Real Sociedad offers David Moyes the perfect opportunity to get back into the managerial saddle, because the Basque club is set up for him to succeed or fail on his own merits.
Whereas his previous job at Manchester United was a poisoned chalice, with ‘down’ being the only direction he could realistically travel, Moyes is now walking into a far more open situation.
La Real have the basis of a very good team – after all, the majority of players who qualified for the Champions League with a fourth placed finish less than 18 months ago are still at the club.
Although a trio of star players from that team have been lost to Spain’s ‘big three’ – Claudio Bravo, Antoine Griezmann and Asier
Illarramendi – there is still plenty of talent in place at the Anoeta.
In attack, for example, Carlos Vela has enjoyed three consecutive double-digit scoring campaigns, Imanol Agirretxe is a mercurial if inconsistent performer, and Icelandic international Alfred Finnbogason is a far better player than he has so far shown since his summer move from Heerenveen.
There is a similarly generous smattering of genuine quality throughout the squad, from captain and creative playmaker Xabi Prieto and once much-hyped midfielder Ruben Pardo in midfield to skilful technicians Ivan De La Bella and Inigo Martinez in defence.
This is certainly not the kind of squad which should allow itself to get mired in a relegation battle, but over the last season or so they have been bedevilled by frustrating inconsistency.
To illustrate that point, just consider the frankly bizarre fact that La Real have only managed to win two league games so far this season: against reigning La Liga champions Atletico Madrid and reigning Champions League holders Real Madrid.
They can beat the best, but they can also lose to the worst, and there have been poor home defeats to Getafe and Almeria this term. But if Moyes can instil discipline and a confident structure of play into his newly-inherited team, they have every chance of finishing the current campaign in the top half and then mounting another serious top-four challenge next year.
Whether Moyes can do that, however, is the million dollar question, and it will be interesting to see whether the Scotsman includes a fluent Spanish speaker within his backroom staff when he is officially presented at the Anoeta tomorrow.
For all the potential within the team, it cannot be denied they have been playing badly for much of the last 18 months due to Arrasate’s inability to develop a coherent style of play since the departure of Philippe Montanier last summer.
Moyes needs to find the right formula and he will struggle to do so if he can’t express his ideas clearly to the players.
Another fascinating aspect of Moyes’ task in Spain is to what extent he will be able to adapt to the tactical demands of La Liga.
Although it’s something of an oversimplification, the fact is that Spanish teams do not play the same kind of football as English teams, preferring a more patient and considered approach rather than the English preference for getting the ball forward as quickly as possible.
Moyes will have to adopt those methods with his new team, as well as preparing to face opposition who play in a style unlike anything he ever encountered in England.
The job is a challenge, but with considerable potential rewards.
