Not to be outdone by the Italian hack Gino Kinnearo T100’s
Spanish Football Correspondent and toilet paper salesman Miguel McCarthio has cast a lazy
eye over the clubs from the country of oranges, doubloons and pissed, sun burnt
English tourists to give his far from expert assessment on the country’s clubs
so far this season and predictions come the end of it.
Division 1
Barcelona
Scott McKenzie continues to bask in the glory of the easiest
job in football by apparently leading Barca to another stroll towards the
league title.
In fairness Scott has put together a squad, formation and
tactics that work and others find hard to break, seeing little need to dabble
in the transfer market he ploughs his own furrow and generally keeps his own
council.
A worry may be the lack of success in the Cup, Shield and
Youth Cup, which may indicate a lack of depth and young talent coming though,
as expected though they are pushing strong in the Champions Cup and World Club
Cup.
Miguels assessment 9/10
End of Season Prediction:
Champions
Real Madrid
Roy Keane seems determined to punch below his weight this
season with Real floundering outside the Champions Cup qualification places.
Whilst the Bernabeu faithful crave the league title Roy
appears to be carving the path of least resistance in targeting cup
competitions, already in the T100 Cup final and going strong in the Champions
Cup, World Club Cup and Youth Cup competitions this ploy appears likely to
deliver silverware.
Miguels assessement 7/10
End of Season Prediction:
Champions Cup Qualification & Cup Silverware
Valencia
After being brought in to avoid relegation last season and
doing so against the odds David Senior will have been looking to consolidate
and avoid a similar scrap this season.
Whilst no means safe Senior appears to be steering Los Che
away from the drop zone and having achieved the clubs first ever victory in any
cup competition steered them to the T100 Cup semi-final. Whilst a lack of squad
depth may have resulted in their failure in this competition their presence in
the Youth Cup Quarter Finals indicate that there is decent young blood coming
through.
Miguels assessment 6/10
End of Season Prediction:
Mid-Table Mediocrity
Atletico Madrid
Atletico fans will be hoping The Doctor has more up his
sleeve than just a sonic screwdriver in the closing third of the season as they
battle to avoid being sucked into the relegation zone.
With time travel not being an option and the two Manchester
clubs gaining ground the Doc may be forced to look at cashing in some of his
youth talent to strengthen his first team squad however this could be hard
decision to make with the youngsters chasing glory in the Youth Cup.
Miguels assessment 4/10
End of Season Prediction:
Relegation
Division 2
Sevilla
After taking over at the club after their ignominious fall
from Div 1 grace Rab Kennedy has worked hard to rebuild the squad and avoid the
momentum of last seasons relegation taking them down again.
In a tight division they sit a handful of points away from
the play-offs and only a slightly bigger handful of points away from the drop
zone. Rab will be hoping that with no cup distractions a recent upturn in form
can be continued through the last third of the season and see them push for the
play-off lottery.
Miguels assessment 6/10
End of Season Prediction:
Mid-Table Safety
Division 3
Athletic Club
Whilst many Athletic fans were calling for Gareth Crisps
head on a stick after last seasons relegation from Div 2 the board stuck by him
given the limited time he had to turn the ship around.
In turn Gareth by and large has stayed faithful to the players
with few first team ins and outs so far this season. This appears to be paying
dividends with Athletic sitting in a play-off place, recent form may suggest
that automatic promotion may be a stretch too far but in another tight division
anything is possible.
Investment in youth has been evident with a decent run in
the Youth Cup seeing them reach the Quarter Finals whilst the first team have
reached the same stage of the World Club Cup.
Miguels assessment 8/10
End of Season Prediction:
Play-Offs
Division 4
Villareal
In the crazy world that is Division 4 Andrew Kelly seems
intent on following up winning the Div 5 title last season with the Div 4 crown
this.
With minimal tinkering to the squad Andrew has found a
higher level of consistency than his rivals and the chasing pack this combined
with no cup distractions during the run in could bode well for back to back
promotions.
Miguels assessment 9/10
End of Season Prediction:
Champions
Malaga
After narrowly missing out on automatic and play-off
promotion last season Greg Bilboa would have been expecting more of the same
for this season, however going into the final third they find themselves
fighting at the wrong end of the table.
Having said that nothing in Div 4 is quite as it seems,
whilst being 1 point and 1 place above the relegation zone Malaga are only 3
points away from the play-off places.
Greg has been no slouch in the transfer market with a number
of players entering and leaving La Rosaleda as he has looked to improve the
squad. Don’t be surprised at a few more before the season ends has he looks for
that additional boost towards the finish line.
Miguels assessment 6/10
End of Season Prediction:
Mid-Table Safety
Division 5
Espanyol
After last seasons relegation from Div 4 Greg Earle wielded
the axe on the squad in attempt to freshen it up for the fight this season.
Erratic form combined with a run in the Shield which took
them to the Quarter Final sees them hovering just outside the play-off places
and with vital games against other promotion hopefuls to come Greg will be
hoping for more consistency in the run in.
Miguels assessment 7/10
End of Season Prediction:
Narrowly Missing Out on Making Play-Offs
Celta Vigo
The second of the triumvirate of Spanish clubs that dropped
down from Div 4 last season where Ryan Chisholm has largely stood by the squad
that took them down.
In fairness it is a strong squad for this division and Ryan
will be disappointed they aren’t flying higher and like Espanyol they have
games against promotion rivals a plenty in the final third.
Having established a decent youth set up Ryan has guided
them to the Quarter Final of the Youth Cup which is a good sign for the future.
Miguels assessment 7/10
End of Season Prediction:
Sneaking a Play-Off Spot
Levante
The last of the relegated trio and if the team had a point
for every time Tom Parfitt appeared in the Belgian press they’d already be
heading back to Div 4.
Tom has been very active in the transfer market in an effort
to improve the squad though it hasn’t translated into results as yet as they
find themselves flirting with the foot of the table nearly as much as Tom does
with Lana Del Rey.
With no realistic chance of making the play-offs Tom will be
concentrating on putting together some consistency and decent results in the
final leg of the season.
Miguels assessment 5/10
End of Season Prediction:
Avoiding the Wooden Spoon
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