David Moyes goes into the final ten games of the Primera BBVA season looking forward at exciting possibilities rather than looking over his shoulder at the relegation zone, which in many people’s views was the destination for La Real when looking at Real Sociedad’s fortunes at the beginning of the season under former manager Jagoba Arrasate.
The first introduction that David Moyes has brought to San Sebastian, their home ground, is making it a fortress and he’s made a team who were relatively scratchy at the beginning of the season a very formidable team to play against, particularly at home. La Real under Moyes are actually one of the most in-form teams of La Liga alongside Copa Del Rey finalists Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao, with four wins in their last five domestic league performances. Twelve of their last thirteen home games have turned out to be either a hard fought win or a draw, which further explains the David Moyes effect since joining.
There are many reasons as to why David Moyes is the perfect manager for the job at Real Sociedad and that reasoning dates back to his Everton days. At Everton, he was used to selling his big time players for big money, including the likes of Mikel Arteta to Arsenal, and he was very much put in that same situation at Sociedad when they sold two of their shining stars in Claudio Bravo to Barcelona and Antoine Griezemann to Atletico Madrid. Also getting by on a smaller budget for now is what David Moyes has made a career out of, so naturally this season the expectations won’t necessarily be as high as they will next season, when the Scotsman starts with a blank canvas and, more significantly, the players he wants to bring in.
David Moyes nurtures a club with lowered expectations a lot better than he did for example at Manchester United. He’s a good fit for a club like Real Sociedad because Moyes can instill the ‘underdog effect’, which he couldn’t do while he was at the Red Devils. He essentially changed the make up of what the Red Devils were all about and that wasn’t the right strategy to bring to a club which didn’t necessarily need a strategy change; it just required the guidance while keeping the winning formula. That’s the Manchester United way, which Moyes didn’t quite grasp at the time. His often remarked ‘negative’ style of football fits suit with a struggling side or an overachieving team like Everton were at the time but not so much in one of the greatest clubs in world football.
Is this the right move for both parties, firstly the club and secondly David Moyes? Firstly, let’s not forget that Real Sociedad are used to forming a British Heritage at the helm of this club, as they’ve previously had the likes of John Toshack and Chris Coleman as their managers, which to a degree makes the Moyes appointment a lot less riskier than it would first seem. The British flavour of the Spanish club would almost aid Moyes with the language barrier, which we’ve seen in interviews at press conferences already, but on a more important note the players he has at his disposal will really break the ice for the first few months of coming to terms with the big job at hand at Sociedad.
What does David Moyes have at his disposal and what can his expectations be for the first year in charge? Despite the losses of Claudio Bravo to Barcelona and Antoine Griezemann he still has a lot of star quality that should prove enough (for now) to challenge for European places. They underachieved this season under Jagoba Arrasate, which is worrying but not terminal. Moyes has some great players that know the club inside out: Xabi Prieto, as the captain who’s been there for over a decade and is a real figure head that could aid in Moyes getting to know the players he’s working with.
Further personnel include Agirretxe, the lone striker who leads by example, Esteban Granero and Sergio Canales. Sergio Canales could prove to be the solution to all of Sociedad’s troubles but it all depends on whether he hits a hot streak. I remember watching him at Real Madrid before securing a loan at Valencia before it became permanent and it seems he’s finally found that club that wants him and in turn they can get the best out of him but it needs to happen sooner rather than later. Great star quality in a midfielder but consistently producing the goods is the next step in the right direction for a young player like Canales.
The last player who has now turned into one of the stars of La Liga as well as Real Sociedad is Carlos Vela. He’s talented, which we didn’t get to see that much of at Arsenal. I briefly remember him in his loan spell at West Brom but have mainly seen how good a player he can be at his national side Mexico. He’s the player that counts for Moyes and given his time in England the language barrier shouldn’t be a problem.
Moyes will be a success at Real Sociedad, but it all depends on what you feel is a success after a first season of management in La Liga. He’s moved La Real to ninth in the table, after picking up the team when they were close to the relegation zone, but the board of directors have made public that the objective for this season is basically just to survive in the top flight of Spanish Football. That’s perfect for Moyes, considering he had Carlos Vela out of action for a few months and none of his own players to blend into the team, so in retrospect he is getting given the time required to build this team back up to the Champions League stages, where they were in the 2013/14 season.
The Scot this season has a team that are capable of beating Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico, although two of them were in his reign, but more vitally have started winning the games that matter against the teams who are in and around them in the table and that just might be the key to this season and more importantly for David Moyes, the start of something special at Real Sociedad.
