I made this quick post at the beginning of the season and wanted to offer an update with a third of thr season gone.

As I said Girona and Las Palmas have played beautifully and surprisingly ended up high up on the table. Girona top La Liga atm and Las Palmas are 8th. They’re both overperforming their numbers but it’s tough to see Girona fall out of the top 4 and Las Palmas out of the top 10. Squad depth will be an issue for both later in the season.

Las Palmas has been one of my favorite sides forever and i’d urge everyone to watch a game or two of theirs this season. Garcia Pimienta has been exactly what youd expect him to be.

Girona are part owned by the city group like troyes in france, yet they are not economic powerhouses. Yes theres probably some knowledge share and apparently the cancelo move allowed Garcia to Girona. Other tham that they have 5 ex city group players, like savio from troyes. Incredible rise and decent squad depth but probably not good enough to end up top 3.

Madrid have had an odd season losing Militao and Courtois to long term injuries, not replacing Militao and suddenly starting the season without 3 key players from last season (benz the 3rd). Yet Jude has been SPECTACULAR and one of the most decisive players in Europe. Madrid might win the league with pure talent and a weird structure. Carvajals return to form woth his diet change has been shocking.

Barca are more interesting off the field than on it yet with Pedri and all the academy players they allow into the team they might just figure smth out. Xavi hasn’t been tactically spectacular by any means but he’s getting the job done in a tough spot.

Atletico are even better than last season and might just be title contendors. The Joao Felix hate is … bizzare. Shoutout to Lino and Barrios for the impact theyre having this season.

Athletic Club are gonna drop points I can feel it, despitr guruzeta suddenly becoming an effective striker out of nowhere. The William brothers doing great, Nico leaves next season for good money no doubt.

Sociedad have had a lot of players stepping up, Kubo in particular, as was predicted, with their thin midfield I think they could risk slipping out of the top 6 if injjries come at the wrong time.

Betis, what a damn season, loads of new players being handed new and important roles but all that needs to be talked about is Isco. This was a massive gamble by Pellegrini and Betis and could be the kinda transfer that ends up getting the manager sacked but Isco has performed spectacularly every game. Jose shouldnt be starting, maybe give Ayoze Perez a chance there since they got the winfs covered anyways. Ofc why Borja Iglesias is being overlooked is anyones guess, I heard it’s bc Pellegrini wasnt happy he retired from the national team. (Idk if thats true)

Sad to see Valencia in the top half, wish they were relegated. Vallecano, agents of chaos, this is old school Vallecano. Love Palazon amd garcia, espino has been a very capable signing. Getafe and Osasuna are around where they deserve to be. Greenwood seems to be getting back on track. This is more Osasunas level, they overperformed last season. Great season for Mojica too, was part of the lb musical chair this season like espino. Most of those lbs have done well.

Sevilla don’t know who they are. They have way tpo many players who arent good enough or completr enough, one day its oliver torres the next its suso, there’s no thought, rhyme or reason behind them. Had one good game vs madrid but are incapable of being a top side any time soon. Juanlu Sanchez the one bright spot as I mentioned earlier.

Villareal, I did think they’d drop down with all the talent drain, but the fact that their exostimg talent has dropped a level is what’s made them a bottom half team, 14th is bad. Setien, Pacheta and now Marcelino. Raul made a wise decision not to go to Villareal.

Alaves, still like blanco, hope he has a good career ahead. Rafa Marin has done better than I had expected. Omorodion showing a lot of promise.

Cadiz, hope they end up relegated. Mallorco, sadly they managed to get the incredible Darder who turned down barca for them. With him plus a few other players doing so well its incredible that theyre as terrible as they are. Shoutout to Muriqi, Samu, Prats and Antonio Sanchez.

Vigo, how are they in the relegation zone??? Playing much better than their position suggests. Inconsistent and lack quality in midfield post Veiga. Cb has been an issue too with aidoo out, starfelt and nunez are not good enough starters, if they can get one decent dm amd one cb they could be a top 10 team. They also underutilize their depth and lose games in the last 10 mins all the time. Bamba doing well enough, still overrelying on Aspas but I like their counters. A team that shouldnt be relegaged. Dotor is not good enough to be a starter as he appears to be in recent weeks.

Granada, bryan zaragoza is far too good for them, as a team theyre almost certainly a relagation side.

Almeria wtf. Spent a lot of money, seemed to make wise choices tho overpayed for some players. And yet they have actually been the worst side in the league. Unfortunately think they might go down despite having a decent project starting.

  • @[email protected]
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    61 year ago

    So in summary, would you say that the mid and lower teams in the league are performing better than you expected going into the season?

    It’s really difficult for anyone not named Barca or Madrid to compete for star players when they get massively outspent by EPL teams, not to mention Bundesliga and Ligue 1 at times.

    • @[email protected]OP
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      41 year ago

      Honestly it’s a mixed bag so tough to say, if I had to answer that i’d say better thanks to a couple of low budget high performers.

      Yes the money spent by La Liga clubs has been pitiful, mostly due to how little revenue the league generates and partially due to the proactive ffp regulations. Atm only Madrid can make decent signings, barca despite winning the league last year are in serious financial trouble and will be for a while now. Theyve exhausted their financial levers and la liga isnt allowing their creative accounting anymore as we saw with the sale of barca tv.

  • Ready! Player 31M
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    51 year ago

    Fantastic summary! What diet is Carvajal on? Why do you hate Valencia??

    • @[email protected]OP
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      41 year ago

      Gluten free, wheat free and nightshade diet.

      With Valencia where do I begin, most recently the racism. Then theres peter lim, the worst owner in football. Followed by the way they treat their own players. The way they deal with transfers. Plus I think the Mestalla still allows the Ultras (ultras are extreme right wing groups), like the group was officially disbanded bhlut they still show up. Also play terrible football.

  • @[email protected]OP
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    31 year ago

    Deportivo I will add are more than the sum of their parts. Hate the way they play but their underlying numbers are impressive.

  • @ABCDE
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    21 year ago

    Is there a good MOTD style program to keep up with La Liga?