Unai Emery

[Brumstopdogs]

This is the football Emery has already managed to get us playing.

Imagine what he can do with his own players and more time! Trust in Emery....

 

[gwi1890]

I’m really enjoying the style of play and the identity we’re building which is also a sustainable one , there’s more than one way we can beat a team though we can patiently build attacks as well as hitting teams on the counter.

[KentVillan]

3 hours ago, Zhan_Zhuang said:

In the post-match ratings thread 45% (61 posters) voted the Manager's performance as average.

I was quite surprised by this figure and admittedly it is slightly worrying many think this.

Surely there are some of us who see a philosophy and improvement, it was reflected in our recent games I would have thought.

I think people have reset their expectations a bit, so "Average" for Emery means a lot better than "Average" for Sherwood.

But I agree, I haven't yet seen us have a game under Emery where I didn't think he'd done a good job on a personal level. His plans haven't always worked (Liverpool game probably the worst example) but there's always a sensible logic to it, and the players always look well drilled.

He's clearly the best manager we've had at this club in a very long time.

[fruitvilla]

15 minutes ago, KentVillan said:

I think people have reset their expectations a bit, so "Average" for Emery means a lot better than "Average" for Sherwood.

Guilty as charged, two things though:

1. Has Emery brought out this much-vaunted consistency in all our players? No. But I don't think the performances were as bad as some would have us have.
2. Judging a manager over a game is a little hokey. The vast majority of the manager's work is done over a season.

Having said that my overall rating since his appointment would be excellent.

[KentVillan]

9 minutes ago, fruitvilla said:

Guilty as charged, two things though:

1. Has Emery brought out this much-vaunted consistency in all our players? No. But I don't think the performances were as bad as some would have us have.
2. Judging a manager over a game is a little hokey. The vast majority of the manager's work is done over a season.

Having said that my overall rating since his appointment would be excellent.

I don't think Emery is ever going to make all our players consistent. What matters is, does he have a game plan that brings the best out of the available players? Some of them will always be inconsistent, but the better he does, the more often they will perform.

[fruitvilla]

1 minute ago, KentVillan said:

I don't think Emery is ever going to make all our players consistent. What matters is, does he have a game plan that brings the best out of the available players? Some of them will always be inconsistent, but the better he does, the more often they will perform.

Do you think his game plan brought out the best in our players?

[TheMightyVillans]

1 hour ago, WHY said:

Emery came in and had the balls to try and implement his style on to a team that had little confidence and looking in real danger of getting relegated. He’s done it with practically the same squad the previous manager and his coaches couldn’t  get a tune out of. Not only has he done it but he’s done it mid season in the hardest league in the world.

He’s transformed a striker who couldn’t hit a barn door and had zero confidence. He’s kept SJM as captain and he again looks like the player we all loved.

We have been competitive in every game we’ve played with the possible exception of City away. Yes we’ve been beat by Liverpool, Leicester and Arsenal but could have easily have taken something from those 3 games. 

I’ve supported our great club for over 40 years and this guy is the best manager we’ve had in that time bar none, this guy will win us a trophy and give us some pride back, if he hasn’t already! 

He also trimmed down our squad in january when we needed strengthening. He has said he is happy with the squad and has not complained about it.

Gerrard probably would have been complaining that we couldn't get in the players we wanted and blame that on poor results.

[KentVillan]

19 minutes ago, fruitvilla said:

Do you think his game plan brought out the best in our players?

Kamara out, away from home, it wasn't far off expectations? A lot of people thought we'd fold completely with the Kamara injury

[Tom13]

2 hours ago, Brumstopdogs said:

This is the football Emery has already managed to get us playing.

Imagine what he can do with his own players and more time! Trust in Emery....

Lovely. And McGinn at the heart of it. Fair play to him. He's shut his haters (me included) up.

[avfc1982am]

10 hours ago, KentVillan said:

I think people have reset their expectations a bit, so "Average" for Emery means a lot better than "Average" for Sherwood.

But I agree, I haven't yet seen us have a game under Emery where I didn't think he'd done a good job on a personal level. His plans haven't always worked (Liverpool game probably the worst example) but there's always a sensible logic to it, and the players always look well drilled.

He's clearly the best manager we've had at this club in a very long time.

This is correct. I give him an average rating which in his case isn't bad. If you start giving him and the squad above average for a draw at a bottom ish of the table side, several places below us, where is the expectation for better? If anything it shows how far we've come in such a short space of time that a draw at WH is seen as a slightly average result. This isn't downgrading what he has done, quite the opposite. Emery is very much setting his own standards and I don't think it's fair we blow smoke up his arse for a drawn game at West Ham, even if it is above average for others.

 

[JAMAICAN-VILLAN]

55 minutes ago, avfc1982am said:

This is correct. I give him an average rating which in his case isn't bad. If you start giving him and the squad above average for a draw at a bottom ish of the table side, several places below us, where is the expectation for better? If anything it shows how far we've come in such a short space of time that a draw at WH is seen as a slightly average result. This isn't downgrading what he has done, quite the opposite. Emery is very much setting his own standards and I don't think it's fair we blow smoke up his arse for a drawn game at West Ham, even if it is above average for others.

 

I reckon emery himself has the same mindset.

I'm sure I heard him say in the last post match that " I am so demanding of myself and thinking what I can do better " or something along those lines.

I don't think this is a disillusioned or deluded Manager.

He knows his mission.

[TRO]

1 hour ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said:

I reckon emery himself has the same mindset.

I'm sure I heard him say in the last post match that " I am so demanding of myself and thinking what I can do better " or something along those lines.

I don't think this is a disillusioned or deluded Manager.

He knows his mission.

I am impressed with what he has done with the exisiting team.....but I still see issues, I fear only surgery will fix.

I wait with trepidation, to the next phase of his work, The Summer recruitment drive.

Then we will have more idea of where we are going.

I believe, he can only do so much, with this present squad.

[osmark86]

1 hour ago, TRO said:

I am impressed with what he has done with the exisiting team.....but I still see issues, I fear only surgery will fix.

I wait with trepidation, to the next phase of his work, The Summer recruitment drive.

Then we will have more idea of where we are going.

I believe, he can only do so much, with this present squad.

Yeah I agree with this too. The manager is quite possibly the most important recruitment a club can make, but it's the players that are out on the field at KO. They need a good set of instructions and tactics, but they also have to be sufficiently good too.

If we had a team of league one players quality wise under Emery we'd still get relegated.

[Adam2003]

2 hours ago, TRO said:

I believe, he can only do so much, with this present squad.

Agreed, but his results with it so far would be comfortable European qualification over a season.

[joshharris12]

Best manager we could get,  it’s night and day in comparison to Gerrard. Seems like a top bloke to 

[Sulberto21]

27 minutes ago, joshharris12 said:

Best manager we could get,  it’s night and day in comparison to Gerrard. Seems like a top bloke to 

Not directed at you but this bolded statement I’ve seen a few times. Emery is Elite he’s one of the top 5 managers in the game in the World. I wouldn’t change him for anyone.

Not even my guy Gallardo.

[Stevo71]

Sure we'd all love to see that piece of paper Nassef gave to Unai when he asked him to write down a team at the "interview". Fair to assume a) he didn't just write down a team from our current squad and b) Nassef didn't flinch at what that new team might cost. At the very least Unai was content that something like his imagined team might be achievable over the course of a few windows. And by extension would have had a few players already earmarked for upgrade. Maybe a few things changed once he finally got amongst the lads, but I have no doubt whatsoever the overall strategy will be crystal in Unai's mind.

So exciting. Villa and Unai are perfect for one another. UTV.

[Wurzel]

The job Uni is doing at Villa is spectacular, with basically the same squad we have gone from Gerrard with a win percentage of 32% to Emery with 46%. He has toughened up the squad and got them playing with purpose and vigour. I cannot wait until next year when he has a few more of his players in place. it should be a great season .

[TRO]

Shucks.....The gaffer was in my local pub today lunchtime......and I didn't go.

sausages!!!!

ps maybe it was a good thing, he had a peaceful lunch.

Edited March 15, 2023 by TRO

[TRO]

On 13/03/2023 at 00:25, KentVillan said:

Kamara out, away from home, it wasn't far off expectations? A lot of people thought we'd fold completely with the Kamara injury

There was still, a bunch of missed chances on both sides, so the result could have been different with clinical finishing from either team.....could have been 3-1 either way.

In the last 13 games, we would be 6th in the league, that is a remarkable, turnaround, in any language....but we still have flaky issues, in this team....and players that need carrying, and are being carried to an extent...maybe not every game.

We still conceded 11 goals and 3 heavy defeats in 3 games...so against better quality teams, there is still much to do.

That is in no way a criticism of UE, Hence my praise overall, but its merely a reality check, that some of our issues are still under the surface.

We need a good summer for UE to have any chance of more consistency, and a moving away from 3/4 goal reversals.

Personally, I wasn't expecting any more, than what we got on Sunday...but I still think on balance, it could be deemed as a missed opportunity.

I can't emphasis enough how important this summer window will be.

 

 

 

Edited March 15, 2023 by TRO