Wednesday 27 May 2015 22:46, UK
From cheers to jeers, a Spanish renaissance and a top-scorer gong, it has been a mixed season for British players and managers abroad.
Here, we chart their fortunes in 2014/15, and why it was not doom and gloom for all those away from home.
Gareth Bale - Real Madrid
Talk of a nightmare second season is exaggerated, but the world’s most expensive player has struggled to build upon his debut season haul of 22 goals and 19 assists for Real.
In 21 months, the Welshman has quickly experienced how being a Galactico brings glory and an intense burden in equal measure, but some blame his vacant performances in big games on now-axed manager Carlo Ancelotti.
“I think it's unfair and the more criticism he gets the more likely he is to stay,” Revista de La Liga panellist Terry Gibson recently told the La Liga Weekly podcast in early May. “I just don't think Ancelotti has got the best out of [Bale]. I don't think Ancelotti is creative enough to be coach of Real Madrid.”
With Isco, James Rodriguez and Karim Benzema to shoe-horn in around Cristiano Ronaldo, it was always going to be a genuine headache dressed up as a welcome one for Ancelotti. Bale's third season represents a fresh start with a new manager.
Ashley Cole - Roma
Earning just 16 appearances from a high-profile move, the 34-year-old has hardly set Serie A alight, despite remaining injury-free. As Roma’s form took a dip early in 2015, Cole was benched and has appeared just three times in their last 23 league games.
The lowlight was seeing England’s best full-back of this century torn apart by Arjen Robben in the 7-1 home defeat by Bayern Munich in the Champions League group stage, but Roma are still yet to lose a league game Cole has appeared in. Another adventure, perhaps to MLS, beckons this summer.
David Moyes - Real Sociedad
Struggling before the Scot arrived for what he hoped would be a Spanish renaissance following a torrid time at Manchester United, Sociedad sat 16th in La Liga with just two wins after 11 games. Nine wins, 10 draws and eight defeats later, there is little doubt Moyes has improved the side with a 12th-place finish.
"Our immediate aim has been achieved," the club's sporting director Loren recently said. "I think the first thing that David did when he arrived was to try to give the team more solidness and consistency, and you can see that he has achieved that. The team is improving."
A good report, but the pressure will begin in earnest next season when he starts to shape a squad of his own.
Micah Richards - Fiorentina
Another full-back of Premier League fame who has struggled to make waves in Serie A, Richards has been part of an improving Fiorentina side, reaching the Europa League semi-finals and sitting fifth in the league. He has started just 14 times despite staying relatively injury-free, and has been kept out of the side by Nenad Tomovic and an insistence for boss Vincenzo Montella to play 3-5-2.
We are likely to see the on-loan Manchester City man on these shores again soon; he told Soccer AM’s Tubes in February: "[Serie A] is a lot more defensive, teams just come and try and get a point. The Premier League is more fast and furious, a bit more entertaining. I know the Premier League really suits my game.”
Bradley Wright-Phillips - New York Red Bulls
The Brit abroad success story of the season, Wright-Phillips ran away with the 2014 MLS top-scorer crown with 27 goals, and has started this term with five goals in 11 games.
The New York Red Bulls striker turned 30 in March, and has noticeably worked on his all-round game, already improving on his assist tally from last term. Unlike Richards, he may not be back in England anytime soon. He told the FA in December: "I came out here to stay fit until I found something in England, but once I came here I didn't want to leave."
And the rest...
Nigel Reo-Coker's highlight across the Atlantic was captaining Montreal Impact in the CONCACAF Champions League final defeat by Club America, and the former Villa and West Ham man has been a mainstay in the MLS side's midfield.
Sporting Lisbon's 19-year-old Scottish midfielder Ryan Gauld has made two league appearances since his move from Dundee United in July, and is a regular in the Portuguese side's B team, while Chicago Fire midfielder Shaun Maloney told Sky Sports this month that the standard in MLS is similar to the Championship.
