FC Schalke: 5 things we learned from 2-1 win over Werder Bremen
2. Mark Uth isn’t good enough
At times, Mark Uth has shown glimpses of quality and continues to work hard, but there is no way around it; he’s been awful.
Uth has been Schalke’s worst player this season, and it really isn’t close. He was anonymous against Augsburg a few weeks ago, missed a decisive sitter as a substitute against Fortuna, and put in another woeful shift against Werder before being mercifully subbed out in the 72nd minute.
The 28-year-old German international recorded no shots or key passes and provided nothing resembling an attacking threat. At this point, Uth isn’t worth playing. Rabbi Matondo and Benito Raman are obviously better players than him, and if Schalke want a hard-working veteran, they may as well turn to the more productive Guido Burgstaller.
Uth has talent, but it’s never going to work out for him in Gelsenkirchen.
3. But Benito Raman is more than good enough
Benito Raman had a quiet game against Augsburg after a decisive brace in the DFB Pokal against Arminia Bielefeld. But then against Fortuna, Raman produced his best Bundesliga performance in a Schalke shirt, and he did so against his former team.
Against Fortuna, Raman looked lively in front of the home fans at the Veltins Arena, linking up well with Amine Harit and Daniel Caligiuri. He assisted the latter, should have assisted the former, and worked extremely hard to create chances for himself and teammates.
And then Raman was even better at the Westerstadion. He grabbed Schalke’s second goal and was a handful, including assisting Harit for the opener
Raman easily looks like Schalke’s best forward right now, and it would be ideal to see how he and Rabbi Matondo get along in the attack. These two players are part of Schalke’s future, and it is a joy to see how active both men are off the ball. Raman’s pace causes so many headaches for defenses.