After a week when I’ve just finished reading ex World Middleweight boxing champion Chris Eubanks’ book “Ethics” – and I cannot wait for his next one entitled “Kent”! – Real Mallorca and their fan base have had a traumatic week, one of the most stressful since their inception in 1916. It’s been so bad that the top brass at the club had an alleged seven-hour meeting on Tuesday in a “posh” hotel in Illetas to try and work out a solution.
We’ve had one of the worst second halves of a season in a long time, caused by a lack of ambition in the winter transfer market, a limited bench where we’ve been unable to bring on a player who could change the outcome of a game, and the absence of players like Asano, Robert Navarro, Vedat Muriqi and Manu Morlanes with long-term injuries. These circumstances didn’t help our cause in the latter part of the season which has prompted a divorce-like situation between fans and the club. A case in point has been a drop in attendances in the Son Moix from 21,000 before Christmas to just over 18,000 last Sunday.
In a nutshell, Mallorca’s woes started in Saudi Arabia in January when we took part in the Spanish Super Cup in Jeddah. Some of the Mallorca travelling party, which included players’ wives and girlfriends, were molested by local young Saudi Real Madrid supporters when exiting the ground. There was no security provided in the short distance between the stadium and the coach park. Club stalwart Dani Rodriguez’s wife was vehement in her protest about the incident. She complained that a half-hearted protest from Real Mallorca’s hierarchy didn’t go far enough as the Spanish FA didn’t want to rock the boat too much, not wishing to upset the Saudi establishment and their multi-Euro sponsorship deal in the event.
During this period things began to unravel. We were unceremoniously dumped out of the Copa del Rey (3-0) by Galician part-timers Pontevedra. Then we lost 4-0 away at Villareal – and the rot set in. Our biggest problem this season has been lack of goals and any thoughts of us competing in Europe became a pipedream. With six matches remaining we were seventh in a Europa League place. By match day 35 we were eighth. As teams around us were scrapping for points, Mallorca seemed to capitulate. The fans were despondent, shocked and frustrated as our unbalanced squad took a pummelling. We could only amass 17 points in the second half of the season, the fourth worst in La Liga.
Things came to a head last Sunday against Getafe when there were unprecedented scenes as some of our Ultras began barracking players like Maffeo and Larin; neither of whom I expect to be here next season. Heckling your own players is something I’ve never heard in over 40 years of following Real Mallorca, not even when we dropped into the third tier of Spanish football in 2017. The tension in the stands (it was only a minority who whistled and jeered the team) meant that our most vociferous fans were asked to stop insulting certain players by the stadium announcer.
The outcome of the big pow-wow on Tuesday is that, reportedly, the club are set to sign a “big name” in the summer to appease fans. Because Real Mallorca aren’t owned by a petro-dollar feudal state (like Man. City), this well-known player’s price will have to fall within the club’s financial means. Watch this space.
Tomorrow (Saturday, May 24) Mallorca wind down their season with an away game against Rayo Vallecano in Madrid, kick off 9pm. They are close to a European place next season and to get it they simply must win. As for us, we’ll most likely end up in the no-man’s-land of mid-table obscurity. For Mallorca, as far as fairy stories in the Conference League were concerned, this one is over, at least until next season.
Mallorca should take note of what Rayo have done this season. They didn’t spend one centimo last summer, making seven signings (four freebies and three loanees). They have the fourth lowest budget in La Liga and have played all season without a recognised striker. They stand as a statement to the belief that a club can thrive with limited resources (including a three-sided ground that’s falling down) and are the only outfit in La Liga that doesn’t do online season tickets. Fans have to (and do) queue for hours to get one. Smart management and a passionate fan base look like the recipe for a European campaign, although the Conference League may be a step too far for Los Franjirrojos (the Red Stripes – often abbreviated to “Rayo,” which means “Thunderbolt”). On Saturday night in the Vallecas barrio in Madrid there could be a party well into the night.
AND FINALLY, a 51-year-old Rastafarian plumber from Brixton in London is at No. 11 in the Amazon chart this week with a reggae song – he’s now brought out an album. Two of the best tracks are “Cisterns are doing it for themselves” and “If I said you had a beautiful bidet would you hold it against me”!
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Generally the players look technically competent, but their interaction and decision making is suspect. Is this their fault, or the instructions they are under from the coach - I suspect the latter. Generally the central defence,, and keepers in particular, are sound. They DO NOT have competent strikers, need new blood or find a way to make best use of the strikers they do have. The team never put opposition defences under prolonged pressure in and around their penalty box. Build up from defence to midfield, and across the park is TOO SLOW, makes it easy for opposition defences, and Mallorca do not have anyone to break through from midfield and make snappy goal attempts. Maybe a change in playing personnel would liven up competition for places, but a change in tactics is really what they need.