Mallorca-Osasuna-Its Still Early
By: Jeremy | September 13th, 2008If last weeks ass whipping at the hands of Valencia is any indication, its going to be a long season in Palma. While the players looked like they quit and couldnt figure out how work together, I chalk it up to so many new players and our coach just in the early stages of trying to get his best lineup on the field so they work together over a period of time and hopefully produce results.
This week is our home opener and we get a team in Osasuna that on paper seems like they are more of a relegation threat then we are. However, after their great performance drawing with Villarreal last week, they dont seem to be having any problems with the loss of of start striker Carlos Vela et al. While they havet lost as much as we have, they are a comparable club. For them it will be a season of up and down performances because the talent, like ours, is really mid table at best. Maybe they will start strong while we struggle, but ultimately they will find themselves in similar places in the standings as us. No doubt they will hit the islands full of confidence after lastr weeks performance.
This makes this game all the more important for us to get three points. We simply cannot have another week where the players arent gelling and we end up losing on our home turf to a team that is not better then we are like Valencia clearly is. Hopefully the two weeks Manzano has had to look at his players in practice will help him fill out a better starting eleven.
While I dont think anyone should be judged on the Valencia game, it is clear we have some talent and some players who need to be on the bench instead of in the lineup. Considering the other options, Webo needs to be nowhere near the starting lineup and I expect Trejo to eventually combine with Aduriz to form a great partnership up front. Scoring goals should not be a problem once Manzano decides to put a midfielder in a more forward position with two strikers. The back is still going to be an issue and Manzano has to be going crazy deciding whether to play a more defensive formation to help our weak area or to give the fans what we expect, which is offensive entertaining football.
With the recent history between the two clubs, Manzano is going to come out guns blazing and would rather be booed after a high scoring affair then a boring defensive game where we could lose on a last minute goal. Predicting a lineup is going to be anyones guess. Surely Manzano wont play with just one striker, which I assume would be Aduriz. Hopefully a second one is in there and I assume it will be Trejo although Id like to see Keita play too, even if he is in a midfielder support position. Scaloni seems filt and could take broken down Josemis position in the back. Will young Jurado get another chance in midfield after a bad opening week performance? So many questions. I just want an attacking lineup. This is week two of auditions for many players that we havent seen much of and someone or a tandem of players is going to emerge. Lets hope its this week.
I cant see us losing this game unless we are really going to have a bad year overall. While the first few weeks can be very unpredictable as a team may start bad, but that is not indicative of where they will finish. As much as any team in LaLiga, we are searching for an identity and it could take some time. However, we cant use that as an excuse if we are buried at the bottom of the standings after 5 weeks. That is very tough to recover from, especially considering the balance of this league, so the excitement that is opening week combined with our opponent not bein of Valencias caliber should allow the players to show the fans we are in the mix and not just relegation fodder. I dont think a win means we will suddenly be good the rest of the way, but a loss is going to be tough for such a new set of players. Its still early though so like any game, you want to win and cant use the result as an expectation for the rest of the year.
The party atmosphere at home, more time to prepare, and avearge opponent should lead to three points. Lets hope we see some of the talent emerge. That is just as important.
Prediction
Mallorca 3-1 Osasuna
Category: Mallorca Team News
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