If you can't overcome a positional disadvantage through any of the number of ways to do so, then, yeah, you're going to lose to him at the table.
When I played live "locally" one of the first things I did when sitting down was ask for a seat change button. (They allowed this)
Often enough, no one would have one, and I'd be first in the queue. Other times, there could be up to 3 ahead of me so getting where I want to go is unlikely.
Where did I want to go? The 5 seat. I could "deal" with the 1 or the 10 but didn't prefer it. Why you ask? Simple. So I could actually see the cards on the board. My eyesight is dogshit. Since I stopped playing there, I eventually went to the eye doctor again and have new glasses. I think I can see better, but it will be a while until I'm at a table to test it out again.
So for most players, this would put me at a serious disadvantage because even though they basically let you sit wherever you want if it is open, I'm always seeking the same spot. So I very easily could be CHOOSING to have a LAG to my immediate left. Oh well, I adapt.