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Thursday Thoughts: Rayo playing de tú a tú. Roberto Trashorras' last season? And Pablo Clavería (16th November, 2017)

Sometimes, I have thoughts and snippets that don't always deserve a full article, but also don't deserve to go into the heap.

In other words, welcome to my drafts folder.

Watch out for this type of article occasionally - on Sundays (Sunday Snippets) and Thursdays (Thursday Thoughts).

As is usual, I delved into the depths of the internet for something to write about, when I cam across this quote by Eibar's then coach Gaizka Garitano.

When Eibar were eighth - the Basque country’s best team - Garitano had this to say: “It’s not shameful or problematic to feel inferior...I don’t think that’s anything to hide from. It’s good to know what you’re up against. The day that you play de tú a tú, as equals, you lose something. We can’t forget where we come from; the day we forget that, we’ll have a problem.”

The problem was that they did. They ending up being relegated and needing a historic administrative relegation of Elche to the Segunda - the first in La Liga history - to stay in the division.

It reminded me about Rayo. A team that, even in La Liga, played de tú a tú. Despite being the poorest team in the league, that lost most of its squad year after year, they played suicidal football game in and game out and actually did well.

But there was something unusual about that last season - the 2015-16 one. People said that our luck ran out.

And maybe they were right. Maybe we forgot where we came from. Maybe, just maybe, we lost our heads. Maybe we should have been more concerned when Antonio Amaya started driving fancy cars and got arrested for topping 234 kilometers per hour. Maybe it was symbolic of something bigger.

Maybe we didn't know what the struggle meant anymore. Maybe we didn't fight hard enough on the pitch because we didn't need to fight off it...


"Speaking of Trashorras, his night was unusually mixed. When he had the ball he was excellent - his long balls from deep towards the left wing were particularly noteworthy and created Rayo's best chances. But it was clear that he was doing too much and he looked very tired."



"It's worth noting that Trashorras had a very poor game today. Not just because Curro got past him easily, but because he looked generally slow and sluggish. Whether this was because he was tired, or because of Rayo's direct game, or because Rayo were playing direct because Trashorras was tired, it still looked surprising as a Rayo fan when Trashorras was subbed off."



No. He was not tired. He was aging...

"...Which leads me, as a Rayo fan, to painfully admit that Trashorras' legs are no longer suited for the regista role."



It pains me to admit that. And it pains me to admit something even more - Trashorras' role on the pitch has been shelved, because the style of play Trashorras represents has been shelved.

This could be the season where his influence is felt more keenly in the dressing room. And I hope it isn't. I hope that he can be given a different role and can be successful higher up the pitch. I hope that he can stay at the club he loves and the club that loves him.

But if it is, then it is important we recognize that players like him come once or twice in a decade. Players that stay with the club through thick and thin - especially thin. There is a silent heroism in doing that.

And we shouldn't be silent about celebrating it.


This Monday, Rayo fans woke up to this:


That was a bittersweet moment - pride for a Rayista who was going to succeed at Málaga, but bitterness at the club for letting him go for free and not tying him down early enough.

Pablo Clavería will no doubt be a star - it's just a shame it won't be here.

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