In the long run we will eventually pay, only a matter of time. Too much time for my likings but I’m at peace with that.
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I don’t want to be too harsh as we weren’t at full strength and a number of fringe players were in action. It’s never easy away from home against a lower division side on a pitch that wasn’t the best for football. Maybe there was also an element of complacency thinking we’d win comfortably.
However this has been a common theme all season. Play shoddily and find a way to win. It’s not pretty but nine times out of ten Lope gets the result.
On a serious note you wouldn’t have known which side played in the 4th division if you’d just landed on the planet. Clearly it’s got to be better when we play stronger opponents.
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Feels like we can play on any level of teams, and make it an even match, except when they are better. Then they beat us.
Would be quite shameful if they cheered like they won something big. Big amount of inner relief probably.
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Only 2 teams have beat us domestically though. Both only by 1 goal as well. I get we have our problems and especially up front but still we are overall a hard team to beat based on that. Even in the champions league games as bad is we played at times the two times we lost were also by just the 1 goal. It was still an effort for them to beat us.
It sums up that we can give most teams a match with our great defence and coaching philosophy. The fundamental problem is translating that into fast and exciting attacking football which is a combination of lope playing it too safe, lack of attacking options, some players not at the high level required and mounting injuries
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Total shit show
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It’s that under Lope there is a complete lack of attacking ability. It’s fundamental as you said. There is no improvement, nothing is being implemented that helps going forward and to build on from week to week. Every week is a deadball game with some praying for a result. There is no positive direction evolving in any shape or form. And the players honestly look hopeless. It won’t take much longer. Street is a dead end.
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I can forgive them for poor performances in the CDR even when it is against fourth tier sides. Domestic cup competitions aren’t the priority for a lot of teams in European leagues generally.
What matters the most is how we react in the next two massive games coming up against Atletico and Barca. Put in some performances and get the results in them and all is forgiven.
Mark is right that we’re a very tough team to beat. Even when we lose it’s only narrowly usually. Defensively we are very strong, it’s the offensive side of our game that needs some work. I think all of us would agree that this isn’t the most attractive Sevilla team we’ve ever watched.
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I think we got to remember though that these players and even the coaching staff aren’t machines. We have played a hell of a lot of football lately. That combined with mounting injuries makes it difficult to juggle. These matches at smaller teams can be tricky too. I know other teams are handling it better but at these tight small grounds where these teams are up for it makes it tough and upsets can happen.
We got upset 2 years ago and we seen big teams crash out early before by being under prepared, to tired, underestimating the opponent or not adapting to pitch, etc.
I get there are a few things to be concerned about. Still though we are through to last 32 of copa after winning 2 rounds barely, 2nd in la liga with 34 points from 48 and also finished 3rd in champions so in Europa league. There is plenty to work on and improve but overall the results are there and we in a great place. If we can somehow survive and do well in these next 2 league games before Christmas and new year it will be massive because we will recover a lot more players by January 2022 and hopefully a couple of new signings are made.
Vamos Sevilla!
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Voice of reason as ever, Mark. Like you say, games against lower league sides are never easy.
Main thing is we win and we’re in the last 32, to go with being 2nd in the league and in the Europa. A lot still to play for this season and we’ve got to be happy. I fancy us against both Atletico and Barca, both are very beatable and not as strong as they once were.
Playing style is my biggest concern. With a lot of the games I’ve watched, I don’t believe in the team to score goals. We don’t even create chances for all our possession and look void of attacking flair and creativity. That was even the case tonight against a fourth tier side. It seems to be a common theme whether it’s Salzburg in the Champions League or Andratx. Lope has to take responsibility for that.
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Results will have to massively turn for monchi or Castro to even consider changing lope. We already heard how highly they think of him and that lope gets on well with them too.
I think monchi and Castro will be happy with this provided we are getting the results and hard to beat in the main. I do expect our attack to improve as well when we get more of our injured players back and hopefully get a couple new signings to boost us In January.
There is of course things lope needs to improve like being braver in games and making more positive changes but I do feel he currently doesn’t quite have the players or is lacking them due to injury which limits our options too. I still have plenty of faith in this project and I’m confident of the season ahead. Still I respect your view.
I agree with your post. I think he’s partly responsible for the poor attacking performances but I also think he needs more options in January or players back from injury to aid him. It’s a mixture of both why we struggle to score or create more.
We got to have faith lope and the likes of monchi/castro address this problem. I feel we have a really good squad but up front is where I feel we need more options and faster players with more skill to change matches on a dime. That coupled with lope also learning how to go for it a bit more in order to try makes us a bit less predictable.
That being said with what he’s currently working in the squad and the budget been made available I still believe he’s doing a very good job. I might be wrong but I can’t imagine either Monchi or Castro even considering replacing him at end of season unless things completely drop off a cliff in 2022.
Sevilla don’t have creativity because they don’t have movement, they don’t have movement because they don’t know where to move, they don’t know where to move because they don’t have creativity.
It’s a busted flush of a system.
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Sounds like I missed a cracker. 
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It was a cracker indeed, more or less what I expected.
But credit to Lopetegui, we achieved our game plan, one goal.
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This is the thing… you can excuse a team for pulling this shit once. You can’t excuse them for doing it in back to back games. You don’t see that crap from top tier La Liga teams. You might get a close affair once and then a beating 7-1. We will never see anything of the such with this system and it sucks. Tim nailed it. The movement is all wrong, very static. Left to right, right to left long ball to an offside Munir. It is so frustrating to watch this team week in and week out do the same thing. Sure we win, but come one man, take care of business and have some freaking fun every once in a while coach!
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I still think we should go 4-2-3-1 instead of this 4-3-3 nonsense but Lope won’t do it and it stiffles so many of our players.
Players like Oscar, Oliver, Papu are all stagnating because we don’t play a formation that suits them, because Lope’s 3 man midfield always has to be Fernando, Jordan, Rakitic. Drop one and stick one of the others behind the Striker.
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How did Juanlu, Luismi Cruz and Ivan Romero do?
Yeah either that or stop looking for all those attacking midfielder formations where none of them function and they become useless in the majority of games and play with some sort of fear. Try looking again for actual wingers with eye for teammates and service for strikers. Get that flair back. We look dead in our eyes.
Mir is a great striker for a two man front. Great Finishing and presence, awesome physique for bullying and distracting centre backs. Give him the footballing second striker with eye for space like Gameiro. Start looking for flexible wingers like Lamela, Perotti etc. and play the 4-2-2-2.
Two complementing strong but versatile mids who can support eachother but one more to attack and one more to defense. Keep the defensive core and we can start playing football and becoming a goal threat again.
Get Mir of that island where het get’s more than one good pass a game.
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