David Moyes struggling at Real Sociedad

David Moyes has not had much to smile about this season at Real Sociedad

Former-Manchester United boss David Moyes may be getting linked with a return to the Premier League with Aston Villa, but his time at current club La Liga side Real Sociedad is definitely not going to plan for the Scot.

Sunday’s 2-0 defeat at the Anoeta Stadium by Atletico Madrid saw La Real slip towards the relegation zone.

The San Sebastian outfit are now only above the relegation zone on goal difference.

Real Sociedad fans made their feelings known to their boss by chanting ‘Moyes go home, Moyes go home’. It seems like the Scot is not the popular figure he was when he first arrived at the club last year.

Last season

Moyes moved to Real Sociedad last November and it seemed like a coup for the Basque outfit to hire such a highly-rated boss, even if he had been judged a failure in his previous job as Manchester United boss.

His decades work at Everton had earned him high praise and the chance at Manchester United. His appointment as Real Sociedad gave the Scot the chance to rebuild his career out of the spotlight of the British media.

He guided La Real away from the relegation zone last season to the safety of midtable. The squad that he took charge of looked very unbalanced and had suffered a few key losses in the previous transfer windows with the likes of Antoine Griezmann and Asier Illaramendi leaving.

Changes

Sociedad were expected to push on this season after Moyes brought in nine summer signings, including re-signing former-star Illaramendi for £12.5million from Real Madrid. The re-signing of the highly-rated Illaramendi was regarded as a signal of intent from the club to progress this season.

It was seen as the club backing the clubs boss and giving the fans something to cheer about after a difficult campaign the previous season.

Poor

La Real have been poor under Moyes this season, having claimed just one win in their first eight leagues this season. They have have also suffered four defeats in their last six league games.

The team’s performance has led to question marks over whether Moyes can be a success in San Sebastian. The Scot’s contract expires next summer and he has stated he wants to fulfil that contract, after revealing he had contact with other clubs in the summer.

Moyes said in post-match press-conference: “During pre-season I had contact with clubs, which is normal, because they know my statistics, but my intention is to stay here at La Real, I’m not thinking about anything else,”

“I am the best man for the job,” he added. “You can’t keep changing your manager and think that’s the answer to your problems.”

Chance

La Real have a chance of improving their results and position in La Liga with games against fellow strugglers Levante and Las Palmas in the next three games. However they also face a clash with in-form Celta Vigo as well in-between the meetings with the relegation-threatened pair.

The pressure will mount on Moyes if the results do not improve against the other struggling teams in the Spanish top-flight. The clubs hierarchy have backed the clubs boss and stated that it is too early for fans to be asking for head, but poor results against Levante and Las Palmas could change that.

Gamble

Moyes arrival in San Sebastian was always a gamble for both La Real and Moyes himself. Despite the credit he earned from his years at Everton, Moyes arrived as a boss whose methods and record was questioned at United.

For Moyes he took a gamble by moving to a foreign league in an attempt to revive his managerial fortunes. The Scot had wanted to manage in a foreign league at some point in his career to broaden his managerial horizons.

However, he always seemed like the quintessential English boss. Maybe he believed a spell in a foreign league would help him develop his managerial ability.  The Scot seemed to enjoy his early days in San Sebastian, but that was when managing in Spain was fresh and his team were doing relatively well.

Short-term

In truth Moyes’ job at Real Sociedad was never going to be a long-term one, unless he was wildly successful. The former United boss signed a short-term deal with the Basque club and maybe a spell away from the English game was what he needed.

However, despite his claims that he is just thinking about his current club, it would not be a major surprise to see Moyes back in the English top-flight in the near future.

Will David Moyes return to the Premier League in the near future?