Robert Enke: 24 August 1977 – 10 November 2009. RIP

Matchday Twelve: Tearful Reunion

The last time we saw Michael Skibbe at BayArena, he was there to clean out his desk- the 07/08 season razed on its final matchday, ...

Matchday Eleven; Dawn of the Debt-ridden

Any good ghost story begins with a likeable hero, brave, well-intentioned, pure of heart. Usually the scene is set with the hero journeying away from ...

How I Spent My Pokal Vacation

Dear Diary; Well, all the other kids went off to play in the Pokal this mid-week, but we didn’t get to go since ...

Matchday Ten: The Swarm.

Earlier this week, when Jupp Heynckes said that it was time to start showing the other side of Leverkusen, it never once occurred to me ...

Matchday Nine: Are we there yet?

About two hours into the second half of today’s top-of-the-table clash between the Werkself and Hamburg, I found myself wondering what to have for dinner. ...

Diary of a Madman: Fantastical musings on a lonesome Autumn eve

I spent a very good year with Bayer and I certainly don't want to spoil anything about that time. ...

End of discussion

Yes, Germany’s keeper is amazing. His name is Rene Adler. He plays for Leverkusen. The city I’m living in is a mosaic of nationalities, ex-pats and ...

Matchday Eight: Razing Christmastown

It’s hard to dislike Nürnberg. A picturesque city whose architecture acts as a living tour through Western history and culture, its Christmas markets are ...

Matchday Seven: The Billy-Goats Snuffed

A note to the broadcast rights holders: Stop it. You’re not going to win and you’re just upsetting people. People like me, who just want ...

Aw, FCK.

The Kaiserslautern coat-of-arms might give the appearance of harmlessness, with its friendly little fish mouthing a happy hello, but today the fish were swimming in ...

Matchday Six: Putting your best foot too forward

Some 30, 000 fans packed BayArena this Sunday afternoon, the greater share of them hoping to see a bit of history. Were they eager for ...

Bobel to Bayer

Bayer, today, announced that they've signed Tomasz Bobel to a one-year contract to replace Benedikt Fernandez as second 'keeper. After successful training sessions with the squad ...

Matchday Five: Card Tricks

Pretend, for a moment, that you’re a pretty girl. Maybe some of you actually are. Maybe some of you have been pretending that all weekend, ...

Matchday Four: When winning's not enough

Earlier this week I read that Jupp Heynckes had told the squad to enjoy their time at the top of the table because it wasn’t ...

Number one? This will not do!

Complacency and Victory will rarely be seen walking the beach together and those choosing to rest on their laurels soon find themselves driven from their ...

Matchday Three; Lord have mercy

In Freiburg, should you ever have occasion to go, you will find a breath-taking example of Gothic architecture. The Freiburger Münster, a cathedral that only ...

Bender bumped up

Looks like we won’t be waiting until next season to dress Lars Bender in black and red after all. Originally set to transfer to our ...

Matchday Two; Our house is a very fine house.

There’s a certain pride that comes with moving into a new home. You paint, maybe stain the wood floors, add some wainscoting. Make the place ...

First Matchday: Send in the clowns

Mainz, says Rudi Völler, has a mosquito problem. That problem, in particular, involves Aristide Bancé. “He’s three-metres tall,” Völler says of the Mainz striker. “Yet ...

Ahead of the Bundesliga start, the Werkself get Mannschafted

Undoubtedly we’re all giddy as schoolgirls about this weekend’s start to the season, but the longest week supporters have to sit through has also been ...

Derdiyok saves face for the squad

One of the nice things about the Pokal for those of us beyond a train ride away from the stadium, is getting to see teams ...

The captain's back and headed for Potsdam

A cruel wiping of my USB drive claimed the original text of this update, so I offer this sad shadow of what may well have ...

Training Camp Ends in Victory

Two more friendly wins ought to help keep confidence running high before the competitive play begins in earnest next weekend. The Werkself’s first match in ...

Another season. Another coach. Another blogger.

With two weeks to go before the Werkself kicks off their push for glory in the 47th Bundesliga season, this space stirs to life. And ...

Scott

season comes to an end

Werkself’s season came to disappoint end as they lost 1-0 to Bremen in the DFB Pokal final via a second half deflected shot from Mesut ...

bad ending to season

Werkself ended the Bundesliga season in a disappointing 3-0 loss to Cottbus which was marred by some extremely sloppy defending by Bruno Labbadia's side. With ...

Düsseldorf jinx ends!

If Bruno Labbadia was looking for a reaction from Tuesday's loss to Bayern he got it as Werkself pounded Gladbach into submission 5-0. However far ...

Düsseldorf jinx continues

The Düsseldorf jinx continued as Werkself needed a late goal by Patrick Helmes to earn a 2-2 draw against Arminia Bielefeld. While Bayer 04's focus ...