HE Elche CF completed this Tuesday Almeriaher Relegation to the Second Division. A result that comes as no surprise, as a result. a set of conditions and that it hurts so much in the franciverde environment because a Special season until the 100th anniversaryit was expected to make a leap in quality to fight for other more ambitious goals.
About First failure since Christian Bragarnik, owner of Elche clubpurchasing the majority share package from José Sepulcre, in 2019. That’s why the Argentine investor is at the center of the main criticism as he made a series of mistakes that he couldn’t fix throughout the course.
Elche’s seven deadly sins in this campaign were:
1-Bad and late planning. Despite gaining permanence a few days in advance last year and having a coach, Francisco, who has earned his persistence and the love of the fans, Bragarnik spent the next three months building and strengthening the roster. The method of signing at the last moment did not change it, which meant that signings were absent in the pre-season, players urged to be important.
Lirola, Domingos Quina, Álex Collado, Nico Fernández or Fede Fernández came when LaLiga was about to start or had already started, and these were not the coach’s clear wishes. Mascarell’s renewal was also delayed longer than expected, and the canary joined training late.
During the friendlies, Francisco had to work with many players, especially young players who would not have a place. All this affected the physical condition and caused a large number of players not to reach the optimal level for the start of a difficult campaign with a few matches against opponents from the so-called private franchise. The Almería coach had to adapt to the team as it continued to the championship.
2-Without reinforcement in the defense area and in the middle of the field. Although Francisco managed to improve his defensive performance in the last part of last season, the biggest problem pending in recent years has been the central position. No player of the so-called hierarchy came, acting as the head of the defense and allowing this aspect to be developed.
Bragarnik decided to replace Diego González. With one more year left on his contract, Enzo Roco fell far behind his level in his first season at Elche. Gonzalo Verdú can see that despite his will and professionalism, it is difficult for him to adapt to the First Division due to his age. Pedro Biga’s injuries prevented him from having continuity.
The only player to sign for the defensive center during the summer was Fede Fernández, who hasn’t played in a year and a half.
In the middle of the field, there were no players to organize the match and support the team. Collado was called to perform this function, but after the first games it evaporated like soda. Domingos Quina was more of a patch than a boost, and Pastore and the largest shareholder were blinded by a good farewell match the previous season, when the medical reports were clear and he was not in a position to compete with an intense and high rating. your request
The best proof of this was the departure of Quina, Fede Fernández and Pastore on the winter market.
¸3-Too much confidence in last year’s base. Christian Bragarnik thought it would be enough to improve the team with the players and minor changes that formed the basis of the previous season. But many have been shown to be at their best in the past year, and some are even beyond their means. In addition, the age of many of these football players was also noted, and their performance was far from the performance presented in the previous season.
To this we must add the march of Mojica, a football player that was necessary to achieve the last two persistence, the championship had already begun.
This caused the house of cards to go down, with the transfers not yielding the expected result.
4-Bad choice with coaches. The owner of Elche was also not successful in the decisions he made with the coaches. He barely had the patience with Francisco. He knew the squad best, he hadn’t had a good pre-season and the seventh day was loaded even though the first results weren’t coming in due to minor details.
The cure was worse than the disease. Contrary to the opinion of the majority of its collaborators in the sports field, the Argentine investor has decided to bring back the not-so-risky and unpopular Jorge Almirón, despite the disastrous experience last year and more at an important time of the season.
He then chose Pablo Machín, and although the team’s performance improved, the road was already full of thorns and what seemed like the end was. He didn’t even let it finish and chose Sebastián Beccacece, risking the next campaign.
5- No reinforcement is made in the winter market. Despite the fact that the situation was already almost irreversible, in the winter market Elche’s largest shareholder did not respond to Machín’s demands, as in the summer in Francisco. It was difficult to find players who wanted to come, but with the help of the World Cup break there was still a small margin and that gave us a month of preparation. Lautaro, who has only been signed since the summer, has arrived; and at the last moment Magallán, Carmona and Nteka.
6-Failure in arbitrations. Another factor that led to Elche’s relegation, though not Bragarnik’s responsibility, was bad luck in the referee’s decisions. From the first game they felt bad with John being kicked out of the game against Betis. Then came penalties not given to Osasuna or Mallorca. Send-outs against Betis at Martínez Valero and most seriously, Nico’s disallowed goal against Valencia at Mestalla could have meant this win and a change and turning point in the team’s future.
These arbitration awards could have meant a series of points at certain times, which could have helped the Elche team fully engage in the fight for permanence and not go against the flow by moving away from their direct competitors.
7-Lack of success in both areas. The main deficit of the franchiverde box, where staff planning was effective, was the lack of success and power in both areas. Numbers are like cotton wool. Elche, who scored 25 goals in 33 games, is the team with the fewest goals in the First Division. It is difficult to win a game by scoring less than one goal per game. And even more so if you accepted 64. That’s almost three per game. Some figures far from the other three top scorers like Almería (58), Valladolid (55) or Espanyol (53). However, unlike the Franjiverdes, they scored more goals. Therefore, although their situation is complicated, they still struggle to permanence.