Mallorca-Deportivo and other crap

By: Jeremy | February 6th, 2009

You know things arent going well when the best news all week is that Samuel Etoo says he wants to finish his career in Mallorca and he plans on returning to the club the last year or two of his playing days, even if the club is not in the first division. An Omen of things to come maybe? Joking aside, Etoo is pure class and times were great when he was here but as with all great players who come through small clubs on their way to stardom, some manage to maintain a respect for their former teams. As much as I hate Barca, this guy makes them shine and I wish him all the best. Why is it I see the next Roger Milla suiting up for us someday. Milla was so old when he was winding up his career that Pele was calling him Pops.

Maybe the next Etoo has arrived now in that our big transfer move of the winter was the loan deal/free transfer from Chelsea of Sergio Tejara the Spanish U17 International. This kid is definitely a player for the future and he will break into our club much sooner then he would at Chelsea. This is simply a good deal all the way around as it cost us nothing, he might help at some point, and if he becomes really good, maybe we get half a season of him lighting it up before Chelsea exercises their option to bring him back. We didnt get him for free. His good years will be spent at Chelsea assuming he isnt sold by them for big bucks. As bad as we are, he may get some work in the first team sooner then he thinks. Does this help us this year? No, and this year should be the concern.

Things also did not go well midweek against Barca in the first leg of the Copa Semi finals. A win was not expected and I can bitch all I want about that no call on Trejo that would have given us an away goal, but I think it was obvious our run came to an end once we got paired up with them. They are simply too good and 2-0 is a comfortable lead heading into the final leg in a month, yet it is not so automatic for them as a Valencia performance could take us through. Without Lux, we lose this game by more then two goals.

What needs to be the main priority is La Liga where we are now dead last thanks to last weekends woeful performance against Osasuna. An early minute goal held up for the Pamplona side and again Mallorca dug itself an early hole it could not come out of. A must win game was pissed away and we now sit rooted at the bottom but where we need to be is not so far away that we are quite yet preparing for Segunda B. The good thing about being relegation fodder is that often only takes a modest win streak to move to a safe position. There must be some urgency because we need to have a cushion come the last four weeks of the season.

After the Osasuna debacle. we return home to face Depor in a “grand finale” as my man Arango puts it. That means they better win or else. Home points must be taken, but Depor is not exactly a weak side and how can we have confidence in a result even in front of the home crowd. I know little about this team since Roy Makaay left but interestingly, they would have been my team had I not seen Mallorca play first. After spending time in Mallorca, my next trip was to La Coruna where I saw these guys play. Great atmosphere at their stadium and great fans and they play in a beautiful city.

As for the boys from Palma, what can you say? How do you follow up a great win against Valencia with a shit performance against Osasuna in a big game. Trejo seems to be more involved after returning from injury and he and Aduriz better do something soon. Marti has improved and Jurado is playing well, but as much as I might hate the defense and the fact we are missing Moya, we need to score some goals to win games. Rarely is the offense and the defense on the same page with this club.

So which team shows up? The team that thumped Valencia or the team that laid an egg against Osasuna. The up and down play cannot continue as these games are vital and something needs to happen quick. Lets hope the home field matters so I will go out on a limb and say we win this week. Win or not, if we dont start picking up points on the road, we are seeing the end of our La Liga lives.

Prediction

Mallorca 2-1 Deportivo