Ronald Koeman has ordered the building of a brick wall at Valencia’s training base in Paterna in an attempt to keep our prying eyes and prevent the players from getting distracted, but the Dutchman will need to do a lot more than a bit of handy work if he is to bring about peace and tranquillity at the Primera Liga club.
Koeman has raised eyebrows (to say the least) with his get-tough approach since taking charge at the Mestalla, in particular with his decision to purge three of the club’s most experienced players in the shape of David Albelda, Santiago Canizares and Miguel Angel Angulo.
The storm might have blown over if results had improved, but they haven’t. Instead the team have gone out of the Champions League, won just one of their last nine league matches and now lie just five points above the relegation zone.
Looking ahead to the rest of the season, The Offside have even raised the dreaded ‘R’ word.
“I have absolutely NO faith in management, coaching, the players or the president to save us right now,” writes Cesar. We HAVE to start playing better … and fast. Like … NOW. Or this could be one of the worst seasons in Valencia history, when we predicted it could be one of the best.
At the same time, matters off the pitch have been getting out of hand.
The club’s most expensive close season new recruit, Manuel Fernandes got involved in a nightclub scuffle and has been shunted off to Everton. His replacement Ever Banega hit the headlines for his appearance in an Internet sex chatroom video, while the outcast Albelda has launched legal action against the club.
Valencia has never been an easy club to work at — just ask Rafa Benitez. Even he left under a bit of a cloud despite having led the club to two league titles and victory in the UEFA Cup after he got fed up with the behind-the-scenes wrangling.
Antonio Lopez and Claudio Ranieri both exited by the back door after failing to meet the expectations of the notoriously hard-to-please fans, while Quique Sanchez Flores was involved in a high-profile power struggle with sporting director Amedeo Carboni in his first season in charge.
When Sanchez Flores was sacked in October with the team in fourth place in the league and still in Europe, he appeared relieved rather than upset. “I may have lost my job but I feel that I have recovered my life,” he said.
So the question is, have Valencia basically become unmanageable? To put it another way, is there any solution to the current crisis? And is Koeman the man for the job?
PHOTO: Koeman watches his Valencia players during a practice session at Stamford Bridge in London, December 10, 2007. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez
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2 comments so far
There must be something going on behind the scenes. I mean, with the likes of David Villa, Joaquín, Vicente etc they should be doing much better, at least in the UEFA Cup spots and probably challenging for 3rd place. Valencia are a big team in Spain and have a massive following. The fans don’t want to be watching their side scrape a win every other week while the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid sit comfortably at the top, laughing at a side that considers itself a title challenger.
On the other hand, looking at La Liga there is only ten points between 6th and 18th with Valencia sitting in 8th. Of course, a couple of losses could put them right down there, but I can’t see them getting relegated. They will probably pull through eventually but if Koeman doesn’t sort it out and his side finish outside the UEFA Cup spots, he will almost certainly be out of a job.
- Posted by Footy Betting LadI didn’t realise they were in quite such a mess. I wonder if they might pull the plug on them before the end of the season. I hope not. If you give him the go-ahead to make such profound changes you’ve got to stick with him to see how they work out.
- Posted by London