Why are Real Madrid fans so unhappy?

Whilst Juande Ramos has steadied the Real Madrid ship since he arrived to replace Bernd Schuster and has established the side as the main challengers to Barcelona, many people feel that they are still a very long way away from being a top team.

Convincing

Since losing Juande Ramos’ first game in charge 2-0 at Barcelona, Real have won their five games in La Liga without looking too convincing. However, it should be noted that prior to Ramos’ arrival, the team had lost three of their previous four.

Now, Real are three points clear in second place but must be close to conceding the title to Barcelona who are still twelve points ahead of them.

Worst

Sky Sports’ Spanish expert Guillem Ballague has said that he thinks the current Real Madrid side is probably the worst one they have had in over a decade. A look at some of the names on the team sheet make that a very difficult statement to accept.

Is it the case that too much is expected from the team who have won the last two league championships and has such a distinguished history or is Ballague right and the current team simply lacks quality?

Certainly, despite another victory last week, the Real Madrid players were subjected to much whistling and jeering from their own fans. One player who seemed to suffer particularly was Roysten Drenthe. The twenty-one year old has not been in the best of form for Real but his opportunities have been seriously limited.

Inspired

Drenthe leaped to fame with some inspired performances for the Holland under 21s in the 2007 European Championships. He hadn’t played even a full season for Feyenoord before his move to The Bernabeu and for him to be singled out for criticism by the fans seems a little unfair.

As an outsider, living in England, I am struggling to understand what is going on at Real Madrid. I have heard the rumours that Drenthe has become a casualty, like so many others, of the dressing room politics at the club. It is rumoured that a small group of players, led by Raul, have an unhealthy control over the club, including team selection.

Icon

I have to say that watching Real over the last couple of seasons I have formed the impression that Raul himself, despite being an icon and a truly great player, has not been producing the goods on the field of play. His movement is limited and rather than providing the spark he used to provide, he seems to slow things down for the team too often. Despite this, he seems to be the first name on the team sheet and he also seems to be immune from criticism.

It is a shame that a twenty-one year old new boy is not shown a tiny fraction of the patience the fans seem to be displaying with their hero.

Sustainable

For a while, with the older players winning the title and the likes of Marcelo, Gago, Higuain and Pepe coming in, things looked pretty good for Real. The Galacticos era had gone and sustainable success seemed to be on its way to the Bernabeu.

Last Summer things started to go wrong during the drawn out Cristiano Ronaldo saga which Real Madrid came out of with no credit whatever and no Cristiano Ronaldo. Robinho was then sold at the last minute. Their only signing turned out to be Rafael van der Vaart from Hamburg. He has been a huge disappointment and has struggled to keep a first team place. There are even rumours that Real are already trying to sell him.

Signings

Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Lassana Diarra have been brought in during the transfer window and they prove to be great signings. It is too early to say how successful they will be but whether they can transform the team into potential Champions League winners is highly doubtful.

It is clear that the fans are not happy, but again, as an outsider, I would say that the Madrid fans seem to be notoriously difficult to please.

Quality

There are a number of players at the club who do not seem to have the sufficient quality to make a genuine challenge for the main titles. I have already expressed my doubts about the formerly great Raul. Another player who was one of the best in the world but no longer reaches those high standards is Fabio Cannavaro. The midfield often includes Guti, who to those outside Madrid has always seemed to be highly overrated.

In those three players there are problems for the club in defence, midfield and up front. With rumoured difficulties in dressing room and discontent in the crowd, it is difficult to accept that Real Madrid are in the qualification stages of the Champions League and sitting in second place in La Liga.

Can any Real Madrid fans enlighten me as to what is going on at the club?