Now firmly dug into his post at Real Sociedad in Spain’s La Liga, David Moyes has struck out at the league he built his managerial success on.
Moyes left England to ply his trade elsewhere after a failed spell at Manchester United left his domestic resume in shambles, and joined Sociedad in mid-November. He’s since taken the club from a dangerous 16th position to firmly in the middle of the table, eight points above the drop.
With the Premier League owning no remaining teams in European competitions, Moyes told BBC Radio 5 Live that despite the new influx of record amounts of money into the league, he doesn’t see it as bursting with wealth.
“Maybe we have talked up the Premier League more than we should. Of course, the top clubs in Spain spend a lot, but the other teams can’t,” the former Everton manager said. “Atletico (Madrid) have had financial difficulties over the years but they have still reached finals. Valencia, Villarreal, they have have got quite far in the Europa League. So maybe we do go over the top about our league. This year it is probably the poorest Premier League I’ve seen in a long time.”
Those are harsh words for his former league, not leaving any room for interpretation. But while Moyes hasn’t minced words about players in his former league, he still believes the managerial talent back home is top notch. Obviously.
“We import an awful lot of foreign managers but we don’t export enough, yet I think British managers are as good as those in any country,” Moyes said.
To be fair, Moyes has been a success in Spain. Coming into a very difficult position where he spoke little Spanish and inherited a depleted and worryingly floundering squad, Moyes has steadied the ship. La Real has truly hit its stride recently, winning three of its last four ahead of a match today with cellar-dwellers Cordoba. However, it’s harsh for Moyes to strike back at the hand that fed him so recently after leaving.
