Blasé Blues

The "04" is ironic in an Alanis Morissette kind of way

When your on a club that is a preseason darling to compete for the league title—the Hubcap—but you still remain in a relegation spot 9 matches in, how should you respond?

Should you talk about additional training in your post-match media interview, heap scorn on your gaffer for poor TACTICS!, or should you rally the lads at a players-only meeting determined to make next week’s match the one that puts you on the path to glory?

If you play for Schalke 04 this season, you decide a more understated approach is called for, and you party like its 1999.

After drawing with Eintracht Frankfurt this weekend, Jermaine Jones joined Manuel Neuer, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Hans Sarpei, and others to celebrate their continued suck till 4 o’clock in the morning.  (Warning: German link)

Now, manager Felix Magath reported that all players were in training the next day and there were no issues, but it just seems a bit irksome to see players that are integral to a club’s success or lack thereof to show so little humility in the midst of a poor season. If Eintracht had converted even one of their many chances and won all three points against the Royal Blues, would these players still have partied at some Asian bar in Frankfurt?  My guess is yes.

This likely sounds like a “Get off my lawn!” old-timer rant, but this all-night soiree was attended by guys that are some of the best paid in Bundesliga and appear to be headed for a weekly relegation scrap rather than challenging for the title.  Granted, Schalke 04 won their recent Champions League match and are in good position to advance to the knock-out phase,  but if their league form remains, there will certainly be no Champions League next season nor visits to Frankfurt to battle Eintracht.

Instead, they could be travelling to Frankfurt to play FSV Frankfurt in 2.Bundesliga for 2011.

So, lads, if you have to celebrate your mediocrity, do it out of the public eye.  Talk to Party Planner Robbie Keane if you need assistance.  Or, you can hold off on the late night shindigs during the season, put as much effort into league play as you’ve done in Champions League play, and celebrate at the end of the season with your supporters.

And if the excuse was that you really just had a craving for some Asian food after the match, you could have always ordered in.  That way, you don’t have to wait in the buffet line till 4 A.M. for the sweet ‘n sour chicken.