It’s one year, almost to the day, since Gary Neville was handed the managerial reins at Valencia.
The former Manchester United and England defender had no managerial experience when he took over at the Spanish club, who had finished outside the top six just once in the previous seven seasons.
And Neville failed to see out the season, lasting just 28 games before being relieved of his duties with the club hovering not far above the relegation places.
At the time, the assumption was that Neville was just a rookie out of his depth, but based on the two managers to succeed him at the Mestalla it seems the problems might run deeper.
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Neville won 10 of his 28 games in charge of Los Che, drawing seven and losing 11. This doesn’t tell the full story, of course, with European and domestic cup victories masking a poor run of form in La Liga.
But at least Neville did provide some respite in those competitions, with a 6-0 Europa League victory over Rapid Wien a particular highlight.
Pako Ayesteran, who took over from the Englishman at the end of last season, provided enough of a new manager bounce to keep the former Champions League finalists afloat.
But he endured an awful start to the current campaign, losing his job after four defeats from Valencia’s opening four matches and ending up with a win percentage of 25% – well below Neville’s 34.6%.
Valencia have sacked manager Pako Ayestaran with the club languishing at the bottom of the #LaLiga after losing first 4 games of the season. pic.twitter.com/8px6FSb3xZ
— PakPassion Sport (@PakPassionSport) September 22, 2016
And, after caretaker Voro steadied the ship while waiting for the next permanent appointment, Cesare Prandelli came in as Ayesteran’s full-time replacement.
While the former Italy boss may end up doing a very good job at the helm, it hasn’t happened for him quite yet.
The 59-year-old, who had been out of work since leaving Galatasaray halfway through his first season in Turkey, has taken charge of nine games since arriving in late December.
Those games have brought two wins (one in the league and one in the Copa Del Rey, three draws and four defeats.
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Even if they had held on at home to Malaga last night, when Pablo Fornals fired home a last-minute equaliser, Prandelli’s win percentage would still be lower than that of Neville.
Time to reconsider how we judge the Englishman’s spell in Spain?
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