Managers gone, coaches gone – that’s how it was at Eintracht Frankfurt in the summer. It was clear that the readjustment would not be easy. But there was no telling that it would crunch and creak. And maybe it has its reason in spring.

Things are not really going well at Eintracht Frankfurt in autumn 2021. Nobody would dispute that around the city forest either. A miserable league start, the end of the DFB Cup and still not really a real line in the game of the Hessians. Eintracht is a building site. The excavation work on this very construction site began unintentionally in the spring – and could now take revenge.

At the time, it was first Fredi Bobic, who recently, from the summer onwards, no longer feels like being a manager at Hessen. After tough and protracted negotiations, it was clear: Bobic would swap Main for Spree and work for Hertha BSC from the new season.

First Bobic, then Hütter

Shortly afterwards, Adi Hütter came around the corner and after that, from the summer onwards, he no longer felt like being a coach for Hessen. Here it was quick and painless, Hütter finally had an exit clause. From that moment on, however, it was clear: On the Frankfurt bridge, it will soon look completely different in terms of personnel. A new sports director had to be found, a new coach had to be found.

The problem war: the search continued. And takes. Markus Krösche came late as the new sports director, who later presented Oliver Glasner as the new coach. Certainly not too late, but a lot of time was already lost for such an extensive restart.

Time and again is asked for: time

And now, in autumn, it’s jerking. The general impression is that the squad doesn’t really fit, it’s not very harmonious. Many newcomers are far from being “fully integrated”; the trainer is still looking for education and direction. Time and again is asked for: time. Time that is not really available in the tightly-timed Europa League-Bundesliga rhythm.

A thought experiment suggests itself: What would have happened if, say, it had already been clear at the turn of the year that Hütter and Bobic would leave – and Die Eintracht would have presented the two successors promptly? This would then have been able to calmly prepare the squad and everything else for the new season.

Things are slowest in Frankfurt

Sure, many other Bundesliga clubs will also readjust in the summer – and are in the middle of the discovery phase. Or have already completed these again. You are welcome to inquire in Wolfsburg. In Mönchengladbach or Leipzig, too, they certainly had a different start-up. But in Frankfurt at least it seems that the changeover is going to be the slowest. Only here are two positions to be filled at the same time.

In contrast to Wolfsburg, however, this should not lead to hasty shots in Hesse. Here we continue to bet that the innovations, the new ideas, the new players will finally, soon, hopefully ignite. But you can’t get rid of the feeling that a little more lead time would have been good for the Eintracht 21/22 project. It is the late vengeance of a beautiful spring.