The Yellow Submarine in danger of sinking through the La Liga net?

Fifth last season ensured Villarreal qualification for the Europa League. Now one of Spain’s most established clubs find themselves in a relegation dogfight.

Many could argue that last seasons’ success merely papered over the cracks. The decline may have begun after Marcelino left the club in 2016. During his three year spell, he went on to achieve three top six finishes, including a fourth place finish and a run into the Europa League semi final’s in his last season at Villarreal.

Photo credit: Be Soccer

Marcelino reinvigorated a team who was in a state of chaos. Relegated in 2012, a far cry from a team once touted as a model for all smaller clubs to aspire to, the Spanish manager found himself having to pick up the pieces in the second division.

However, after spearheading a return to La Liga at the first time of asking, Marcelino instilled a clear togetherness and defensive solidarity. Under the Spanish boss they were a compact unit who were then expansive in possession. The cohesion among the ranks enabled Villarreal to have a degree of sustained success over a three to four year period.

Once he left the club in 2016 to join Valencia, there was a feeling that the Yellow Submarine were slowly losing their identity.

The recruitment of players was extremely disappointing and departures happened en masse. Key centre half pairing Eric Bailly and Mateo Musacchio followed Marcelino out the door and were replaced by the incoming Ramiro Funes Mori and Alvaro Gonzalez Soberon. A team built on a solid foundation and defensive power now lost their two main men and did not replace them adequately.

Eric Bailly left to join Manchester United (Photo credit: IB Times)

The width they once played width simply isn’t there anymore. All the ingredients that were mixed together to make a Villarreal side so strong have now been taken away, piece by piece.

At the beginning of the 2018-2019 season the Villarreal hierarchy decided to loan out wingers Denis Cheryshev and Roberto Soriano. The former, who had a sparkling World Cup in the summer, provided energy, athleticism and also shared defensive responsibility. Yet, he was offloaded on a season-long loan to Valencia.

Not surprisingly, Villarreal are mostly devoid of ideas in the offensive third and badly struggle to break teams down, contributing to just seventeen goals being scored in the sixteen games.

“The elimination of all wing players in one season including Cheryshev and Soriano was the worst decision possible for this team.” – Villarreal supporter.

Two managers later from Marcelino, Luis Garcia was the next cab off the ranks, appointed on the 10th December with the winter break approaching. Succeeding Javier Calleja at the helm, he finds Villarreal 18th in La Liga, having won just one of the previous five matches. For a team that has notable attractions such as Santi Cazorla and Carlos Bacca within the squad, being in the relegation zone is all the more shocking.

Photo credit: Real Sociedad

At this moment in time, the Yellow Submarine is submerged under water and is severely teetering. With a squad that has undoubted quality and talent, the question is, has Luis Garcia got enough time to implement his ideas and galavanize a depleted dressing room? Time will tell, but it evident to see that the club as a whole need to clear the merky waters and restore it’s former glory.