Real Murcia 4 Yeclano 0

Quite an easy victory.....but it has to be said that the first 35 minutes were pretty poor, and until we got ahead we seemed to be unable to get out of first gear. There were a few restless moments, but no real scares. It all changed after I made a pact.....into my head came the thought that I had to choose between a victory for Real Murcia or a win for Arsenal in the Carling cup final....clearly I chose a win for Real, and so a couple of minutes later we were 2 up through Amaya's header and Albiol's close range shot. I didn't know at the time, but Arsenal were making their customary piss poor effort at a final, and all my fault.

After the break it was one way traffic....Kike thumped in a terrific third, and Chando broke his drought with a deft header. We should have had more, hit the post and had a long range effort smash back off the bar.

Real Murcia:
Alberto
Ander Gago - Luciano - Iván Amaya - Óscar Sánchez
Urzaiz (Isaac Jové 57') - Aguilera - Albiol - Pedro (Abraham 67')
Kike (Molino 61') - Chando

Yeclano:
Toni Bernal
Pedro (Rafa López 69') - San José - Rumbo - Piru
José Ramón (Vilaseca 65') - Cano - Iglesias - Biri (Andrés 22')
Tomás - Carrasco

Goals:
1-0 Amaya 41'
2-0 Albiol 43'
3-0 Kike 49'
4-0 Chando 59'

Referee : Mr. Arcediano Monescillo. Not the worst referee we have seen (that's not saying much) but he did make the odd strange decision. Decided that he was not going to make many bookings, and let Yeclano off very lightly.....I would say they should have had at least 5 or 6 more yellows, but time after time he refused to card bad fouls. I they want to be lenient, that's fine, but for both teams. He brandished a yellow at Luciano for a challenge nowhere near as bad a 7 or 8 similar or worse infringements from the visitors.

Attendence : 6.505

Next up is Estepona on Sunday at midday. It's on an artificial pitch, so not easy, but we need to keep the pressure up on Sevilla B, who won again yesterday (4 - 0 against San Roque).

Final note : good to see 3 players that have come through the youth set up at the club in the first team : Urzaiz, Aguilera and Kike....and doing very very well.

Back to winning ways please....

Although a home game against a lowly Yeclano should not really create too many worries, teams do come to the New Condomina very motivated, as at this level you don't get to play in front of such a large crowd at such a magnificent stadium very often.....or even in your playing career. Added to this I can feel an undercurrent of sharpening knives.....from Real Murcia fans who expect us to win 8 nil each week, and who, if we are not winning by the 25th minute, will start to turn against the team and coach Iñaki Alonso. I myself have to admit to a certain unease.....we have not been on form, and have lost first place (which as explained is a must for our promotion ambitions), and cannot afford to speculate at all. Alonso seems to be a calm character, never seems to get hot under the collar or be very animated on the touchline. He has my full support, of course, but I can see a section of the crowd are restless at his calm exterior...and think maybe the players need a bit of a kick up the backside as well as the arm around the shoulder that Iñaki seems to do so well. Interesting to see how things go.

I jinxed Richi in my last post saying he was fit....the same day in a warm up game against Juande Ramos's Dnipro from Ukraine, he was injured again. Murcia won 2 - 1, but Kike also took a knock, from a Dnipro side who were descibed as "over physical" by those present.

Sundays game with Yeclano....

The game on Sunday against Yeclano is at 17.30 p.m., 16.30 p.m. in the UK, and can be followed on Real Murcia TV on the official club website ( www.realmurcia.es ). For those of us in Murcia it is on channel 7.

Team news is that Richi is fit and ready to come back into the side if selected, and Aguilera has served his suspension and is available. Although Urzaiz played well, I do expect to see both Richi and Aguilera back in the starting 11.

Bleating / Do we have to be PC?

I really can't get on with political correctness in any of it's forms. Maybe that's cause I'm becoming a bitter old git...or is it? Calling a spade a spade, or letting one's true feelings known has become very rare...indeed it seems we value a PC lie more than we do the difficult to digest truth. This week I wanted foreign clubs I have zero affinity with to beat english club sides. I admit. Yesterday my son and I ran around the living room when Lyon equalized against Real Madrid. Usted perdone. Last week I felt sick when Spurs got lucky against the worst AC Milan side I've ever seen. Sorry.

I'm not alone, I know. So should TV commentators take this growing minority (? I question if it is a minority) into consideration when bleating on about Real Madrid or Chelsea or United or Arsenal? On TVE last night the commentator was having kittens when Madrid scored, he screamed and screamed and screamed, and all game long made mention of "Cristiano" (Ronaldo), "Sergio" (Ramos) and "Iker" (Casillas) as if they were his best mates. Surely he must be aware that 99.9% of the 45% of the population who support Barcelona (his viewers!) are not with the PC bollocks and fervently want Madrid to receive a thrashing? Just as this was vice-versa last week when Barsa lost to Arsenal....I can't imagine one Madrid supporter that wasn't happy (and again the TVE commentator referenced Messi as "Leo", Iniesta as "Andrés" etc.). This whole first name thing must be really annoying for, say, a Racing Santander fan when they face either Barsa or Madrid. Surely the commentator should be neutral, and not on first name terms with one side but not with the other?

I can remember as a kid, when we didn't have footy saturation, wanting Liverpool to win the european cup. I can still see myself wanting a Bolton, Everton or Sunderland to succeed in europe, but a Man Utd, Tottenham or Chelsea? No effin way! Some see this as small minded, but I can't help it.....and I'm only being honest.

I have a similar problem when it comes to international football. I want England to do well, to win...but....week in week out I think Ashley Cole is a greedy bastard, John Terry is pure excrement, Frank Lampard is thick and a complete tool, Wayne Rooney is a diving cheat with a permit to insult officials, Crouch and Defoe are just Tottenham....I can't just suddenly and as if by magic switch off and want the best for them. I don't have it in me...I still want the opposition striker to deliberately disfigure John Terry's face with a terrible sickening elbow and then "El Hadj Doiuf" him. I apologise.....but that's how I feel. Truth.

Anyhow....I seem to have gone completely over the top. The question is.....do you support all your nations club sides as is PC? Or are you plain crazy like me?

I'll get my coat!

TABLE AFTER 26.....

Almeria B 1 Real Murcia 0

Terrible result against what looked like quite a poor Almería outfit. But it could have been different.....Kike had a second half penalty saved, and Chando was guilty of missing a pretty easy chance. Almería made the most of about their only attack to score their winner late on.

I'm not surprised....we can't expect to win every game. Plus the fact that the night of Wednesday to Thursday this week I had a dream that we lost and dropped out of the top four to miss out on even playing in the play offs....I had a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach when I woke up, and that same feeling was with me last night, despite the damage not being all that bad.

Almería B:
Diego García
Javi Moyano - Hugo Álvarez - Trujillo - Richi
Alberto - Casabella (Márquez 89') - Antoñito (José Ramón 73') - Rubio
Jonathan - Aarón (César 56')

Real Murcia:
Alberto
Ander Gago - Iván Amaya - Luciano - Óscar Sánchez
Urzáiz - Albiol - Aquino (Chando 59') - Cañadas (Abraham 59')
Pedro (Molino 71') - Kike

Goal:
1-0 Jonathan 84'

Referee : Mr. Mateo Valero.

Let's hope we can get back to winning habits as the last few games have seen us drop many points, that we may come to miss when squeaky bum time comes around. I have explained the importance of finishing first, and it doesn't seem that Sevilla B are letting up at all....far from it, they thrashed previously 4th placed Ceuta 1 - 5 away.

I can think of only one positive reading.....being ahead for too long can't help when you go into the play off. So lets take top spot late on and hit the play offs on form.

Murcia's World Class.....Beer!

After two weeks of Berliner in Germany, Carling Extra Cold and Fosters in London, and Mahou at Madrid airport, it's good to be home. Maybe it's my 20+ years here and my taste buds are more honed to local stuff.....but, wow, this is better than anything tasted in my travels, by a very long way. It's the beer I crave when they offer you a Heineken in LA or a Carlsberg in Paris. World Class.....superb....the Messi or beers...it's sooo good it's above a lot of Murcianos who sniff at it....

Get a litre bottle, and make sure you have some chilled glasses. Have some cured manchego, or some fresh cut (important) "pata negra" ham, or (as I am doing) some frtesh (not frozen) red prawns.....pour well (with a head)....taste....now tell me I'm wrong!