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It is rather puzzling, and the absence of clubs like Schalke, HSV, and Kaiserslautern in the Bundesliga is a bit painful, even though each and every one of those clubs got to where they are after years, if not decades of consistent mismanagement.The lack of consistency of the historical German clubs is puzzling, and I am not just talking about Schalke.
HSV is in the second division, Borussia Dortmund was once on the brink of collapse, Werder Bremen is a shadow of what it was once, Köln is even less than that and Kaiserslautern is well, Kaiserslautern. Gladbach is also not immune to bad seasons.
You might say that there similar cases in all leagues: Parma and Fiorentina in Italy, Lyon and Bordeaux in France, Everton and Leeds in England but in no other league have the historical titans failed so consistently. Especially Hamburg, Bremen and Schalke should be where Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham currently are. They either have a big supporter case, are implanted in rich regions, or both. I wonder what is wrong with their management, because that's where the root of the cause is.
If you think about it, the only heavyweights that have consistently performed at their level in Germany in the last fourty years are Bayern and Bayer. That's saying something...
On the other hand, it makes for one of, if not the most exciting second tiers of football across Europe. The fact that despite being lined with big names like HSV, Kaiserslautern, and Nürnberg, the teams that managed to get promoted last season are Heidenheim, a Bundesliga newcomer, and Darmstadt just further reinforces how far the formerly mighty have fallen.
The season is long enough to turn things around for Schalke still, so I would not lose hope on that front quite yet, @Imitatio. Especially given it's still a rather close race up there as everyone keeps tripping over themselves.