Oviedo: how does a club of their standing sit 18th?
Ten games in, Oviedo have nine points and a place in the relegation zone that their reputation cannot explain away.
"We are not where this club belongs," said a voice from the Oviedo dressing room, and nobody at the club would argue. Eighteenth in the Spanish First Division after ten matches, nine points, a run of WLDDD that has turned a season's opening into a slog. Ale Déniz, in charge since June 2061, is the man carrying it.
The table says 18th; their standing says sixth. That gap is the story of the autumn, and it is not closing. Isidre Jou's move into central defence has been the one bright thread in recent weeks, but a defence that draws and draws again does not climb. It is early, but Oviedo are already playing catch-up with themselves.