RCD Mallorca

By: Jeremy | 2 Comments

Quick…name the only unbeaten team in La Liga over the past five matches. You guessed it. Its the boys from Palma. Following a November 6th draw with Sevilla, Mallorca has beaten Racing, drawn with Athletic and Granada, and yesterday kept the run going with a 1-0 away win to bottom team Zaragoza. Although such a run has left the team in 11th place, they are still just three points above the drop zone in what seems like a remake of last years race for safety.

While 3 draws and 2 wins against mostly inferior competition is nothing to make us think we are now contenders for Europe, for a team that was thought to likely implode following the departure of Laudrup, Caparros has quietly done a great job of bringing the right mix of young players into the lineup to give them confidence and show their talent while also giving some veterans who deserved more playing time a chance. The result is that we now have a team that is putting the negativity behind it and playing the kind of football that is going to get some points. Pulling a goal back on the road to Granada to earn a tie after a suspended match and holding on to a one goal lead on the road against Zaragoza showed something, especially after they failed to hold a lead against Athletic in a game they should have won. We can see progress and a coach who is leaving his mark and who seems proud to be a part of the club. The belief in youth is only going to be successful if the team gives the right players a chance and we can win some games to reduce the week to week pressure. That is currently happening and with the final four weeks against Getafe, Levante, Real Madrid, and Rayo Vallecano, there are still some points to get.

Caparros best moves have been to get Casedesus, Perreira, and Chori Castro more time. There were talented players who were not being given a chance to show their talent or in Castros case return to form. Perreira has been great in the midfield and Casedesus has been good for real offensive movements including the winning goal yesterday. The return of Nunes has also helped and with Ramis and Aouate, the young players getting mixed in are feeling confident.

Despite the recent wins, the team is still lacking offensively but the team has quietly fixed a mistake made in the offseason when they had a last minute deal for Marvin Ogunjimi from Genk in Belgium. A deal was signed but a mistake by Mallorca will not allow him to play until January. However, he has been brought in to get used to the club and will be ready to go when he first eligible. Expect him to make an impact as he scored 22 goals in Belgium last year and while Belgium is not Spain, he will do as well as anyone we have and can only help maintain a spot that is safe.

With the recent improvements in results and the commitment to Caparros, the question will be whether or not Ferrer spends a bit more money to help provide other options to the club. Caparros’s satisfaction with many players notwithstanding, adding players is a must as the race for safety is going to be a long one.

Mallorca fans can also take heart that the overall performance of La Liga seems to be down this year. Real Madrid and Barca not withstanding, Valencia is more beatable, and the surprise of Levante not withstanding, Sevilla has looked uninspired, Malaga has not done as well as their high priced talent was expected to do, and Atletico and Athletic are very mediocre. While Mallorca is not a top six club by any means, with the latest results, if the team looks up, you can bet Caparros is telling them they can make up some points on the teams above them, most of which dont scare anyone.

As with any season, there are going to be ups and downs but in Mallorca, the ups create more excitement because the team has been going downhill since the beginning of the year when they were already looked at to be relegation fodder. The loss of DeGuzman, the failure to bring reinforcements in, and the Laudrup mess have all been forgotten over the past month as Caparros has worked his magic. While players are key, ownerships willingness to meet Caparros’s contract demands when he surprisingly became available, may be the teams best move since allowing Guiza to be transferred for all that money.

Lets hope all the positivity continues and with a home match against struggling Getafe coming up, Mallorca fans have every reason to be excited about the positive moves that are changing this club for the good.

By: Jeremy | Add Comments

Mallorca played surprisingly well at home today against Sevilla. They basically dominated a team that is trying to slide into a CL spot yet could only get a 0-0 draw. Unlike last weeks game where crossing the center line was cause for celebration, Mallorca created real chances and should have finished more then one and won this game comfortably. Sevilla looked like the team facing a relegation dogfight.

While Capparros probably has Mallorca on a level where they can compete with any team other then Barca and Real Madrid, if they cant find someone who can score, these draws will end up sending them down when all is said and done.

Nsue is Mallorcas best offensive player but he is used outside on the wing to open up the match where either Castro or maybe Hemed can get some space and finish. The Sevilla game was a good chance to show the intelligence of this set up but if Alfaro, Hemed, Tejara et al cannot score, what is the point. Mallorcas best two players, Nsue and Castro, are on the wing and can only do so much. This approach will make the team seem more attractive but the lack of talent up front is going to be a problem. What I do not get is why Perreira and Casadesus are not starting. These two need time to show if they can be answer to the goal scoring drought.

After the rest of the games are played this weekend, Mallorca could very easily be in the relegation zone. If the team is not panicking yet, it should be as every game is going to be tough as they simply have not found any level of consistency. Capparos, still winless as Mallorca coach, will continue to work and get this team better. The Sevilla game has to give fans some hope but for all the good things that happened today, the bottom line is they allowed two points to slip away.

The life jackets are on and if things are not fixed soon and some points earned, we will be in the water. Safety from there will be near impossible.

By: Jeremy | 2 Comments

Its been a quiet couple of weeks in Mallorca as the team adjusts to a new manager with a new system and tries to figure out which players will be available on any given day as there have been some injuries, some more serious then others.

While the emotions have settled down somewhat over Laudrup’s departure, Capparros has quietly settled in as the coach and is trying his best to get some offensive creativity. What has followed are draws with Atletico and Valencia picking up two points that even the biggest optimists did not expect. Mallorca still sits in 12th place with 9 points with a must win game against Gijon at home on Wednesday. While Mallorca did not play particularly well in those two games, they did show that the coach will be able to maximize the talent he does have to work with.

The goal of the team now is simply to stay above the drop zone and hope that three teams fall back and begin solidifying their relegation places. These last two results have been great, but the team is still in trouble simply because of the lack of talent. You can only hold off teams pushing toward your net for so long and Mallorca should have lost both of those games. Nsue and Castro, the teams two best players, have basically disappeared and while Hemed is good from the spot including a pressure filled kick against Valencia, he is not the answer.

Luckilly it seems like the talent level in LaLiga has dropped. Yes the good teams are as good as ever, but the bottom 10 teams to me are worse then they were last year. That does not mean much other then Mallorca will have a better chance to survive as 10-20th place will be determined by games like the one we play on Wednesday.

With the next two games likely being losses in that we play Barca and Sevilla, winning at home to Gijon is a must. A loss will drop us very close to the relegation zone and by the time Barca and Sevilla get through with us, we could be in the bottom three very easily where the pressure will mount. A win pushes us up and gives us the relaxed confidence that is often needed to steal points on occasion against Barca and Sevilla.

Watching this once exciting team is painful. There is no offensive creativity and our talented players are smothered and taken out of the game while we rely on Aouate to keep the net safe and our defense to stay strong in front of him. Not like the Mallorca of two or three years ago where goal scoring threats were commonplace throughtout the game and the team oozed confidence.

As nice as these recent two points are, with injuries to Kevin that will keep him out for some time and Zuiverloon not totally healthy and Chico being a terrible player, the defense is no picnic either. Expecting to hold off more talented teams while we watch Tejara, Alfaro et al, fail to show any real talent, and an overmatched Hemed being asked to carry the offense, we have to hope we are still competitive come the winter break because some reinforcements up front will have to be brought in if we are to stay up.

A sign of a team with fight in it will show the results that they showed against Valencia and Atletico, but they will not then lose a home game against a relegation rival. Therefore the book is still open on the new regime and the pressure has to be there on Wednesday despite it being early in the season. Mallorca will likely eek out a 1-0 win on a crap goal or a PK leaving many questions unanswered, but still giving us hope this team can finish safe.

By: Jeremy | 6 Comments

The soap opera continues in Mallorca as Laudrup was bought out of the final year of his contract and left with assistant coach Larsen to look for another gig which will no doubt open up for him.

The departure of Laudrup was easy to predict yet the fallout is more serious then outsiders will understand as there is now division amongst the board of directors that has gone more public then many would like. While anyone who follows the club knows that owner Ferrer did not preside over a united group of leaders in the club, the Laudrup affair and the hastily called press conferences to address various issues only made obvious the problems many knew existed between Ferrer and the board members. In this corner its Cerda and Coca and in that corner its Ferrer and Terrassa. Does someone appear to be the ally of Ferrer when in fact he is not? Is someone trying to create chaos to angle for a purchase of the shares at a reduced rate? Hmm. What is the status of club royalty, the Nadal family?

When a club ruins its finances while playing well enough to qualify to Europe only to get kicked out of the competition by FIFA(many believe unfairly), and on top of that seeing relationships destroyed, there are going to be problems for the leadership that remains. The financial issues have caused much fingerpointing and time does not seem to heal old wounds.

The end result has been the forced sale of many players, poorly handled contract and transfer negotiations reducing the overall talent level at the club, the destruction of the relationship with club legend Manzano and as time passes, the name calling and buck passing between members has driven Miguel Angel Nadal to resign his board post in frustration. For a well liked players coach in Laudrup to leave because he did not like coming to work win or lose, it has to hurt the team no matter how you look at the decision. While he angled a buy out to get some money, the club knew that he could not stay as too much had been said and done all the way around. If the Nadals let their love of the island and the club be surpassed by their desire to avoid this childish behavior, then the money and name recognition behind the Nadal family goes away which hurts the club and not the Nadals. Seeing Rafa show up at half time of a game to inspire the crowd and just to say hello is a benefit that the team has to appreciate and if the relationship with the Nadals cannot be repaired, then Ferrer and his minions deserve to lose whatever ownership interest they have in the club even if his enemies are no doubt unfairly trying to create chaos to get him to sell.

Do you understand all this yet? Simply put its a mess that even the last minute luck of surviving the negative weight of last season could not overcome.

Whether you agree or disagree with how the club handled Laudrup and what they did to give him a chance to win, its time to move on atleast from a playing perspective. While the board problems will exist until an outsider owner steps forward and buys the club, Ferrer still needs to make sure he has people in the right positions on the field to keep the team in La Liga so they can hopefully recover and become what they were just a couple of years ago and over the past decade or so, which is one of La Ligas most entertaining and top finishing teams in La Liga not named Barca or Real Madrid.

Ferrer has made the right decision bring in Joaquin Capparros to replace Laudrup. While Aragones was likely asked to come back, his age, unwillingness to deal with the drama, and desire to coach a more competitive team, likely made him bow out of consideration quickly. This may to be Mallorcas luck as they were able to sign a coach with a proven La Liga track record and who has the experience and desire to work with young players. He has real enthusiasm that even club legend Aragones does not. He sees and understands that with a club like Mallorca, developing youth players will be what keeps the team in La Liga and whose value can be parlayed when necessary to get the money for a veteran player that might be needed to make the occasional push for a European spot. Here is a guy who coached Villarreal, Sevilla, Depor, and Bilbao that only became available because there was a board shakeup over the summer with Athletic and his contract was not renewed despite such a strong year. Following his departure in Spain, he ends up in Switzerland only to quit five games in because he didnt get along with the owner. Lets hope its not an omen.

Capparros will be paid higher then any coach Mallorca has ever had and no doubt the drama of the team forced Ferrer to ante up to get him, but in exchange they only signed him for the rest of the year which could come back to bite them if he keeps the team up and a better job opens in the summer. He would be in demand. Mallorcas mistake was not adding atleast a second year to the contract with an out clause for both sides in case of relegation if they truly believed he was the right coach. Otherwise look for some chippiness between Capparros and Ferrer if the team plays poorly or does not secure safety before the last few weeks of the season.

On the field where it matters Capparros will get all he can from whatever youth we have. Nadal was kind enough to stick around as a fitness coach so the team has old and new guard to maximize the talent we have and find new talent.

La Liga is shaping up like last year in that you have your top 6-7 teams, an eighth team which might surprise ie Betis, and then 11-12 teams that could finish anywhere from 9th to last assuming one team does not fall off the cliff and cant recover ie Hercules. Spain is the most competitive league in terms of talent and parity. While like most big leagues, you have your top 3-4 teams, but beyond that, most of the other clubs can finish anywhere in the standings and it is very close. There are no patsys as even the newly promoted teams seem to adapt and get some big wins quickly. Therefore there is no room for mistakes again this year.

Mallorca has 7 points from six games. A good sign was last weeks game with Osasuna on the road. With no coach other then a stand in Nadal, down a goal, and down a man, they got the equalizer to get a valuable point. It was really a game they could have won and a lesson learned from that game is dont wear those white uniforms as they make the team look like a bunch of slow pokes. Check out the highlites……

With a somewhat easy schedule to date, Mallorca really needs to have done better, but in light of all the issues the team is not in a disasterous state. The turnaround has just been delayed a bit and Capparros is the guy for the job. At midtable but only 3 points from the drop zone, the season is shaping up like last year except the winning and losing streaks will likely not be so dramatic as last year. I will still watch the back end of the standings and hope there are three teams that assert themselves for relegation to make things easier on us.

Lets hope before the end of the season that the board is either gone, including Ferrer, and a new owner steps in or if not but the team survives, that we get Capparros extended for next year. You can bet he will push for it during the season if the team does well and he and Ferrer will likely have some verbal sparring sessions similar to those he had with Laudrup.

Like sands in the hourglass, these are the Days of Our Lives in Mallorca……

By: Jeremy | 3 Comments

Four games in, Mallorca sits on 3 points, points which were luckily achieved the first week of the season as the result of a goal by our best player who is no longer with us. In other words we have now lost three straight matches, no player on the roster has scored a goal, and all we read about is what Laudrup is doing wrong and that he needs to be fired. What is wrong with you people?

Now I am no Laudrup homer, but criticism of him has been excessive and despite the crawl across the line last summer, he lead them to safety in the first year of his two year deal. With the financial mess allowing him to even have the Mallorca job, that was the goal no matter what spin you put on it and he achieved it. Such success/luck when many saw us going down for many reasons did not give managment a free pass on making the team strong for this year.

Yes I am aware of the rift with management that seems to have existed since he was hired, and like other great players who go in to management, he is not an asskisser and probably does not back down from managements suggestions he does not like inflaming the problem. He and Maradona are the prime examples of such coaches and they come with faults, but they can lend real help and credibility to teams, especially those with young players. If management does not understand that going in, dont hire them. Hiring them and undermining them makes it hard for them to do already a tough job.

Unfortunately Mallorca is not the Argentine FA in financial terms otherwise Laudrup would have been gone long ago. So now we have team management, yes that same team management who put the team in a financial hole to the point where we lost a European place and because of such a drastic response to right the finances, almost cost us safety. As a result, this is not a reason to be supportive of anything they say about Laudrup and why he is the problem for the teams performance.

In other words, Laudrup has been undermined since he got here. He knew going in it was a tough place to be for many reasons, but he rolled the dice hoping to prove himself enough to land a bigger gig. We got him cheap so it was a good match under the circumstances. Now he is being pressured in ways that he should not based on many factors, and this pressure rolls down to the players who are desperate to show the can atleast score some goals now that DeGuzman is done. This leads to a bad environment and an already understocked team is going to be worse then it was already.

If management wants Laudrup out, fair or not, do it now and bring in your generic replacement. Making such a decision almost has to be done not because of the performance on the field as you cant judge any coach of a small club after 4 games, but because management does not like his strong personality, but also to cover your mistakes of not funding as good a team as possible and having to listen to Laudrup remind you of it every time you criticize him. You brought him in without doing your homework, and then fail to provide him with the players he needs to be competitive. If you are not and were never not willing to pay the buyout that came with such a firing, keep your mouth shut and continue to support your coach. Unity is worth some points over the course of the year.

Laudrup is correct in stating we need a striker. You dont need to be a coach or ex world class to understand that. The failure by management to prepare the team for the inevitable DeGuzman transfer shows that they need to be more worried about the roster and not comments from your coach.

Things can still be fixed but further indecisiveness will only hurt the team more then it is already hurting. The good thing about being a bottom feeder team is that we only have to beat out three other teams to stay up and hopefully then transition into the days of Dani Guiza and Jurardo et all of just a couple of years ago. Even as piss pour as we have played, we are still ahead of three teams and others like Gijon have their own issues. If you wont get rid of Laudrup now, send him more votes of confidence and work with him on spending DeGuzmans money on players come the winter transfer to make what will be the push for safety.

Its a mess in Palma, but nothing a win against Sociedad at home on Sunday will not temporarily fix. While it would be good to get some points, the priority has to be supporting Ladrup through the year or get him out now. Calling Hector Cuper?

As you fans decide who is to be believed and who should be gone, voice your opinion.

By: Jeremy | Add Comments

Only two matches in, Laudrup seems to be the favorite to be the first coach in La Liga sacked. While losing to Betis and showing no ability to provide any sustained form of attack was not good, considering the result with Espanyol and that we sit with 3 points from two matches, its not the results on the field that are causing Laudrup problems.

If this team is going to stay up, it needs road wins on occasion against teams like Betis. Despite the heat it was a more then winnable game. The loss simply justified Laudrups longstanding complaint that we are short a striker. He is not criticizing any of his players his belief is not something that an outsider looking in would disagree with.

Because of his outspokenness, he is going to get fired. The only thing holding up the dismissal is the fact the board does not want to pay his contract and then bring in a new coach and pay them. To use the excuse that relations have gone bad to justify a firing two weeks in shows that management is in over their heads and we need new ownership and leadership before we need a new coach. For all the financial difficulties Mallorca has faced, to compound the pressure with poor coach and management relations only worsens the strength and stability that is needed at all clubs and can be obtained with little hit to the pocketbook. The results on the field and the financial issues not withstanding, the poor relations between Laudrup and the club is inexcusable.

As things stand now, I support Laudrup and want him to stay unless a big name coach wants to come coach for pennies. Absent that, Laudrup does not deserve to be fired now. We all know the problems with Laudrup and Ferrer began last year and there was pressure to fire him then. His guaranteed contract saved him. Whether you can afford to pay a fired coach or not, once you decide he is not right for the club, fire him or let him stay and eat his contract and move on. Mallorca managment goes back and forth and such behavior caused their attention to be diverted from the transfer market where failure to address the clubs needs have lead to a weaker club money not withstranding.

I dont see how any coach, absent a player mutiny, can be fired before a season is half over, especially if the coach is leading a small or less talented team. Should Laudrup have been dismissed at some point early in the offseason? Maybe. However, once management fails to pull the trigger valuing coaching type money over club stability, you cant make threats on Laudrups job once the new season begins and just after two matches, one of which was a win.

While I am sure there are some players unhappy with playing time, I believe most of them like him and dont have a problem playing for him. The young players like Tejara and Nsue, who for now represent the clubs future, actually like him and are glad young players are getting a chance to play. Now if the team is 15-20 games in and not winning at all, then maybe you fire him, but at this point, from watching the first two games, you can bring Mourinho to Palma and the results wont change much.

Mallorca was lucky to hold on to Ramis, Castro, and Aouate in the offseason as they are important players, but managments failure to make alternative arrangments once they knew Deguzman was leaving has not only left them with egg on their face, but has left the club missing its most important player by far. Now they want to change the focus on to Laudrup.

The damage is done in terms of the relationship between Laudrup and Mallorca. Win or lose, he is not back next year. Even if it turns out firing him is a good thing, you hate to have any kind of lame duck coach in top level football two games in to the season. Its a recipe for relegation for a small club.

Until this matter is sorted out, Mallorcas play on the field will suffer which is not good in light of their overall talent level and inability to score goals. Laudrup needs to be immediately dismissed or given a vote of confidence with real communication being repaired. The former option is probably the simplest, but it will leave the club with more egg on its face then it already has from all the financial and mismanagement of player problems.

I would like for Laudrup to stay and see what the year brings. He knows the players and can work as well with them as anyone. Whether its Laudrup or his most likely replacment Joaquin Capparos who has coached everyone in La Liga, a decision needs to be made.

This distraction may also be designed by managment to deflect attention from the Deguzman affair and their inability to bring in players that can put goals in the net. Yes its too early to criticize Nsue, Casedesus and Hemid, we are a striker short and we have essentially played two games without scoring as Deguzmans was deflected luck and he is now gone.

Now we return home to face a revamped Malaga club who is the latest arab football that wants to use money to chase european football. It will be interesting to see how we do at home and will it is too early to say games are a must win, we have to do something to figure out how to be competitive and make the other team feel we have the ability to score goals.

It should be a fun week or so as anything can happen with this team.

By: Jeremy | Add Comments

The transfer window is closed and quite frankly the damage was minimal so Mallorca can now move forward and push each week to get closer and closer to safety.

We all knew DeGuzman was leaving. Good for Mallorca to hold out for the full buyout clause rather then give in and take less because the Yellow Shit Latrines think we are broke. We didnt want to lose him, but when a team meets the full buyout clause and the player wants to go to a bigger club, not much you can do.

Atleast he contributed to the goal we got in a nice win at home with Espanyol to start the season. Check out the highlites…….

Neither team was impressive but we got the lucky goal so we take the 3 points and move that much closer to safety. For all the joy, this team lacks a lot offensively and is going to struggle to score. Nsue, Casedesus, and Hemed really have their work cut out for them as Mallorca was unable to spend the DeGuzman millions on a new striker which the team desperately needs.

While we lost DeGuzman, Chori Castro and Ivan Ramis stayed and they will be important players for us. Mallorca also got a last minute loan from Sampdoria who sent over defensive midfielder Fernando Tissone to provide some depth. With Nunes injury not to be as serious as previously thought, he should also be back before the end of the year to give us a second half boost.

While the loss of players could have been worse, DeGuzman is a tough loss as pretty much every offensive play goes through him. Castro is going to have to return to his 2009-10 form and while healthy he is still not a guaranteed first teamer which shows the depth Laudrup has to work with in the midfield.

This weekend we hit the road to La Liga returnees Betis. They have some nice players with recent addition from the EPL Roque Santa Cruz looking to revive his career in Andulusia. That being said, if Mallorca is going to stay up they are going to have to win some road games and this is one that should be won.

Its week to week with this group and you cant underestimate the importance of a week one win at home to give the team some momentum. While we wont start like we did last year, we cant finish like we did last year either.

The club seems stronger financially so this will be a vital year to get over the hump to get back in a position where they can buy some top level players. For now, we have to watch the strikers and see if someone can emerge. If not, the Espanyol game will be the norm with us on the wrong end more often then not. That will get painful real quick but for now, fans should enjoy the three points.

By: Jeremy | 2 Comments

First let me apologize for my lack of posts. After 3 plus years of writing somewhat consistently about the team in times where we saw some great players come through Palma with results that were as exciting as any in recent team history, my enthusiasm has waned a bit so weekly previews, no matter how short they were, may not appear this year and the opinions that I try to express versus just giving stats and results, may not be so easily put in to words.

While life can shift our priorities and that is the main reason I may write less this year, those changes combined with the team itself facing the most negative of political and financial issues which prevent or have punished success, it is hard to come in to this year with much excitement even if the team is not as bad as you think once you get the sour finish from last year out of your head. Am I depressed soccer fan? Maybe.

Mu issues and even strike issues aside, the season is going to begin soon with or without me so lets see if we can look objectively at our team and get an idea as to what objectives can and should be met over the course of the year.

Many will see this year in LaLiga as a free gift as we tanked at the end of the year and even on the last day of the season, we needed an ex Mallorca player and a team that had nothing to play for to win a game to keep us up. Finishing one point safe probably saved the team from the final event of relegation that would have possibly sent the team in to administration. While most would say that we were just a few points from a top half of the table finish and its not that bad, reality is we got lucky to survive another year in LaLiga. The soccer gods repaid us for our unfairly being knocked out of the CL last year under similar circumstances as well as the loss of the chance to play the Europa league.

The team is going to have to do better then last year to stay up and with new players coming in, including players that are unknown for the most part who will become this years DeGuzman, its really hard to say the team is clearly going to be relegated even if that is the conventional wisdom. The unknown and the parity that exists in LaLiga means the team needs to focus before anything else and if we get our usual surprise play from a couple of guys, we will be fine.

Even if the season is about to begin, until the transfer window is closed, it will be hard to look at things with much accuracy because Mallorca could still and will likely lose three key players before the season starts and that is in addition to losing our captain through injury.

DeGuzman is gone. Is it to Villarreal or some Russian club? Who knows but he is gone next week. Ramis is also likely gone and with our captain Nunes now likely done for the year with a knee injury, our defense will go from a strength to another weakness. If you expect Chori Castro to stay on another year, you are really a positive minded fan. If these four players are gone, then the team has to be a relegation favorite. If they stay, there seems to be the thought that the team is better then last year and if we replace Webo, we would actually be better. Other then DeGuzman, I dont think we know what will happen with the others although Ramis seems more likely to leave then Castro at this point.

Lets look at the makeup of the club as it stands now…..

Manager
Laudrup surprisingly has not been fired and seems to be ready to play out the final year of his contract. Say what you want about him, he kept the team safe last year which was the goal in light of all the drama that existed over the money issues. Would you rather win your first ten games and then flame our or lose your first ten and then get streaky at the end? If you survive that is all that matters. He accomplished this goal but is likely staying because the team cant afford to fire him, pay out his contract and take on a new manager with any quality. He seems to have the support of enough of the players to keep the team moving forward so lets leave him alone and drop down the criticism. He is our coach.

Goalie
Yes Aouate is still here. He is an above average keeper and we are lucky he has not left. We will need him to be at his best moreso then ever and he will provide leadership as much as anyone on the field. Keeping him is a huge factor in any march toward safety.

Defenders
Nunes injury is important but hes getting old and his talent was waning. His center back partnership with Ramis which was a club strength could see it become a weakness if Ramis ends up in say Valencia. Chico has come on loan from Genoa and while he has not looked great to date, he should be a big contributor especially in light of Nunes injury. Former West Brom defender Zuiverloon will also get a chance to reinvigorate his career. Kevin Garcia will likely see more time then expected with Nunes injury.
The potential is there for a solid group or it could be a disaster as we will be relying on some players whose careers have not progressed. Mallorca is the place to be for those guys right?
Overall the defense is better with these new players replacing the likes of Ayoze and Ruben so if we can keep Ramis, despite Nunes injury, the new players will bring in some youth and desire that lacked last year with this group. The success of the club will be determined more so by an improved offense then an uncertain defense.

Midfielders
This is our strength and if new signing Alejandro Alfaro can be the next Borja Valero, we will be in for a real treat. He is already standing out and the 700k we spent on him to get him over from Sevilla should be a bargain. Add up and comer Sergio Tejera, likely starter Tomas Pina, our best player DeGuzman if he stays, and Chori Castro, and the team will be much better then expected. Frenchie Perreira also has shown flashes of talent and is a player we need on the field and will likely benefit from the departure of DeGuzman. This group will make the team quite fun to watch and if they get a striker to get the ball to, they will be even better. The pressure is on this group to perform.

This is an area of the team that is very strong and if miraculously we keep all the players currently on the roster, Laudrup will actually have a difficult time making selections.

Strikers
This is the current weakness of the team with Webos departure. Contrary to rumor, Aduriz and or Guiza are not coming back. They would love to play in Palma and would never have left if we could pay them like the teams they left for but its about as real as Salma Hayek spending the weekend on a yacht with me. We could not even afford Webo and his replacement Tomas Hemed, a good scorer in a recreational league in Israel, is not going to make a difference in my opinion. As it stands now, it will be Nsue, who is talented but inconsistent, and Casadesus trying to score goals. Casadesus could really blossom if given a chance, but we need one more strong striker and it is likely to come on loan. If we get one of significance, I will be very happy.

Unlike last year at this time, the departing players are not that relevant other then maybe Webo. We dont want to lose Deguzman, Ramis, and Castro, and if we do, all bets are off even if the team is younger and will play more enthusiastic football then last year.

Players that could really stand out are Tejera, Alfaro, and Casadesus so keep an eye on them.

With the strike going on, when the season will start is still a bit uncertain but it is going to start. Mallorcas current problem is that it has valuable players who are still not certain to be here for the first half of the season. Until those final decisions are known, its hard to give a final prediction as to where we will finish, but if a striker can be signed and all the players on the roster now stay, we will stay safe somewhere around 12th to 14th. If DeGuzman goes and his money is used on a striker, I still think we survive, but it will be tighter and it is 15th to 17th unless multiple players emerge. Like last year it will be tight through the bottom half of the table, but the new clubs are LaLiga tested and will be ready to fight for survival so we have to be ready.

Whether it is Guiza, Valero, Jurado, or DeGuzman etc, Mallorca despite its lack of cash, seem to every year get a player or two on the cheap who stands out leading the team to a better then expected finish. This year should be no different. Will it be Nsue? Tejera? Alfaro? Who knows, but someone will rise to the occasion.

After last years survival luck, the team will bounce back to show the fans there is a lot of talent on this team. Give time for the team to gel and while we wont be talking Europe, the team will continue to defy the odds and survive despite the lack of money and stability in management.

If that happens we can be thankful despite all the ups and downs that come with being a fan of this team.

So where do you think the team will finish in the standings?

Who is your surprise player?

What is your biggest question mark going in to the season?

Best wishes to all Mallorca fans!!

By: Jeremy | 7 Comments

In light of what happened on the final day of the season, Mallorca fans should be happy, ecstatic even, that the club survived to play yet another year in La Liga. However, for all the recent success, including recently being named as one of the five most successful clubs in La Liga over the past 15 years or so, things are not right on the islands and the team has entered the offseason with way more questions then answers.

If you havent figured it out, money talks and no money typically sinks to Segunda B. Clubs like Mallorca who cant manage what little they do have, or maximize profits when gems are secured, will more often face seasons like 2010-2011 then 2009-10. Both were exciting and disappointing at the same time. We cant seem to enjoy the highs but luckilly have dodged the real lows of relegation. 2011-12 seems like its going to be different.

Now that Malaga has been purchased by some oil ministers, they are becoming the Manchester City of La Liga and have brought in many players, who even if are just names and on the wrong end of their careers, there is excitement for their fans heading in to the new season. Mallorca is the exact opposite.

Lets just sum up our offseason to date after barely surviving:

First we have to listen to the players aplogize to the fans for almost being relegated. Nice of them, but they did as well as they could have and survival was the key. The gap from 17th to 9th is minimal so its good not to be Deportivo whose fans are no doubt frustrated.

Laudrup says he wants to stay and there is no word on whether he will be let go even if the local press calls him the worst coach in LaLiga. He probably returns simply because it will cost the team more to replace him. Some players love him. Some dont. With rare exceptions that is most coaches, especially on teams that are not overly successful. Unless a big job comes calling, and there is no reason why it should, he stays to finish out his final year. He has incentive to do well as he has high coaching aspirations.

Ferrer says we dont need to sell players and has set a budget for payroll that will virtually prevent us from being active on the transfer market. While we might do well to hold on to players like DeGuzman(where bids for him so far have been turned down), whose value could increase next year, we are not bringing anyone in. Webo could go to the EPL and will likely be sold as we cant meet his wage demands. The tansfer fee is not worth the loss of him as he scores some big goals for us.

I am not sure what is up with Chori Castro. It seems like our brilliant ownership filed some paperwork that makes his release clause next to nothing, but he has not been scooped up yet and may actually return. I dont see how he could but when he leaves, it will be for far less then he is worth.

If you think Manzano is out of the Mallorca radar, forget it. In addition to his wage issue, he is now the head coach of Atletico Madrid and he is not going to be so kind in loaning us players like previous Atletico teams have. Remember Jurado? Dont expect Juan Valera to come over on loan even though he is surplus to them and someone who would help us.

As for players, we are losing guys that dont seem to have much value. Ayoze left us and signed for Deportivo so in other words hes dropping down a division. Trejo ends up in Gijon which I dont understand as we could have used him to maybe spark an attack. Ruben Gonzalez is gone to Osasuna in yet another cheap transaction. In a surprising move we have reupped old man Marti for another year. The former Mallorca youth player and Sevilla reject bring veteran presence but at 36, he must be playing for free for us to bring him back. We did get our first transfer in Maccabi Haifa Tomer Hemed has joined our team. He can score in Israel but despite being available for free, he was not in huge demand unless you count Rangers in the SPL who had luke warm interest in him. He is about the best signing we will have in light of how much we can spend. Lets hope he is the striker equivalent to his countrymen Aouate who no doubt helped us secure his services.

The team is just in a tough spot as they battle debt and reorganization. Ferrer cares about the club but he can only do so much to put players on the field that can compete. He has rejected offers to be involved in the club from others such as former Aston Villa owner Doug Ellis.

For those of you who care, the B team is regressing as they were relegated to the Tercera Division. That youth system is in disarray but keep an eye out on what happens to some younger players who may be sold under the radar to raise funds. One player we must keep is Sergio Tejara, who could be next years Jonathan DeGuzman.

The positive way to look at things is that we survived and that we are part of a big group of teams that could finish at the top or bottom of the lower half of the LaLiga table. With Betis, Rayo Vallecano, and a third team which could be Celta coming back up to La Liga, there will be no automatic relegation candidates so Mallorca’s inability to spend any money is going to make next season even more nervous.

There will be another couple of players added to the roster on free transfers and if we can hold on to Webo or Castro, then it would be huge for the team but we will need a start like last year to give us any chance at survival as there is simply not enough talent being brought in to keep us competitive.

Its not an uplifting summer of news in Mallorca as we are taking hits in many areas whose effect wont be obvious until the season is underway and we are in serious trouble.

But then again, we could be River Plate or Deportivo La Coruna.

By: Jeremy | 12 Comments

If you all remember last year, we were sitting around the last day of the season watching the scoreboard hoping that if certain games turned out a certain way, we would be in the Champions League. The celebration had already started and then literally the final kick of the season saw Mallorca knocked out of the final CL spot and into the Europa league. While we didnt know we were about to be punished, it was a tremendous day for our small club.

Then all the negativity hit.

Fast forward to the final day of 2011 and despite numerous results needing to happen the stars were aligned and the pessism that we often see with our team meant that Mallorca was even money to go down. Instead of watching all the games knowing we were going to win and needing some help elsewhere to finish in the CL, we watched today knowing we were going to lose and hoping that just one of the results we needed would happen. We got it, but as I watched the games unfold, I felt like the fix was in and we were going to go down.

Although the team fought hard with the help of a great crowd, we were never in the game with Atletico and fell behind with no real chance to earn that much needed point to be safe. The loss was not expected, but obviously the focus was on the other games.

The most frustrating game was Sociedad/Getafe. A draw was the result we did not need and as soon as that game went 1-1, its like they had an agreement because they knew what we did in that the other results were all but know and 1-1 keeps them both safe. A win by either club makes Mallorca safe. Assholes.

Focus then shifts to Zaragoza where we need a draw or loss and we are safe. Zaragoza, on the road, comes out and dominates Levante who had nothing to play for. They get the win that makes them safe. A sure bet if there ever was one this weekend. No help here.

The final game we needed help was Deportivo/Valencia. Deportivo, one point behind Mallorca heading in, only needed a draw at home to a nothing to play for Valencia and they would be safe if we lost.

If you didnt see Aritz Aduriz as a hero in Mallorca before today, you do now. His 4th minute goal changed the tone of that game and while Deportivo will lose sleep over missed chances, having to pressure for a goal in the most pressure of situations for the equalizer just was not in the cards. Props to Valencia for playing an honest game and not just rolling over and letting the equalizer in allowing Super Depor to go through.

As a result of todays chaos, Mallorca limps home with no hearbeat in 17th place with 44 points and Deportivo takes the last relegation spot with 43 points. The club was basically saved today as with our money problems, if we go down to Segunda B, we dont see top level football for who knows how long and the club might actually go in to administration.

While it is quite shocking a team like Deportivo would even be relegated, Mallorca gained some luck it lost on the last day last year. With Deportivo only 6 points from finishing 8th place, it has to be one of the most heartbreaking relegation battles in La Liga history. There simply was not a third team that clearly deserved to be relegated and if there was one, it would be us even if no team has ever been relegated with 44 points.

We can celebrate and once we realize how lucky we are, the reality of our future will sink in. We will be relegation favorites next year in that we will lose most of our best players and we will have less money for their replacements.

For now lets celebrate another year in La Liga football and one of the most heart wrenching seasons in team history, but unfortunately my Mallorca friends, the problems are still there and our future is still a very iffy one.

Lets all send a big thank you to ex Mallorca man Aduriz and the whole Valencia team for saving our beloved club.