So how do we choose the right people to take over ? The offer was sent out and I believe their were 5 or 6 potential offers made from different groups. It was rightly believed that these offers should be looked at by experts and therefore a group was set up and to cut a very long story short after a long time of deliberations it was unanimously decided that Peter Lim was the man to take us forward. So far so good I would suggest, despite the obvious differing opinions at the time.
One of the stipulations of the man taking over was that he would put in his own manager Nuno Espirito Santos an unknown from Rio Ave in the Portuguese League. So an unknown man from a relatively unknown team. Eyebrows were raised but he was put forward as the next Mourinho so not a bad comparison if it is true. Unfortunately Juan Antonio Pizzi , the then manager and very popular was needed to step aside for the new project. I thought it tough on him at the time but the owner, having invested his money was entitled to put his own man in place.
New players were bought in and a lot of the old guard were moved on and a new era begins. Everybody has their own opinions on the players coming in and the ones that left and that is for another day or should I say has all been covered in previous blogs on here. What has to be said though that with these news players and the new manager results started coming in. Of course the odd blip on the way where silly games were lost but all in all a really good season. The aim was Champions League and despite the challenges of the much stronger top 3 teams and Seville we achieved the goal. Whatever criticism anybody can make of the manager, and there has been a lot, It was a remarkable achievement with a new, exciting young team and La Liga virgin manager.
All clubs have internal politics with egos and differing opinions and we are certainly no different. All has come to a head this last week with Salvo and Rufete together with others resigning over the way the club is run. I think not just the debacle of the unfortunate Caoi from Brazil but the responsibilities of the people in the club. It appears to me that Nuno wants to have the final say in who the club buys but Salvo and Rufete want to carry on in the old way and bring in who they think should come in. Different clubs around Europe seem to have different methods. In the Premier Division in UK The team manager decides who comes in and who he wants, To me that is the way it should be because he decides who plays and he is the one to lose his job if they lose. This is obviously what Mr Lim wants.
It appears that all came to a head and Mr Lim was put in a situation where he had to decide to back the manager who he brought in or support the Chairman and Rufete. Not an easy decision perhaps but there was obviously going to be no compromise, much like the Greek debt. Of course another actor in the drama Jorge Mendes keeps popping up and cannot be ignored. What is his role in Valencia. The answer should be, he has no role in Valencia. However it cannot be ignored the influence he seems to have in the club politics. All I will say is that if he can get us top players at fair prices and get fair prices for anybody we sell well fine. It just has to be made clear to him just where he stands with Valencia CF because the club is and always will be bigger than Mendes, Rufete, Salvo and all the other actors in this play and will still be here long after they have all gone.
Let's just hope that this is all sorted quick, we start getting a few new exciting payers and sort out the Otamendi saga either way. I believe there is no big panic on signings. We have 2 good keepers for the early warm up games and who knows we may have already got a decent keeper on the books. Also we need to give the fringe players an opportunity to shine. There is so much doom and gloom around, let's look forward to the new era and new successes.
We need to be patient with the new signings until we know what is happening to Otamendi ? Do we have another 50 mil, do we need another central defender ?
AMUNT VALENCIA