Good news this past week that Youth football is coming back from March 15th with matches returning for Infantiles, Cadetes and Juveniles. My eldest will restart on the 28th away in Manacor which he’s really pleased about. Still no decision yet about the younger ones which includes my other Son, with the Alevines, Benjamines and pre-Benjamines, being told they’ll have to wait. There seems to be a lot of dithering about the younger age groups which is utterly crazy. They’ve been back at school and training since September but the authorities say they will make a decision at the end of the month. The frustration amongst parents, who’ve paid for their children to play is easy to see and more importantly the kids are chomping at the bit. Also the clubs are struggling and have launched a campaign called SOS Football Base. Basically they’re saying without youth football they’ll be no professional football.

Real Mallorca are in action against Cartagena today, with kick-off at the Visit Mallorca Estadi at 18.15. Currently lying in 18th, their league position doesn’t reflect their current form, they’ve only lost one in the last five. A win would put Mallorca 6 points clear of second placed Espanyol who could only draw 1-1 yesterday. There’s 15 games to go and Mallorca need to keep winning their home games and not losing away. It’s a very inconsistent league this year, so it’s important that they continue this form and hopefully pull away. Automatic promotion will remove them from the lottery of the play-offs and will also give them time to assess their squad before the challenge of La Liga. Two years ago after finishing the play-offs, they only had a few weeks to get themselves prepared and the squad wasn’t strong enough. I heard a little rumour there is a possibility of fans getting back into the stadiums before the end of season. That would be amazing if promotion is on the cards. 

Atlético Baleares look to have blown their chances of making the play-offs. A creditable 1-1 draw with top of the table San Sebastián last weekend, was followed by a disappointing 0-0 draw with Navalcarnero midweek. With three games to to they are 5 points behind the team in third place, which would put them in the play-offs. It’s a must win game today away at Las Rozas. 

UD Poblense got a creditable 1-1 draw away at Real Madrid Castilla. And there lies the problem for them, too many draws. Of their 15 games, they’ve drawn seven. If they could have converted a few of those to wins they would definitely have saved themselves. They still can starting with Navalcarnero today, but it looks unlikely.

UD Ibiza have made the play-offs but need to get rid of their current indifferent form. They’re at home to Orihuela today. 

Peña Deportiva will need to keep their current good form going. They are mid table and if they can stay there that will be a great season. A difficult away game at second placed Alcoyano today. 

In Tercera group A, Andratx lead the way by four points from Ibiza Pitiusas. Ibiza do have a game in hand. 

In Tercera group B, Platges de Calvia lead Formentera by five points with a game in hand. 

In Division Honor Penya Arrabal will have to beat second placed Barcelona and third placed Girona to avoid the relegation play-offs. There’s two big games left, Barcelona v Espanyol to decide who finishes top and Real Mallorca v San Francisco, with the winner making the play-offs for the Champions and the losers the relegation play-offs. 

Take care everyone. 

Richie presents the Radio One Mallorca Breakfast show Monday to Friday 07.30-11.00am on 93.8fm in Mallorca and 102fm in Calvià, online at www.radioonemallorca.com on mobile through their free App for IPhone & Android, The Tunein Radio App, iTunes, the Spanish TDT TV service and all smart speakers. If you can’t hear him on the radio then you’ll find him working at Pirates Adventure the islands number one night out and every now and again he may make an understudy appearance! 

Follow him on Twitter @DadTaxi1 & Instagram @dad.taxi or feel free to email him at rprior@globobalear.com 

This week I thought I’d look at something I wouldn’t normally comment on but as the story gets bigger and bigger, I feel I need to say something before the event actually happens. I’m talking about this coming Sundays Harry and Meghan interview with Oprah Winfrey. Firstly I’m not going to criticise their decision to leave Royal life, as that is entirely theirs and If they want their privacy, I hope they live happily ever after. Secondly I’m not a Royalist, ok I admit it I went to the Queens Silver Jubilee celebrations in London in 1977 with my Mum and Dad. So don’t hold that against me. I do believe though the Royal family add a lot to the UK economy through everything they do. 

I really like Harry as he was the one that didn’t conform, a rebel if you like and the so called Man in the street could relate to him. I think the public and the press were happy that he’d met someone to live his life with. 

What is eating at me though is that although Harry and Meghans decision to leave was to remove themselves from public life as they felt the press were intruding in their lives on a daily basis and they wanted privacy. It actually isn’t going to work. Personally I think it makes it worse for them as you can be guaranteed that the press will now go to extraordinary lengths to get news or stories on them. You may say that’s wrong but don’t forget that sells newspapers as it’s what we the public want to read, although we may deny it.

The agreement was that there would be a 12-month review of their duties following their so-called Megxit in January last year when they announced plans to “step back” as senior members of the British royal family and become financially independent. March 31st was the date agreed but this was brought forward as it became clear they wanted out. 

The statement from the Palace said “Following conversations with The Duke, The Queen has written confirming that in stepping away from the work of The Royal Family it is not possible to continue with the responsibilities and duties that come with a life of public service. While all are saddened by their decision, The Duke and Duchess remain much loved members of the family.”

A spokesman for the couple replied “As evidenced by their work over the past year, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex remain committed to their duty and service to the UK and around the world, and have offered their continued support to the organisations they have represented regardless of official role.”They added at the end a dig at the Palace statement, “We can all live a life of service. Service is universal.” Why say it? 

Bearing in mind the big thing here was privacy, the pair have since inked exclusive deals with Netflix and Spotify, launched a podcast named after their son who they wanted to protect and then encouraged their Son to speak on it. Remember they hate press intrusion but set up a photo shoot to announce the news to the press that she is pregnant with their second child. Harry was told that he couldn’t lay a wreath or get anyone to lay one on his behalf at the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday as he was revoking all his Royal duties. The next thing you see are pictures of the couple at an LA Cemetery laying a wreath and there just happens to be a cameraman there. Those pictures are then seen all over the World. 

Now we’re looking at two interviews, one he does with James Corden on the Late Show on top of an open topped double decker bus in the middle of Showbiz land Los Angeles. And to top it all off they arrange an interview with probably the biggest talk show host in the World, Oprah. 

This is a couple that on the one hand hate press intrusion but court it on the other. For me it’s hypocrisy at its highest level. 

In one of the clips of the interview, Oprah says “nothing is off limits” but remember this was a recorded interview so if you don’t think the majority of it was agreed beforehand you’re naive. If “nothing is off limits” do the interview live. Then you’ll get the true story, not the well rehearsed answers, sound bytes and facial expressions. She’s an actress by trade remember, will this be one of her finest performances? It’s no coincidence that this was recorded before they were stripped of all their Royal patronage’s and now you read because of that it’s been extended from an hour and a half to two hours. So did they add other more damning  stuff in afterwards?

In excerpts I’ve seen so far he says it’s been “unbelievably tough” and she says “if that means losing things, there’s been a lot lost already”. Hang on, it might have escaped you but there’s been a pandemic on for the last year. People have lost family, friends, businesses, jobs, houses and in some cases their minds but for you guys it’s been tough? Leaving the UK for their 14 million dollar mansion that has 16 bathrooms sure sounds tough to me. Let me think back too, as this is the same Man who at the age of 12 walked behind his Mothers coffin. Now that’s tough. He said it was something that no child should be asked to do but later confessed he was glad he did. This is also the man who served 10 years in the army including two terms in war torn Afghanistan fighting the Taliban. That’s even tougher and those two things alone would definitely be tougher than press intrusion in my eyes. So was he pushed into it by Meghan? That I will leave you to decide.

In another clip she accuses “the Firm” as she calls the Monarchy, of perpetuating falsehoods. The Firm? Sounds like the Mafia with the Queen in the Al Pacino role. I know we’re in the land of Hollywood but it’s all getting a bit too much. 

It is going to get ugly. Both sides are playing tit for tat and nobody is going to win. No hang on a minute those awful press people are, you know the ones they despise but are feeding them the stories. It’s like who can come up with the most damning accusation. They say she was a bully to her staff and she accuses them of racism. It’s not going to end well. 

The worst of it all is that it’s coming out now. Firstly in front of the Queen who at 94 years old, has served the country so unbelievably since 1952 and probably doesn’t need this right now. Secondly the illness to the Duke of Edinburgh who is in hospital having had heart surgery. It’s totally disrespectful in my opinion. 

But remember she has form with family problems after the very public fall out with her Father. Coincidence? I’ll leave that with you. 

I’ve given you my take of the story but I thought it would be good to give you an American side to see what their reaction was. Fifteen years ago we lived in Miami for 3 months with the Pirates Show. I’ve since kept in touch with our PR Manager José Boza and his Wife Marielena Boza who is a Logistics Consultant. When we were in Miami a couple of years ago we met up for dinner. It was a subject that Jose said I should speak to Marielena about as she was the best person to speak to. We had a great Zoom conversation this week and here are a few of her thoughts. 

She said immediately that they are both well liked and Americans look at them as their Royal couple. The James Corden interview was received well as they hadn’t really seen much of them. It was good to see Harry as a normal person, not in his Royal mode. She was surprised that they’d chosen to get interviewed as they’d kept themselves to themselves and hadn’t done much else apart from announcing the pregnancy. Oprah though was the obvious choice as they are neighbours in Santa Barbara. They can understand why the interview hasn’t been well received in the Uk because they wanted out of the public eye. Although she says this is the first time they have been seen in the States for a while. She thinks afterwards they’ll go back to their charity work as that’s what they have been doing before. Her understanding is that the UK press are horrible and he made the decision to take them away from it all to America where the press don’t intrude as much. You can see from Marielena’s comments that there seems to be more love and affection for the couple Stateside. 

I’m sure that would still be the case in the UK if all this hadn’t blown up in the way it has. I’ll leave you to form your own opinion. I’m sure the makers of The Crown are rubbing their hands and sharpening their pencils. 

Take care everyone and enjoy your Weekend! 

Richie presents the Radio One Mallorca Breakfast show Monday to Friday 07.30-11.00am on 93.8fm in Mallorca and 102fm in Calvià, online at www.radioonemallorca.com on mobile through their free App for IPhone & Android, The Tunein Radio App, iTunes, the Spanish TDT TV service and all smart speakers. If you can’t hear him on the radio then you’ll find him working at Pirates Adventure the islands number one night out and every now and again he may make an understudy appearance! 

Follow him on Twitter @DadTaxi1 & Instagram @dad.taxi or feel free to email him at rprior@globobalear.com 

Real Mallorca bounced back from the disappointment of losing to Espanyol with a 2-0 home win against their other promotion rivals Almeria. A penalty from Abdon and a great team goal converted by Salva Sevilla gave them the points. Then last night they got a hard fought 0-1 victory at Logroñés. The only goal of the game came from Antonio Sanchez in the first half and it continues their remarkable record of not having lost away so far this season. 

Next up is a home game against Cartagena next Sunday at 18.15. 

Atlético Baleares according to their coach Jordi Roger have 5 games left, which equates to 5 finals. They start this weekend away at the leaders San Sebastián and next Wednesday they play Navalcarnero at home. All must win games if Baleares want to move into the next round of games where they will have a chance of promotion.

It’s a big ask but they’ve proved they can live with the best but need consistency. 

UD Poblense got a creditable 1-1 draw away at Real Madrid Castilla. Madrid fielding Mallorcan born Pablo Ramon and Menorcan born Xavier Sintes, two players I talked about earlier in the season. UD probably need at least a win and a draw from their last three games.

UD Ibiza have worryingly hit a sticky patch at the wrong end of the season. Their last four they’ve won one drawn one and lost two. They have three games left and they will of course definitely progress but they need to get back to what they were doing earlier in the season. 

Peña Deportiva’s form has gone the other way. In their last Five games they’ve won two and drawn three and look to have maintained their position in the league. One more win should see them do it. 

In Tercera Group A, it looks like a fight between Andratx and Ibiza Pitiusas for the top spot. Andratx drew 2-2 away at Manacor yesterday, giving Ibiza a chance to close the gap to just one point if they can beat Genova today. 

In Tercera Group B, Platges de Calvia are still the team to beat. They’re five points clear of the chasers with a game in hand. Good to see Formentera in second, followed by Real Mallorca B. 

In Division Honor San Francisco got a 92nd minute winner last week to avenge their defeat in Menorca against At. Villacarlos. They play top of the league Espanyol today, who are just three points clear of second placed Barcelona. The last game of the season sees Barcelona v Espanyol! 

In youth football there’s still no confirmed date for a restart of games. The new restrictions say there can now be contact in training, which to be honest is ridiculous as how do you think they were training before? Hopefully something will be sorted next week. 

Take care everyone. 

Richie presents the Radio One Mallorca Breakfast show Monday to Friday 07.30-11.00am on 93.8fm in Mallorca and 102fm in Calvià, online at www.radioonemallorca.com on mobile through their free App for IPhone & Android, The Tunein Radio App, iTunes, the Spanish TDT TV service and all smart speakers. If you can’t hear him on the radio then you’ll find him working at Pirates Adventure the islands number one night out and every now and again he may make an understudy appearance! 

Follow him on Twitter @DadTaxi1 & Instagram @dad.taxi or feel free to email him at rprior@globobalear.com 

After nearly a year there is finally light at the end of the tunnel. I don’t know about you but the announcement from Boris Johnson actually gave me a lift. In two weeks time it will be a whole year since this nightmare began and to actually be able to look forward to something is a real fillip. 

I don’t know anybody who said last March, well that’s us stopping for a whole year! All you doom mongers out there who bang on about how can he name dates, well you may be right but it’s given a lot of people a little hope for the future. Many people have struggled throughout this and an offer of change for the better is a good thing. Most people I’ve spoken to have been buoyed by the news and all of a sudden of travel and holidays are back on the menu. 

I spoke to a couple of people in the industry this week to see what destinations were doing well. 

Andy Brewer, Sales Manager at Blue Sea Holidays said, “the current winners are Tenerife, Crete, Corfu, Lanzarote and Rhodes.

By and large Spain hasn’t seen the surge in bookings that the Eastern end of the Med has seen although there has been an increase.

Almost all bookings are August onwards with a few June and some July.

The uptick whilst very welcome will probably peak at current level (which is still way down on what would be considered normal at this time of year) until such time as there is a more formal announcement of a beginning.

What the new protocols for travel are (ie quarantine, vaccine passports etc) will have a huge bearing on what sort of summer we will see –  Spain so needs to get a move on.

Everyone is so much more positive than a week ago and that’s great news.”

Nicky who works for Tui told me “I would say Turkey, Spain and Greece are doing well. Cruises are really popular but the cruise industry like land based holidays don’t know when they will be able to start again. Canaries is really popular for winter as always and people are tending to book from July onwards hoping that all be be ok to travel by then. 

Majorca is always the most popular Spanish destination with September and October still a top seller for families that want a short flight and not too far from home.”

So what’s the news our end?

I am actually going to praise our Government in a back handed kind of way. Albeit they were to blame in the first place. To take credit for the numbers coming down because of the restrictions they’ve put out there is a bit much considering they created the problem in the first place. I saw a headline from the President saying “we’ve brought the numbers down by 49%”, when you were the ones who had got them that high! After the debacle of the holidays early December, Christmas, New Year and Three Kings, they finally got their act in order. So to be honest it was inevitable firstly the numbers would rise and by bringing the restrictions in they would fall. I think this is why they are now being over cautious and relaxing the restrictions slower. They have finally realised that a long term plan has many more advantages than a short term one. I have said before that Easter should be forgotten about. We know now that international travel won’t happen particularly from the UK but we really shouldn’t risk National travel either. I realise this is tough for all of us but we must look to the Summer. This island will struggle to exist properly without it. I have spoken to bar owners, shop owners, restaurant owners and lots of people in the travel industry and every single one of them see the vaccine as the key to Mallorca working this Summer. 

Take care everyone and enjoy your Weekend! 

Richie presents the Radio One Mallorca Breakfast show Monday to Friday 07.30-11.00am on 93.8fm in Mallorca and 102fm in Calvià, online at www.radioonemallorca.com on mobile through their free App for IPhone & Android, The Tunein Radio App, iTunes, the Spanish TDT TV service and all smart speakers. If you can’t hear him on the radio then you’ll find him working at Pirates Adventure the islands number one night out and every now and again he may make an understudy appearance! 

Follow him on Twitter @DadTaxi1 & Instagram @dad.taxi or feel free to email him at rprior@globobalear.com 

Real Mallorca couldn’t turn their dominance into goals against their promotion rivals Espanyol last week. It was a case of not taking their chances when their opponents did. The guilty player was Amath who in the first half missed two guilt edged opportunities. It was more of a surprise given that he’d scored in the last three games. He did redeem himself in the second half with an equaliser but a defensive error by the normally dependable Valjent gave Espanyol the victory. Mallorca finished last Weekend on top by 2 points from Espanyol and Almeria who lost at Leganés. Yesterday Espanyol went top after beating Sabadell. The game of the weekend is today at 16.00 when Mallorca take on Almeria. For me it’s a must not lose game for Mallorca. Obviously a win is great but a draw puts them ahead of Almeria on a head to head basis after they beat them 0-1 away. Two other teams have crept back into the race for the automatic promotion places, Leganés and Sporting Gijón. They are both on 46 points just 5 points behind second placed Mallorca and 6 points behind the leaders Espanyol. It’s squeaky bum time! 

Frustrating for Atlético Baleares as their games last weekend and this weekend were called off after a Covid outbreak. They will now host San Sebastián next Sunday the 28th of February and Navalcarnero the following Wednesday March 3rd. Both games kick-off at 12 midday. 

An agonising 90th penalty left UD Poblense pointless after they’d fought back twice against Rayo Majadahonda, eventually losing 2-3. There’s four teams at the bottom on 12 points so they need to try and get something out of todays away game at Real Madrid Castilla. 

A dominant 3-0 win against Valencia Mestalla got UD Ibiza back to winning ways and cemented their position at the top of their league. They’re away at Hercules today.

A fantastic 0-1 result for Peña Deportiva away at La Nucia. A home game today against Orihuela and a win could go a long way to helping them to maintain their position in the current league. 

In Tercera Group A it looks like a fight between Andratx and Ibiza Pitiusas. Andratx lost 0-1 at home to Constancia and Ibiza won 0-2 at Collerense. Third placed Manacor could only draw 2-2 with Portmany.

In Group B it doesn’t look like anybody are going to catch Platges de Calvia at the top. They are nine points clear at the top from Real Mallorca B and PE Sant Jordi. 

In Division Honor San Francisco avenged their defeat from Menorca’s  Atlético Villacarlos with a 92nd minute winner. Of our other teams Penya Arrabal play Real Mallorca today in a crunch game. 

Still no confirmation of a return of youth football but it still looks like the weekend of the 6th and 7th of March for Juvenil, Cadetes and infantil. But no date yet for the return of Alevin, Benjamin and pre-Benjamin. 

Take care everyone. 

Richie presents the Radio One Mallorca Breakfast show Monday to Friday 07.30-11.00am on 93.8fm in Mallorca and 102fm in Calvià, online at www.radioonemallorca.com on mobile through their free App for IPhone & Android, The Tunein Radio App, iTunes, the Spanish TDT TV service and all smart speakers. If you can’t hear him on the radio then you’ll find him working at Pirates Adventure the islands number one night out and every now and again he may make an understudy appearance! 

Follow him on Twitter @DadTaxi1 & Instagram @dad.taxi or feel free to email him at rprior@globobalear.com 

For me it’s a damning indictment for this Government here in the Balearics that on an island that depends pretty much on tourism, we are still none the wiser whether we’re going to get a Summer Season here or not. Last Friday a Facebook campaign started called SOS Turismo. A week later they have just over 28,500 members. The Government have said whilst they recognise the group they’re not sure whether it’s the right message to send out. What are people supposed to do, after eighteen months of nothing just sit and wait? 

SOS of course is a universally known cry for help, Save Our Souls. 

But to be honest it could be;

Save Our Season

Save Our Summer

Save Our Sanity

Monday apparently is D-Day in the Uk when Boris says whether Brits can go on holiday. Nicola Sturgeon the Scottish First Minister has already said it’s unlikely that Scots will be allowed abroad this summer. The problem with all these announcements is nobody really has a clue what the future holds. The only thing you can hang your hat on is the vaccine and the quicker it gets rolled out the better. 

Which means that the country or destination that get themselves sorted are going to be ahead of everyone else. 

The graph below shows you the latest data. 

This appeared in the Bulletin this week, make sure you read and read again the paragraph I’ve highlighted. 

Tourist Groups say the Greek Islands of Crete, Kos and Rhodes are currently topping the list of preferred destinations for summer holidays and were extremely popular last year too.

“Last year these three islands registered higher levels of activity than Spanish tourist destinations, including Mallorca and it looks like the same thing will happen in summer 2021, if the current health conditions persist,” they said.

Turkey is also positioning itself as a competitive destination for Mallorca this year, particularly the coastal area of Antalya.

UK and German Tour Operators, including Jet2, EasyJet Holidays, Alltours, FTI, Schaunsland and DER Touristik point out that the situation changes from week to week.

But one thing they all agree on is that Mallorca will monopolise summer reservations as soon as the Covid infection levels improve and they stressed the need for Spain’s vaccination campaign to get underway as quickly as possible when vaccines arrive from pharmaceutical companies that have signed contracts with Brussels. 

Which means we should be busting a gut to get the vaccination programme started! 

The National Government has said no favoritism. I get that but with no other industry of any note on the islands surely we should be at the front of the queue? Remembering that we are just 2.5% of the overall Spanish population. 

Spain’s largest industries by annual output are textiles and apparel, food and beverage, metals, chemicals and shipbuilding. Tourism is also a significant contributor to the country’s economy. Spain’s foreign-tourist industry is the second largest in the world.

The industry’s contribution to gross domestic product tumbled to between 4% and 5%, according to estimates from Funcas think-tank analyst Maria Jesus Fernandez, from a 12% share in 2019. I dread to think of the numbers here. 

The other problem could be the “Red list countries” if Spain does get included our regional Government needs to be lobbying now to get us removed. As an island destination none of the Balearics or Canaries for that matter should get included. Remember they were talking about it last year? But nothing was agreed. It seems to have been forgotten and it’s something that should have been agreed when we had the opportunity. 

As everyday passes it’s another day less for businesses to open. 

It’s good to see the numbers going down and things slowly returning to normal. But we all need to keep our vigilance and hope that the vaccines arrive in time for us all to enjoy a summer season. 

Take care everyone and enjoy your Weekend! 

Richie presents the Radio One Mallorca Breakfast show Monday to Friday 07.30-11.00am on 93.8fm in Mallorca and 102fm in Calvià, online at www.radioonemallorca.com on mobile through their free App for IPhone & Android, The Tunein Radio App, iTunes, the Spanish TDT TV service and all smart speakers. If you can’t hear him on the radio then you’ll find him working at Pirates Adventure the islands number one night out and every now and again he may make an understudy appearance! 

Follow him on Twitter @DadTaxi1 & Instagram @dad.taxi or feel free to email him at rprior@globobalear.com 

There’s been a lot of things I’ve missed during this pandemic but one of the main things has been being able to watch my two sons play football. It’s not just about the football. I enjoy the social side as it’s good for my Spanish and it’s great to get out around the island. Since the lockdown they’ve been able to train but only my eldest Son has been able to play competitive games. However before Christmas his games were cancelled too. Both have carried on training but there’s only so much of that you can do. This week I was really pleased to see that it looks like both of them will be able to start playing matches at the beginning of March. How they are going to play the matches remains to be seen but it’s some good news at a time when you’re scratching around trying to find some. 

Today sees one of the biggest games of the season for Real Mallorca, when they host Espanyol. It’s first against second, with Mallorca currently 5 points clear at the top. Earlier in the season they played out a 0-0 draw and I imagine that Mallorca would take that today. Naturally a win would be even better but it’s important not to lose to your rivals particularly as in Spain if you finish level on points it’s your record against that team that counts first. It’s also the return of Vincente Moreno to Mallorca after he decided to leave at the end of last season. It’s a shame that the fans aren’t allowed in today as I’m sure the reception would have been interesting. Mallorca come into the game on the back of a 3 game unbeaten run but Espanyol are struggling a little. Since the Christmas break they’ve only won once, drawing one and losing three. Worrying form, so you’d think Moreno wouldn’t want to lose today either. Remember they went through four coaches last season, lose this one and he could be under pressure. Mallorca would go eight points clear with a win and that could be the tipping point for the trigger happy Espanyol owners. Kick-off today is 14.00. 

Just when you think Atlético Baleares have turned the corner they then lose another game. It’s been the story of their season. Last weekend they beat Real Madrid Castilla 2-1 after coming back from a goal down. On Wednesday they played Dux Internacional de Madrid and lost 2-0. Coach Jordi Roger said “we played our worst game in what was a really important match.” There are 5 games to go and to stand a chance of commencing to the next stages, I think they’ll need to win all five. 

Better news for UD Poblense who won away against Getafe B last weekend. It’s only their second win of the season and interestingly they’ve both been away. Their goal is to stay in this league which they are doing right now. 

UD Ibiza after losing at home last week could only draw 1-1 away against Atzeneta UE. But they maintain an 8 point lead at the top. Valencia Mestalla are their opponents at home today. 

Peña Deportiva had a great result last week beating Hercules 2-1. They play La Nucia today and like Poblense their goal is to stay in the league. 

In Tercera Group A, Andratx are 6 points clear of Ibiza Pitiusas with both teams winning last weekend. No game for Manacor so they’re a further 3 points back with a game in hand. 

In Group B, Platges de Calvia still lead the way, 5 points clear with 2 games in hand. It’s very tight below them with just 3 points separating Mallorca B, Santanyi, Formentera and PE Sant Jordi. 

In Division Honor bottom of the table Atlético Villacarlos from Menorca finally got their first win of the season beating San Francisco 1-0 on Wednesday. With four games to go Espanyol still lead by 5 points from Barcelona. 

Take care everyone. 

Richie presents the Radio One Mallorca Breakfast show Monday to Friday 07.30-11.00am on 93.8fm in Mallorca and 102fm in Calvià, online at www.radioonemallorca.com on mobile through their free App for IPhone & Android, The Tunein Radio App, iTunes, the Spanish TDT TV service and all smart speakers. If you can’t hear him on the radio then you’ll find him working at Pirates Adventure the islands number one night out and every now and again he may make an understudy appearance! 

Follow him on Twitter @DadTaxi1 & Instagram @dad.taxi or feel free to email him at rprior@globobalear.com 

I’ve been meaning to write this for a few weeks now. It just so happens that events in the past week have enabled me to put all this together.

I’m taking a break from island politics and looking at what has to be one the greatest sporting stories of all time. Mallorca does get a mention and so does the Premier League but that will come later.

Years ago I was in Florida and decided to buy a winter jacket. I settled on one that featured the skull and crossbones, as The Pirates Adventure Show here in Mallorca has been pretty much my whole life it was a good fit. So in reality I didn’t buy it for its American football team it was featuring it was the Pirates image that I was drawn to. Now I knew that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were an American Football team and every now and again I’d look out for their results. They won the SuperBowl in 2002 but since then hadn’t been able to hit those heights again. I was in Lidl the other week and a lady came up to me and said “great jacket are you from Tampa?” She explained she was and was very exited about how well they were doing. 

Two years before the Buccaneers first SuperBowl win, a 23yr old by the name of Tom Brady had started his rookie season with the New England Patriots. A year later in 2001 he had led them to his first SuperBowl win over the St Louis Rams 20-17. 

In 2004, the New England Patriots beat the Carolina Panthers 32-29. The Panther’s were making their Super Bowl debut, while the Patriots were seeking their second Super Bowl title in three years, thanks to Brady.

In 2005, in a close scoring game, the Patriots beat the Philadelphia Eagles 24-21, making this the third Super Bowl win for the Patriots in four years.

In 2015, Brady won Most Valuable Player (MVP), after defeating the Seattle Seahawks, 28-24. This was the Patriots first Super Bowl win in 10 years.

In 2017, the Patriots beat the Atlanta Falcons, 34-28. Brady led an epic comeback in overtime, coming back from a 25 point deficit.  

In 2019, the Patriots defeated the Los Angeles Rams in the lowest scoring game in Super Bowl history, 13-3. This was Brady’s sixth win with the Patriots.

It was after this win that he decided to quit the Patriots because they weren’t prepared to offer him a long term contract and it was felt that despite being SuperBowl winners, they were a team in decline. Another contributing factor was the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were prepared to pay him $50 million over two years! The Buccaneers were a pretty good team they just needed someone to gel them together. They had Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, O.J. Howard and Cameron Brate. They would also add two of Brady’s friends, Rob Gronkowski and Antonio Brown. It was clear the Buccaneers were willing to build aggressively around Brady with players he wanted. That group of pass-catchers was an absurd mix of talent. Meanwhile, in New England, the offense had receivers Julian Edelman, Damiere Byrd, N’Keal Harry and Jakobi Meyers, with rookie tight ends (Devin Asiasi, Dalton Keene). It was essentially the same group that couldn’t support Brady in 2019 when he had one of the worst statistical seasons of his career. So the Buccaneers were a good fit. But could he turn the “good fit” into winners?

Well this was Tom Brady, arguably the greatest Quarterback of all time. I say arguably as this opinion is split as fans of other teams will tell you their man was better. San Francisco will say Joe Montana, Miami will say Dan Marino, Denver will say John Elway and Indianapolis will say Peyton Manning. But the truth is he’s won more SuperBowl rings than any other player in any other position. You probably know by now that Brady did turn the Buccaneers into SuperBowl winners, when last Sunday he helped them beat the holders the Kansas City Chiefs. It was billed as a contest between the wise old head of Brady against the young pretender in Patrick Mahomes. In fact it was a no contest as the Buccaneers won 31-9  and meant that in my opinion, if he wasn’t already, Tom Brady has become the G.O.A.T.

The subject of ownership has come up this week too with the Buccaneers owned by the Glazer family. Does that name ring any bells for you? Yes they are the owners of the English Premier League team Manchester United. A family that is not liked too much by the Red Devils fans and that has been shown in the past by the Buccaneers fans too. It made me think of how many Premier League teams now have American influence. It might surprise you to know that it’s Ten! 

Arsenal: Kroenke Sports & Entertainment 

Aston Villa: Wesley Edens, Fortress Investment Group

Burnley: ALK Capital 

Chelsea: Chairman is Bruce Buck, an American lawyer. 

Crystal Palace: Joshua Harris & David Blitzer Tag Worldwide Investment 

Fulham: Shahid Khan, Flex-N-Gate Corp

Leeds Utd: York Family, 49ers Enterprises 

Liverpool: Fenway Sports Group

Manchester Utd: The Glazer Family

West Ham: Albert Smith, GSO Capital Partners

Worth noting that Tottenham have done a deal with the National Football League(NFL) to host two American Football games a year at their brand new stadium when restrictions allow. It has also been said that if a franchise was to be set up in the UK then the Spurs ground would be the natural choice. Which pushes the American influence to Eleven. 

Now I’m not sure if you’re aware that promotion and relegation doesn’t exist in American sport. I’m sure this would be something that would appeal to the American owners and influencers in the Premier League. So could that actually happen in the future? Well at the moment no, in order for anything to change the Premier League currently requires the consent of 14 of its 20 clubs to approve decisions large and small but don’t be surprised if this rears its ugly head in the future. 

Remember “Project Big Picture?” It would see teams in the EFL – ie the leagues below the Premier League, given £250m ($325m) to share between themselves, plus 25% of revenue from future TV deals that the Premier League secures. In exchange, the footballing calendar would be trimmed to suit the top Premier League clubs – with the number of Premier League teams cut to 18, and the EFL Cup (currently the Carabao Cup) and Community Shield being abolished. And who were the main drivers of this? Liverpool and Manchester United, who as you’ve seen above are influenced heavily by Americans. 

Now I don’t want this to look like I’m against American ownership as I’ve seen here in Mallorca the turn around in Real Mallorca’s fortunes since they were taken over by their own group. Robert Sarver, Andy Kohlberg and Steve Nash have done an amazing job with Mallorca over the last few years and I hope for many years to come. 

It’s an observation and one I will be keeping an eye on in the cutthroat world of football especially after the pandemic. 

Take care everyone and enjoy your Valentines weekend! 

Richie presents the Radio One Mallorca Breakfast show Monday to Friday 07.30-11.00am on 93.8fm in Mallorca and 102fm in Calvià, online at www.radioonemallorca.com on mobile through their free App for IPhone & Android, The Tunein Radio App, iTunes, the Spanish TDT TV service and all smart speakers. If you can’t hear him on the radio then you’ll find him working at Pirates Adventure the islands number one night out and every now and again he may make an understudy appearance! 

Follow him on Twitter @DadTaxi1 & Instagram @dad.taxi or feel free to email him at rprior@globobalear.com 

The transfer window closed last Monday with Real Mallorca adding three new signings. 

Alvaro Giménez a centre forward joined on loan from Cadiz. The 29-year-old progressed from the Mallorca academy to the first team in a two-year spell at the club in 2011, before going onto represent Elche CF, AD Alcorcón, UD Almería, Birmingham City and his parent club. Giménez was also the Segunda División’s top goalscorer two seasons ago having found the back of the net 20 times at UD Almería.

Victor Mollejo a winger joined on loan from Atlético Madrid. The 20 year old ended his loan spell at Getafe CF early and has previous Segunda División experience at Deportivo de la Coruña where he made 36 appearances and scored six times. He is also a youth international for his native Spain and recently won the Under-20s European Championships. 

Koke Vegas a goalkeeper joined on loan from Levante. The 25 year old joins to add back up to Manolo Reina and Miquel Parera. 

The most interesting of the three is Giménez, if he can recapture the goal scoring form of two years ago in the same division he could fire Mallorca to promotion.

Last weekend after defeating Girona, Mallorca watched to see what their promotion rivals could do. It was looking pretty routine at half time for second placed Espanyol, cruising to a 2-0 lead. But an amazing second half comeback from Rayo Vallecano saw them run out 2-3 winners. Almeria hit two late goals to defeat lowly Castellón and join Espanyol in second place. So Mallorca finished the Weekend three points clear at the top. Friday night they went away to 17th placed Albacete a team you would have thought they could beat. However what their position didn’t show was that they hadn’t lost since December 21st, having won four and drawn one. They were in fact the team with the best form in January. 

Mallorca included all three transfer window signings in their squad but not in the starting eleven. They were helped by a sending off for Albacete in the first half but they were struggling to break them down. A triple substitution in the 55th minute sparked them into life, resulting in Ndiaye scoring for the third match in a row. They looked like they had thrown it away in the 88th minute when Albacete were awarded a penalty but with luck on their side it was missed. The coach Luis Garcia Plaza said, “It’s a vital victory – very important – but today we weren’t as sharp as other games. We struggled with that last pass, that last situation.” He added “We’re a team that goes out to win in any field and in any situation, the team’s ambition is the word that defines it the most – even on days when we are not so good. What we’re missing from this great season is our fans in the stadium.” I second that and it will be hugely disappointing if we’re not allowed in before the end of the season. At that point they were six points clear at the top with Espanyol and Almeria still to play. Almeria drew 1-1 last night with Fuenlabrada to move into second place. Espanyol don’t play until Monday against Lugo. That’s three victories in a row now for Mallorca and their blip seems to be over. The next two games could go a long way to decide whether they’ll gain automatic promotion or not. Espanyol next weekend and Almeria the week after. 

Atlético Baleares started against Atlético Madrid on the back of two successive wins and looking back in form. However an early goal from Madrid put them on the back foot and they didn’t really recover from it losing 1-0. They are at home to mid table Real Madrid Castilla managed by their former legend Raul and need to get a win. 

UD Poblense have worryingly gone to the bottom of the league with a 0-1 reverse against Las Rozas. They’ve only won one game so far and have the highest amount of draws with six. Perhaps the stat which defines the reason they are bottom is that they’ve conceded the most goals. This weekend they are away at Getafe B.

Here’s something I’ve not written this season, UD Ibiza have lost a league game. On the one hand it was surprisingly at home but on the other it was against the team in second place Alcoyano, who defeated Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey. The coach Juan Carlos Carcedo said “The team was on a sustained run of hugely impressive results and we  know just how difficult it was to achieve that. Now, we will regroup and go again with the same focus and ambition as always”. Today they play mid table Atzeneta UE away. 

Peña Deportiva disappointingly drew 0-0 at bottom of the table Atlético Levante UD. It was a chance for them to add to their points tally but like the rest of the season they couldn’t score. That’s just three goals in 12 games and that might well be their downfall. They’re at home to third placed Hercules today. 

In Tercera division group A, After closing the gap to Andratx both Manacor and Ibiza Pitiusas let it slip again. Manacor lost at home to Constancia and Ibiza could only draw with Soller. Andratx have won their last two to move nine points clear and although the chasing teams have games in hand they can’t keep throwing away opportunities. 

In Tercera division group B, Platges de Calvia are still dominating. They are five points clear of Real Mallorca B with two games in hand. 

In Division Honor top of the table Espanyol finally lost their first game losing 2-0 at Girona. Penya Arrabal thrashed Atlético Villacarlos 7-1, San Francisco got a hard fought 1-0 win over UD Cornella and Real Mallorca play CF Damm today. 

Youth football are still training and let’s see what the authorities do with the restrictions next week. 

Take care everyone. 

Richie presents the Radio One Mallorca Breakfast show Monday to Friday 07.30-11.00am on 93.8fm in Mallorca and 102fm in Calvià, online at www.radioonemallorca.com on mobile through their free App for IPhone & Android, The Tunein Radio App, iTunes, the Spanish TDT TV service and all smart speakers. If you can’t hear him on the radio then you’ll find him working at Pirates Adventure the islands number one night out and every now and again he may make an understudy appearance! 

Follow him on Twitter @DadTaxi1 & Instagram @dad.taxi or feel free to email him at rprior@globobalear.com 

I’m getting fed up with the constant sound bytes from Government ministers here about what they think will be happening this summer. Without an actual plan on how it is actually going to happen. Does anyone actually read them and believe them? Last week I commented on the Prime Minister saying the tourist season wouldn’t start until the end of the summer and the tourism minister saying it would be spring but with no specific date. Then our own President saying it would be June. Fast forward to this past week and the Tourism Minister was at it again saying national tourism could restart at Easter as long as health security conditions are met. What those conditions were she didn’t know but a few days later the health minister said it would only happen if cases were at a 14-day cumulative incidence of no more than 150 cases per 100,000. He also added that he didn’t know when Easter was! So you’ve got a tourism minister who says we could open by Easter but didn’t know what numbers were needed in order to do so and a health minister who quotes the numbers needed but didn’t know when Easter was! Is it me? Do these people communicate with each other before they speak? 

I don’t believe we should be concentrating on an Easter opening, all our thoughts and plans should be on a summer opening. Also an Easter opening to national tourism only? Haven’t we learnt anything? It took until December 20th for the Balearic Islands to make everyone arriving from the mainland to come with a negative test. The rise in the numbers through November, December and January were undoubtedly people travelling in and out from the mainland without any checks. Even though we have the checks in place I still wouldn’t risk it. Easter falls early April(Good Friday is April 2nd) so you’ll have a busy 4 or 5 days and then a complete lull for the rest of the month. My view would be to forget that and push out the vaccine as quickly as possible to be ready for May if possible but at the latest June. Whilst not ideal I think most businesses would try and make a go of the Summer if that was the case. 

We have a big enough resident population to get businesses moving. There was a report out this week that of the Agroturismo hotels that are currently open, their occupancy is 80% from residents only. Ask anyone right now what they’d do once the restrictions are relaxed. My guess is visit their favourite restaurants, bars and cafes that they’ve not been to in ages. 

Obviously there needs to be a plan to get the bars cafes and restaurants opening on a staggered basis like before. They’ve had so many false dawns and knock backs, offer them tax and social security breaks and encourage them to get staff off of the ERTE(furlough) and Paro(Unemployment benefit). That starts the system moving again. Then start encouraging people to start going out again. Masks on and socially distancing of course. But why not offer a scheme like the UK’s eat out to help out, where a discount was offered to people eating out Monday to Wednesday’s. Each customer got a 50% discount on food or non-alcoholic drinks to eat or drink in (up to a maximum of £10 discount per diner). The business gave them the discount and reclaimed the money back from the Government. Very much like the voucher system they have in Calvia from the Town Hall. I’ve spoken to quite a few businesses who have taken part in that and it seems to have worked. I know we have used it at the barbers, hairdressers, massage and a sports shop to name a few. It’s encouraged people to shop locally. 

The difference this time is that the vaccine is on the horizon, albeit as seen through a pair of binoculars right now but it exists. I’m not sure why the Government has said the vaccinations will only be carried out by the public health and not the private? Surely it’s better to get it out there as quick as possible? I’m not sure the public health system will be able to cope? I’d heard that the army might be brought in like in the UK, which would be a good thing. Vox party leader Jorge Campos has said that if the Balearic Government can’t get the vaccine quick enough from the mainland government then they should go out and buy it themselves. He said that the Pfizer vaccine costs 17€ per unit. Therefore to vaccine the whole of the Balearic population that are on the padrón, which is currently 1, 149,460 people, would cost 19,540,820€. There are 35,156 currently on the ERTE(furlough) in the Balearics plus 109,900 on Paro(unemployment benefit), so just over 145,000 currently out of work.

If the Government are paying 500€ a month which I know can be less or can be more but just makes the maths easier for me! That’s 72,528,000€ cost every month to the Government. Now I’m no economist but shouldn’t we be going out and looking at all possibilities of vaccines? It’s the only way we are going to have a summer season here on the island. 

On a lighter note this week I went and had a full body wax! Not something you do every day but this was left over from the Radiothon as a challenge for me. Four guys put up 175€ for our charities for me to do it so I had to keep my promise. A big thanks to Denise and all her staff at Denise Beauty Salon in Portals Village who looked after me. I can’t describe the pain!

Take care everyone and enjoy your weekend! 

Richie presents the Radio One Mallorca Breakfast show Monday to Friday 07.30-11.00am on 93.8fm in Mallorca and 102fm in Calvià, online at www.radioonemallorca.com on mobile through their free App for IPhone & Android, The Tunein Radio App, iTunes, the Spanish TDT TV service and all smart speakers. If you can’t hear him on the radio then you’ll find him working at Pirates Adventure the islands number one night out and every now and again he may make an understudy appearance! 

Follow him on Twitter @DadTaxi1 & Instagram @dad.taxi or feel free to email him at rprior@globobalear.com