Story of the season
Granada went into this season with uncertainty over the future of the club, with a potential sale. That prevented them from doing much business in the transfer market, but late moves for Lucas Boye, Gerard Gumbau, Gonzalo Villar and Jesus Vallejo seemed to give Granada a chance.
The first form of Bryan Zaragoza, and several close matches inolving a lot of goals gave enough to suggest that they could make a go, and even a draw with Barcelona. Zaragoza's exit seemed to dash his hopes. The leadership reacted by replacing Paco Lopez with Cacique Medina, and while stabilizing things for a while, bringing a relatively inexperienced manager to his first job in European football, in a difficult place, he never had a high chance of working.
The poor form of Celta Vigo and then Rayo Vallecano kept them in it for several months, but Granada never worked out how to defend a leader, with a series of frankly absurd defensive performances that ripped away any good work they had done in the another ending. Too often, Granada's defenders had their arms extended not to the referees, but to their teammates, with confused looks. The late appointment of Jose Ramon Sandoval was a reaction for the pleasure of one, and the end of the season could not come soon enough.
Explanation of the degree
It was still a difficult task for Granada to stay, and the poor preparation at the beginning of the season did not bode well. sacking López It was a bold choice at the time, and replacing him with Medina was a risk he didn't make. The board has actively hurt his cause over the last 12 months, although they reacted with some decent additions in the winter window.
On the pitch, Lopez is always known for attractive football, but his Levante were rarely so irresponsible at the back. A little light in the midfield, shoddy at the back, and Granada neither did he improve his plan enough to disrupt opponents, nor did he adapt enough. Little has gone well, although like Almeria, they are not bad players. Their points tally speaks to a disastrous campaign, however, beyond relegation itself.
Outstanding moment: With only four wins to speak of, the 2-2 draw with Barcelona at Nuevo Los Carmenes was a fantastic occasion. He might not have one, but the stadium was on fire that night, and it's probably his most memorable.
Key player: Myrto Uzuni – sort by default. His goals were not regular, but he was his biggest threat after Zaragoza.
Seasonal surprise: Bryan Zaragoza – his presence was the most exciting thing about Granada, and his absence seemed to spell the end of his real hope of staying.
Glass half full
Granada has fallen, but there are pieces to put it back together. It is great if for this Granada this summer, but they went with a side that is for the most part still here, and from the players who participated in the promotion, it is not a given that they will leave. It is also a side that is built to play on the front foot, and so trying to win promotion again will not be as much of a culture shock when they go down, compared to say Cadiz.
Glass half empty
Ownership has left Granada in limbo before, and there's nothing to suggest they won't again. Los Nazaries brought many players both in the summer and in January, and only time will tell how much they took out of the coffers, even if the winter additions were mostly on loan. When Granada arrived, it was very much Paco Lopez's side, and they had to find another manager to build around. Guillermo Abascal, 35 years old, is an ambitious choice, and far from the safe option.
