Yeah you make a very good point. We do have to aim higher but we just got to be patient. I believe in the project we got.
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You heard it here first, don’t say I didn’t tell you. We are gradually, but safely, becoming the Arsenal of La Liga. This seems to be the plan… oh well!
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Well to be fair you probably correct. Still this seems to be the plan of Monchi and Castro. It’s not lopetegui fault but this news probably makes his position even safer. As he doesn’t have the pressure to win the league or come second. Unless things go drastically wrong I’d expect him to be our manager for many years to come.
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And once again this conversation shall be rekindled…
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Even though they’ll definitely keep him for the rest of the season, I can’t help but think the following, over and over again:
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How would we fare with another decent coach that is a bit more attacking minded or at least knows how to counter and doesn’t play extremely boring football?
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Going to the next summer with this kind of football and with Lope at helm sounds barbarically long and sad.
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Well that’s gonna be an expensive one. Yikes, he has a contract till June 2024… 3 more years bro…
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Really tough to be patient at times like these. But let’s not become the next Palermo and contain ourselves for the rest of the year.
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I agree. I think we need to see how this season goes before making any decisions. We are frustrated and disappointed in lope and team but it’s not fair to be thinking of sacking a coach at this stage.
Let’s get behind the players and manager even in tough times but it’s clear we need to see improvement especially in lope’s tactics.
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Same thing with the interviews after last weeks game remember? Only Fernando is the one critical and disappointed, while he is playing his heart out. Where the rest Lope, Rakitic and Ocampos are all satisfied and content. Where they should be the ones self critical, and Fernando the one content with his play. Whole thing is scuffed.
This week, nothing different.
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Sacking Lopetegui this early in the season would do us more harm than good. Like Mark said, we need to support Lope and the team and give them chances, because we have had a decent (although not perfect) start to the season.
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Youre right haha. Public opinions can maybe hype Castro up and see if we can change that 
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So I went off a bit and trying to look into the future and see you guys thoughts, by sketching a hypothetical scenario.
So from mid november till december we have the following sequence of games. So far the the results have been good (17 out of 24) as everyone is saying. Totally leaving out of the equation the way we play. Let’s neglect that for this scenario, and let’s also leave apart any of the results we will get up until this sequence:
But for this case we don’t make it out of this group. And out of the other games in the sequence we get two draws.
If this comes true, what is you sentiment towards Lope? and what is the minimal you expect out of these games to change that sentiment if wanted.
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We’ve made some of our thoughts on this known in the podcast with Edi, which will come out in the meantime after Chris polishes it up.
Before we go into late November, we have some unfinished business in October and early November too. The two upcoming matches vs. Lille in CL will define a lot in that regard, along with the matches in La Liga which should all be winnable without any excuse, including the derby vs. 
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True, the double against Lille will be deciding a very big part. So maybe it´s hard to exclude it. The point I was going for, is that these games against a bit better opponents the balance can really tip the otherway, punishing us more and not getting any good results, and I won´t be surprised, mad nor be dissapointed. Neither would my sentiment to Lope change at all, even if the results get bad. That´s what I was curious for to know from others on here.
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Quite. I sometimes think I might be responsible for this. I don’t like the football we’re playing but we can’t be so critical until the results go wrong. He made some good decisions yesterday. Lamela was set to come on and he was stood down when Mir scored. Lope had a little think to evaluate the new situation and then he put Lamela on. That was a calm head in a vital game.
It could be that he looked at the bench and realized Gudelj wasn’t there and said to Lamela ‘Who told you to sit down, get on’ 
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That’s gonna be a really rough stretch when it comes down to it. If we don’t make it out the group, i wonder what it does to the players and their trust in the manager.
We’d have to really be a threat in the title race in that scenario, or else things will look very bleak.
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this is thus exactly my point.
When the results go wrong, you still can’t be critical.
Because it always had been a very likely end result all along.
Which was a risk you accepted and some even supported at those times as well.
So we also have to accept the fact that at some point we get a draw and lose 4.
It can just happen like that. That’s when you need to defend Lope, but then there is nothing to defend.
It’s a scenario bound to be doomed eventually.
Because the play hasn’t been evolving in a positive direction in the last years.
And eventually this will break it. And we all find out, you can’t keep gliding close above the rocks.
Is there anything to be achieved with this? I mean we can play ugly and finish in Champions, or we could play great and attractive and not achieve our objectives. You get what you get.
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