Joseph Sexton
WHEN struggling teams change managers, the clear hope is for the fabled ‘bounce’. They even have a nice rhyming phrase for this upturn in form in Spain. The sad thing is that so far this season, it simply hasn't been true. We've had short-lived bounces followed by a nosedive. We've had those that skipped initial improvement and headed straight for tailspin. Only two cases fit the supposed narrative this season, and that which we've seen so far from Miguel Ángel Lotina (pictured, right) at Villarreal so far has taken many by surprise.

It's not just Lotina's presided over the relegation of Galicia's big two - Celta Vigo, and a year ago Deportivo La Coruña - in recent times. It's the curious case of this club, and how they've gone from being perennial top four contenders to knocking around the lower reaches of the table in the last 12 months...................


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