Sunday, January 29, 2012

Real Murcia 0 Recreativo Huelva 3

No excuses...we were piss poor. I don't quite get how we can be the best in the division as visitors, but struggle at home. Yesterday was anothert case of what seemed like going through the motions and little agression, allied to defensive frailty gave Recreativo an easy win. Their first goal was a bit flukey given a rebound that fell perfectly for them, the second our defence fell asleep, and the third was a present. Their keeper made a couple of saves in the second half, but generally had an tranquil afternoon. Just when it looked like we were gaining some momentum, the referee gave Christian Garcia a straight red when a yellow would have been more than just punishment for a foul. And that was that.

Real Murcia:
Alberto
Molinero - Oriol - Jorge - Párraga (Sutil 40')
Iturra - Richi (Pedro 45') - Isaac Jové (Chando 45') - Óscar Sánchez
Emilio - Cristian García

Recreativo de Huelva:
Manu
Córcoles - Bonaque - Borda - Cifu
Matamala - Zambrano - Fidel (Aitor Tornavaca 65') - Álamo (Aitor García 78')
Enrich (Asen 84') - Pablo Sánchez

Goals:
0-1 Pablo Sánchez 28'
0-2 Bonaque 31'
0-3 Aitor García 85'

Referee: Mr. López Acera. Poor. Thinks he's obliged to whistle for something every time to players dispute the ball. Helped Recre at every opportunity.

Att. 7.912 espectadores at the New Condomina, so again 2,000 season ticket holders didn't turn up. Maybe they just hold their ticket just in case we go up and Madrid or Barcelona visit, so they won't have to queue.

Tough run of games coming up (Celta away, Elche at home, Almería away and Valladolid at home). But in this division, you never know....and I suspect, after a very poor defeat, we just might go to Celta and get a result....

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Mirandés Miracle?

Segunda B side Mirandés eliminated Primera's Espanyol over 2 legs in the King's Cup last night. Over the 2 legs you have to say it was well deserved - poor refereeing denied them 2 blatant penalties in the first leg - a leg they could have been 4 up in by the time Espanyol netted 3 in the last 5 minutes. In the second leg, Espanyol went one up just after the break, but the brilliant Pablo Infante equalized before Candea headed the winner in injury time.

It was a giant-killing - but, Mirandés played the better football. This was no kick and run team out-muscling pampered primera stars, no, this side were a credit to themselves, their manager, and to the ignored and undervalued Segunda B division.

I am also glad to see they have decided to go ahead and play the semi-final at their small Anduva ground (holds around 6,000). It would have been easy to take the money and play at a nearby ground with a higher capacity - but I can see that Mirandés are not resting on their laurels, no; they want to progress even further. It's also a wake-up call for the berks that run the game and their fixing of the cup draw, and insistence that in the first few rounds Primera sides play the second leg at home, so that segunda and Segunda B sides can get a good attendance for the first leg. What rubbish - who are they to decide for smaller clubs? Mirandés have showed that no result, however many divisions separate the sides, is a foregone conclusion, and that getting through rounds is the money-spinner, much more than any condescending decision made in Madrid.

Although I have to admit....my immediate reaction when the final whistle went was to go green with envy. When will it be Real Murcia's turn in the limelight?

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Gerona 1 Real Murcia 1

So....half way through the season and we have 33 points. Thats a great effort from a newly promoted side, and well above the expectation of Real Murcia fans (those without the Madrid or Barcelona bug).

Girona:
Dani Mallo
Luso - Tortolero - Migue - Junca
Tebar - Dorca - Jandro (Nieto 75') - Óscar Díaz (Acuña 63')
Benja (Moha 75') - Corominas

Real Murcia:
Alberto
Molinero - Jorge - Iván Amaya (Oriol 65') - Párraga
Iturra - Cerrajería (Chando 77') - Richi - Isaac Jové
Óscar Sánchez - Cristian (Sutil 85')

Goals:
1-0 Jandro 12'
1-1 Tortolero (o.g.) 34'

Referee: Mr. Piñeiro Crespo. Apparently awared Girona another ridiculous penalty against us.

Att. Only 5.284 at the Montilivi stadium (where season ticket holders were allowed to invite 2 friends). For a second division game. Worrying times for clubs trying to make ends meet. Over 9 games in Segunda this weekend the average was only 7.637 paying public....and that was mostly down to the fact that Deportivo, the only team that get a half decent gate, being at home (22.000). Take this game out and the average is only 5.841. Compare this to the championship in England, where 11 games made an average 17.008. Or even League One where 12 games averaged 8.246 paying customers.

I had to laugh yesterday when someone told me football was big in Spain.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Spanish Football in Crisis (and nobody in power cares)

This week has seen two sides in the third tier (Segunda B) go broke (Poli Ejido and Sporting Mahonés). This doesn't seem to trouble the football authorities in the least, as they were too busy chuffing cigars and scoffing canapés at the Bernabeu yesterday to notice. I would add that minimum 50% of segunda B clubs are in a very sick state indeed. The other 50% are worse still.

As Real Murcia were in that division last season, we did have an all-too-close look at why. Little or no TV except local stations. Little or no sponsorship for hoardings or shirts. Little support from fans.

When you see on Sky in the UK with their league review program, where you can view all the goals from the third and fourth levels of the league and learn something about a particular club or player, you can see why their clubs have a minimum chance of survival. The coverage attracts sponsors to national TV audience, hence all sides have a shirt sponsor, hoardings seem to be full, and even Coca-cola have coughed up money to sponsor the divisions themselves. All of this contributing to helping the lesser teams stay afloat.

Surely in Spain there would be some interest in an hour long show focused on the division? Wouldn't it help to encourage sponsorship and create much needed revenue? Ultimately the answer has to be no. Football here is viewed as entertainment, as art. The overkill on Madrid and Barcelona's great play only serves to exaggerate lower league players failures or restrictions. And in Spain that means ridicule. And the thought of ridicule drives fans away.

There is little chance of a turnaround. Consider this....the two giants snowball keeps growing, each taking 140 million euros of the TV pie. Third place? Just over 40 million. The riches, both monetary and therefore talent-wise, don't get shared. The bottom club gets just 12 million, a massive 128 million gap between first and last. In the Premier league the same gap is just 24 million.

The crisis isn't just because second, third and fouth tier sides are going out of business. It's that only 2 sides have any chance of winning league or cup.

Monday, January 16, 2012

Table After 20



Magnificent 8th place, considering our objective is consolidation. Just 3 points off the play offs, and only 5 from direct promotion. But let's not get carried away with that.....we have 22 more games in which to get the 20 more points that guarantee survival.

Segunda is the opposite of Primera. No less that 8 teams are in the shake up for the 2 top slots, 4 points cover the top 6, 7 points cover the top 8. In Primera....yawn.....20 points cover the top 6....yawn.....7 points separate 2nd and 3rd. Best league in the world my arse.

Sunday, January 15, 2012

The Third Way / La Tercera Via

I can remember years when you just wanted Real Madrid or Barcelona to lose so that the third option, a Sevilla, Valencia or Atletico could have a minimum chance of winning La Liga. Games held interest. Not now - there is no third way, no-one has a snowflakes chance in hell of getting anywhere near the two sides who dominate everything. The only possible beneficiary of a Real Madrid defeat is Barcelona. The only possible beneficiary of a Barcelona defeat is Real Madrid. The others aren't even close, and the distance to third grows each year, just as the two clubs greedily grow their already unfair share of all the TV proceeds. Hopefully someday someone will realize how bad this is for the rest of Spanish football and try to level the playing field a bit. Half empty grounds in Segunda, empty grounds in Segunda B, almost total disinterest in the Copa Del Rey (unless of course you draw....yep, you guessed), and the ruinous state of club's finances are testimony to the fact that each 4, 5, 6 or 7 goal thrashing they dish out, far from being good for the game, are another nail in the coffin for the chances of the Third Way.

Puedo recordar unos años en que deseabas la derrota del Real Madrid o Barcelona para que la tercera opción, un Sevilla, Valencia o Atlético podía disponer de una mínima oportunidad de llevarse La Liga. Los partidos tenían interés. Ahora no, no hay tercera vía, tienen las posibilidades de acercarse a los dos que dominan de un copito de nieve en el infierno. El único posible beneficiario de una derrota del Real Madrid es el Barcelona. El único posible beneficiario de una derrota del Barcelona es el Real Madrid. Los otros ni se acercan, y la distancia al tercer clasificado incrementa cada temporada, justo como los dos avariciosos crecen su ya injusto porcentaje del dinero TV. Espero que algún día alguien va a reconocer que esto es malísimo para el resto del fútbol Español y intentar equilibrar la balanza un poco. Campos de segunda medio vacios, campos vacios en segunda B, casi total desinterés en La Copa del Rey (salvo que te toca…..quien tú ya sabes), y la ruina total de las finanzas de los clubes son testigos del hecho de que cada goleada de 4, 5, 6 o 7 goles que endosan, lejos de ser bueno para el fútbol, son otros clavos en el ataúd de la suerte de La Tercera Vía.

Real Murcia 2 Cordoba 1

It looked like it was going to be so easy at half-time. Two up, against ten men, playing well. We even had Cristian "Ruso" Garcia fluff a penalty (he tried a "Panenka", but managed to hit the bar) and then blast over an unmissable chance from about a yard. It could have been 4 - 0. But then we should have known that this is Real Murcia, and you never have an easy, calm, tranquil afternoon. Cordoba played well, managed to get themselves back in the game, got lucky as Real missed some good chances and hit the woodwork on the break, and then got a nice helping hand from yet another inept referee. Emilio's first yellow was a bit soft, and everyone could see (except the referee) he slipped and was unfortunate for his second. Down to 10 men Cordoba pressed hard but came up against a solid Real defence.

Real Murcia:
Alberto
Molinero - Jorge - Iván Amaya - Rubén Párraga
Iturra - Richi (Cerrajería 71') - Isaac Jové - Óscar Sánchez (Sutil 62')
Emilio - Cristian García (Chando 79')

Córdoba:
Alberto García
David Prieto - Gaspar - Fuentes - Lopez Garai
Hervas - López Silva (Vico 46') - Caballero - Borja
Pepe Díaz (Balsas 86') - Patiño (Quero 77')

Goals:
1-0 Emilio Sánchez 17'
2-0 Richi 40'
2-1 Patiño 57'

Referee: Mr. Lesma López. Had a good first half then lost it. Poorly assisted by one of his linesmen. Surely one of least demands to take such a role is to acually understand the offside rule. The fella didn't have a clue.

Att : 8.754 at the New Condomina. This is poor and I don't understand. We have 10,000 season ticket holders, which means 1.300 of them just didn't bother to turn up, this for a match that was the "to be or not to be" for Real Murcia. That's how deep some people's support runs. The fact our local TV channel (La 7) decide to screen home games live whilst usually leaving us with no TV for away games takes fans away. But many will have so been horrified at the chance of missing a Cristiano Ronaldo step-over (Real Madfrid kicked off at 8 p.m., just a few minutes after the game finished) that staying home was a better option. However this isn't just typical of Murcia. Fans stay away but when promotion is at stake in the last 2 games, all of a sudden they are there. Seeing Championship games in England.....with mid table sides filling their grounds to 75 or 80%....brings home just how fickle the spanish supporter is.

We are now very close to the play off zone, and on a 3 game winning streak. Next up Gerona away next Saturday. Another win....well....I wonder if it will shake the town into actually getting behind a promotion push?

Friday, January 13, 2012

Madrid - Barcelona....boring!

So.....90% of Spain will be wetting themseleves at the prospect of yet another "clásico" over 2 legs in the Copa del Rey. Me? I'm sick to the back teeth of it. When there isn't a game between them coming up they take 95% of all sports coverage between them. When there is....forget everything else.

And it's sooo boring. I mean.....you know that one or the other is going to win it. You know that one or the other is going to win La Liga. Where is the fun? Where is the suspense? Where is the emotion? The truth is that there is little love of the game in Spain. Sorry, but that's my opinion. It's hard to support any other team - winning, and supporting one of the winning teams, is all that matters. Supporting a side that never lifts a trophy is ridiculed. Monday morning in any province means the Madrid and Barcelona sheep will giggle and nudge each other when they see you are annoyed by defeat or pleased with victory for the team that represents the town they were born in......"I mean"..."they never win fuck all".....snigger.

Never win fuck all. The sauce of football is winning fuck all. Lifting a trophy guaranteed every 12 months....snigger.....now that is meaningless, you stupid, weak, pathetic, dishonest, sold-out, ovine twerp.

So FUCK Real Madrid! And FUCK Barcelona!

Acho....arriba el REAL MURCIA PIJOENDIO!

I'll get me coat!

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

British Standards? Non Merci....

I’ve always found that you have to remember that people from different cultures very often don’t think the same as you or react to situations in the same way as you would expect. It’s a fairly typical error our Anglo-Saxon politicians make in their international relations. Look how we are trying to impose democracy in places like Iraq or Afghanistan, and failing miserably. People there just don’t get it – and as soon as we pull out, another strongman will take over, as that is what their culture demands. Seems sad (for us as we demand for them what we expect for ourselves), but really we shouldn’t expect other peoples demands to be similar to ours. They aren’t. It’s just wishful thinking on our part, and may even make matters worse in the long run as our meddling or perceived monetary motives alienate many cultures. I’ve gone off at a tangent a bit, but the point I am trying to make is this: things that matter to us Brits don’t necessarily matter to anyone else.

In football terms we have seen over the last few weeks a couple of incidents involving racism that the Brits find abhorrent. John Terry is facing legal proceedings over an alleged racist remark, and Luis Suarez is facing an 8 match ban for his abuse of Patrice Evra. Terry denies any wrongdoing, and you have to give him the benefit of the doubt as the images are inconclusive. Suarez has been found guilty of repeated racist abuse. He seems to be genuinely baffled at the ban, and I can understand why. He’s a latino, and from my experience in Spain, casual racism amongst the masses is almost normal. Many times have I stared wide eyed and shaken my head as hundreds of fellow supporters make monkey noises. No doubt some of them are deeply racist, but I mostly put it down to stupidity and copycat behavior – indeed it seems to be funny and amusing to most. It’s only a negro after all. It’s like going back to the early 70’s. Even this week watching Español play Barcelona anyone with ears could hear the ape noises coming from one end. All the more surprising as both teams have black players.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter commented that any on field racist abuse should be settled with a handshake between the players. The way he brushes off the issue as if totally unimportant really shocks us Brits. Then there is the corruption culture he is overseeing. If you think Qatar got the World Cup because of it’s football history, excellent tourism or fantastic pitch, you would be kidding yourself. The delegates were greased up and no doubt have it all stashed away out of sight. A World Cup in Qatar for goodness sake. The Brits just don’t get how they can be so bare faced about it. We demand his resignation – but stand alone as the rest of Europe or the world just don’t find it important. We don’t understand how such a clown can still rule at FIFA. But it’s easy to figure – other cultures just don’t think the same way as we do. Racism isn’t important. People take bribes. Big deal.

I have found this realization useful in the world of business. Never think your counterpart from another culture has the same aim or ethic or way to get things done as you do. In fact it is extremely unlikely.

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Gimnastic Tarragona 0 Real Murcia 2

Our local anti-realmurcia press would lie to you and have you believe this was a miracle. Not so. We had chances, shot wide and scored two, they had chances saved by the excellent Alberto. Where's the miracle?

Gimnástic Tarragona:
Rubén Pérez
Juste - Mairata - Arzu - Mingo
Morán - Longás - Rodrí - Rey (Ruz 77')
Peragón (Powell 46') - Viguera (Luna 46')

Real Murcia:
Alberto
Molinero (Mario Marín 39') - Jorge - Iván Amaya - Rubén Párraga
Iturra - Richi (Cerrajería 71') - Isaac Jové - Óscar Sánchez
Emilio (Pedro 66') - Cristian García

Goals:
0-1 Cristian García 8'
0-2 Cristian García 93'

Árbitro: Jaime Latre. Unnoticed. That's good.

Att : 3.991 at the Nou Estadi in Tarragona.

I really don't get why local newspapers in Murcia have a constant mission to devalue anything Real Murcia do. Yesterday was a solid, effective performance, an away win that puts us right back on the edge of the play-off zone. Instead of a measure of optimism, they try and dirty the achievement and convince their readers that it was a fluke - all made up from the confort of their sofa, as I doubt any of them made the effort to go to Tarragona (the game wasn't on TV).