Cologne in crisis again as Borussia Dortmund await

When Cologne last traveled to the Westfalenstadion back in January, many of the supporters in the away end missed Borussia Dortmund's opening goal because they were still holding up sheets of plastic as part of a pre-match choreography.

Fortunately, or rather unfortunately for Cologne fans, another four Dortmund goals followed that day, two scored by Erling Haaland, making his debut off the bench. But it wasn't the end of the world.

The visitors hadn't been expecting to win and, with 81,365 people — including this writer — enjoying affordable tickets, standing terraces, a beer and a Bratwurst under the lights in Germany's largest stadium, a good night was still had by all. Cologne went on to win four of their next five games, and all seemed well on the banks of the Rhine.

That all seems a long, long time ago now. COVID-19 saw football put on hold in March and Cologne haven't won a game since. The carnival club is in crisis again.

Relegation form

A 2-1 defeat at home to high-flying Union Berlin last weekend made it 18 games without a win for Cologne. The Billy Goats only have three points from eight games this season. Only 12 teams have ever started a Bundesliga season in worse form (including Cologne themselves in 2017-18), and only four survived (that Cologne team was not one of them).

On Saturday, they return to Dortmund to face BVB and the seemingly unstoppable Haaland in a stadium where they haven't won since 1991. Just like in January, they're not expected to win, but reports in Germany suggest that another thrashing could see sporting director Horst Heldt pull the plug on head coach Markus Gisdol after just one year and nine days in charge.

"We're too nice," said the 51-year-old former Hoffenheim and Hamburg coach. "Particularly in these corona games when it's quiet out on the pitch, where the fire is missing, that's where we need to push ourselves more."

Gisdol has a reputation as a lively, energetic and tough coach and, according to German sports magazine kicker, the players enjoy his methods: "They like the training, they enjoy the authentic sessions and they all pull together … only to collapse as soon as it gets serious."

Writing in the same publication, legendary goalkeeper and former board member Toni Schumacher also bemoaned the players' attitude during games.

"They look clueless, scared, timidly waiting for defeat," he wrote. "Markus Gisdol's approach is vibrant and encouraging but, once the game kicks off, he's too often a king without a kingdom, a general who the troops won't follow."

Missing fans

With Cologne's winless run (their longest since the 2005-06 season) coinciding with the absence of fans, it's tempting to see a correlation.

With a famously fanatical support and average home attendances of 50,000 in non-pandemic times, even in the second division, Cologne are among those clubs who arguably benefit most from their fans.

Having said that, a glance up the table at the likes of newly promoted Stuttgart, underdogs Union Berlin and local rivals Borussia Mönchengladbach shows that teams with good support can still make it work in these unprecedented circumstances.

More quantifiable explanations can be found in Cologne's inability to create chances from open play — only one in each of the recent games against Union and Werder Bremen.

Then there's the basic errors and lapses of concentration.

On opening day, they came from behind twice against Hoffenheim only to concede an injury-time winner. In an away loss at Bielefeld, the increasingly unreliable Timo Horn was beaten at his near post. More errors contributed to a derby defeat to Gladbach, while Stuttgart needed only 24 seconds to walk through a stationary Cologne defense and take the lead.

Putting in an average of 114 tackles per game (second only to Stuttgart) suggests effort is not in question. But with less than half of them successful, and a record six penalties conceded after just eight games, the quality of those challenges certainly is.

Up front, new signing Sebastian Andersson has only managed two goals so far (one from the penalty spot) and will miss the trip to Dortmund through injury. One-time cult hero Anthony Modeste has also failed to light up Müngersdorf the way he once did, scoring only four goals last season and missing most of this season with a back injury.

Boardroom intrigues

A crisis in Cologne wouldn't be complete without a series of off-the-field intrigues.

The chairman of the members' council was forced to step down following leaked emails and growing criticism of chief executive Alexander Wehrle, who is in danger of overseeing a second relegation since 2018. Amplified by the intense media coverage of the club in an emotional city, it's a plot to match any Netflix drama.

Schalke might be "tearing themselves apart" and stealing the headlines, but Cologne seem intent on reminding the Bundesliga that they are Germany's preeminent crisis club.