Espanyol on the Road to Recovery!

Since dropping to Division 5 three seasons ago Espanyol have had one long term goal in mind and it looks as though this season could be their best opportunity to attain it. The goal in question is the promotion of the Barcelona based club back up to Division 4 while developing an improving squad.

Anthony Modeste

(Teams top scorer)

At the start of the season the season the squad looked strong with good first team choices and appropriate depth. Along the course of the first half of the season changes have been made and several new stars have joined while a few have also departed. The season started with fans excited to see how their side would do with Demba Ba and Raul Garcia both starting their first full seasons at the club. The pairing seemed to work well with the forward bagging 4 goals and 4 assists in 11 games and helping the side to second in the table, however, following the signing of Anthony Modeste the Senegal striker was deemed excess and was used as part of a deal to get in the experienced Wesley Sneijder. Having seen great form from Ba some fans were unsure what to think of his French replacement up front, but since then Anthony Modeste has netted 9 times in 10 games and picked up 5 man of the match awards, he is the second highest scorer in the league behind Cheick Diabate who has scored just one more goal in 19 appearances, 9 more than Modeste. The midfield partnership has also worked well with Garcia picking up 3 goals and 4 assists in the opening half of the season while newcomer Sneijder has provided 3 assists with one goal in his 8 games. Younousse Sankhare and Yannis Salibur were also both brought in to add to the midfield options and have both played well when called upon. The defence was also tightened up with the acquisitions of Antonio Luna, Luca Rossettini and Andrea Masiello along with the surprise signings of Fredreic Guilbert and Jordy Gaspar from Napoli. The squad has been improved but some areas are still falling short. Earle has openly said he is still looking for an improved right back and still alternates between the two starting goalkeepers. Unfortunately, neither has been able to find consistent form and both could soon face competition from Fernando Pacheco who is yet to make his debut. If one was to step up and nail his place in the starting role it would surely help the defence improve while giving the Spaniards the boos the desperately need.

At the mid-point of the season it would look as though the Spaniards are having a good campaign, they sit in 3rd with 29 points along side 4 other teams, they are ahead on goal difference and are fighting for automatic promotion and arguably have the strongest side out of the surrounding teams. They have the 4th best attacking record and joint 2nd bet defensive record. However, Earle has says it is not good enough. They are 9 points of the top two and have conceded to sloppy defeats in games they expected to win. The manager has stated that for any chance at automatic promotion the slip ups must stop and consistency must be established week in week out. He believes the key lies in goal and expects that when one of the three options establish a more permanent place the team will improve. 

Bafetimbi Gomis

(6 goals in all competitions)

In the Cup competitions, the side has had mixed results. They were knocked out in the first round of the Top 100 Cup by Crystal Palace and, despite picking up some good results, couldn’t progress through the group stages of the World Club Cup. However, they have found some good performances to progress to the 4^th round of the Top 100 Shield where they will face Stoke City on Tuesday. It is expected that Bafetimbi Gomis will be back in the cup squad after a short stint in the first team following some good form in all competitions. The Espanyol youth team are also in a good position to progress from the group stages for the first time in their history.

With the season hotting up Earle is looking to bring in more impact players, specifically in defence and goal. The Spaniards have had advances for several keepers refused including the likes of Marco Sportiello and Peter Gulacsi. The club still have two or three options which they may be forced to take if their current three don’t improve. Approaches for wing backs have also been made with similar results. Daninlo D’Ambroso, Allan Nyom and Conserva Fagner were all options for Espanyol but all 3 have had offers for them rejected. Rumours suggest bids for Brice Dja Djedje or Neto Zeca are being prepared but the club has yet to make a formal bid. They also said they would entertain offers for youth defender Issa Diop in the hope of improving the first team. There are believed to have been many offers but Earle wasn’t interested in any of the initial bids, Hamburg are now the leading for the Frenchman although it seems the 20-year-old has no intention of leaving.

Issa Diop

(Youth sensation)

“I love it here, I think the club is moving in the right direction and I want to be part of that. I have friends here and the atmosphere is so positive. I think as a team we are constantly improving and some of the recent signings have shown that. I think I have shown my ability when I’ve played and want to stay and push for a first team spot”.

The youth captain is one of several French youngsters in the Under-21’s side who are tipped for greatness. Boubacar Kamara, Andrew Gravillon, Safwan Mbae and Jordy Gaspar all offer defensive options while Tristan Muyamba and Jean-Victor Makengo play in midfield. Earle has worked hard to develop the youth which was virtually non-existent last season and believes two or three of them could be first teamers within two seasons. However, he also knows his main aim is first team success, and that the league is the priority. He was asked about the season so far and the offers received for Diop, this is what he had to say;

“We know what our goals are and we know what we have to do to get them. Obviously, the league is the most important thing to us and promotion is our target. We feel we have put together a squad which can compete in several competitions without issue and I think so far, we’re doing that well. We’ve had a few unwanted results which we need to eliminate and if we do that we should be fine. But currently we’re our own biggest enemy. In terms of Diop he’s not one that we ‘want’ to sell, it’s more that we are aware of the interest from other clubs and are always open to offers. If there’s nothing that we aren’t 100% sure of he won’t be leaving, but if there’s the chance to improve the team on a whole then we may go ahead with it if he player is happy”.

The Spaniards have also launched bids for new attacking options with Bonfim Marlos and Nicola Kalinic both being targets. It is expected that Ozan Tufan may be used in a deal to bolster the attack while Miguel Danny may be heading for the exit.

Fans will expect the second half of the season to improve with promotion looking likely but not for certain. Anthony Modeste, Raul Garcia and Wesley Sneijder will be heavily depended on and will be key to the Spaniards campaign. If the French forward can keep up his form he may be heading for a record season. Only time will tell if Espanyol can pick up their season and perform to their full potential and finally restore themselves to a Division 4 side once again.