Avoiding Scapegoats: Why Hans-Joachim Watzke must take the blame for Borussia Dortmund’s struggles

Recent quotes a cause for concern

Most recently a quote by Sebastien Kehl about the lack of courage in possession against PSG was made out as a veiled criticism of Edin Terzic. This echos similar quotes from Terzic from the same game.

Watzke may have enjoyed tactical talks with Terzic, or credit him entirely for getting the squad to have a brilliant second half of last season. This is reasonable with not many questioning Terzic after the failed title bid on the final day of the season. But as transfer business went awry, Watzke backing in such a manner Terzic is worrying.

While fans should be sentimental over their club, when decisions are made it should be because it is the better choice for the club while still upholding the values desired by its supporters.

Watzke hasn’t necessarily done this. While business decisions should not be made with sentimentality in mind, they should be made with the ambition of its supporters. Watzke’s recent quotes do not hold such ambition.

Stating that the club’s bumpy start is not a cause for concern is a ridiculous statement. The underlying numbers clearly show that the club has the same defensive frailties and midfield lethargy it had last season.

Hans-Joachim Watzke’s job is to keep the books in order, create a positive atmosphere behind the scenes, institute forward thinking policies and establish roles to enforce a distribution of power among the non-playing staff. While he may have the books in order, the transfer policy he has instituted is restrictive and not financially efficient.

FC Hollywood has become a moniker that could fit the drama of Borussia Dortmund’s backroom staff as well as it does for their title rivals. And Watzke must quickly set the tone and help the club get its act together, or the club can forget about the extra revenue from next season’s revamped UEFA Champions League.