Onésimo Inspires / JA Samper dire....

Busy day yesterday as Real Murcia sacked manager Gustavo Siviero and immediately appointed Onésimo Sánchez as his successor.

I think Siviero has been unlucky. The results have not been good of late, but you have to look back and see that the root cause of the decline, the catalyst, was referee Figueroa Vazquez in Sabadell. Winning 1 – 2 and in injury time, he gave about the most foolish and soft penalty I’ve seen for years. Of course a forward is going to dive outrageously in the 93 rd minute you idiot. Then to book Molinero (second yellow) was pure provocation. Matilla fell in the trap, told Figueroa Vazquez what he thought, the referee of course showed him a red and then invented all sort of insults uttered by Matilla. Result, a 6 game ban for our most inventive player. Then there was the frankly shameful display by Perez Pallas against Sporting at home. An absolute disgrace, but yet another “white gloved” theft of 2 points.

I believe, without Figueroa Vazquez’s intervention, we would be at least 5 or 6 points better off. Plus the 2 that Perez Pallas robbed us of……would have us min a comfortable position, near to the play-off zone.

That’s not to make excuses for the club, as it is clearly badly run. Onésimo is the 24 th coach to occupy Real’s bench since the Samper brothers took over the club in 1998, something that should provoke the owners into thinking that maybe, just maybe, the problem isn’t the coaching, but the structure of and how the club is run by them.

Yesterday’s press conference only confirmed what we already know. Onésimo spoke well, and hopefully he will be able to inspire the wayward and distracted players into better results. But vice president Juan Antonio was his usual inept self. The fella is a communication nightmare. A bull in the proverbial china shop. Any positivity created by Onésimo was almost immediately quashed by Samper’s frankly dire speech and arrogant answers to questions.

We all thank the brothers for saving the club in its hour of need back in 98. But surely they need to empower other, more talented employees, in the day to day running of the club?

Anyhow – good luck to Onésimo.

 

Photo : Juan Antonio Samper. Never point at him with a microphone!