After a week when I was told of a sign seen on the window of a butcher’s shop in North Yorkshire under a picture of Lionel Richie – it read “Hello, Is it meat you’re looking for?!” – Real Mallorca are immersed in a sporting and social crisis and it just got a lot worse during this past week. The team’s abysmal showing against a modest Rayo Vallecano last Sunday (a 2-1 defeat) saw Mallorca out-played in nearly every aspect of the game. The present situation has made tomorrow’s game (Saturday, January 17 at 4:15) in Son Moix against Athletic Club (Bilbao) another one of those “must win” fixtures.
Mallorca’s Basque coach Jagoba Arrasate is “a dead man walking” as we enter the second half of this season. His coaching philosophy has failed miserably and he’s never found the right formula from a limited squad. Arrasate has a contract until June 2027, however, a defeat or even a draw against Athletic Club could see his demise happen sooner than later.
Tension is rising with some fans harassing players and backroom staff when they arrived back in Palma after the Rayo defeat. Some of those scallywags daubed graffiti on a wall near the club shop asking for the board to leave and CEO Diaz to go forth and multiply!
Mallorca is experiencing a crisis that seems to be worsening by the minute as their footballing decline seems impossible to stop. The team has only won one game out of the last seven, all against teams of similar strength. We now face a daunting playing agenda : Bilbao (H), At. Madrid (A), Sevilla (H), Barcelona (A), Betis (H) and Celta Vigo (A).
Tomorrow’s game is shaping up to be a trial for the fans and they won’t hesitate to show their displeasure if things don’t go the right way. There will be plenty of nerves and tension amongst us Mallorquinistas, who have reached a stage of weariness when it comes to enduring poor displays from “Los Bermellones.” In just one year Arrasate’s affect on the team has all but evaporated.
Mallorca have a decision to make regarding the coach’s future. If they sack him, they know any replacement is likely to demand not only the remainder of this season but also the next in full, and that could interfere with their plans for 2026/7. If the club dismiss Arrasate over the next few days (or weeks), there is a clause that allows them to terminate the third year without cost, providing they pay his full salary for this, his second, year. Two names are allegedly on the table to take Arrasate’s place, Javier Pimienta, the ex Barcelona youth coach who also has coached Las Palmas and Sevilla, and Luis Garcia Plaza, who is highly regarded by local fans as he led Mallorca to promotion from the second division in 2021.
Real Mallorca’s American owner/president Andy Kohlberg arrived on the island on Wednesday to manage the present crisis, the biggest in 10 years of American ownership. He will lead the decision making process alongside CEO Alfonso Diaz and sporting director Pablo Ortells, both or whom are in the frame for the club’s present demise.
With owner Andy Kohlberg based in the USA, tending to his other business interests, the club has been run by Diaz and Ortells. The president has effectively designated two guys who have little or no footballing pedigree. Diaz (whom many people find aloof and unapproachable) comes from a multinational household appliances company and he acts more like a president in Kohlberg’s absence than he does a CEO. Ortells’ original job was as a chemical engineer. He did however spend a long time as coach of lower category sides at Villareal where he rose to the position he now has at Mallorca.
Four years ago, Ortells brought in some good players, like Kang In Lee from Valencia on a free transfer before selling him to PSG for 22 million euros in 2023. He’s also signed some numpties, especially Cyle Larin who’s turned out to be an expensive flop since he arrived from Valladolid. Larin’s now on loan at Dutch club Feyenoord and once again has failed miserably, so much so that he could be back here sooner than expected!
With Diaz and Ortells out of their depth, and with the current disturbing situation regarding the team’s dismal performance, the supporters club “Moviment Mallorquinistas” has written to the club to protest about the direction the club is taking. Just before Christmas they wrote a long missive stating that the fans are the fundamental pillars of the club and there are too many resources being focused on the VIP areas when they should be centred on the playing side. Radical changes could and should have been made to enhance the squad during the summer, and now we’re suffering the consequences of insufficient action.
SUMMING UP: There’s been so much negativity surrounding Real Mallorca this week. The time for decisiveness has arrived. The current squad is clearly not good and/or not motivated enough. Support from fans continues to dwindle at home games. Arrasate’s credit is now non existent. The Basque coach has failed to find the right formula and it’s clear his philosophy doesn’t fit the demands of Real Mallorca and their long-suffering fans.
AND FINALLY, a woman has a problem with her wardrobe door in the bedroom. Every time a bus passes outside the house, the door of the wardrobe falls off. She calls a repairman to fix the problem and he sees that indeed the door does fall off every time a bus passes by. “Okay,” says the repairman, “I’m going to step inside the wardrobe, you close the door behind me and I’ll see if I can detect the problem.” The wife closes the door behind him. Just then the husband suddenly arrives home and hears his wife in the bedroom talking to somebody. He rushes upstairs and opens the wardrobe door and sees the repairman. “What the hell are you doing in there?”
The repairman meekly replies “You’re not going to believe this but I’m waiting for a bus!”