Safe at long last: Season Review
So there we have it: after a long and gruelling season, Mallorca have assured their status in the top flight for another year. The celebrations at the final whistle against Atlético de Madrid on Saturday evening made it plain to see just how much retaining their place in La Liga meant to the players, who, after an extremely tough year, succeeded in their attempts to keep Los Bermellones afloat.
The problem is, however, that those celebrations also indicated just how close to going down the club actually were.
Seasons as a whole are all-too-often tarred with the ‘rollercoaster’ metaphor, and indeed many may apply it to Mallorca’s year – though I’m sure that fans of every club across the globe could find a way to describe their season as such, too. In truth, the phrase has lost all meaning from this overabundance of use. And besides, it’s not a very fitting way to describe the season that Los Bermellones have endured in the first place, for if the word were to be used to describe Mallorca this year, then we would be talking about an extremely unconventional rollercoaster indeed. This season hasn’t been a tale of twists and turns, the way one would normally describe it. No, this has been something different.
That’s not to say that there haven’t been highs and lows – there have. Unfortunately, they came in that specific order: first there were highs, then there were lows. So if we’re sticking with that rollercoaster metaphor, then it is one with an extremely simple design: the cart reaches the top, plummets ferociously, and then the ride is over, almost before it began.
Mallorca made a flying start to the season, buoyed by a desire to prove everyone wrong – especially in the wake of their expulsion from Europe – and to show that they have what it takes to be contenders in one of the continent’s fiercest leagues. They had a coach desperate to make an impact and the squad, whilst specked with hallmarks of consistency and experience, was bolstered by fresh, young players eager to make a name for themselves. They were a team characterised by youthful optimism, a strong work ethic and a great team spirit.
The early portion of the season was marked by a string of highly impressive results: they were the only team to get through the first half of the campaign unscathed by the country’s big two and they managed incredible away victories against Valencia and Sevilla, the latter in remarkably dramatic fashion. These were moments memorable enough to overshadow any inconsistency in their results, especially away from home, and as the season wore on the team were constantly in touching distance of the Europa League spots. A not-too-distant dream to defy the odds and return to the competition from which they had been banned flowed through the minds of the players and supporters alike, and even though it was a long shot, the fact that it was even possible inspired optimism.
But somewhere along the way, all of that changed.
Was it always destined to happen? Did the players run out of steam? Did their youthful exuberance turn into naivety, resulting in a lack of consistency over the full length of the season? It’s certainly possible. A large portion of Mallorca’s squad may have entered La Liga running on adrenaline: players like Nsue and Pereira, who often dazzled just as quickly as they faded away; players like Cendros and Kevin, who weren’t yet up to the task of being relied upon game after game.
Or was it Michael Laudrup, whose questionable methods and ‘absurd marginalisation’ of an already paper-thin squad only made matters worse? It seems like eons ago now, but just a few months ago Fernando Cavenaghi, a proven goalscorer in Europe, warmed the bench week-in, week-out – at a time when what the club needed more than anything was goals. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg, the most notable player to have been marginalised by the team’s coach. Tuni’s return from injury didn’t even warrant a mention in Laudrup’s eyes; Ratinho, one of only two right-backs at the club, was sent away on loan in January. Ayoze’s constant absences have since been explained away due to behind-the-scenes financial issues regarding appearance bonuses, but the evidence for the rest is unexplainable.
Then there were the injuries, most tellingly in Mallorca’s defence. They didn’t have to be long-term: on any given day when the foundation of Nunes and Ramis was disturbed, Mallorca were certain to concede goals by the bucket-load. Up-front, the January departure of Cavenaghi and then the extremely unlucky timing of Víctor Casadesús’ injury left Los Bermellones with just one proven striker: Pierre Webó. And as we all know, his goalscoring abilities are inconsistent, to say the least.
Whichever underlying method you choose to believe – though in truth it’s hard to deny that it’s probably a combination of everything – the statistics don’t lie. Mallorca picked up just 23 points in their final 25 games of the season, and that sort of form both spells and deserves only one thing: relegation.
So as it happened, Los Bermellones crawled desperately over the finish line, ending what started as a promising season in a trudging and somewhat undignified manner. To go from such optimistic beginnings to finishing just one point and one position above the relegation zone leaves a bitter taste in the mouth.
Had it all been the other way round, of course, we would be shouting from the rooftops how impressive the team are, and how proud we are of them. If the team had started incredibly slowly and picked itself up, dusted itself off and finished with a flurry – much like Malaga did, in fact – then optimism levels right now would be through the roof. It’s like the momentum you carry from game to game: if you score in the first minute and the game stays at 1-0 all the way through to the end, you almost feel disappointed that you didn’t manage to add to your tally. Nick a last minute winner, however, and you go into your next match feeling indestructible – and that’s what’s playing on everyone’s mind right now. How will such poor form translate into next season?
In all honesty, looking at the table, 17th place almost seems a little harsh on a club that had, up until the final couple weeks, carved itself a comfortable niche in mid-table, and spent most of the season hovering around the league’s midpoint. Indeed, a glance at the final standings shows that Mallorca finished just 3 points away from 9th spot, revealing just how incredibly close things had gotten by the season’s final day. Anything could have happened.
But being in such a situation reflects how grave Los Bermellones’ fall from grace had been. A few weeks ago, Mallorca seemed to be celebrating their safety. In a way, they were – every single point picked up this season was worth its weight in gold. But for the longest time the gap between Els Barralets and the relegation zone was stretched almost to double figures: safety seemed guaranteed; a non-issue; a formality. And yet in the end they were just two solitary goals away from going down – far too close for comfort – and given the financial repercussions playing in the Segunda Division would bring, that may be a blow from which the club may never recover. Let’s hope we never have to find out the accuracy of that statement.
It must be remembered, of course, that at the start of the campaign, the main, realistic aim of the club and the fans was to simply survive. With the Europa League on the horizon for much of the season, always just a few teasing points out of reach, this aim of avoiding relegation seemed far too modest, but Los Bermellones’ lack of depth saw to that in the end – and confirmed the prediction from the start of the season that not taking part in the Europa League may be a blessing in disguise for the league. In this sense, then, the celebrations on Saturday evening are certainly warranted. I’m not for one moment claiming that the players and staff don’t deserve commendation for keeping the club afloat in extremely testing circumstances.
There’s just something hollow about it all: it’s like the team have emerged victorious from a battle in which they really shouldn’t have been involved in the first place.
So what happens next? Should Laudrup see out the remainder of his contract, or should the club be looking to replace him? There are reasons for either side of the argument, and whilst he led the team to a brilliant start, he simply didn’t seem to have any control of the club’s affairs as they spiralled into rapid decline over the second half of the season. For this reason, perhaps it’s time to bring in someone new, if for no other reason than to recreate the sense of freshness and optimism that often surrounds a club in a period of managerial transition.
But then there’s the biggest argument against this: who do we replace him with, especially on a budget as tight as it is? Indeed, the budget is going to be at the forefront of everyone’s minds all summer long at a club that has been characterised by mismanagement and the eventual period of administration that saw them ousted from Europe.
Palma airport is always overflowing during the summer months, and Los Bermellones will certainly be adding to that: there’s no doubt that Mallorca are going to be extremely active in the transfer market. The only problem is, the departure gate is likely to be much busier than arrivals. The club will be lucky to keep hold of a handful of players, and the long-discussed exit of Chori Castro looks like it will finally come to fruition. The most worrying thing, though, is how the club will manage to replace the players that leave with little to no budget – and how can we improve an already small and suffering squad when a mass exodus is always around the corner?
Who knows. We always find a way!
For the 2011-12 season, then, our aims will be more modest and realistic than ever. Year after year the team seem to over-perform and surpass everyone’s expectations, but that sort of streak can’t go on forever: next season may well be the one where the club experiences the vile and horrific nightmare of a true relegation dogfight. Only time will tell.
This season may have only just ended, but Mallorca shouldn’t expect any kind of lengthy rest. The preparation for next year starts now.
by Phil Montgomery