After a week when the UK Court of Appeal was due to rule on Prince Harry’s ongoing claim for taxpayer-funded security while on UK visits – the Great British public were offering such helpful suggestions as getting Netflix to pay for it, selling more of Meghan’s overpriced jam, or stay away! – watching Real Mallorca this season has meant 90 plus minutes oscillating between tension, dread, despair and joy. However, nothing prepared us Mallorquinistas for the shock/horror scenario of last Saturday’s second half showing and our 1-2 defeat by Celta Vigo. Mallorca have had a terrible 2025 with ten points from 11 games. We also haven’t kept a clean sheet since we beat Getafe 0-1 on December 21. There’s no doubt the final half hour last Saturday was the worst seen at Son Moix this year.
Now the wheels have really come off with the news that Muriqi, Asano, Morlanes and Navarro will all miss our away game in San Sebastian against Real Sociedad tomorrow (Saturday 12th) at 2pm. We haven’t beaten the Txuri-Urdines away in La Liga since Samuel Eto’o scored in a 0-1 win back in 2003. All four Mallorca players have hamstring problems. Navarro is on his way back after being out for a month and the other three are all likely to be missing for between three to six weeks.
In La Liga there’s been an almost 100% increase in hamstring injuries this season compared to last year. It’s obviously a huge concern and one explanation for the rise is the additional time being added on to the normal 90 minutes – a lot of that being caused by VAR decisions being worked out. Next season a new directive is coming into play which should hopefully stop goalkeepers wasting time and players feigning cramp and other imaginary injuries when time begins to run out. The added-on time could be pushing players beyond their limit and putting their safety at risk. Now alongside ACL cruciate ligament injuries, hamstrings are being pulled on a regular basis.
The Celta defeat was so disappointing after a promising first half, and was a reality check for Mallorca who were hoping to get into next season’s Conference League. On the other hand, the visitors looked like they wanted to get into a European competition and were well up for the challenge. Everything fell apart when Muriqi went off, followed 20 minutes later by Asano then, on the hour mark, Morlanes.
A few weeks ago, I wrote about our substitutes’ bench not being good enough. The performance of these bench players in the second half of the season has plummeted. In the first half of the campaign, there were a lot of rotations and the team didn’t notice the difference. Against Celta we lacked ideas and physicality. We made four substitutions and none of them made any impact. The visitors on the other hand brought on a 19-year-old academy player Fer Lopez and with his first touch he scored a spectacular winner.
What worries me is our lack of fire-power up front, which is now critical. Both Larin and Abdon Prats simply aren’t good enough for La Liga football. Of course Abdon’s a huge fans’ favourite coming from Arta. He would chase a piece of paper all day for the cause but we need a lot more in high pressure surroundings. Currently half of our normal starting line-up are on the treatment table and there seem to be no solutions from the bench. Our director of football Pablo Ortells has a huge job this Summer shuffling the pack, bringing in at least four new players. Something has to be done. Of course Mallorca has many strengths but depth in the squad is not one of them. We need a Plan B.
One player who was edging towards a move away in the Summer was Samu Costa. The tough tackling Portuguese midfielder seemed set to give Mallorca their big money transfer of the Summer, in order for them to purchase a winger or a second striker. Unfortunately Costa’s form has imploded and he’s been struggling of late. There now seems little chance of getting around the 15 million euros we wanted for him.
Something similar is happening with Cyle Larin after yet another abject performance last Saturday. His under achieving in attack is now legendary and the club’s intention is to sell him at a price less than the seven million they paid Valladolid where two years ago he was on fire. Vedat Muriqi’s future at the club has been discussed at length in the local media. We all know what a warrior he’s been for Mallorca over the past three years in attack and defence. Now he’s missing games with his third muscle injury and at 31 he wants to renew his contract which expires in 2027. He’s asking for a two-year extension.
PS News broke on Wednesday that Mallorca’s Colombian left wing back Johan Mojica is doubtful for the Real Sociedad game tomorrow with (yes, you’ve guessed it) a leg muscle problem. It appears “Moji” has had a niggle since coming back from international duty last week. To say Mallorca are down to the bare bones would be an understatement!
AND FINALLY, a man is driving down the M5 about 3 a.m. doing 120 mph when he gets pulled over by the police. The officer says in a thick West Country accent “Do you realise, sir, how dangerous it is to drive at such high speeds on this motorway?” The driver protests “It’s 3 a.m., officer, there’s nobody else on the road. I just want to get home.” The officer replies “You think it’s clear and safe, but what if you had come around that bend, sir, and come across Mr Fog?” The man smiles and smugly says “I would simply put Mr Foot on Mr Brake.” The policeman growls “I said mist or fog!”
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