Unai Emery

[Vive_La_Villa]

The night it was announced I was in Gran Canaria and I asked a waiter who he was. The waiter said he is manager of Villareal. I said no  he isn’t, he is manager of Aston Villa! The waiter didn’t believe me at first but then when I said I was serious he was surprised and told me Villa have got a top manager!  We then shook hands and he got me another whisky. 

The following days he would say to me would you like a Unai Emery to which I would reply yes please to get my whisky. Nice bloke.

Just thought I’d share that pointless story with you.

 

[Jas10]

 

[sidcow]

3 hours ago, sheepyvillian said:

Or he plays him and he has a blinder. McGinn hasn't become a terrible player, although this loss of form has been there for a while.

Who wouldn't want to see the John McGinn we have all come to love?

As far as I'm concerned all players have a fresh start now. 

All of them have had 12 months of non coaching playing mainly out of position in a shit / non-existent system.  I'm not sure how any of them can be judged objectively currently. 

[sidcow]

1 hour ago, stewiek2 said:

One word sums him up on how he comes across...

Presence

[M_Afro]

33 minutes ago, Vancvillan said:

Mate, I've got to ask - what are you basing this lack of patience on?  People keep bringing it up.  SG? Deano? Tony Xia?

And the bit in bold - do you actually believe that or are you using hyperbole for effect? I'm fine with the latter, otherwise that's going to need a bit more detail.

I genuinely think that the only manager afforded any patience in probably the last 20 years was Dean. Gerrard had his dissenters from the very first day as did Bruce, Di Matteo, McLeish, Houllier to name just a few.

I know that this is partly due to really poor appointments and also a depressed period of pretty awful form but we, I include myself in that, can be very impatient. We all think we know better than the bloke qualified to do the job and whom spends every day with the players. We are all guilty of thinking that the bloke who’s not getting picked is much better than the incumbent.

We have had a rough trot over the past 15 years or so. I understand why people are impatient but it really is totally counter productive. We are basically self harming! 

[sidcow]

1 hour ago, blandy said:

Two fairly common themes are on VT. The first is that almost without exception the appointment of Emeri has been praised and welcomed, so if that’s any guide a degree of patience is more likely than not. The second one is not as widespread, but it’s posters saying that we, the supporters are a hindrance. I don’t agree. I don’t think Villa fans are any different to, say, Liverpool fans. When Hodgson was there, they were grumbling and jeering and quiet. Klopp went there, with his passion and reputation and remarked that he needed the crowd to be better and louder, he turned them round, because he knows what he’s doing and the fans responded. Recently, say Leeds game, Anfield was again very quiet, with groans and so on. A run of bad results and the fans are subdued. Unai Emeri will get supported, and if he’s as good as people say he is, results and performances will improve and the fans will be like we were under Deano. The fans are not a problem, but an asset to be used to help the team. And that’s the same anywhere.

Totally agree. As. I posted a few days ago, Gerrard didn't get any real heat till the very end.  Most didn't want him but it was only the last 2 away games people really laid in to him. He got no real heat whatsoever at Villa Park due to the Man City performance. 

It had been dog awful for 9 months and people were generally supportive. 

Same with Bruce. He really split the fans on appointment but people gave him lots of support and it's only at the very end it was clear the fans had turned. 

People mix up a few keyboard warriors with real fans in the stadium. We're generally a supportive bunch and just crave even a half decent team at this stage. 

Edited November 4, 2022 by sidcow

[sidcow]

8 minutes ago, M_Afro said:

I genuinely think that the only manager afforded any patience in probably the last 20 years was Dean. Gerrard had his dissenters from the very first day as did Bruce, Di Matteo, McLeish, Houllier to name just a few.

I know that this is partly due to really poor appointments and also a depressed period of pretty awful form but we, I include myself in that, can be very impatient. We all think we know better than the bloke qualified to do the job and whom spends every day with the players. We are all guilty of thinking that the bloke who’s not getting picked is much better than the incumbent.

We have had a rough trot over the past 15 years or so. I understand why people are impatient but it really is totally counter productive. We are basically self harming! 

Disagree, see my post above.  I sit lower Holte. When the fans are getting at the manager it's going to come from there first.  I think we're very supportive in the ground. 

Edited November 4, 2022 by sidcow

[Johnnyp]

Ok i know we are probably starved of content and waiting for Sunday eagerly. This video is very interesting. Watched from about 20 minutes on. This was Villarreal in training for Chelsea in Belfast for the 2021 super cup. Seems to be 11 v11. Emery in the middle of the pitch, routinely stops and instructs patterns and scenarios etc. Almost like a conductor in an orchestra. Think we’ve landed a top one here. Again though, this will take time. 

[romavillan]

25 minutes ago, M_Afro said:

I genuinely think that the only manager afforded any patience in probably the last 20 years was Dean. Gerrard had his dissenters from the very first day as did Bruce, Di Matteo, McLeish, Houllier to name just a few.

I know that this is partly due to really poor appointments and also a depressed period of pretty awful form but we, I include myself in that, can be very impatient. We all think we know better than the bloke qualified to do the job and whom spends every day with the players. We are all guilty of thinking that the bloke who’s not getting picked is much better than the incumbent.

We have had a rough trot over the past 15 years or so. I understand why people are impatient but it really is totally counter productive. We are basically self harming! 

Smith had people on his back from day one too, mostly the ones who were pro Bruce. Lots of people suggesting Walsall was his ceiling and other such bullshit.

Emery is the first manager I can remember where no-one is complaining. 

[Steero113]

8 minutes ago, romavillan said:

Smith had people on his back from day one too, mostly the ones who were pro Bruce

[Vive_La_Villa]

9 minutes ago, romavillan said:

Smith had people on his back from day one too, mostly the ones who were pro Bruce. Lots of people suggesting Walsall was his ceiling and other such bullshit.

Emery is the first manager I can remember where no-one is complaining. 

It’s nice isn’t it? Long may it last. 

[StewieGriffin]

1 hour ago, blandy said:

Two fairly common themes are on VT. The first is that almost without exception the appointment of Emeri has been praised and welcomed, so if that’s any guide a degree of patience is more likely than not. The second one is not as widespread, but it’s posters saying that we, the supporters are a hindrance. I don’t agree. I don’t think Villa fans are any different to, say, Liverpool fans. When Hodgson was there, they were grumbling and jeering and quiet. Klopp went there, with his passion and reputation and remarked that he needed the crowd to be better and louder, he turned them round, because he knows what he’s doing and the fans responded. Recently, say Leeds game, Anfield was again very quiet, with groans and so on. A run of bad results and the fans are subdued. Unai Emeri will get supported, and if he’s as good as people say he is, results and performances will improve and the fans will be like we were under Deano. The fans are not a problem, but an asset to be used to help the team. And that’s the same anywhere.

Completely agree. In recent years Id say;

The fans were onto RDM very quickly when we realised a couple of games in that he was utterly inept. Even Xia was onto him

Patient with Bruce despite initial misgivings. It went very sour towards the end, but given the players he'd brought in after the takeover he shouldn't have been serving up that shite, even after the chaotic summer.

Backed Smith all the way, even when we looked hopeless in those first couple of months (Wigan away...) and even after promotion when we looked awful until covid shutdown helped us fix it. Even when it eventually went beyond his repair, there were still a good section of fans (using VT as a cross section of the wider fanbase) who wanted him to stay.

Gerrard got a lot of patience too I felt. There were mumblings and mild irritation towards the end of last season but even after the shitshow of the 11 games of this season the fans only really turned on him at Fulham. There were a few boos against Chelsea, and the fans knew he was a dead man walking but Fulham aside I think the in-game fans were between indifferent and supportive. Social media is a different question, but thats counter balanced by a good section of morons. The only manager I really cant remember the fans taking to immediately (in my lifetime at least) was McLeish. 

In summary, Id say we're an expectant fanbase but we expect commitment, and something to pin down as "us" rather than one that puts intolerable pressure on a manager by expecting us to finish in the top 4/6. You'll always get that element at any club that's got some sort of history. If we see a style of play, progression, something resembing a plan and "continuous improvement" then most fans are patient to allow a manager to work. We had those things with Deano, didn't with Bruce or Gerrard and they were all treated accordingly.

[Vancvillan]

1 hour ago, M_Afro said:

I genuinely think that the only manager afforded any patience in probably the last 20 years was Dean. Gerrard had his dissenters from the very first day as did Bruce, Di Matteo, McLeish, Houllier to name just a few.

I know that this is partly due to really poor appointments and also a depressed period of pretty awful form but we, I include myself in that, can be very impatient. We all think we know better than the bloke qualified to do the job and whom spends every day with the players. We are all guilty of thinking that the bloke who’s not getting picked is much better than the incumbent.

We have had a rough trot over the past 15 years or so. I understand why people are impatient but it really is totally counter productive. We are basically self harming! 

I'd reply but @sidcowalready said everything more eloquently than I could!

[Jas10]

 

[TheStagMan]

7 hours ago, srsmithusa said:

Caption this entry:

 

Ollie:  "What?  This guy will instruct and move at the same time?  This does not compute."

Yellow boots? I know this guy said there would be changes, but this.........

[CosmicVillan]

2 hours ago, M_Afro said:

I genuinely think that the only manager afforded any patience in probably the last 20 years was Dean.

Maybe that's because he was the only one that actually got us playing decent football and improved players with proper coaching.

I think we will go on a similar journey with Emery albeit at a higher level. All the signs are there. 

[TRO]

4 hours ago, Vive_La_Villa said:

The night it was announced I was in Gran Canaria and I asked a waiter who he was. The waiter said he is manager of Villareal. I said no  he isn’t, he is manager of Aston Villa! The waiter didn’t believe me at first but then when I said I was serious he was surprised and told me Villa have got a top manager!  We then shook hands and he got me another whisky. 

The following days he would say to me would you like a Unai Emery to which I would reply yes please to get my whisky. Nice bloke.

Just thought I’d share that pointless story with you.

 

Fingers crossed, but it sounds like a coup

I was Impressed with what Luis Miguel Echegaray had to say on UE.

[maqroll]

I like his demeanor. He comes across as sincere. Bright. Confident without arrogance. He's mature but also seems sort of youthful in a way. Let's give him a lot of leeway to put a proper framework in place. I have a good feeling about this.

[Keyblade]

4 hours ago, romavillan said:

Smith had people on his back from day one too, mostly the ones who were pro Bruce. Lots of people suggesting Walsall was his ceiling and other such bullshit.

Emery is the first manager I can remember where no-one is complaining. 

They continued with being irrationally pro-Gerrard too just to avoid being wrong the first time around.

Unai is the chosen one who will break the cycle

[Dodgyknees]

6 hours ago, Vive_La_Villa said:

The night it was announced I was in Gran Canaria and I asked a waiter who he was. The waiter said he is manager of Villareal. I said no  he isn’t, he is manager of Aston Villa! The waiter didn’t believe me at first but then when I said I was serious he was surprised and told me Villa have got a top manager!  We then shook hands and he got me another whisky. 

The following days he would say to me would you like a Unai Emery to which I would reply yes please to get my whisky. Nice bloke.

Just thought I’d share that pointless story with you.

 

I honestly expected Benitez to be more informed.