Manzano Searching for Answers

Its been a trying week in Palma as Coach Manzano looks to solidify his lineup as we head toward the game against Deportivo at the Riazor this weekend. After what had to be a disappointing tie at home against Osasuna, Manzano will look once again for the right mix of players to bring home the seasons first victory.

The Osasuna result was probably fair as they clearly outplayed us but after Aduriz scored in the 15th minute against the run of play, despite Osasuna controlling the play the rest of the game, to give up the tying goal at home in the 85th minute is really inexcusable. You have to close out these games against similiarly talented teams or we will find ourselves in the bottom of the league places real quick fighting for survivial rather then a mid table place.

So what lineup will we see against Deportivo? Manzano made quite a few changes for Osasuna after the ass whipping in Valencia. Moya is clearly the goalkeeper. Josemi, who will miss the Depor game because of a red card late in the Osasuna match, seems to be a starting defender as does Nunes and Corrales. The remaining defender spot will likely be David Navarro with Ramis ready to jump in for any of these guys at any time. Ramis started in Valencia but did not play against Osasuna with Navarro getting a full 90. Ramis needs to play.

Our back line is not solidified in their play, but we will likely see a more consistent lineup in that area then in the midfield. Marti went from a starter in the Valencia game to only getting a second half run against Osasuna. He is not the answer for us and clearly needs to be on the bench. While Arango did not get the start against Valencia, he came on as a sub in minute 60 against Osasuna. As a captain, he needs to be in there for the full 90 without question and needs to lead the effort to make up for the loss of Ibagaza. Jurado, our young player from Athletico should be another starter, but after looking lost against Valencia, he started again against Osasuna only to be substituted with Trejo in minute 75 for a more offensive look. He will be given every opportunity to earn a starting midfield slot and will likely be in there with Arango most of the time but he may not yet be the answer that we hoped he would be. Chori Castro is a good player and will be continued to get looked at and while he appeared in both games, he is not being given the full 90 as of yet.

Depending on the attacking style and how Trejo will be used, it seems Manzano is favoring a two striker look with a possible third attacking player in support. I think that is the way to go. It is clear our goal scoring will go through Aduriz and he played the full 90 and scored against Osasuna while coming on as a late sub against Valencia as he eased his way into the club. Trejo, who is a young up and coming player, needs to be in there as much as possible. Whether its as a striker or a supporting type role, he is vital to us. He played great against Valencia yet didnt come on until the 75th minute against Osasuna. Not sure why someone so young and talented cant last 90 minutes, but he needs to earn Manzanos confidence to get a full game run and he will do great things. Give him some time. Although Webo got the start in both games, he was clearly not effective and substitued out of both games.

Manzano is clearly trying to find the right combination of players to win games and he is very frustrated. He knows the talent is limited compared to last year, but he also knows that he must establish a lineup not only to get players more familiar with each other, but to get confidence established in the players he expects to fill the biggest roles. With Keita and Castellon, two very talented players, yet to appear, I do not think we have seen the end of the lineup tinkering.

Mallorca clearly has a lot of young talent, yet also some older players(ie Marti and Webo) without much talent who will continue to get to play until these young players emerge. Watching young talent can be great, but in La Liga, there is little time for them to develop if there is not already a lineup of good players to ease their adjustment. Mallorca does not have that and waiting for Manzano to find the right combination with all these youngsters will see this team buried in the standings real quick. When they do emerge this is going to be a fun team to watch as usual. Lets just hope that Manzano puts in more offensive minded players as we clearly need to score more goals. Its still early and I am not going to panic, but we need to get it going.

Category: Mallorca Team News

Tags: Mallorca Team News

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