What if we asked for help?

Photo: Diario Xerecista

Under Abel Segovia, Xerez have gained intensity and judgement, and the squad has the quality for much more. But a team that dominates and does not win is starting to feel the anxiety: perhaps the time has come for the mind to be trained too, and to put every player in his right place.

Since Abel Segovia's arrival, Xerez CD have changed their image. The team plays with intensity and judgement, and knows what it has to do on the pitch. They showed it on Sunday against Ciudad de Lucena, in a match they dominated from start to finish and lost in the 89th minute. But the results are not following, with four points out of nine under the new coach, and the feeling is that some players are still not in their right place. One figure sums it up: Xerez have hit the woodwork seven times in seven league matchdays.

Zequi, on his wrong foot

Zequi is a player with real class, but he keeps being played on the left, on his wrong foot. On the right, Guille Campos gives solidity to the full-back position; what is missing afterwards is the cross, that final ball that turns an attack into a chance.

Set pieces, a missed opportunity

There is one resource Xerez are not making the most of: corners and set pieces. Not a single corner is aimed at the near post, a variation that could catch opposing defences by surprise.

Fali, at the heart of the defence

Fali has to play, but at centre-back. On Sunday, in his minutes at the heart of the defence, he showed he has the judgement to bring the ball out from the back. The problem is who to leave out, because all the centre-backs are playing at a tremendous level.

A clever diamond that lacks a spark

In midfield, the team forms a diamond with Raúl López, Mario Peregrina, Zequi and Jaime Fernández. They play with judgement, but perhaps they lack that touch of creativity that Jaime López and Ismael bring. Bittor Isuskiza is a great player, but he is the one you bring on when you want to slow a game down: he brings calm to the midfield.

Up front, between anxiety and effort

In attack, Rubén Mesa is so anxious to score that perhaps that very anxiety is holding him back. And there is nothing to say about Chuma: two league goals, and he gives his all in every match.

The mind plays too

Perhaps it would be a good idea for the team to work with a psychologist, before the players themselves stop believing they can turn the situation around. Because this is a good squad and, little by little, a good team is also being built. There are reasons to trust it. But perhaps the time has come to put every player in his right place.