catanzaro

2 minutes ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said:

As another poster mentioned.

The main issue with Gallagher types I'd they are probably on massive salaries based on their sugar daddy contracts 

Agreed.. this is where Monchi has to earn his wedge

I’m afraid I don’t really have a suggestion of a player as I don’t follow all the European leagues.. but I’d love us to unearth a Gattuso type player..

In other words…. an ‘orrible …… of a player..

2 minutes ago, Jas10 said:

@Brumstopdogs did the work for me

was preoccupied earlier.

 

What a performance, what a win… feel so much love and pride in this club… super players, elite manager… face all challenges, disruptions, adversity head on and overcome them with no excuses.

 

Let’s go for the title next season

 

UTV

I’m with you.. UTV

5 hours ago, sharkyvilla said:

True.  I often wonder what our ceiling is under Unai.  Do we think we could win the Premier League within 5 years?  

Yes  

The great thing about yesterday is I think that this result will help re-set Dougie.. May be its just me, but I think you are bound to lose a few percent of intensity in training etc if you feel that you are the first name on the team sheet.. I'm not saying for one minute that I think Luiz is over confident, but i think it helps your day to day motivation if you feel that others could take your spot.

1 minute ago, VillaBrum said:

I think that I am behind the times, or am missing something obvious, but I thought Newcastle beat us Home and Away?

last season's home win

1 minute ago, Callum said:

Pep really is the most unlikable bloke in football. 

Are you forgetting Arteta?

My only access to this match is through this thread.. and you lot are making me feel confident 

Emery just doesn’t want Arsenal to win anything..

6 hours ago, PieFacE said:

First time going to Villa Park for me in a few years. Full disclosure, I was a season ticket holder between MON to Bruce and stopped my ST the season Smith got appointed. 

Most of the football I've seen at VP has been utter dross so if today goes badly, sorry! 

This is one of the saddest posts I’ve ever read ... you deserve a good day 

20 minutes ago, Jas10 said:

Unai: “Now he is injured, I am happy with him”.

sounds like it's very likely to happen with that type of comment..

I actually hope there is something in this.. He is the only player that I can't see has improved over his time with us, which might be due to his age, but it could also be down to a number of other factors.. and I suspect Emery has a good idea of whether he will eventually come good for us.

So far the fact is, we haven't suffered by selling or loaning players out. So I guess Emery knows what he is doing, and if he leaves, it means Emery/Monchi have spotted someone else that they feel they can get in, which can only be good news as far as I can see.

1 minute ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said:

Random thought.

After the Man U capitulation, the first thing Unai said in his interview was " 39 points..  ".

I know I'm slow at times, but to me it's just clicked that, him being the cunning fox he is, and expecting impending ( temporary ) meltdown from some fans, was giving everyone a reality check of just how well we are doing overall. ( Planted the subliminal take a breath and step back seed )

Especially given where we are coming from.

I'm sure he was fuming himself behind closed doors, but he's a calculated Mofo ain't he?

Oh, and Happy New Year Villans!

Also.. I said this in another thread.. the ManUre players all up their game desperately showing their skills in the vain hope Unai will look to sign them in January 

I reckon all the ManUre players upped their game the other day, just to impress Unai in the vain hope we’d come in for one of them in January  

10 minutes ago, Indigo said:

One of the funniest halves of football I've seen in a while, descended into utter lunacy but as much as that is the antithesis of what Emery probably wants we do have a few players that seem to revel in that environment like Martinez, Zaniolo, Duran and in a low-key way Konsa. 

That's the kind of game we've been losing this season so just delighted to get the win, they're struggling bad in terms of the availability of key players but they'll always be so difficult to get a result against at home.

Kamara being out now is a killer though as soft as it was. The team doesn't function nearly as well without him.

I thought the same last year when he went out injured but it didn’t seem to affect us..

Also I agree with everything else you’ve said here.. I think it’s good we’ve got some players that don’t going dark to get a win.

Before I start I have a caveat.. I’ve been drinking since 4pm.. so here’s my theory.. every team we’ve schooled at home this season will be psychologically scarred so we will take advantage of that in the second half of the season and win more away games.. every team we’ve struggled against away from home will come to Villa Park thinking they’ve got the measure of us so underestimating how good we are at home, and lose.. upshot of all this is… we win the League!! Thank you and good night..

This may have been mentioned before.. but one thing I’ve noticed that really works for Unai in terms of coaching players is that he gives them a run in the team even if they are struggling a bit.. then pulls them out for four or five weeks and then when they come back to the team again they have really improved.. He allows the players to reflect on their game and how they fit in to our system and then builds them up again in training sessions..

I think he did it with Cash early on and Bailey this season.. I’m expecting Zaniolo to have a great come back probably in January 

He has been brilliant..

..also when he does his desperate running back, his running style makes me think of the beastie boys.. in their video for sabotage.. and I love that too 

On 02/12/2023 at 19:52, TRO said:

I read somewhere, where they said he is not an " arm around the Shoulder " type manager....and he hasn't spoken to Hause in 12 months....I don't know the full story there, so can't comment, suffice to say I believe, UE will handle it well.

I don't know whether he is or he isn't, and arm around the shoulder manager, but if he isn't, it doesn't bother me.

Some of the most successful managers wasn't.....Ron Saunders wasn't....He was hard nosed and hard to please.

Unai is not there to win a popularity parade amongst the players, he is there to drive them to success...Running with the pack, is not a good thing, it can harbour familiarity, and that can breed contempt....I think Unai is well aware of that.

I have full confidence, that Unai knows when to praise and when to give rollockings.....He doesn't suffer fools gladly, and it shows.

I presume the comments towards him, was complimentary, because thats how I took it.

I like a manager to be a tad aloof, and protective/ defensive of his designation.

 

It usually means that the assistants do the arm around the shoulder stuff.. It seems to me that Emery has got the coaching staff spot on.. allowing Emery to be himself.

On 12/11/2023 at 21:40, abdulaziz1 said:

Dinge is good but he lacks something attacking wise. His shots are ok but most of his crosses aren’t good. Moreno adds a different dimension to our game. But at certain games Dinge would still be very important. Good to have both.

Hi Abdulaziz1 I think the bit about his crosses is wrong.. but Moreno is great especially combined with JJ

2 minutes ago, Deano & Dalian's Umbrella said:

Unfortunately, I'll never forget the loud bang of Father Christmas hitting the roof directly above me in the Upper Trinity and then the sickening smacking sound and sight of seeing him hit the floor directly below me.

I know it sounds funny but it wasn't.

I’m with you.. epic was the wrong word.. but it is emblazoned on my mind.. as an adult.. the whole day… can you imagine being 12 years old and witnessing this.. 

11 hours ago, Captain_Townsend said:

The 3-2 with Arsenal is a special memory from my youth. I was 12 and it was a day I spent with my dad. Remember hearing we were 2-0 down at halftime and the sheer jubilation when we realised we turned it around 2nd half. Genuinely thought we could win the title.

Worth linking: 

 

I was 27.. and i still look back at this as an epic day… at 12 years old your mind must have melted 

On 07/11/2023 at 15:00, DJBOB said:

I think he was genuinely okay with our play against Forest. Didn't take our chances and he wasn't as stroppy because everything more or less went to plan except for not stopping two outside the box shot.

I think, away, we definitely don't play with the same enthusiasm as we do at home. It's far more 'careful' which I think is a combination of some of our earlier poor openings (Newcastle, Liverpool, Legia). Still have some things to do to get the balance of our away approach. Conceding the early goal will keep us out of most of those matches if we keep doing so.

I'm sure Unai will figure it out but the instructions can seem contradictory when we go away - 'stay calm but also be energetic'

You know what.. I agree.. but I think we add Moreno and JJ and we suddenly have that extra swagger to deal with the away games..