100 days Daniel Farke: A first interim report for the Gladbach coach

want to make a leap forward and compete for international places after a disappointing pre-season that ended in tenth place. Since taking office 100 days ago, coach Daniel Farke had to clarify internal team issues and a few other issues. At the moment it looks as if the foals will be harmonious again and their sporting performance will be more stable. We are therefore issuing the Gladbach coach with a good first interim report.

The transfer summer in Gladbach promised to be extremely turbulent early on. Some expected that after Matthias Ginter, other stars such as Alassane Pléa, Marcus Thuram, Jonas Hofmann or Yann Sommer would also flee. In the end, however, little happened: Of the extended circle of regular players, only Embolo left the team. On the other hand, you could land promising transfers with , Itakura and Ngoumou.

Farke managed early on to create a spirit of optimism and, above all, to improve the atmosphere within the team. Among other things, he managed to pull the listless Marcus Thuram with him, who is now paying him back with good performances.

Eighth place after six games: Gladbach on target so far

The foals are currently in eighth place in the Bundesliga with two wins, three draws and one defeat, which puts them on target overall. The team also reached the second round of the DFB Cup with a 9-1 win. The Farke team has not yet been able to set off a football fireworks display, but overall they have been able to show very consistent performances. The playing style of the Fohlenelf is much more reminiscent of days gone by: the games should be controlled with a lot of ball possession.

The start-up program for the foals wasn’t that easy either. After all, you had to play against Freiburg, Bayern and Hoffenheim, who are in 2nd, 3rd and 4th position. In doing so, five points could be taken – albeit somewhat fortunately. There was also a bit of bad luck in other games. Schalke were in the lead for a long time before Bülter scored in added time to make it 2-2. Shortly after the change of sides, the team was outnumbered against Mainz 05 and consequently lost 0:1. Hertha was defeated rather lackluster at home with 1-0.

The defense is in place: the injury-ridden offensive is still weak

There is currently room for improvement, especially on the offensive side. While the defense is already doing well without long-time leader Matthias Ginter and Sommer is holding up superbly, seven goals of their own are rather disappointing when you consider that five of them came from the first two games.

The offensive is currently very dependent on Marcus Thuram, who is the top scorer in the league with three goals and one assist, but who occasionally acts too selfishly. Pléa was still able to deliver three scorers, while all other players have a maximum of one scorer point. But it is also clear that Gladbach does not have that many options offensively. If a Lars Stindl is missing for weeks and Pléa is currently injured, there is quickly a lack of breadth and individual class. Jonas Hofmann has been rather disappointing so far, while Ngoumou still needs time and Herrmann and Wolf can no longer become big factors.

Now that he has tragically been seriously injured, everything depends on the quartet of Stindl, Hofmann, Pleá and Thuram. In principle, the players complement each other very well. Stindl and Hofmann are strong players, Pleá and Thuram are physically robust, Hoffmann and Thuram are quick on their feet and all players have a strong shot. If Farke manages to harmonize these four players, a much better goal tally can be expected. So far, this has not been possible – also due to injuries. Farke cannot be blamed, but he will have to be measured against this task.

Farke has stabilized Gladbach: can he also modify the foals?

So far, the coach has managed to give the team stability, which is an important basis. Christoph Kramer certainly also plays a role, who gets far more playing time again. A Julian Weigl will also be very important in this regard. With Koné, the right dynamic partner is also available. Accordingly, despite the Neuhaus injury, Farke does not have to worry about being able to muster a functioning midfield center. This is just as elementary as the mentality within the team. Since these two factors are there, you can be very optimistic in Gladbach.

Now it’s time to take the next step and act more freely, creatively and with more enthusiasm on the way forward. This can work, especially since Farke has done important groundwork and can now focus on such things. It is important to create automatisms and ideas on how to become more unpredictable and dangerous offensively. We are excited to see when Farke and Gladbach will be able to take this step.

So far you can be absolutely satisfied with the work of the new coach. In 100 days, Farke created a framework that you can work with. You had to expect nothing more and nothing less from this one. The hope for a good Gladbach season is alive and should Farke succeed in turning the other screws successfully, international business is definitely possible. But this should also be the aim with the team.

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This article was originally published on 90min.com/de as.