On to the Vuelta

With the first half of the season now concluded in El Infierno, we can take a step back and surmise everything that has transpired in the first 21 weeks of the season. We are actually slightly past halfway now due to my lapse in posting on this blog.

Anyhow, you shouldn't worry about me as there are others out there that need alot of help. In fact, I'll tell which clubs are starting to "sudar en las manos".

Lo malo:

Betis - By far the most disappointing campaign. The Beticos in Sevilla are upset and there is zero consistency to be found within the club. Even their own fans took to egging some of the players cars as they left training one day. They are a zealous bunch and it doesn't sit well that their neighbors down the road at the Sanchez Pijuan have a comfy spot in the Champions League knockout round. Betis lay six points behind third place Cartagena for the final promotion spot. It's a distance that can certainly be made up, but nothing from the previous six months suggests that will happen.

Murcia - I still can't help but shake my head that this club was in the Primera just two years ago. And the thing was that they were playing consderably well sitting mid table and there were whispers of a run towards a European spot. Then the fall back to reality resulted in relegation the El Infierno and now this year we had Murcua start the season with a head-scratching seven consecutive draws. This endeared them to the Quiniela aficionados in the beginning, but as of late, their play has generally been poor as the club sit in the relegation zone again. The Segunda B is a deep dark place and Murcia look destined to be there come fall.


Lo bueno:

Cartagena - With all due respect to Real Sociedad and Hercules, the top two teams in El Infierno, the team that has exceeded everyone's expectations is Cartagena. Speaking of the deep dark Segunda B, that's where Cartagena was last year but summoned enough to get themselves promoted. A nice string of victories and solid results to start the season provided a feel-good story, but many still thought that the team wopuld come crashing back to mid-table earth. Well, that hasn't happened and as it stands, they are four points clear of fourth place Levante. The squad appears to be grounded as evidenced by defender Txiki's recent comments that the players aren't talking about promotion. That's probably a lie but come spring, surely the fans will be reminding the players about it whereveer they go and it will be interesting to see how they hold up under the pressure, and that excludes the likes of Levante and Numancia nipping at their heels.

Villarreal B - It was only last year that Sevilla B was also in the Segunda Dibision making a case that there should be a 'Liga de Filiales' or a reserve league. You couldn't have blamed people for thinking that. Sevilla B were dreadful and managed only two wins during the whole season. Villarreal B came strutting into El Infierno this year fresh off of the Segunda B. But like Cartagena, Villarreal B has done nothing to embarrass themselves while playing in El Infierno. In fact, their play has inspired, so much so that the bosses at the parent club axed Ernesto Valverde and tasked Villarreal B Juan Carlos Garrido with the duties of leading the senior Yellow Submarine back to the top 5 in La Liga. Paco Herrera now has the reins of the team that sits 5th and is showing everyone in Spain who may have the best 'cantera' in the cuntry.

Lo peor:

Castellon - Oh dear, on these pages just last year we were lauding the exploits of Castellon who took down German club Schalke 04 in a mid-winter friendly. Castellon finished mid-table last year and had moments of glory where promotion was close. But this year's campaign started with very few wins and even more of concern, with very few goals. But it wasn't all terrible as just two weeks ago Castellon shocked Esteban Vigo's Hercules in Alicante 1-2. Whomever bet on the visitors made a killing on this shocking upset. But outside of that, Castellon have scored just 21 goals while giving up a swiss-cheese like 35. They are the 'colista' with 18 points and it is safe to say that there is no hope at staying alive...
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On to this week's Quiniela!

La Quiniela - Jornada 24

Hércules - Villarreal B 1
R. Sociedad - Gimnástic 1
Huesca - Murcia 1
Numancia - Las Palmas X
Salamanca - Elche X
Levante - Celta 1
Córdoba - Cádiz 2
Recreativo - Betis 2
Albacete - Castellón 1
Cartagena - Real Unión 1
Rayo - Girona 1

Clasificacion:

1. Hércules - 44
2. R. Sociedad - 44
3. Cartagena - 40
4. Levante - 36
5. Villarreal B - 36
6. Numancia - 36
7. Gimnástic - 35
8. Betis - 34
9. Rayo - 31
10. Elche - 31
11. Salamanca - 30
12. Córdoba - 29
13. Las Palmas - 28
14. Recreativo - 28
15. Huesca - 26
16. Celta - 26
17. Albacete - 26
18. Cádiz - 24
19. Murcia - 23
20. Girona - 23
21. Real Unión - 21
22. Castellón - 18