SD Eibar Se Elevará

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August

Well here I am just one year on from the eve of my first ever competitive match as manager of SD Eibar, I feel a lot more calm this time round, more confident in my own ability. As I look around my office today, there have been some drastic and welcome improvements, now longer does the light fixing in the centre of the room hang down, no longer are my shelves wonky and the damp in the corner of the ceiling has finally gone, I guess you could say that things are really looking up here at the Ipurua, financially there have been some massive improvements, although not to the transfer budget, the whole ground has had a bit of a makeover and if the club can continue to improve as we have done in the last 3-4 years, I am sure it won’t be long before the board have no choice but to increase our capacity and make some major improvements to the stadium.

I am just looking over the report for our opening match tomorrow against Espanyol and we are going to have a game on our hands for sure, they have some great attacking players in Jose Antonio Reyes, Thievy and Filipe Caicedo as well as a strong defence lead by the Mexican Hector Moreno. I am not worried though as I know that if my team plays to its potential and sticks to my game plan it will be 3 points in the bag for sure..


Results

Espanyol Vs SD Eibar

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What a way to begin the campaign. I admit it wasn’t necessarily as easy as the score line suggests, especially when they equalised, I feared it was going to be one of those days. Our starting line-up included some of our new talent in Moses and Karacan but when it looked like things were not going our way, I threw on the old guard of Nieto and Raul Navas who showed the new boys how it’s done. Absolutely delighted with the way we have started the new campaign.


SD Eibar Vs Las Palmas

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Our first home match against the newly promoted Las Palmas was just as good a result as the match against Espanyol. We did not dominate the game as I would have liked but we certainly stamped our authority on the game and took our chances well. A combination of old and new getting on the score sheet and Moreno gets his 2nd​ goal is as many matches.


Almeria Vs SD Eibar

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It is difficult to put my finger on what went wrong here, we had a hold of the game, we had the same shots on target and more possession. I think on the day we were just individually out classed, man for man they were the better team, especially their main man Tomer Hemed who scored a quick-fire, first half double to seal the points. Disappointing result to end the month.


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League Table

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I will take that.. I think we should call it a day for the league now.. there is no need to play any more matches this season is there?? Unfortunately still another 35 matches to go and much tougher opposition to face. ​
 
Loving this mate, target top 8 this season if you can! Will be a big ask but would be a great acheivement!
 
xJamieWilliams said:
Loving this mate, target top 8 this season if you can! Will be a big ask but would be a great acheivement!
Click to expand...

Cheers mate, I've got Septembers update coming up shortly as well, not as good a month unfortunately. If I could end the season mid table again to cement our position in La Liga and improve finances and then push for top 8 next season I would be very happy!
 
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September

We have had a great start to our La Liga campaign and I will be looking to continue that form in to September. I had a meeting with my assistant just to discuss the new guys and how they are settling in, it seems everyone seems to have settled pretty well, Moreno has grabbed a couple, Moses has played well and Marcano seems to be forming a good partnership with Navas. The main topic though was Bakkali, he is really struggling with fitness and has already picked up a couple of niggling injuries, I may need to give him time in the reserves to see if he can pick things up, he could be vital to any success we have this season.


Results

SD Eibar Vs Granada

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This was a match that displayed our patient counter-attacking play perfectly, we soaked up bouts of pressure from Granada with Navas and Karacan playing very well in the centre and broke with effect. We also showed some great play from set pieces. Good win to get us back on track.


Rayo Vallecano Vs SD Eibar

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This match was not as much about our bad performance as just the one stand out performance from Nelson Valdez for Rayo. With the amount of chances they created they clearly deserved the win. Very disappointed in Patric's lack of discipline and another niggling injury for Bakkali. Bad day at the office.


SD Eibar Vs Osasuna

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I felt like this was going to be another one of those games that could have gone either way but in the end does not go ours, the game was even for much of the 90 minutes but we were 1-0 down for most of the game. That was until we won a free-kick 25 yards out in the 87th minute, up steps the so far disappointing Bakkali, he smashes in a rifle of a shot with sniper like precision in the postage stamp of the goal. We got the draw we deserved.


Elche Vs SD Eibar

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An infuriating match, I watched shot after shot go wide or over, we doubled their shot attempts and tripled their attempts on target and yet we still lose 3-1. Other than Moses, the whole team just didn't turn up. Another disappointing match for Bakkali, I though after the last match he may have picked up his game. Also after a good start Moreno now hasn't scored in the last 5 appearances. Poor Result



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League Table

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So we are back to where we spent a good 60-70% of last season, I am starting to think that we have some kind of intrinsic belonging to the 11th place spot. Oh well better than a relegation battle.​
 
Only 8 points behind Barcelona mate - you can catch them :P
 
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October

As we go into the month of October I feel indifferent, we are still sitting in mid-table, pretty much exactly where we finished off last season and I feel like we should really start to push on for more. I understand that some people might think that we should be delighted with a mid-table position and I am,also let’s not forget that just 3 seasons ago we were playing our football in the third tier of Spanish football, but things have changed at Eibar, we are no longer a minnow side, we are a club on the up and I want more for this fantastic club, I want to take them to European football and I want this to be our season!


Results

Atletico Vs SD Eibar

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That was more like it, that’s how to play counter attacking football. Absolutely delighted with this result, we took a two goal, first half lead and then defended well to stifle Atletico’s shooting attempts. Well deserved 3 points.


SD Eibar Vs Athletic Bilbao

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Extremely upsetting Basque derby result, especially after the great result against Atletico. There is nothing else to say other than Bilbao are still arguably the best of the Basque teams and we have a long way to bridge the gap. Special mention for the 4 goal man Guilermo, he was outstanding.


SD Eibar Vs Levante

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Our results have been like a yo-yo of late, after the disappointment in the derby we then host Levante and win very comfortably. A fantastic performance in the middle from Bacuna won us the match, he ran the show, grabbed a goal and set up the other 2 goals. All round great performance after a change of tactics. Good win caps off an up-down month!


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League Table

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That is a beautiful sight, it is going to be extremely difficult to keep this up but I know that if my team keeps on performing as I know it can then a top 7 spot is a possibility!​
 
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This is great! Pushing for Europe (albeit only a quarter of tha way through the season, but still!) in only your second season is an amazing achievement!
 
Yeti01 said:
This is great! Pushing for Europe (albeit only a quarter of tha way through the season, but still!) in only your second season is an amazing achievement!
Click to expand...

Cheers matey, I really hope we can keep it up! If we are going to make it to the promise land then we need to find some consistency. SD Eibar Se Elevara!!!
 
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Surely a eaurpoean spot finish will warrant a stadium/Facilities upgrade or 2! Good luck!
 

It's becoming a routine, I am struggling to find the time to write up on weekends, I have got so much going on and my personal laptop is terrible so it takes a long time at home, luckily I have the time at work on weekdays.
I have played my way through to the end of January again so I will give a short update of results and transfers and then carry on updating on a match-to-match basis on Monday. I hope it doesn't ruin the story for people.

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Results

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We have had some fantastic results in the past few months, including a brilliant run in the Spanish Cup to set up a Semi-Final clash against the great Barcelona. We have made Ipurua a bit of a fortress in recent times as well with 8 wins in the last 10 in all competitions. I am very happy with the way team have been performing and we are clearly a club heading in the right direction.


Transfers

In

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Three great transfers in the January window, both Deulofeu and Grimaldo come in from Barcelona to add great quality to our young and talented team. Deulofeu is a bit of a risk however as he is costing us £210k a month, the logic being that he is a player that can really add something to the team and help us push for a European place. We also bring in the versatile Saul from Atletico to add more cover to our central positions.


Out

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Nothing crazy on the outgoings, Sagbo really did not settle well in Spain, Berjon was not happy being a fringe player and was willing to allow his contract to run down and Maitland-Niles needed to go out on loan to gain some much needed game time.


League Table

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We are still in a great position in the league as we head into February, we are just four points away from 5th place and 6 points clear of 10th. I'm delighted to be able to say at this stage of the season I think we are safe from the drop and we can already start to look above us and really push on without too much pressure.


Financial Improvement

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Just incase you were wondering how I managed to afford Deulofeu's large monthly fee, finances have started to really improve over the past 6 months and the board have even started upping my transfer budget and transfer revenue.

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February

Results

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So we are out of the Spanish Cup at the Semi-Final stage, I never expected to beat Barcelona over two legs but I am very happy we made it so far. We have continued to impress in the league with 3 wins out of 4, a change in formation has brought out the best in Moreno and Deulofeu. The result against Osasuna was disappointing as it was an even match, we just didn't take our chances.


League Table

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We are now currently sitting in 6th place, just 4 points off of 3rd. With just 12 matches to go I feel we are really in with a shout for a European spot, I am aware though that with games in hand elsewhere, things could change over the coming days.



Balague Believes!!

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Sky Sports Spanish football expert Guillem Balague believes that SD Eibar will have what it takes finish in a European spot this season.

Although the Basque club were predicted to finish in a low mid-table position at the beginning of the season, they have continued to impress and now find themselves on the verge of a place in Europe. ‘I think they will achieve Europa League for next season, they have a good squad of players and a very talented young manager in Bullardinho, they have continued to impress and why the **** not?’.

Balague also believes that the journey will not stop there for the La Liga minnows, ‘I think that with Bullardinho at the helm, the club will continue to grow, everything they have achieved so far has been on a very small budget but if they can achieve European football this will only help the club to grow further’.

Real Madrid and Barcelona are among the teams they must face in their final 12 fixtures and they will be competing with the likes of Celta Vigo, Sevilla and Real Sociedad in the fight for Europe, only time will tell if they have what it takes..


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March

March is a huge month in our season, with games against Levante, Atletico, Athletic Bilbao and Barcelona, all of which are clubs that are in the top half and all are games we could lose. I would like to think we could achieve 5 points, a win at Levante with maybe a couple of draws elsewhere. With our new look attacking formation, we are going all or bust for the rest of the season, fingers crossed we can pull through and still be in a strong position.


Results

Levante Vs SD Eibar

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A disappointing scoreline against a team that is just below us in the league. We had the better of the play, more shots and better possession, in the end we was wasteful. If we are going to finish top 7 then we need to be winning these matches.


Athletic Bilbao Vs SD Eibar

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What a result when we really needed it, not only was this a derby clash but Bilbao are direct rivals for the European spots. We may not have dominated with our possession but we made ours count, Deulofeu and the ‘hat-trick hero’ Moreno were superb again, the high monthly cost of bringing Deulofeu in has really started to look like a deal worthwhile. The only downside was the sending off for Errasti. Excellent Win.


SD Eibar Vs Atletico Madrid

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This is the 2nd of our back-to-back outstanding wins, yet again we had exactly a 50% share of possession but we just made ours worthwhile. Another ‘hat-trick hero’ this match in the shape of Sergi Enrich, he hasn't featured much in the early parts of the season but since the switch to two upfront, he has really found some form. Another truly inspiring win against our European qualification rivals.


SD Eibar Vs Barcelona

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What a f***ing disaster, I fully expected Barcelona to p*ss on our parade but for Garcia and Errasti to both be sent off, the latter only just coming back from his last red card, it’s just embarrassing. The lack of discipline we should has really screwed our chances of top 7, we now not only have a couple of niggling injuries but also suspensions to two of our most defence minded and consistent midfielders.


League Table

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I think I can say that was a good month all things considered, the win against Atletico allowed us to bridge the gap to just 2 points from them in 4th, whilst the win against Bilbao allowed us to remain 2 points ahead of them in the table. The poor disciplinary performance against Barcelona may not have hurt our league position too much this month but could really take its toll come the end of April.




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