/19 season.
“That was definitely the last time,” Stevens insisted at the time, yet just over 18 months later he is back.
The Gelsenkirchen club, who have huge debts, are taking a financial gamble with Wagner and Baum, who both signed contracts until 2022, still on their payroll.
Source: AFP
23, December 2020
Football: Arsenal in danger of relegation 0
West Brom manager Sam Allardyce on Wednesday taunted old rivals Arsenal by claiming the struggling Gunners are in danger of relegation.
Arsenal are languishing in 15th place in the Premier League after their worst start to a league season since 1974-75.
Mikel Arteta’s team are just four points above the relegation zone and were thrashed 4-1 by Manchester City in the League Cup quarter-finals on Tuesday.
Albion are second from bottom with seven points, five adrift of safety, and host Arsenal on January 2 in what Allardyce believes will be a crucial relegation showdown.
Asked if he regarded Arsenal as rivals in the fight to avoid the drop, Allardyce said: “If they are in the bottom eight at the moment, yes, absolutely.
“They’ve only won maybe one in the last 10 or so, and it appears their big results have come in the Europa League.
“And of course getting beat again last night (Tuesday), even though it’s not in the league, as it does with our players, drains the confidence of Arsenal’s players, of course it will.
“Because they’ll be wondering what has hit them, why they are down there, and what it is going to take to get out of that position.”
Allardyce often jousted with former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger whenever his teams faced the Gunners.
A veteran of several successful fights to avoid relegation in his long managerial career, Allardyce is confident he can save West Brom, potentially at the expense of Arsenal.
“I know what it takes, I hope I can convince the players to respond to what I say on what it takes to get out of it, and I hope we can push on Arsenal when they play us because they’ve got a lack of confidence, and try to beat them — or anybody in the bottom eight,” Allardyce said.
Source: AFP