The morning after--Villarreal news and reviews, September 15

     The only real topic today is of course Villarreal's abject defeat last night in El Madrigal.  If you're tactically inclined, Zonal Marking's article, "Garrido goes 4-3-1-2 and Villarreal never get going", sums it up pretty well, with their usual fine diagrams and analytical details.

    Another English-language blog, elcentrocampista, has the headline "ALL AT SEA" (wish I'd thought of that) and puts rather more blame on some of the personnel decisions than formation--specifically, Senna and Marchena together in midfield rather than using Cani.  The same article also discusses our defending problems, which are a major concern in my book.  The comment "for a large section of the game Villarreal did not look outclassed" surprises me, though--I thought apart from the first 20 minutes of the first half and maybe 10 minutes on either end of the second half we certainly were. 

  Diego Lopez says we need to get back to being Villarreal, Bruno was not pleased with the evening, and EPM's Jose Luis Lizerraga goes all Gordon Ramsay on us.  Perhaps it's the "Cazorla syndrome", he says, but Villarreal at the moment is " like a tortilla (Spanish omelet) without salt, a paella without saffron", among other things.  The team lacks intensity, ball movement, a style of play, and confidence.

   Spanish-language blog futvillarreal asks "Where is the football of Villarreal?" but also comments it's too early to start kicking around the idea of changing managers.  We've only played two league games.  Though I have seen the first comparison to Valverde's half-season on twitter.  Three points this Saturday at Granada would help a lot.

    Late word is Rossi did not train today due to some muscle soreness but should be OK for Saturday.   Let's hope so.  Last thing we need is another makeshift lineup.

  Well, at least we're not Inter Milan, who lost last night as well.  Today's Guardian question, "should a manager use tactics unsuitable for his players?" is worth a read if you are interested in Serie A, anyway.

  And today's self-awareness prize goes to (of course) Cristiano Ronaldo, who tells the Guardian "people boo me because I am rich and handsome".  Yes, that's what he said.  No, it's because you KEEP TELLING US!!!

   Enough of this.  Let's look forward to the game on Saturday.  Vamos Villarreal!