Skip to main content

A lot of news and a note on the Segunda (1st March, 2017)

So, Trashorras claims that Tebas threatened him with a 10000 euro fine if he supported the Bukaneros, Zozulya may be given clearance to play for a fourth team this season - a historic moment in which FIFA were compassionate (now how about that), and Paco Jémez is under increased pressure, something he described as "if Luis Enrique's hair is grey at Barcelona, he'd lose it in Mexico".

But today's post is about the Segunda. Seeing as Rayo now occupy the relegation spots with a relatively unchanged team from the one last season a bit of a note about the league wouldn't be amiss.

The fact that Javi Guerra, who scored 13 in La Liga, has scored 4 in the Segunda so far, and is the top scorer (joint with Ebert and Moreno) is surprising. And yes, the fact that Rayo aren't playing well justifies it, but is it simplistic?

Perhaps Rayo haven't adapted to a competition that overvalues speed and trickery - Míchel said he would bet on Lass Bangoura but against Getafe he once again disappointed. Perhaps Rayo have been unlucky - a lot.

Or perhaps Rayo really are very poor. Quite literally.

And it may get worse - Jordi Gómez's introduction for Baena was the death warrant of any defensive protection. Fran Beltrán can fill those shoes but it may not be enough. Moreover, the run-in from now until the end of the season is very very hard - Rayo have to face nine of the top 11 teams.

Good luck with that.

Finally, in the Trashorras interview he also stated that if Rayo went down to Segunda B he would stay. It is surprising that we take this loyalty for granted - it doesn't exist in modern football and when it does it is rarely a purely sporting decision. Trashorras could easily be making decent money - when Rayo were relegated to the Segunda he reportedly had offers from Turkey, UAE, Australia, Mexico, India and even Deportivo but renewed his contract till 2019.

But then Rayo is different, right?

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Ismael Urzaiz and Salamanca. A 22 team La Liga. Trust and Víctor Casadesús (9th June, 2017)

Salamanca traveled to Albacete to compete for promotion to La Liga with an impossible task on their hands. They had to overturn a 2-0 deficit away from home, against a side that entered La Liga's relegation playoff spots on the final day, and who had scored 44 goals in the league - just four less than Salamanca themselves. As the clock ticked towards the 90th minute, Salamanca were winning 1-0 yet in danger of losing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Born in Tudela, Navarre, Urzaiz began his professional career at Real Madrid's B-side, making his debut in Segunda División in 1989. Despite being a successful youth international, he did not make any La Liga appearances for the first team (however, he did play one game against Odense BK, in the 1990–91 European Cup). Urzaiz spent the 1991–92 season on loan at Albacete Balompié, making his top flight debut when he came on as a substitute against Athletic Bilbao in October 1991. In early 1993, he was loaned to Celta de Vigo...

Non-league Incider: St Helens Town 3-0 Atherton Laburnum Rovers

Last game: 8th August: Dulwich Hamlet 2-1 East Thurrock United The previous day, I was blown away by my first ever football match experience. Dulwich Hamlet impressed me, but what impressed me more was the journey. The travel to the stadium was just as enjoyable as the football itself. I had caught the groundhopping bug. There were no games scheduled for the 9th of August. There was one, near Wigan, and all I had booked earlier was a refundable bus ticket from Manchester Airport leaving at quarter past midnight. I should have refunded it. This was a mistake. This whole day was a mistake. I was only slightly hungover from the previous night, but that was nothing compared to this feeling of loss - I couldn't handle the fact that there was a game happening. And I wasn't too far away. Just three hours and a bit. They'll fly by , I thought. I was in autopilot. Something within me made me get up, grab a bag, and get out the door. This wasn't me. I wasn't trave...

A new chapter in the Pride of Vallekas...

You might think that this is the second iteration of this blog. But, in a way, it isn't. During the second half of the 2014-15 season, I watched all the Rayo games and uploaded match reports to a Facebook page called the Pride of Vallekas. I then impulsively deleted that page, thinking I would never write again. Moral of the story: this is, in an informal sense, the third iteration of this blog. And never, ever, delete things. Umm....I'm deleting things. Again. I started writing about football in September 2015. Back Page Football were kind enough to allow me to contribute - and it propelled me to write about twice or thrice a month. It provided me with a platform to write for BarcaBlaugranes and VillarrealUSA, two blogs under SBNation, and guest post on many others. However, as I've said many times before, a lack of writing towards the end of 2016 frustrated me, and the mandate to write everyday was born impulsively on a Thursday morning more than a year ago. At ...