The Offenbacher Kickers are leading the way in the Southwest Regional Football League.
No other league rival has been able to welcome as many spectators to its home games as the OFC: A total of 65,985 supporters in eleven matches on the Bieberer Berg is the absolute best in the fourth highest division.
5,999 fans pass through the stadium gates per game.
The Kickers are also top in the home record: With 26 points from eleven games so far, they are two points ahead of the second SSV Ulm.
The OFC Arena is a fortress;
only the duel with FC Homburg was lost.
In the most important currency, however, the Offenbachers do not have the most valuable brand.
37 points from 20 games mean only third place in the overall balance;
standing on the only promotion rank leader Ulm already has a lead of eight points.
The OFC is too weak away from home for a top club.
Eleven points from nine games result in only tenth place.
OFC has been going in circles for a long time
In the category of best defense in the league, the Kickers have also lost stability: With 22 goals conceded, they are currently in third place behind Ulm (12) and third-placed TSG Balingen (21).
In the past two seasons, on the other hand, the Kickers could not be dislodged from first place.
But: They are not promoted to the third professional league.
Overall, the OFC has been going in circles for years despite clear objectives.
In terms of sport, the Südwestgruppe has become an endless loop with no loophole in the direction of a higher division for the club, to the horror of the ambitious kickers.
The economic opportunities open up enough leeway for the people involved to be successful.
President Joachim Wagner and his comrades-in-arms make the necessary budget available every year.
However, the Kickers lack competence in the positions that are responsible for progress in the field of sport.
Some mistakes are always made that are so serious, individually or collectively, that the big goal of promotion is ultimately missed.
This time Offenbach, who completely reorganized themselves with managing director Matthias Georg in the summer, chose the wrong coach: Alexander Schmidt had to leave the traditional club at the end of September.
His successor Ersan Parlatan strengthened the performance of the team.
But the kickers will probably not be able to make up for the weak start to the season with only eleven points from eight games in the promotion race.
They can only hope that the presidency will not lose the will to invest.
Otherwise, the OFC, where the effort and income have not been right for a long time, is threatened with troubled times - in which the relegation battle could then be in the foreground.