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| David Moyes can restore Real Sociedad back to where they properly belong | David Moyes can restore Real Sociedad back to where they properly belong |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Real Sociedad needed a convincing performance and David Moyes needed convincing. There were about 10 minutes to go until kick-off against Atlético Madrid on Sunday when the club’s president, Jokin Aperribay, spoke to a reporter from Canal Plus, the channel broadcasting the game. He said that he hoped to announce the new manager the following day and that there were two candidates: David Moyes and Pepe Mel. Aperribay hit his target, but only just. | Real Sociedad needed a convincing performance and David Moyes needed convincing. There were about 10 minutes to go until kick-off against Atlético Madrid on Sunday when the club’s president, Jokin Aperribay, spoke to a reporter from Canal Plus, the channel broadcasting the game. He said that he hoped to announce the new manager the following day and that there were two candidates: David Moyes and Pepe Mel. Aperribay hit his target, but only just. |
| A few minutes before midnight on Monday, 24 hours after they had defeated the league champions, Real Sociedad made an official announcement. The presentation is expected to follow on Wednesday but Moyes has agreed to become the coach at the Estadio Anoeta for the rest of this season and the next one. His deal will run until 2016. “MoYES”, ran the front of the Basque edition of the sports daily El Mundo Deportivo, the final three letters highlighted in bright yellow. | A few minutes before midnight on Monday, 24 hours after they had defeated the league champions, Real Sociedad made an official announcement. The presentation is expected to follow on Wednesday but Moyes has agreed to become the coach at the Estadio Anoeta for the rest of this season and the next one. His deal will run until 2016. “MoYES”, ran the front of the Basque edition of the sports daily El Mundo Deportivo, the final three letters highlighted in bright yellow. |
| If the headline was inevitable, it was accurate too: they had been waiting for Moyes, like a footballing Man from Del Monte. In reality, there had been one outstanding candidate and it was the Scot. The problem was that Moyes had yet to be fully convinced, or at least to say so. Conversations went back well over a week but the former Everton and Manchester United manager had not yet said yes – he had actually said no at one point – and some at the club were growing pessimistic. | |
| Mel was the back-up option whose appointment became more likely. Then as time slipped away on another deadline and Sociedad began to lean Mel’s way, Moyes at last communicated the decision that they wanted to hear. | Mel was the back-up option whose appointment became more likely. Then as time slipped away on another deadline and Sociedad began to lean Mel’s way, Moyes at last communicated the decision that they wanted to hear. |
| The meticulousness with which he contemplated this move was typical. After the experience of United, Moyes needed to be sure that this was the right decision, based not just on this move but on the next move too. He had to emerge from this experience a better manager, both in his own eyes and in those of others. He wanted to minimise the risk and to ensure that he was aware of all of his options. Why open one door if it closes others? If that meant waiting, so be it. He carefully canvassed information and studied the squad, the club and the city, asking about expectations and his prospects of success. | The meticulousness with which he contemplated this move was typical. After the experience of United, Moyes needed to be sure that this was the right decision, based not just on this move but on the next move too. He had to emerge from this experience a better manager, both in his own eyes and in those of others. He wanted to minimise the risk and to ensure that he was aware of all of his options. Why open one door if it closes others? If that meant waiting, so be it. He carefully canvassed information and studied the squad, the club and the city, asking about expectations and his prospects of success. |
| In the meantime, Real Sociedad defeated Atlético Madrid 2-1, under the caretaker manager, Asier Santana. Moyes was not at Anoeta to see the game but he surely watched it. The performance would have helped to answer some of thequestions he had posed, an eloquent comment on what Sociedad were, are and may become. | |
| They began the weekend in the relegation zone, with a solitary win in 10 games. The victory, secured with superb goals from Carlos Vela and Imanol Agirretxe, saw them climb four places and demonstrated that they should never have been so far down the table in the first place. This was only their second win of the season, yet the other came against the European champions, Real Madrid. The gap between potential and position was laid bare once again. Imagine what they could do with a real manager. | They began the weekend in the relegation zone, with a solitary win in 10 games. The victory, secured with superb goals from Carlos Vela and Imanol Agirretxe, saw them climb four places and demonstrated that they should never have been so far down the table in the first place. This was only their second win of the season, yet the other came against the European champions, Real Madrid. The gap between potential and position was laid bare once again. Imagine what they could do with a real manager. |
| Real Sociedad have declined quickly and alarmingly but arresting the slide should not be impossible. Under the French coach, Philippe Montanier, they qualified for last season’s Champions League. He departed, leaving the team in the hands of Jagoba Arrasate, his assistant. Arrasate never convinced and his passivity alarmed. Fans did not believe in him and, more damagingly, nor did the players. The team lost identity and lost their way. Good footballers stagnated, bereft of leadership. | Real Sociedad have declined quickly and alarmingly but arresting the slide should not be impossible. Under the French coach, Philippe Montanier, they qualified for last season’s Champions League. He departed, leaving the team in the hands of Jagoba Arrasate, his assistant. Arrasate never convinced and his passivity alarmed. Fans did not believe in him and, more damagingly, nor did the players. The team lost identity and lost their way. Good footballers stagnated, bereft of leadership. |
| They finished seventh last season but they have already been knocked out of the Europa League and the slide continued. Little was done to prevent it. It is Moyes’s job to do so. His success at Everton, a club in which Sociedad’s president sees similarities to his own, is his great calling card. | They finished seventh last season but they have already been knocked out of the Europa League and the slide continued. Little was done to prevent it. It is Moyes’s job to do so. His success at Everton, a club in which Sociedad’s president sees similarities to his own, is his great calling card. |
| Moyes may look carefully at the goalkeeping position, vacated by Claudio Bravo, and it seems likely that he will want greater width and a more robust midfield, but there is talent in the team – Iñigo Martínez and Vela are just two examples – even if some of it needs teasing out once again. There is also the promise of more talent emerging for a manager who will take satisfaction in development. Fourteen members of the current first-team squad played for Real Sociedad B. Much is expected of the central midfielders Jon Gaztañaga and Rubén Pardo. | Moyes may look carefully at the goalkeeping position, vacated by Claudio Bravo, and it seems likely that he will want greater width and a more robust midfield, but there is talent in the team – Iñigo Martínez and Vela are just two examples – even if some of it needs teasing out once again. There is also the promise of more talent emerging for a manager who will take satisfaction in development. Fourteen members of the current first-team squad played for Real Sociedad B. Much is expected of the central midfielders Jon Gaztañaga and Rubén Pardo. |
| Over the last 18 months Sociedad have sold Asier Illarramendi and Antoine Griezmann, plus Bravo, to Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid and Barcelona respectively. It is true that when Esteban Granero claimed that Griezmann’s move was “not a step up” he was wrong but the comment was not completely absurd. Results have been poor but this is a big club. It is not a rich club but it is a stable one with good players and an important fan base. “If I spoke to David I would say: ‘Take the job,’” said the former coach and now Wales manager Chris Coleman. “It’s a great club and a great city, a football city, with great fans.” | Over the last 18 months Sociedad have sold Asier Illarramendi and Antoine Griezmann, plus Bravo, to Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid and Barcelona respectively. It is true that when Esteban Granero claimed that Griezmann’s move was “not a step up” he was wrong but the comment was not completely absurd. Results have been poor but this is a big club. It is not a rich club but it is a stable one with good players and an important fan base. “If I spoke to David I would say: ‘Take the job,’” said the former coach and now Wales manager Chris Coleman. “It’s a great club and a great city, a football city, with great fans.” |
| The margin for improvement is huge and while the 12-point gap makes reaching Europe again difficult, Moyes has the tools and the raw material to lead Sociedad back to where they properly belong. After the analysis and the careful consideration, few know that better than he does. Moyes took some convincing but in the end he declared himself convinced. Aperribay had been persistent, to the point of becoming a pain. He took his time but on Monday the man from Dunbartonshire said yes. | The margin for improvement is huge and while the 12-point gap makes reaching Europe again difficult, Moyes has the tools and the raw material to lead Sociedad back to where they properly belong. After the analysis and the careful consideration, few know that better than he does. Moyes took some convincing but in the end he declared himself convinced. Aperribay had been persistent, to the point of becoming a pain. He took his time but on Monday the man from Dunbartonshire said yes. |