YB dismisses coach Patrick Frame – Joël Magnin takes over on an interim basis

You could feel sorry for Patrick Frame. On Sunday afternoon he stood on the sidelines in St. Jakob Park and shook his head after another bad pass from a YB player. You could guess what was going on in his head at that moment. And when the Young Boys lost 1-0 at FC Basel a little later after another disappointing performance by his team, Framework must have known what was going to happen.

It was only almost 40 hours later that YB announced Framework’s release on Tuesday morning – after less than three months into the new season. The Swiss industry leader’s record is disastrous: bottom of the table and 12th in the Super League with six points from nine matches; So far, overwhelmed bottom of the table and 36th place in the Champions League after clear defeats against Aston Villa (0:3) and at FC Barcelona (0:5).

Already on Sunday evening, after the 0-1 defeat in Basel, those responsible for YB avoided a clear commitment to the framework. It would have been strange and contrary to the mechanics of business if the Bernese had not relieved the hapless coach of his duties.

No luck with coaches, mistakes on the transfer market

The defeat in Basel was like a symbol of YB’s unsuccessful start to the season – the champions appeared without conviction and discipline, without self-confidence and enthusiasm. Again he conceded a goal after a standard situation, again a red card. And once again they missed many things that should characterize a top team.

Not only is Sandro Lauper not a powerful leader because of his dismissal in Basel after a serious foul on the halfway line, neither is the surprisingly flawed defense chief Mohamed Camara – and captain Loris Benito is only able to intervene in the action again after a long injury break. The team lacks drivers and leaders.

The two-week international break is of course an ideal opportunity for a personnel change in the coaching position. Intensive debates are said to have taken place in Wankdorf on Monday, although the result is by no means surprising. As was the case last season – after Raphael Wicky was fired – the previous U-21 coach Joël Magnin will take over coaching on an interim basis until a new head coach is found. “It was very difficult for us to release Patrick Frame,” says Christoph Spycher, the co-owner, VR sports delegate and, in day-to-day business, the supervisor of sports director Steve von Bergen, who has also been criticized. And: “It’s now about getting back on track and gaining stability.” They want to work with Magnin until the winter break.

Along with Frame, his assistant Enrico Schirinzi will also be released. YB is looking for a coach again. The collaboration with David Wagner three years ago was fraught with question marks; Wicky was released in the spring of 2024, even though he had become champion and cup winner with the team, had achieved all goals and was once again in first place. And now the experiment with frames also failed.

This also increases the pressure on the sports management. Spycher’s power is enormous, and since he gradually gained more influence in the hierarchy, things are no longer running as smoothly as before. That may be a coincidence. The Young Boys are likely to question the construct.

The poorer performance is particularly evident on the transfer market. Not only is the lack of so-called leading players obvious, there was also a lack of a designer in the build-up, a goal-getter, a competent reaction to the loss of substance in recent years – overall a good mix. Several players like Meschack Elia are dissatisfied because they were not allowed to move to a top league, and the mood in the team is said to be subdued. YB has many French-speaking footballers in the team who would like to be signed from Ligue 2 and need time in the new environment. YB would have had enough financial resources to improve the quality of the team before this season.

The curse on the former Winterthur coaches

After eight mostly wonderful, very successful years under Spycher, the much-celebrated architect of success, the Young Boys are now unexpectedly and severely challenged in crisis mode. The catalog of questions is diverse. For example: How good is the feedback culture in the company, is there any contradiction, are critical voices tolerated at all, and what is the self-criticism situation after this high? Doubts are also appropriate in view of several unpleasant separations between employees, coaches and players – and are reliably spread from those close and not so close to the club. It should not be forgotten that YB is still experiencing the most successful phase in the club’s history, both sportingly and economically.

On the one hand, Magnin has the difficult task of rebuilding an unsettled team. On the other hand, given the individual quality of some players who have been inexplicably weak for a long time and the lack of consistency among the competitors in the Super League, things can only go up. YB is likely to deal with numerous coaching candidates in the next few weeks. Perhaps it wouldn’t be a mistake to hire a strong, independent football teacher like Adi Hütter again.

In any case, the adaptable framework also suffered from the mistakes of the YB decision-makers. This made the curse of former FC Winterthur coaches even greater. After being promoted with Winterthur in 2022, Alex Frei only stayed at FC Basel for 34 games and a little more than half a year, Bruno Berner left Winterthur in 2023 and managed 33 games and nine months at GC – and the YB commitment is now already being paid for Frame three months over. Ognjen Zaric is well advised not to leave FC Winterthur too quickly.