The next couple of dayswent by in a blur. saturday was spent trying to convince my wife that a move to Spain might be just what we need at this point in our lives. She spent much of it telling me how naive I was and shouting at her brother down the phone for getting me caught up in the whole thing.
Some journalists had moved on, content with thier photo of me getting out the car, they simply made up the story. By now the club's website had confirmed it all anyway and so there wasn't much I could really say to them....apart from the actual reason that is.
The photographers had been replaced by a small gathering of Villareal fans who seemed anything but pleased to have an unknown Englishman in charge of thier beloved club.
My wife, a teacher, was to see out the last week of the summer term before flying out to join me for a short time but making it more than clear that this was only a temporary thing and she was not about to give up on her life in England. As it happened I managed to stall the whole thing a week anyway, allowing us to go over together.
I'd like to say the press reaction was understated, after all Villareal were still a small town club that had got a little bigger recently. But they went for it...they knew something was up but couldn't work out what. No La Liga club takes on the ex-boss of AFC Bournemouth, especially after taking them down a division. It seems the club had become a laughing stock with plenty of skeletons in its cupboard.
One by one the media had thier say...
"obscure choice baffles world football"
"Los Submarinos Amarillos se hunden bajo"
(yellow submarines sink low)
"Shock move for Mills raises eyebrows but not hopes in Spain"
"Ha ido el mundo loco?"
(has the world gone crazy?)
"murky water surrounds Yellow Submarines new manager choice"
"LOCURA!"
(Madness!)
"who are you?"
"Quien es el?"
(who is he?)
"Local failure becomes Villareal's problem"
"Casa de Mentiras"
(house of lies)
"Mills in donkey lap-dance shame"
