After riding high in the Primera Liga, Real Mallorca fall back to earth

The season started well for Real Mallorca but the promising start was a false dawn and they have fallen apart since, explains Andy Mitten.

Reality is catching up to coach Joaquin Caparros and Real Mallorca.

The season started well for Real Mallorca with three wins and two draws from their first five games.

Their coach, Joaquin Caparros, who had taken over the previous September, had surprised at a club that has had seven presidents in four years and had unrealistic expectations given boardroom instability and low crowds.

Past coaches such as Michel Laudrup and Gregorio Manzano were not treated well by their president or the media. They presided over a club that sold their best players and yet were still expected to finish in the top six.

The promising start was a false dawn and Mallorca have fallen apart since, with one win in 16.

Second at the end of September, they are now 19th.

Caparros is a respected figure who gave debuts to Iker Munian, Sergio Ramos, Jesus Navas and Markel Susaeta at former clubs.

He has also promoted several Mallorca B players, but without the desired results. Despite calls for him to be dismissed he has kept his job as he is backed by Lorenzo Serra Ferrer, Mallorca's vice-president and majority shareholder.

The Islanders have been losing by small margins - their last two games were 3-2 defeats to Espanyol and Malaga - but Mallorca need to start winning to stay in Primera Liga and avoid second division football for the first time since 1997.

The Aston Villa full-back Alan Hutton has arrived on loan, as has the Argentine Fernando Tissone, who played at Mallorca in 2011/12. The experienced pair will give a boost, but will they be enough to save Caparros and Mallorca?

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