Tom Oldfield


Manuel Pellegrini has enough on his plate as the new Real Madrid manager without worrying about his former club, Villarreal. But one glance at the league table will show him that the Yellow Submarines are sinking deeper and deeper into trouble, and despite a first La Liga win of the season over Malaga, remarkably some still question their chances of survival.
 
While Pellegrini has seen his own stock rise as he moved on to work with the likes of £80M man Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka and Raul, it seems that Villarreal are struggling to deal with his departure and are heading in the other direction. And a sluggish start to the campaign has many supporters biting their fingernails about the side’s prospects for the months ahead. Manager Ernesto Valverde is still finding his feet but he needs to start picking up points quickly if he is to settle the nerves.
 
It is, of course, early days – the season is barely two months old. But with just one win from their first eight games, Villarreal are fast becoming surprise relegation candidates and, having set their sights on challenging Spain’s elite again this year, questions are being asked. Seven goals from nine games has left the club at the bottom end of the La Liga table, a far cry from the club’s Champions League days.
 
Villarreal hit rock bottom when they lost 2-1 at Xerez and moved below their opponents. Despite taking the lead through former Arsenal man Robert Pires, the Yellow Submarines faded and surrendered the points. Xerez equalised just before the break then grabbed an 80th minute winner to hand the visitors a fourth defeat of the campaign. Villarreal had failed to take anything from a fixture that would have appeared a formality when the schedule was released during the summer and the anxious wait for a first La Liga victory would have to go on until their next game at home to Malaga.
 
While El Madrigal, their home ground, has been a fortress in the past, results have not been as they or their fans would have expected and Villarreal will hope the win there this weekend will be the first of many – so the struggles are not limited to their travels. Having reached the Champions League semi-final in 2006, basement-dwelling is not something the Yellow Submarines have been accustomed to in recent years – and there will be inevitable calls for change.
 
It is also all a far cry from last season, when Pellegrini masterfully led the Yellow Submarines to fifth place with some sublime victories along the way. Villarreal were just an agonising two points short of Atletico Madrid, who bagged the fourth Champions League spot. While missing out on Europe’s top competition was heart-breaking, the club’s supporters would certainly settle for fifth spot now. Instead, last season is a distant memory, even though the bulk of that side is still intact.
 
There has been a lot of frustration in the opening exchanges of this season – and not just in the shape of disappointing defeats. A 0-0 draw at home to Espanyol, in which the visitors were reduced to ten men after just 15 minutes, exposed more weaknesses and added to Valverde’s woes as the visitors held firm. Meanwhile, the club’s involvement in the UEFA Europa League is probably, at this stage, an unwelcome distraction.
 
It is worth noting that the Villarreal boss has been refreshingly honest about the team’s woes thus far. He told the media: “I admit that we are involved in a difficult situation at the moment. I must continue to insist that we are offered patience and above all that the players keep their heads held high. But things are bad at the moment, I have to admit this.” Valverde will be hoping the Malaga win relieves some pressure though for the time being at least.
 
Casting a critical eye over the Villarreal squad, there are many strong characters – and this offers reassurance that the club can turn the corner before it is too late. This spirit and character is encouraging, as is the technical ability within the group. Giuseppe Rossi, the former Manchester United man, has yet to hit top form up front but he has the predatory instincts to pull the club out of trouble. Similarly, the likes of Santi Cazorla, Marcos Senna and Joan Capdevila, all of whom are Spanish internationals, are big game players with plenty of experience. And with some very winnable fixtures to come – with the exception of a tricky clash with high-flying Sevilla – the next six weeks will be absolutely crucial as they seek to build on that first win.
 
Undoubtedly, on paper the Yellow Submarines have the talent to recover from their current predicament and establish themselves once again in the top half of the table. But the defeat at lowly Xerez indicated just how serious the situation has become and the Malaga victory on its own cannot signal a revival. Valverde has enjoyed support from the club’s hierarchy so far, despite reports of crisis meetings, yet that patience may run out if Villarreal do not start climbing the table soon.

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