Mallorca football club: “mixing it with the big boys”

Dear Sir IN reply to yesterday's viewpoint “Thinking very big,” I think Real Mallorca football club's president/owner Vicente Grande is to be commended in his attempts to push the club forward after years of hanging on. Many clubs in Spain's la liga are now building hotels/offices/apartments/shops in proximity to the playing pitch in order to raise revenue and stay afloat in the big time. For too long, Real Mallorca has been run as a selling club with precious little or no investment involved regarding the future. Season after season the club has been forced to sell their most favourable assets in order to balance the books. At last, or so it seems, our best player and leading goalscorer, Juan Arango, will NOT be leaving in the Summer, unless Mallorca receive an unlikely offer of nine million euros. The only way this selling trend can be reversed is heavy investment by some means or another. Building towers at the Son Moix or wherever, will go a long way to alleviate the debts and put the club back on its financial feet. Unfortunately, many Island football fans still hold strong allegiances (albeit from the comfort of their armchairs) to the Spanish big two of Barcelona and Real Madrid, and English premiership sides, but I believe the capability to fill the Son Moix to its 23'000 capacity can be reached for most home games, providing Señor Grande's ambitious futuristic plans are allowed to happen. He's already stated Mallorca will sign four or five new players during the summer on permanent contracts instead of the usual mercenary loan players. I'm convinced things WILL be a LOT better next season. Luis Aragones, the present Spanish national coach, once said in 2001, when he was in charge of Real Mallorca: “The club must STOP thinking they are a small island team and start mixing it with the big boys.” It would appear Señor Grande is putting his euros (of which, by all accounts, he has quite a few) where his mouth is. I just wish he could get more positive support from the Ayuntamiento (city hall) in Palma who own the ground - many of them aren't exactly the fizziest drinks in the fridge when it comes to getting behind the future of Real Mallorca. PS: What do the English premiership and a cordless drill have in common ? No Leeds.