The players change but the problems remain the same. It is a fact that does not just show its validity on the football pitch. It creeps its ugly head in several aspects of life. Weve all met that one person that always blames bad luck or circumstances every time they face yet the same problem once again. Whether its relationships, employments, or any miscellaneous events going on in everyday life; these individuals always point the finger elsewhere. I know its kind of cliché, but they are subconciously also blaming themselves when they point the other four back a them.

Thursdays match against Athletic was the microcosm of what the Atlético culture is all about. A fractured dressing room, clashing egos, and a stubborness to continue going with the same solution in an effort to get a different solution. This has been the rock that the Colchonero brass have tripped over time after time after time after time.

Conflict is the modus operandi of the club since the days of Jesús Gil y Gil. Its operation guide looks to actually be the script of a Mexican telenovela. Writer Fillippo Ricci said it best, Atlético are a club on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Like many drama queens, Atletico are cut out of th same cloth.

Enrique Cerezo, a movie industry magnate who thrives on beign the center of attention. Although his antics are miniscule nowadays as he lost the test of strength with Jesús Gil Marín. Now Cerezo is a much quieter, much lower key indivdual that gains more attention now because of the attention he now diverts.

The son of Jesús Gil y Gil, might not be as eccentric as his father was, but then again tehre were very few that were like the construction tycoon. From his doulbe in 1995-96 to his eventual incarceration and the teams eventual descent into second division misery. Every season is a different novel with the same ending.

Atlético burn out their idols with their madness. This past summer they did everythig they possibly could to run Sergio Agüero and David De Gea out of town. Agüero even considered even going to Real Madrid before he would end up at Eastlands. Those are the same issues that plagued Fernando Torres to such an extent that he decided to fly up the Bay of Biscay and keep going all the way to England. Still that has been the problem invading the squad for a while. Hugo Sánchez made the trek from Manzanares to Valdebebas as did another Atlético player that would become a legend wearing all white- Raúl.

Of course there was also a bit of a power struggle going on with Diego Forlán and Quique Sánchez Flores. That particular struggle was more like a battle of attrition where Forlán might have become an idol of sorts for the club as he had the possibility of letting Sánchez Flores who scored the game-winner against Fulham in the Europa League final. That would be what would help Sánchez Flores bench Cachavacha for a good portion of the season. In the end, their drama cost the team or at least was part of the problem why the team could not maintain their form after the European Super Cup.

Then when the team needed replacements, the jury is still still out on the overall performance of th squad so far. Atlético paid 40 million for Radamel Falcao García. Although he is a brilliant man in the area, he is not as dynamic with the ball at his feet. He is by no stretch of the imagination the same type of player that Agüero or Forlán are. Is that a knock on the former Porto man? Not at all. On paper, Atlético have all that it takes to fight for hte top spots in Spain. Yet their collective psychotic attitude only exacerbates the fact that they habitually get in their own way.

Diego is still not fully into what Gregorio Manzano is looking to implement. José Antonio Reyes is a player with a tag that no one ever wants to have at his stage in his career- eternal promise. Since his days at Arsenal, he looked like he was able to take the next step into the forefront, but there was something missing. Fast forward five years and and pit stops at Real Madrid and Benfica and he still is potential untapped.

In the dressing room there are just as many dramas as well. There have been reports of cliques and players not willing to pass the ball to each other. Now, are those reports true? Who knows? In reality the ones that need to know fully if that is true, its the players on the pitch. There has to be an answer, but it has to start with the men at the top if they want to see all the work come to fruition.

For any other club, the success that they had in 2010 would have been a springboard to greater success. Instead it was a graceful swan dive into the brick wall they ran into head first for well over a generation.

Yes, winning kind of patches things up. But in the grand scheme of things, the mistakes beign made by Atlético are just that runner on the treadmill that thinks the the faster he runs that he might generate enough momentum to move forward. The problem is that whenever that treadmill comes to a screeching halt, they are just going to go flying off. Consistency and stability are to Atlético what garlic would be to a vampire.