Merry X-MAS and a Happy New Year

Bad week ends well

Thank goodness the Werkself made a somewhat conciliatory farewell to the 2019 football year with a late goal in Mainz.

The home defeat against Hertha left the team visibly knocked out. The longer the game is over, the more I come to the conclusion that we, the 12th man, are clearly partly to blame for the defeat. I'm not one of those people who whistle at their own team in the stadium and bash certain players. But somehow, in the middle of the week, it all came tumbling down on many of us.

Now let's celebrate the reconciliatory end of the year with the victory in Mainz and attack together again as a family in mid-January. For our sport, for our team.

It still hurts 24 hours later

Even 24 hours after the absolutely catastrophic performance of our team in Cologne it still hurts. Maybe there's some good news: This was by far the worst game of the season, it can't get any worse.

Absolutely lacking self-confidence characterized our boys from the beginning. A completely unnecessary (justified) swallow card from Havertz is the proof of all things. Unfortunate first yellow for Dragovic (it wasn't a foul from him), but it wasn't that. Bailey is replaced and loses the first ten duels and can't get past his opponent and then. Well, everyone has seen it, you don't have to comment on that.

The last week of Advent could have been so quiet, but after the defeat in Cologne it burns again, not the first time this year. But we have also all learned that the fire will go out at some point. But hopefully it will go fast and will not turn into an Easter fire.

There are defeats that don't hurt

Actually, it was already clear to everyone involved yesterday before the match against Juventus that our boys will continue to play in the Europa League in February. You couldn't realistically expect Atletico to give in to Moscow, and they did. We blew our progress with the home defeat against Moscow right at the beginning.

In this respect, the defeat against Turin doesn't hurt at all, quite the opposite. Nobody got hurt and nobody got an unnecessary card, that was the most important thing before the last three championship games against Cologne, Hertha and Mainz.

Monday's draw is in the Europa League and there are a lot of attractive travel destinations, but of course also some unattractive ones. Let the luck of the draw be on our side, even if the home game takes place on Weiberfastnacht.

There you go

Past after the victories in Bavaria and now at home against Schalke the fairy tale that Bayer can win no Saturday evening game at 18.30 o'clock. Gone are the myths that the Werkself can't win a match against a team that stands in front of us.

Again we could see yesterday that the standard situations of the Werkself have improved significantly again this season. What was seen as a shortcoming last year now leads to a goal in almost every game. It doesn't matter whether Demirbay or Amiri or Havertz shoot the corners. Traffic in front of the goal leads to an own goal or a goalkeeper error.

Actually the game against Schalke was a classic 1:1 game for me for a long time. The aggressive but always fair play of the Werkself paid off. Consistent replay is one of the keys to success.

That's the way it has to go when we play the last three days of the first half against the last player in the table before, third and fourth last. We now have 25 points, 60 is needed to move into international business. With the three coming opponents, the 30 must be at least halfway through the series, then we're still on course. The season will always be decided at the end of the season anyway and not in December.