Down with the Drop!

Tonight it was confirmed that Espanyol will be playing in Division 5 next season. A 1-0 loss to Torino sentenced the Spaniards to their fate rubbing salt into the wounds of the clubs transfer ban put in place just yesterday. Many expected Espanyol to survive following an incredible run of form since Earle took over midway through the season. However, it seems the clubs situation was too extreme for a turn around. The past few weeks have seen some huge changes at the club and these past two days have led to speculation over the clubs future development and stability.


Transfers

New Midfield Mastermind
(Ricky Alvarez)

The past week has seen a lot of movement into and out of the Barcelona based club. Last week saw a string of transfers kicked off by the departure of Chilean defender Miiko Albornoz to Stuttgart. The 25 year old cost £5 million giving Earle a bit more freedom to spend. One day later Lukas Rupp joined in exchange for Jonny Williams from German club Halle. Soon after, Marios Oikonomou signed from Bologna for £400k and Kalifa Coulibaly. The midfielder and defender will offer increased depth for next seasons promotion push. Claudio Pizarro also joined the Spaniards for a fee of £307k from Kaiserslautern. With Borini gone, the 37 year old will play a key role offering experience up front. Later that day Rodriguez Jony completed his transfer to Espanyol from Real Sporting. The 24 year old cost £2.8 million and could push for a starting spot at left back next season but also offers depth all the way up the left side. Daniel Ginczek was the next to depart. After failing to attract much attention the German was sold for £3 million to Paderborn. Fabio Borini also hit the exit moving to Sunderland in exchange for Ricky Alvarez and Leonardo Morosini. Alvarez will become a long term replacement for the departed Tomas Rosicky and Morosini will give Espanyols youth squad higher potential. Also joining the youth team was Jean-Luc Dompe who signed from Hellas Verona for £3 million. Both deals have a second section which must wait to be completed due to the ban. The ban was put in place on the 17th following the signing of four more youth players. Jon Ander and Samuele Massolo will both battle for a place as starting keeper in the youth team. Stijn Spierings and Juanma Labra also joined taking the squad total to 51 with Earle unable to cancel a loan deal in time. As a result Earle is now banned from doing deals until the 17th of June. Due to this two transfers have been put on hold. Leonardo Pavolleti will join Hellas Verona in exchange for Laurent Depoitre and Onyinye Ndidi while Marko Vejinovic will move to Sunderland for Azevedo Silvio and Duncan Watmore. Both Depoitre and Silvio are likely to play leading roles in the first team while Ndidi will play a key role in the youth team and Watmore will offer depth to the squad. It is also believed that Earle has confirmed two more deals subject to conditions.

Relegation
With the team confirmed for the drop, Espanyol are already preparing for life in Division 5. After many questioned the managerial situation for next season the club confirmed Earle would remain in control. The club released the following statement;
"Espanyol can confirm that Earle will remain in control for next season. We feel his contribution since joining has been huge and expect the same to continue next season. We believe that he is the right man to get us back into Division 4 and know the fans will back this decision".
It is believed that Earle has signed a 3 year contract extension and is negotiating season expectations which will be put in place by the start of next season. It is thought that the clause will be to at least reach the promotion play off's.

The Squad

First Choice?
(Volkan Demirel)

With the club transfer banned no adjustments to the squad can be made. This includes loans which have played a key role since Earle took over. With these limitations Earle will have a big decision to make in terms of goalkeeper. Jiminez Roberto finished the season in goal for the Spaniards but will be unable to return next season. This leaves Earle with 6 options. The most likely option is Volkan Demirel, 34, who joined a month ago. The Turkish keeper made two starts before being dropped to the bench in place of Roberto. However, stiff competition will come in the form of Eloy Room. Being 7 years younger, Room could provide a longer term solution to the keeper situation. Lukas Raeder is an unlikely candidate but could become favourable if his elders fail to impress. Aged 22 and standing at over 6'5" the German may surprise a few at the club. Another less likely option is Timo Plattel who will be returning to Division 5 since signing from Twente. Also aged 22 the keeper has already experienced success in Division 5 making 17 appearances and receiving an average rating of 7.71. Youth members Jon Anders and Samuele Massolo could also be given a chance but it is unlikely. Earle is yet to name next seasons captain and has said he'll make his decision following the post season. It is expected that that three players will be sold externally after disappointing spells. Earle has also hinted at the potential for a few younger players to break through into the first team.

The Manager
Following the confirmation of relegation Earle had the following to say;
"Obviously we are all disappointed, it's been a long season and we were written off very early on. I think the players should be, and will be, very proud of the effort given and what they have achieved. I think we had a tough run in and it all just proved too much. Hellas and Chievo both did really well and deserved to stay up. We're in an interesting situation now, there is no one left here to take the blame, I think the fans know that the players and I did the best we could and did a great job, but the situation we we're given by the old squad and previous manager was too extreme for us to recover from. I want to stay, we still have a great squad and with the relegation and the transfer ban we can look to give some of our non-regulars the opportunity to play. I think we need to accept what's happened and look at it in a positive manner. We now have the chance to build from the bottom. We still have a few changes to make and I feel this ban will allow us to identify our weaknesses, our situation should also give our players some competition for places as no one is guaranteed a place in the starting eleven. I hope some of our youngsters can develop and push for a first team spot too and I think the fans should be exited to see how we respond".