I love working in a job were I get along with my colleagues and at the Automative Training Network that is exactly what we have. The banter in the work place is great and by and large it revolves around football. Even Mark Gilbert ATN founder and owner is a crazy football fan and we have been enjoying ribbing him this season as his team Real Madrid appear to be in a shambles. Mark has been rubbing it in over the last couple of years about his team winning 3 Champions Leagues in a row, but all that has now gone sour. So what has gone wrong at Madrid?
The Bale Saga
Gareth Bale has been one of the bets players in the world for the last 5 years and it seems that everyone who isn’t involved with Real Madrid is able to see that. He has suffered with a couple of injuries but the way in which the Madrid fans and the Madrid-owned press have treated him is disgusting. Bale has an incredible record here but his treatment highlights a wider issue at the club. Zidane came back to the club and said he didn’t want him, Bale has 3 years left on a lucrative deal and nobody else can afford him. This public spat has caused unrest at the club and highlighted the cutthroat way in which Los Blancos operate.
Identity
No matter how the Galactico was that came to the club, there was always a vein running through the team of Real Madrid players who exemplified what it was to play for this club. Over the years those players have been Casillas, Ramos, Hierro, Pepe, Raul and players of that ilk. Currently the only one there with this mentality is Ramos, and perhaps Marcelo, both of whom are nearing the end of their careers.
Poor Academy Players
Real Madrid always spent big and bought the world’s best, and unattainable model even for a club of this size. A couple of years ago the club tried to promote more youth with players such as Isco, Jese, Casemiro and Vinicius and the truth is that they just haven’t been good enough. The reason why is because they have not been given a proper chance to succeed, always playing second fiddle to the superstars like Benzema, Modric, Ronaldo et al. You can only plug a gap with money for so long.
Ronaldo
Ronaldo has not been replaced and that is a heck of a lot of goals to try and find elsewhere in the team. There is no replacement for a player like Ronaldo, but at the very least you go out and get the second best. Eden Hazard is a great player on his day but he is not consistent enough for this club. Quite why they didn’t break the bank for Mbappe I am not sure, but their failure to replace Cristiano, and their failure to even try and make Gareth Bale their talisman is at the heart of their stuttering start this season.
