Will the Plumber Save us from Relegation?

By: Jeremy | November 18th, 2008

Now its time to panic. After beginning the season with a bunch of new players, we knew it was going to take some time to adjust. Conventional wisdom would say our weak early season schedule would be to our advanatge and by the time we faced the big dog teams, Manzano would have an established lineup and we would have earned a fair amount of points against weaker clubs, and we wouldnt be so overwhelmed with a back loaded schedule. No such luck.

Yeah I know we are only 11 weeks in, barely 25% of the games played, but we simply do not have a regular lineup established and the inconsistency of the players continues to be a problem. They have not adjusted to each other and we now find ourselves in 15th place on 12 points after our loss on the road to Almeria. We are only three points above safety.

Why a team can look so calm and composed all while finishing off Malaga in the midweek game in the Copa can then show no real offensive ingenuity the following weekend against Almeria is beyond me. Both teams played smothly with no real advantage being seen by either side and then in minute 43 Negredo decides to wake up from his slump and scores. He then puts in a pk in minute 66 and only Keitas goal in stoppage time made the game seem close. It really wasnt. Our lack of timing and inconsistent offensive play cost us a game. While we didnt suffer from early or late game lapses like we seem to do regularly, we never were a real threat to score.

Speaking of Keita, I think this guy needs a full 90 minutes the next few games. While this weekend saw his first league goal, I believe he is the teams leading scorer if you count all competitions. So who does he replace? I think you pair him up with Aduriz and let Arango and Jurado play offensive midfield. Any other midfielder can hit the bench without a big drop off. Keita has shown he can score goals in Qatar and while La Liga is a big step up, he has done well with his limited time. He is slowly earning Manzanos confidence. Time to give him more time. We need goals plain and simple.

I know La Liga is still tight in midtable, so why the negativity? With our weak schedule to date, we cannot be three points above the relegation zone and feel good. Yeah I know we are only 5 points out of the final UEFA Cup spot, but lets look at our remaining first half schedule:
Malaga
Valadolid
Recreativo
Getafe
Sevilla
Barca
Real Madrid
Villarreal
followed by Valencia to start the second half.

Our next four games determine our season in my opinion. All winnable games, but if we cant beat Almeria and the other bottom level teams, then where are points going to come from. Lets assume we get 6 points out of these four games. By the time we finish the following five games, we head into week 21 likely in the relegation zone.

The plumber needs to spend some money in the winter. I am sure he didnt buy the team to see it in Segunda B. Without a sudden turnaround, we are serious relegation candidates. I am finally willing to accept it and this situation cannot be ignored as the players should be farther along in their team development.

Maybe Dani Guiza can return from exile in Turkey.