Another Game, Another Loss

After Saturday's 3-0 loss at Racing Club it looks like Newell's Old Boys are destine to remain in last place. Five games to go, and with the way the team has been preforming, none of them look winnable.

Next up La Lepra host All Boys, which in theory is the easiest of the remaining matches. I do not count on that, though, as All Boys has done well enough in their first year back in the Primera A that they are nearly certain of remaining in Argentina's top division when the Clausura is over.

After that it's Boca Juniors at La Bombonera. While Boca have not turned things completely around after years of struggling, they are still far better than Newell's have been. Playing at Boca's home will do nothing to make this game any easier.

San Lorenzo will be La Lepra's opponent in the 17th round, making three teams in a row that Newell's will face that currently sit mid-table. Just last year facing such opponents was nothing to be feared. Not so now.

Facing the team that currently sit in third place in the next to last game certainly isn't promising. Olimpo de Bahía Blanca, despite their current high standing in the Clausura are sitting in the top relegation play off position. The only way I see this match becoming easy for La Lepra is if Olimpo fate is sealed by the time it comes around.

Last, but not least is Colón de Santa Fe. With Rosario Central down in the B, this is as close as Newell's have to a Clasico. Of course, by the time this match comes around moral may be so low in the Lepra camp that even that thought will not bring the level of their play up.

Based on the way the team has been playing, I'd have to say we will be lucky if Newell's can manage three points out of the remaining five games.

Not all of Newell's losses this season appear in the standings. There's also Juan Manuel Cobelli... what would the Clausura have been had we had tried to get you to sign your full professional contract BEFORE your first senior level appearance?