Reality Bites

By: wan | July 31st, 2009

“Just when I think I’m out, they pull me back in” – The Godfather III

So in the end it was a storm in a teacup…the latest news on the Xerez financial irregularities saga is that it probably will not cost them their place in La Liga. The President of the Liga de Professional Futbol (LFP), Jose Luis Astiazaran has claimed that the issue will not result in Xerez’s demotion and that things will remain as they are for the new season. Betis, and to a certain extent Alaves, have refused to accept his verdict and has said that they will continue to bring their case to the Council Superior of Desportes, which is technically a higher authority. However any prospect of us seeing Betis back in the big time is proving very very bleak.

In a way, that is understandable. The whole event looked like a very desperate attempt by Betis to regain their place in the top division through the courts as an excuse for their incompetence on the field. However I have my own doubts as to how the LFP arrived at their conclusion.

For one, the President acknowledged that there was certain irregularities in the accounts of Xerez; but his own take was that it happened in 2002 and since then 7 years have passed to render the “crime” largely irrelevant. His take that it is very difficult to enforce any retrospective punishment as there is no saying where the point of reference should be. My own take is that the LFP realises just what a minefield they are getting into legally; plus the fact that they would have to reorganise the calendar as well as other administrative procedures meant that it is just easier to let things be and to keep the staus quo. As mentioned, as a Betis fan, I would rather us earn our right to play at the highest level but the excuses and shirking of responsibility leaves a very bad taste in my mouth.

Let’s get back to what’s happening on the field instead. Lost in the hoopla over the whole matter was the fact that Betis played two friendlies during the course of the week, beating UD Rotenda 5-0 (with Juanma, Sergio Garcia 2, Carlos Garcia and a Maudragon own goal being the scorers) and drew 0-0 with CD San Roque de Lepe.

We can draw some insights into the Betis team from these matches even though they are obviously friendlies and Antonio Tapia is still fine tuning his line-up and tactics. What is heartening from the games is the fact that Tapia has shown a willingness to switch from the 4-2-3-1 to the 4-4-2 with Sergio Garcia and Pavone being his main strikers. What is very clear is that Garcia cannot function as the spearhead of the attack; he is most effective playing off a more physical forward where his skills and predatory instincts can be put to good use. He will never be a threat to win the Pichichi but is a threat if allowed the time and space to operate.

Odonkor continues his good form in all these matches (which makes it a wonder why Betis is reportedly trying to sell him to Westbromwich Albion) but his bad habit of not dropping back to help out defensively often leaves Ilic isolated. This was apparent in the second game when Betis’s right flank was constantly exploited.

What is more worrying is that the engine room is still malfunctioning; Juande and Sunny are not developing an understanding and seemed at lost as to what to do. They are often left stranded by the play, and were not effective in shielding the Betis defence. The Nigerian especially has a lot more room to improve if he is to live up to his promise as the solution to Betis’s problems in the middle. Perhaps it may be time to see if Mehmet Aurelio can be resurrected to perform the task.

It looks as if Tapia has a lot of work to do before he can shape Betis into the cohesive and compact unit that he envisioned. Looking at the last few games, the problems from last season seem to still exist – a disjointed midfield especially defensively, lack of coordination between the backs and the flank players as well as an inability to fashion goal scoring chances from the middle.

If there is any consolation, it is that the Betis attack is still relatively strong and it appears that the defensive weaknesses from last season have been dealt with to a degree. It seems the fullbacks are being tasked to be less adventurous and to hold the line to ensure that the backline is not so easily breached.

Lastly, here is a very nice calendar of all the dates and games for Betis in 2009-10 …………

in the Segunda Division.