Former coach Quique Sanchez Flores did well in the 6 games after the devastating 3-0 loss to Villarreal to open the season.
Recreativo-Valencia 0-1
Valencia-Getafe 2-1
Betis-Valencia 1-2
Schalke 04-Valencia 0-1
Valencia-Valladolid 2-1
Almería-Valencia 1-2
Now if you remember those matches, we didn’t play so hot in all of them.
But we did come out with the maximum 15 points and a victory against Schalke 04 in Germany in the Champions League.
The trouble started on October 3, a 2-1 loss to Chelsea in Europe that sent us on a slide. 4 games later and QQ was gone.
Now current coach Ronald Koeman faces the same schedule, sans the Europe bit of course. And he thinks we shouldn’t be talking about the 15 points QQ garnered, because that would put too much pressure on the team.
Pressure? How about being 5 points from the relegation zone?
I can’t say I blame the guy. He’s trying to build something here and doesn’t need any comparisons to his predecessor, no matter how rubbish he was. Still, let’s hope the pressure of getting to Europe or doing well is enough to spur the team on. Almeria are a mere point behind us, at 26 points in the 10th spot in La Liga. We need points and we need to continue to play as well as we did against Atletico. But like, score more …
Anyways, small news bites:
- No Jo Alves this season. The CSKA striker’s staying with Moscow for now. Apparently the Russian squad wanted too much money. “We rejected Valencia’s offer and Jo will stay in CSKA”, Russian director Evgeny Giner said.
I didn’t see the need for him, anyways. Defender, anyone??
- Ruben Baraja’s hurt. Out for 3-4 weeks. Anyone surprised? He’s so fragile. Hurt almost every other match. Again, why did we let Albelda go and keep this guy?
- Albelda. He’s still here. Will this saga ever end? The transfer window closes in a few days and it looks bad for the Valencia captain. I really hope they can settle this and allow this guy the chance to play so he can qualify for the national team come Euro ‘08. What a shame and what a disgrace by Valencia if he doesn’t.
- Pablo Hernandez. Who’s he? Beats me. But he’s coming back from Getafe to strengthen our midfield. He’s supposedly a very good player and been garnering some flirtatious glances from other Spanish powerhouses.
Now why are we getting rid of Sunny? And what about Montoro, who looked decent enough? The midfield’s a position Koeman wants to improve.
Still, I wonder why we haven’t bid for any defenders.
Leave a Reply