One Foot In The Grave

So for those who have not realised this yet, TeBe lost 0-5 at home on Friday to a team that really should have been finished off in the first half by any club that hopes to even be taken seriously in the football world. Ludwigsfelder were not even very good - though the last two goals against a 10 man TeBe were beautifully played out and actually a pleasure to watch. It was however only their second win of the season and they had scored a total of 12 goals prior to Friday.

What sort of a match report can I possibly write after that match? We might as well not have played because we pretty much didn't bother playing anyway. A deserved 0-5 loss against a team, who would be struggling against relegation if Yesilyurt had not gone bust and BAK were not just shite. There were no passes or chances to really speak of. Our corners are still less than poor, set pieces look amazingly untrained, from play we just did not play, tackles were awful, positioning terrible, structure i did not see to comment on and team spirit and that urge to win was not an issue as it was not there. If the team cannot be bothered then i will not make an effort either.

As I said earlier, the other teams are not going to play for us this weekend and they did not either - but then again nobody bothered for us this week including our team.

1. (1.) Hertha BSC II 19 15 3 1 38 47:9 48
2. (2.) FC Hansa Rostock II 19 11 5 3 28 45:17 38
3. (4.) FSV Optik Rathenow 20 11 5 4 11 28:17 38
4. (6.) Greifswalder SV 04 20 11 4 5 19 43:24 37
5. (3.) Türkiyemspor 1978 19 11 4 4 13 28:15 37
6. (7.) BFC Dynamo 20 10 6 4 16 34:18 36
7. (5.) Tennis Borussia Berlin 20 10 4 6 21 43:22 34
8. (8.) Lichterfelder FC 19 9 3 7 -6 30:36 30
9. (9.) Germania Schöneiche 20 6 7 7 -10 18:28 25
10. (10.) TSG Neustrelitz 20 6 6 8 -2 26:28 24
11. (11.) Torgelower SV Greif 19 5 6 8 -10 27:37 21
12. (14.) Ludwigsfelder FC 20 2 6 12 -24 17:41 12
13. (12.) Spandauer SV 20 3 3 14 -25 20:45 12
14. (13.) BFC Preussen Berlin 20 2 4 14 -37 13:50 10
15. (15.) Berlin Ankaraspor 19 0 4 15 -32 10:42 4
16. (16.) SV Yesilyurt 0 0 0 0 0 0:0 0

The TeBe fans at Lila Kanal all seem to have completely lost the plot. Some of them just went out and got really drunk, presumably hoping that in some kind of semi-religious madness that their hang-over suffering will make everything good. Others are acting as if it was just a dream and a notable few just have not been online so I would guess that they are also trying to pretend. Others are in denial and talking of a winning streak that is going to start again next weekend forgetting the fact that TeBe is real life and not some Disney film. At the same time others are bargaining, claiming that a change here and there or a new trainer may be the solution and are looking for the dream candidates to pull this one out of the bag. The chosen one was asked but made his opinion clear straight away:



Obviously that sexy man reads this site too and knows that even he could not turn this ship around.... But the whole idea that he and Roman might turn up at the Mommse tomorrow to get stuck in and sign some big deals is about as realistic as the discussion on the forum at the minute. If you read through the reaction and arguments of the fans though you will however be able to see all classic symptoms of bereivement there, which might indicate that behind the excuse finding, self-deceiving and fantasy world comments that inside most of the fans really do know what is happening to their club. Although losing 0-5 at home and facing lower lower leagues forever is not to be compared with the loss of a loved one, the symptoms seem very similar to me: Denial, Blame, Bargaining, Self-Pity and Depression.

So lets go through some of the points, many of which made here over the season:

1. This year was going to be our year again. This annual bout of arrogance always gets the fans excited but has to be backed up with substance. Just saying it is our season and even believing it is just not enough. This season was typical - all talk, no walk. With Hertha 2 and Hansa 2 both wanting to go up and having bigger teams to support them there was 1 qualification place available and 1 play off place - same as every season.

2. Once again we started the season terribly - this is what has cost us our place at the top again. Why are the team never ready when the season starts? Why the same mistake every year? True, we usually play a good second half of the season - everyone gladly quotes this but forgets the fact that it has never got us promoted.

3. The talk of the trainer being replaced is both correct but also ludicrous. We started with Dejan, appointed as a stop gap appointment, and replaced him with Gadja as another stop gap appointment. As the team started playing better his position was cemented but if we look back at the last two years then we have not had a real trainer. I think Dejan did very well and he remains a TeBe hero, I cannot really complain too much about Gadja either - they both did their job BUT if a team wants a serious chance of promotion it needs to have a real trainer.

4. Apparently we were playing 3-5-2 again on Friday. I did not quite see that myself with 10 players running around after the ball school playground style or just not bothering at all. Putting half your team in the center of the park and getting them to run about like hell is a tricky system to play at the best of times - playing this formation with a tactic involving nothing more than booting high balls up front to two rather short strikers is suicidal, especially when it leaves a weak defence that can be caught easily on the break.

5. However bad the training is and however the team may lack facilities, what they have is still good compared to some of their rivals in the league if not at an equal level. Of course a good trainer can make a difference but the mistakes, lack of imagination and basic skills as well discipline and feel for the game show to me as suggested here before that many of the squad are just not good enough. Looking elsewhere for blame may also be a valid criticism but the players themselves have not convinced me that they are good enough for promotion.

6. Where as other teams at the top seemed to have invested in their squads during the winter break, I was shocked to see TeBe sell one of their most successful players to St. Pauli. We also sold some of our players to promotion rivals BFC Dynamo, most notably the young Griesert who as we have mentioned in the past looked like a possible star for the future. The alarm bells should have been ringing in many head at that stage.

7. According to the very suspicious attendance figures there were 420 fans there on Friday. The idea that TeBe may be moving to the city center into a renovated 16,000 stadium at the old Post Bahnhof had been a story for a few weeks now. It would be a dream come true for most TeBe fans but it is a pipe dream. The story has not appeared here so far because it is so ridiculous to speculate about this in our current situation that i am speechless. Despite the good work that Hagen puts in for the club the press relations did not go well, the story seems to have leaked too early and some rather embarrassing comments in a Lila Kanal thread make the whole idea seem that extra bit ludicrous. It has also quite naturally raised some question about TeBe finances and money plans for this project...

8. ...Mystery still surrounds one of our major sponsors Treasure AG. I still have no idea where they have their money from or what they do to earn this money, nor do I have a clue what their postal address might be. They do not seem to have a great Internet presence, their logo looks like it was made in Windows Paint by somebody's children and it seems that they are connected or represented somehow by two people with a long history of involvement in football clubs that could be possibly described with the word failure.


So to sum this up I will try a realistic analysis of the situation. Of course an optimist can claim that promotion is still possible and they would be correct in theory. A pessimist might suggest... well I do not actually know how things could be worse at the minute so let me just try a realistic approach:

TeBe have failed once again to get a promotion spot. Even gaining a play off place does not look likely and, although I have not looked, the southern division (from where the competition for the play off match would come from) is usually stronger than our division. Despite the arrogance and hopes pre-season, the same mistakes were made again. The squad is not good enough to play consistently throughout the season and we have not had a trainer suited for the job. Any talk of a new trainer or new players must be met with the confusion suitable, as fans try to discuss who should come here as if they are giving away a dream job - how a new trainer would be paid or why anyone would want the job I cannot imagine. Seeing as we will be playing Verbandsliga next season anyway, I would suggest that the current trainer and squad may be suitably skilled and possibly all we can afford. Although it is great to see the fans at TeBe, every season sees a drop in numbers that we will not be able to match with new recruits for the lower division. 400 Fans is a laughable 2.5% of 16000 planned for the new stadium and 200 would make a solid 1.25%. A drop in fans and a lower division would see a drop in advertising revenue and press interest, while at the same time the look of the new division seems to imply that costs may not drop at all. The Treasure AG will more than likely disappear as quickly as they appeared into my world, and still I cannot even find an address to send them a thank you postcard, and I do not see a flood of new sponsors to fill the gap. The financial struggle of last year may soon seem like a storm in a tea cup and the consequences for the women's and youth teams are all too obvious in such a situation. All these years of Oberliga are finally over but no strategy, undying arrogance and no visible ability to learn from past mistakes means that we leave it in the wrong direction, certainly into complete insignificance and more than likely we can sign off the last chapter of an otherwise proud and inspiring history book. The question the fans that seemingly share this view are wanting to ask is whether they will still go to TeBe next year. So far their answers are a resounding yes. But the real question is whether there will be a TeBe to go to next season...

...but as they say in England: It is not over until the fat lady sings, but sing she will however on the 8th of May - Montserrat Cabelle, here in Berlin. If we do not win all our games before then, well even the optimists will have to face the fact that it is over then.



Tickets start from 40 Euro, which is probably about the price I would possibly pay for a season ticket next year if we are lucky enough to survive.