La Liga: My 5 wishes for 2016

With 2016 already upon us I thought I’d share with you what I’d like to see over the course of the year in order for the second half of the season to match what we’ve already witnessed. Let me know in the comments section what 5 things you’d like to see in La Liga over the course of 2016.

The title being decided on the final day

Every La Liga match usually kicks off at a different time because of their domestic TV deal but it takes away the in-game pressure you can find in other major leagues, such as the Premier League or Serie A, whose weekend fixtures often feature 4-5 matches starting at the same time. This is only the case in Spain for the final two weeks of the season if there are still battles going on for the title, European places or to avoid relegation.

I feel 4-5 matches, back-to-back, is overkill and on top of that there’s an advantage of starting a match knowing what those around you have already done. The final two weeks are more enjoyable as you flick between games and see the ‘As it stands’ table whenever someone scores. Joy quickly turns to despair and then back to joy again as goals fly in. The reaction from the stands lets coaching staff and players know how things are going elsewhere, there’s nothing quite like it.

The 14/15 season when Atletico Madrid won La Liga on the last day of the was magical. It was the only time in the last five years when a side has won the title on the final day and it created an atmosphere like none other. Of course it was largely helped by the fact 1st was playing 2nd but either way, it was so tense that if you couldn’t watch it on TV you were listening intently to it on the radio. I’d love to see something similar happen this season, maybe even going into the final day where one of three sides could win it?

The surprise packages lasting the pace

This season has seen the emergence of some new teams at the top end of the table as the usual also-rans, Valencia and Sevilla, have fallen way off the pace. Villarreal have responded well to a little crisis by wheeling off five consecutive wins and currently sit in 4th place, just one point behind Real Madrid in 3rd. The last time they finished in the Top 4 was in the 10/11 season - they’ve since been relegated and gained promotion again.

Marcelino is doing a fantastic job and has proved his worth in the transfer market too with some wise purchases after losing key duo Luciano Vietto and Denis Cheryshev to Atletico Madrid and parent-club Real Madrid respectively. Despite being a relatively small club they’re certainly not poor, investing year upon year to maintain their place in the top part of the table. They started off in a similar vein of form last season but faded badly towards the end, winning just 4 of their last 15 matches. A repeat performance this time around and Champions League football might allude them again.

Celta Vigo were the team to beat at the start of the season and it took until the end of October for someone to finally beat them. Eduardo Berizzo’s men claimed some impressive scalps during that period including Sevilla, Villarreal and most impressively Barcelona. They’ve built a wonderful team, one that we began to see take shape at the end of last season, but they’ve now raised the bar even further.

What’s the biggest issue with being the new side in the mix at the top? It draws the attention from the existing, more established sides in the league who don’t want to lose their own place in the food chain. Augusto Fernandez was their most important midfielder and he’s already been taken by Atletico Madrid. Nolito has been linked with moves abroad since last summer as well as a return to Barcelona. It’s imperative they remain strong and don’t allow themselves to be bullied by those whose feathers they’re ruffling. Competition is vital for the league to grow.

You can’t talk about surprise packages without talking about the surprise package of the season: Deportivo de La Coruña. They were so close to being relegated last May that most fans hoped for consolidation this time around but they’ve been treated to a turnaround of Leicester City proportions. At the midway stage they’re just 8 points off their final total of last season.

Victor Sanchez deserves most of the credit for assembling a cheap squad based on free transfers and loan deals and moulding it into one of the most enjoyable sides in the league. A blend of youth and experience in defence has paid dividends while Lucas Perez, back home, can’t stop scoring. The one issue is perhaps the lack of depth to the squad so you hope they can add to it during this window as to not fall by the wayside.

Five teams in the Champions League again

In recent years there’s been something of a love affair between Spanish sides and the Europa League. Since Porto won it [then called the UEFA Cup] in 2003, 7 of the subsequent 12 winners have come from La Liga. Valencia won it in 2004 in what turned out to be Rafa Benitez’s last match in charge of Los Che, Sevilla won back-to-back titles in 2006 and 2007 and more recently in 2014 and 2015, while sandwiched between those victories were 2010 and 2012 triumphs by Atletico Madrid.

This season sees the Europa League enter the knockout stages with four representatives from La Liga still in with a shout of maintaining Spain’s stronghold on the competition. For the likes of Valencia and Sevilla, currently struggling in the league and way off the pace when it comes to finishing in the Top 4, winning the Europa League presents them with their best chance of dining at the table of Europe’s premier competition next season. However Athletic Club face a tough Marseille side and Villarreal, going big guns in the league, face an even sterner test as they’re up against Napoli.

The clubs at the bottom being able to splash the cash

One of the main criticisms levelled at La Liga by its detractors is how the money fails to filter down to the sides at the wrong end of the table while those at the peak, already lavished with riches, take a huge slice of the TV revenue. And even if you love La Liga, or perhaps one of those said rich sides, it’s a huge problem. Thankfully it is being addressed and this season has already seen a significant increase in the money being given to those less popular, lesser known sides. It isn’t perfect but it’s a start.

Real Madrid and Barcelona are still getting more than the rest but their income has been limited so while the league grows, their part doesn’t. It’s essentially giving the sides below them a chance to catch up and more importantly sustaining those even further down from running into financial problems such as the one which relegated Elche last season. No one is predicting the end of Real and Barcelona’s dominance or a Premier League style system where everyone gets a similar cut, but it’s a massive step in the right direction.

Some clubs have had to make huge sacrifices to their youth academies as costs got out of hand but this extra money should allow them to continue nurturing their own talent when paying large transfer fees are beyond them. It’s also about rewarding those that have produced top tier footballers and allowing them to be a stronger position when it comes to negotiations.

A side like Granada isn’t going to spend €20m on a striker lighting up Ligue 1 but they should be able to sign €3m-€5m players instead of scouring for free transfers and cheap loan deals. It’s one of the biggest leagues in the world but the balance has been nothing short of terrible. Fingers crossed it’s finally moving in the right direction.

La Liga putting its fans first

I’ve lost count of the amount of times I’ve seen an interview with a star of world football and they’ve said the biggest pull towards playing in the Premier League is the atmosphere generated by the fans in the stadium. More often than not you’ll see a Premier League or even Championship ground 80%+ full and hear the passion from the supporters as they cheer on their team. That isn’t the case in Spain.

Whereas in England you feel the Premier League is the one that dictates to the TV companies what times are available for live broadcasts, it’s the polar opposite in Spain. The existing domestic deal over here calls all of the shots as every single match is available to watch. Now I know some friends of mine in England have asked for a similar thing to be put in place over there but, honestly, it isn’t a good idea.

The ability to watch every game has meant many choose to do so from the comfort of their own home instead of going to the stadium. This year, due to added competition, the price for watching La Liga and Champions League football is cheaper than I can ever remember. And even as a huge football fan, there’s only so much football you can watch in one day before it becomes saturated. So what happens? People tune in to watch their team and that’s it. They’ll perhaps check the scores online or on the radio but in turn won’t watch even half of the games available.

Of course I can hear many of you saying, “But that’s because they don’t love football as much as we do” or something to that effect. That simply isn’t true. Spanish fans love football as much as anybody else does and in certain games generate an incredible atmosphere. There are other issues at hand when it comes to dwindling attendances but the main one lies at the feet of La Liga boss Javier Tebas.

The issue is one we touched on previously but it’s the kick off times. I remember last season, after Valencia were fined for letting off flares outside the stadium, they were quickly given two late kick Friday matches. In Spain the working day can finish as late as 8, 9 or even 10 o'clock so a game on a Friday night is notoriously difficult for people to make. Perhaps it was a coincidence they came after falling foul of the league but it felt deliberate. It’s the same when it comes to sides making long trips and their match finishing after midnight. No thought is spared for the travelling fans so they simply don’t go.

Take this Christmas and the ridiculous scheduling of games, including today, which is Three King’s Day, and having matches at 4PM. Would Christmas Day fixtures be welcomed in England? No, because it’s a day to spend with the family - not in Spain. I have a feeling we might be seeing more festive fixtures over the coming years but I hope, I really do, that Tebas thinks of those that matter most - the fans.