Et was such a nice phrase that Eintracht coach Oliver Glasner found as a description of the state of his team’s game that it almost imposed itself as the headline for the large text about the Frankfurt Bundesliga club on this page. “It doesn’t slip!” The statement is absolutely true, the connotation is not entirely true. The undertone is too harmless.
It is just not the case that only small things have to be changed in order to finally achieve the first win of the season, or that you just have to continue working undaunted to force the game, as the experienced full-back Timothy Chandler said.
Eintracht was lucky – otherwise they would have lost to Wolfsburg and Cologne. The Eintracht professionals are currently stuck in such a deep morass of self-doubt, perplexity and confusion that the fans have to be scared for the next few weeks. And not just because the next opponent is FC Bayern.
Struggle and cramp
One could develop pity at the sight of the passionate efforts of the Frankfurters against the 1. FC Köln. The whole struggle and convulsion led to a level that is otherwise maintained in the relegation zone. Countless little mishaps, carelessness and inaccuracies robbed the team of every rhythm and every single player the confidence in their own performance.
This was most clearly and frequently visible with Danny da Costa, but even the better ones of this Saturday, Evan Ndicka and Djibril Sow, did not seem free. Even Martin Hinteregger has lost his sovereignty. “We mustn’t lose our looseness,” warns national goalkeeper Kevin Trapp. One can only say – too late. Long ago, and Trapp is no exception, as demonstrated by his recurring insecurities in recent games.
How could it come to this? Expectations that were too high (of the team itself), which were not met due to the great change in personnel and tactics, led to a mental pressure situation that is not being dealt with at the moment. What can Eintracht help out of the trap? Only victories! How can Glasner increase the chance of victory?
Mental robustness
The answer to the 100,000 euro question is not easy: The meticulous Austrian can hardly do more training work, he has not made any obvious mistakes, he is praised for his dealings with the professionals. There is still the option of trying to change staff. With Hasebe and (if he is fit) Rode Glasner could bring a little more ball security and mental robustness to the field.
It’s not an excuse, but a reality: With Hauge, Borré, Lammers and Lindström, almost the entire offensive is still looking for orientation at Eintracht, and Jakic in the central midfield. The hope that the problems will solve themselves over time is therefore not entirely unjustified. However, the fact that the team is not as bad as it plays doesn’t guarantee a better future. The league has provided countless examples of how negative trends turned into negative vortices.
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