Swing Lowe - Vicious Sid And Real Mallorca

Sid Lowe. Not a stranger to a bit of controversy and not a stranger to this blog, as any of you will know who recall the ding-dong he caused when he drew attention to an advert in which the Spanish basketball team made "slitty-eyed" gestures at the time of the Beijing Olympics (18 August, 2008: Basket Case). Now it's the turn of Real Mallorca. The club has apparently sent him a letter expressing its indignation (so it is said in "The Bulletin") following something he wrote on his "Guardian" blog, which would probably not have caused much of a fuss had it not been picked up by the Spanish media.

Lowe, for those of you who don't know, is a journo based in Madrid and has made a career out of taking the rise out of Spanish football and sport. He is also a football commentator on Spanish TV, but he is of course British, and it is this - being British - that one suspects people don't like, some Real Mallorca supporters and officials, that is. There has also been a touch of lost in translation as well as selective reading of Lowe's piece in which he called Real Mallorca "rubbish" and sub-headed the piece by saying that "Real Mallorca are badly run, financially constricted and have a shoddy team". None of this is inaccurate, though he goes on to qualify this by looking at the recent farcical ownership fandango and by heaping praise on coach Gregorio Manzano for getting a team of average players to perform as well as it is - to fifth position in La Liga. In response to one of only, from what I can see, two comments taking him to task, he also qualifies the use of the word "rubbish", one that is typically used in throwaway terms by English speakers. He also said that the club has "no fans", which he then explains in the comments exchange; the club has a poor attendance record, which is undeniable.

It does all seem to boil down to who you are and where you write. Go back to the title of that previous blog entry about Lowe. "Basket Case" is a term I have used on more than one occasion to also describe Real Mallorca. Lowe's article is not a million miles away from stuff I have said about Real Mallorca, especially in respect of the ownership nonsense, the lack of money, the level of debt and the fans - I still find it hard to understand how the only La Liga club in Mallorca cannot regularly fill its stadium, one with a capacity of some 25,000. Actually I do understand, because many Mallorcans follow Barça or even one of the Madrid teams.

The mention in "The Bulletin" described Lowe's piece as "inflamatory" (sic - there is an "m" missing). It was nothing of the sort, and many Mallorca fans would probably agree with much of what he wrote. Indeed many have said much the same thing, especially with regard to the damage to the club's reputation caused by the likes of Grande, Davidson and the Martí family.

Read Sid Lowe's article here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2009/dec/07/mallorca-managerial-magic-sid-lowe


Ferrer's first interview
Rubbish, nonsense, the Spanish have a word that can mean both - "tonterías". It was a word used by new tourism minister Miquel Ferrer during his first press engagements. Politicians should not be wasting time on nonsense was how the interview in "The Diario" was headlined. It was, unfortunately, an uninformative piece. It lacked bite. There needed to have been more grilling of Ferrer and his qualification for the post, while the issue of the all-inclusive was ignored. Ferrer believes that 2010 will see an improvement in the tourism market, that there is an excellent marketing plan in place and that the Rafa Nadal promotional campaign will be continued. Good for the still Alcúdia mayor. The coming season should indeed be better (one would hope), but as for the marketing and the promotion ... ?


The popular Popular
A poll suggests that, were an election for the regional government to be held now, the Partido Popular would be returned with a majority. "The Bulletin" points out that this would be despite the party being implicated in corruption cases, most obviously that involving former president Matas. Though the turn-out would, in all likelihood, be low, perhaps an indication of voter disaffection caused by the various political scandals, the fact that the PP might regain power probably says more about what really matters to the electorate. As ever, "it's the economy, stupid", and may well reflect attitudes towards the central socialist government as much as those towards the regional socialist-led coalition.


QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Alan Rickman, Sheriff of Nottingham, "Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves".

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