Out of Words …

By: Cesar | April 14th, 2008

I don’t know what to say right now regarding our slip-sliding club.
It’s a feeling bordering on moodiness, apathy and resignation.

It’s weird. I should be super passionate for the club right now, on the eve of a final.
But with Valencia looking like a comedy version of As the World Turns every week, it’s hard to feel excited about the game.

I’m sure by Wednesday I’ll be nervous, anxious and excited to see the Copa Del Rey final. Right now, I’m more concerned about relegation. That dirty word staring us squarely in the face.

I’m handing the reins of power over to regular reader Shaun d Che, who is obviously very angry at the direction of our club. Shaun, I feel you …

Stay tuned after for a word from Phil Ball …

I’m not used to writing but I just had to find means of venting my anger and frustration.

When will Koeman be fired?
I wonder what the Valencia board is thinking right now.
How much more do we fans have to bear?

Cesar might have been pessimistic saying we would lose to Racing but he was right.
We keep complaining about our defense but lets look at it this way - How superior is Barca’s defense to ours?

The truth is the whole team is shit.

Lets analyze Koeman’s scorecard:
We have won 18 out of 63 obtainable points (I keep saying - Thank you QQ for those 21 points).

We have the worst defensive record in our history (Correct me if I’m wrong, I don’t know much about Valencia’s history before the late 90s).

He got rid of 3 of our influential players.

He got rid of Manuel Fernandes.
He never gave Zigic a chance.
He plans to lead us to Segunda.

A lot of you might have agreed with getting rid of Santi, Albelda and Angulo but it was the wrong thing to do and how it was done wasn’t right either.

A brief analysis on the players:
Santi - Why can we have this guy as our second choice? Are you telling me that Mora is better?

Albelda - Last season,we didn’t win any matches while he was injured (you can check out the stats). I said in one of my comments that he might not be the best player on the pitch but he sure knows how to co-ordinate the players on it. Firing him like that was bad news. Besides, he is one of the most under-rated DM’s in Spain.

Angulo - This guy won some crucial matches for us last season. I remember his opportunistic strike against Zaragoza. He might not know how to play but he does have a lot of fighting spirit on the pitch. I would play him ahead of an Arizmendi any day.

All that said,lets go back to the board.

No matter what happens, win or lose, Koeman should be fired after the Copa.

So far, he has done nothing in La Liga. I mean, some ball boy at the Mestalla could do better. Id say bring Oscar back till the end of the season.

Even if we win the Copa, there will still be a lot of bad blood in the dressing room if he stays.

I’m just sick and tired of everything.

I just hope this happens like the late ’90s where we won the Copa under Claudio Ranieri after a long barren run and then Hector Cuper led us to 2 consecutive Champions League finals.

But whatever happens, I want Koeman gone.

No matter what happens, even if we end up in Segunda - Yo Soy Valencianista”
Thanx!

Thanks Shaun for that magnificent article.
It pretty much says it all …
*sigh*

Preeminent Spanish soccer writer Phil Ball had these comments to make about our beloved in his wonderful weekly article about Spanish football over at soccernet.com … harsh words from the sage of La Liga …

Another manager in the news is Ronald Koeman, the only man in the western world at present capable of making George Bush look popular. After a brief flurry of excitement, when Valencia won 3-2 at the Bernabéu and then secured this coming week’s Cup Final appearance by knocking out Barcelona, gloom and despair have returned to the Mestalla, with Koeman proving to be about as diplomatic and tactful as an air raid.

‘I’m a winner’ he announced to the press last week, when asked if he felt ’supported’ by the fans and the players. That is only partially true of his managerial record, with three Dutch league titles to his name (and two resignations) and a less than glorious time with Benfica. But to be fair, he was no disaster, and maybe the truth of the matter is that the squad he has inherited are just not up for it, fed up as they are of the way that the season has gone - with its internal (and public) trials and tribulations.

A cup final win over Getafe might just save him and his assistant Jose Mari Bakero, but after the latest capitulation at home to the still excellent Racing Santander, Valencia are now the poorest home side in the competition, statistically-speaking. This is an astonishing fact, given the intimidating walls and white noise of the Mestalla, traditionally a place where the timid feared to tread. Now Valencia are only five points ahead of Zaragoza, a side who may be due a mini-revival. If that happens, then the cup final will prove a welcome distraction from a situation that is turning to critical.

It beggars belief that a side containing Villa, Silva, Marchena, Joaquin and Baraja can be in such free-fall. And they won’t have it easy against Getafe, as Bayern Munich can testify. Anyway, Valencia have already won the cup six times before, so it’s time to give Getafe something for the cabinet shelves. It would be a fitting reward for a team that suffered shocking luck last week, in another heart-stopping European night in the UEFA Cup. Bayern eventually beat them, but only after ten-man Getafe had shot themselves in the foot, in front of King Juan Carlos, the Prince, and uncle Tom Cobley and all. But they died with their boots on, in a fantastic game.

Nothing against Valencia, but I’d love to see Getafe win on Wednesday. If they do, one wonders what Ronald Koeman will say when asked if it is easy to manage a big club.

We’ll agree to disagree about the Final, Mr. Ball.

I just wish I had the excitement befitting a fan about to see his club in a Final. Too much negativity surrounds the club these days …

p.s. Thanks to everyone for the song links and suggestions. Some great stuff!!!