It’s a 90 Minute Game Fellas

Things are getting all too familiar in Palma as Mallorca continues to play inconsistent football and fails to concentrate for the full 90 minutes often forcing it to overcome bad starts or causing it to give away points when they otherwise wouldnt. Whether its giving up a first minute goal to Betis which leads to a bad defeat or a last minute goal to bottom club Osasuna costing them three points, such behavior will put the team in a relegation fight which is shaping up much like last year where a typically strong Zaragoza club was unfortunately sent packing to Segunda B

Heading to the Calderon to take on Atletico, no one was expecting victory, but after giving up a goal in minute 14 and 28 to Kun Aguero, both well deserved, Mallorca pretty much dominated the game. They had the best chances in the second half and substitute goalkeeper Lux, who came in for Moya after his brief scuffle with an opposing player, had very little to do. Where was this team in the first half? Do they come out so tight that they only perform after they give up a few quick goals? I dont have an answer but it is frustrating to watch. We can clearly play with these other teams. Is it coaching? Is it the lack of a continuous lineup? Manzano will feel some heat if these results continue. I am typically a big supporter of his, but the uncertainty that comes with so many new players, combined with his failure to use players who I think should be playing, is starting to make me question what he is doing.

I still do not understand why we do not see more of Trejo. He seems to come on as a substitute after the match is decided one way or the other. I also thought Castellon would get more of an opportunity, but he is an after thought on this team. Manzano needs to get his best lineup decided and stick to it or we will find ourselves in relegation zone really quick.

Its amazing that a win in this game would have put us in the final UEFA Cup spot, but a loss puts us not so far from relegation with the same fears as about ten other teams. The top five teams in La Liga are clear and while Athletic and Osasuna are emerging slightly as relegation favorites, every team from Atletico in 6th with 13 points to Recreativo in 18th at 7 points, are all within realistic distance of each other. So how do you gauge where your team is? The best way is to determine this is how many of the big five teams you have played. We have only played Valencia so it is clear our position while seemingly midtable is not very secure and that we are clearly going to face relegation potential unless Manzano gets his lineup straight and we start playing the full 90 and winning some matches.

With upcoming games against Athletic, Almeria, and Malaga, which arent easy games by any means, we need to get some wins before we face the big clubs who will likely spank us and send us further down the standings. Our inability to play games for 90 minutes is going to be our downfall. This weekends game against Atletico was just the latest unfortunate example.

Category: Mallorca Team News

Tags: Mallorca Team News

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