The 8th manager: Can Marcelino lead Valencia back to Europe?

Following a season in which Valencia CF manufactured its worst-ever start, in which supporters protested against the owner, and in which relegation was at one point a realistic possibility, the 2017-18 La Liga journey represents a clean slate for the Spanish club.

In a league where there's a correlation between a club's budget and its place in the table, Valencia, which boasts Spanish football's fourth-biggest budget, shouldn't have been anywhere near the relegation zone. Salvador Gonzalez - better known as Voro, and something of an eternal caretaker at Mestalla - was called upon for the fifth time and rescued the club, winning more games in six matches than Cesare Prandelli, Pako Ayestaran, and Gary Neville were able to produce between all three of them.

But Voro's role at Valencia will always be to simply clean up the mess. A clean slate means he had to make way for Marcelino Garcia Toral, who is the eighth manager at Mestalla since Peter Lim took over as owner in June 2014.

Marcelino is the latest to board Valencia's managerial carousel, and, while it can be hard to understand why Voro was overlooked given his success in the previous season, it should be noted that the club reportedly wanted to appoint Marcelino last year, but was denied of doing so because the Real Federacion Espanola de Futbol's rules stipulate that a manager can't take charge of two clubs in the same campaign. Marcelino had been sacked by Villarreal CF, so, after Voro naturally filled the void left by Ayestaran, Prandelli was hired.

There was nothing to stop Valencia's appointment of Marcelino this year, and, at a club where qualifying for the Champions League is the standard, the most optimistic of supporters will be eyeing a return to European football under the manager who led Villarreal to three top-six finishes in three seasons.

Among those supporters are Armando Espinal and his son, Armando Espinal. The two fans, who live in Chicago and Los Angeles, respectively, met up and travelled together to Regina, Canada, where Valencia played a friendly against the North American Soccer League's New York Cosmos. Their club suffered a 2-0 defeat at the Mosaic Stadium, but they're confident that Marcelino is the right manager for the job.

"I really like his style," said the elder Armando, who took three flights totalling more than 16 hours to get from Chicago to Regina. "He's very intelligent and I think he's the one who's going to take us to the top again." Asked if he thinks Valencia can qualify for the Champions League, he laughed and gave a one-word answer: "Easy."

It's not just Valencia's supporters who are hopeful when it comes to the club improving on last season. Jaume Domenech, a product of the youth team who went from third-choice 'keeper to outstanding performer during the 2015-16 campaign, wants to learn from the mistakes that were made.

"This year, we hope that it will be a good season, that we learn from last year's errors," Jaume told theScore. "We can have a beautiful year, achieve goals so that the people of our city and all the Valencianistas can be proud of their team."

At Villarreal, Marcelino arrived at a club that was in the Segunda Division, the second division of Spanish football. As Sid Lowe wrote, habits were changed, as well as the playing style. Aggression, speed, and clarity became part of the Yellow Submarine's game, and promotion to La Liga was the result.

The situation at Valencia is obviously different, but, just like Villarreal in 2013, the club is far away from its right place in Spain. Coincidentally, aggression, speed, and clarity are all things that were lacking at Mestalla last season. The appointment of Marcelino therefore seems to be logical. But whether a return to the Champions League is in the cards remains to be seen.