Unai Emery

[Zhan_Zhuang]

30 minutes ago, tomsky_11 said:

Wow, Emery got seventy points in his first season with Arse. And they thought he was a failure?

[Steero113]

9 minutes ago, Zhan_Zhuang said:

Wow, Emery got seventy points in his first season with Arse. And they thought he was a failure?

With what is widely regarded as the worst Arsenal squad in 50 years as well. 

[FLVillan]

4 hours ago, Pinebro said:

I've always said the manager needs time thing is a bunch of non sense. 

It's just an excuse to give bad managers more time. 

Top managers don't need years to implement a style and improve the team. 

 

I agree with this but it's complex.  The very top managers don't need years, for certain, but only if they're coming into a club that is functional in the first place.  Conte at Spuds is an example of a proven manager not being able to do what he wants because the club itself isn't giving the requisite support.  Credit must go to our owners in providing the right structure and support for Unai.  Also, there are quite a few examples of managers being given time to build and going on to high levels of success - it's two-way street - the manager restructures things while also improving his own managerial skillset. Ferguson at United, Moyes at Everton both battled at the wrong end for their first couple of years. 

The other caveat is that there aren't that many top managers out there to be had, so sometimes clubs have to take a risk.  Even Saudi Arabia FC had to take a calculated risk with Eddie Howe (because our Unai told them to do one...  )

[Mark Albrighton]

5 hours ago, Don_Simon said:

Question:

Rewind to the day after Deano was sacked. Would you accept the Gerrard appointment, the dreadful performances, the arrogance, the nastiness, the Mings debacle and the very likely relegation battle...

... if you knew you'd have Unai in the not too distant future?

 

Yes 100%, part of football is taking the rough with the smooth.

Funnily enough I have been wondering what would it have been like if we had gone from Smith straight to Emery. 

We’d be in a better position I would imagine, but I wonder how much has following an unpopular manager (Gerrard) influenced the basically universal acceptance and admiration Emery has among Villa supporters.

Don’t get me wrong, Smith leaves, Emery comes in as his direct replacement and we win a load of games…we would all still love Emery. But I can’t help but think it hasn’t hurt his standing among us following on from Gerrard rather than Smith.

[Tom13]

1 minute ago, Mark Albrighton said:

Yes 100%, part of football is taking the rough with the smooth.

Funnily enough I have been wondering what would it have been like if we had gone from Smith straight to Emery. 

We’d be in a better position I would imagine, but I wonder how much has following an unpopular manager (Gerrard) influenced the basically universal acceptance and admiration Emery has among Villa supporters.

Don’t get me wrong, Smith leaves, Emery comes in as his direct replacement and we win a load of games…we would all still love Emery. But I can’t help but think it hasn’t hurt his standing among us following on from Gerrard rather than Smith.

Same. You sometimes need to see how bad things can/could be to fully appreciate the good.

[tomsky_11]

35 minutes ago, Zhan_Zhuang said:

Wow, Emery got seventy points in his first season with Arse. And they thought he was a failure?

Still not surpassed by Arteta in any season since...

...at least for another two weeks.

[TRO]

36 minutes ago, Talldarkandransome said:

In simplistic terms, it's amazing what you can achieve with a plan.

There's obviously much much more than that but we now have a basic plan. The rest is down to Emery and the ability of the players to learn and learn quickly. Next season will be exciting

Hindsight is a wonderful thing and its clear UE knows his onions.....but we are 14 games in and its gone great, bar a few hiccups.....consistency, and longevity is what we crave, I don't expect that, until we get new faces in.....The start is unquestionable, but great.

I can't say what has been different at BMH as I am not privvy to their methods, but what is clear is UE is clearly levels above SG in coaching and probably in Commitment...but there is no point, labouring it, as some do.

I think all managers have plans....its just some are more sophisticated and detailed than others.....the best see things, the lesser ones don't.

 

 

Edited March 20, 2023 by TRO

[TRO]

4 minutes ago, Tom13 said:

Same. You sometimes need to see how bad things can/could be to fully appreciate the good.

you don't need to date an ugly women, to appreciate a beautiful one.

[Pinebro]

Emery is more important and valuable than any of the players we will sign. 

Still have to pinch myself every morning realizing he is our manager. 

Edited March 20, 2023 by Pinebro

[TRO]

All managers need time to implement their plans.....its not a 5 minute job....but the tasks vary in their time limit.

They also have short, medium and long term plans, for a variety of objectives, which also vary.

I don't subscribe to the notion, its for bad managers to procrastinate, that can happen sure, but thats down to the hierarchy to monitor.

Good/elite managers, have a plethora of information to impart on the players, and those players vary, in how quick and efficiently they can execute those plans.....not every idea the manager has can be imparted at once...its incremental, which takes time.

How long? is the 64 million dollar question.....but gradual improvement is what we look for, to determine if its going to happen.

 

[TRO]

7 minutes ago, Pinebro said:

Emery is more important and valuable than any of the players we will sign. 

Still have to pinch myself every morning realizing he is our manager. 

I agree.

[Guest av1]

28 minutes ago, Pinebro said:

Emery is more important and valuable than any of the players we will sign. 

Still have to pinch myself every morning realizing he is our manager. 

I agree. And it’s mad really when you think of the money involved. I don’t know what we’re paying Emery, and I don’t care really.  
 

People talk about these elite managers like Klopp, Pep etc earning upwards of £10m per year. But when you consider that pretty crap PL players will cost upwards of that, it’s peanuts in the grand scheme of things. Surely it’s better to use that budget on the most important person at the football club. 
 

And I think that has an effect on the players. In the modern world we’ve seen on a number of occasions players downing tools to get a manager the sack. Our situation I think is very very different. I suspect that every single player at the club knows that the club (and fans) would back Emery over any of them, it really is stand up or ship out. 

[Tom13]

42 minutes ago, TRO said:

you don't need to date an ugly women, to appreciate a beautiful one.

Do you appreciate our PL status more now than before we got relegated or not?

[CVByrne]

6 hours ago, Pinebro said:

I've always said the manager needs time thing is a bunch of non sense. 

It's just an excuse to give bad managers more time. 

Top managers don't need years to implement a style and improve the team. 

It all depends on the situation. Usually managers take over squads that are incomplete and they need a window to to get their players in and time to get their ideas across. 

Sometimes a manager comes in and the squad he gets is a good one and the ideas click quickly. If you look at our squad and Brightons, clearly the squads really suited the manager who has come in.

Emery came in and took a side based on counter attacking and pace and set us up to suit that. Partnered Luiz and Kamara in central midfield. Things that were obvious to us fans and obvious to Danks. 

You have to remember the way Gerrard wanted us to play was clearly wrong. One 6, two 8s who are asked to be full back cover. 2 full backs who are asked to be wide forwards. A winger asked to be a narrow 10. So Emery benefited by simply playing the players in positions that suited them. 

[CVByrne]

Why Emery is clearly a genius is he sees that for different opponents you need different team and different set up. Away to Spurs and home to Palace are different games with a different approach. 

The thing that has always been our achilles heel has been breaking down the low block when we are a counter attacking team. The layers we've seen added are the most pleasing. Wolves, Leeds, Leicester - 4 points from 3 home games and we didn't play great in them. We're better now

[TRO]

1 hour ago, Tom13 said:

Do you appreciate our PL status more now than before we got relegated or not?

I have always appreciated our top flight status, even when in the first division.....but since the league was formed, Aston Villa are the 5th most successful team in the country......sure thay covers some ground, but that's what we were.

The last 15 years  are the exception, not the rule......but I accept, fans who are in their infancy, in terms of supporting us, will know no better.

I do appreciate poor decision making and having directors with poor foresight has landed us there......One of the worst decisions made , was Randy Lerner, not appointing Steve Stride CEO....Letting that guy go, was tantamount to shooting yourself in the foot......madness.

Its taking very astute business men with huge financial resources, to reverse the trend, and hopefully we can pull out of the demise.....its been a hard journey.

I appreciate everything about Aston Villa, warts n all, its who we are, we never get carried away, arrogant or self serving, always cautious in praise of ourselves, and never entitled.

but I must remind you, I have enjoyed the halcyon days under Saunders, Atkinson, Gregory and Little, not forgetting Graham Taylor and Martin O'Neill.......so its nothing new to us this Premier League malarkey, its just some of the younger fans think it is.

Having said all that, this league, is harder than ever Tom......so yes, I sure do appreciate it.

 

[TRO]

25 minutes ago, CVByrne said:

Why Emery is clearly a genius is he sees that for different opponents you need different team and different set up. Away to Spurs and home to Palace are different games with a different approach. 

The thing that has always been our achilles heel has been breaking down the low block when we are a counter attacking team. The layers we've seen added are the most pleasing. Wolves, Leeds, Leicester - 4 points from 3 home games and we didn't play great in them. We're better now

I think this guy see's things many don't.....Thats why he is Elite.

The next thing will be hanging on to him.

[Indigo]

3 hours ago, Zhan_Zhuang said:

Wow, Emery got seventy points in his first season with Arse. And they thought he was a failure?

It's an unfortunate thing that happens sometimes where seasons that would otherwise be quite successful end up being less so because of similarly good performances of other teams in the league, which ultimately you can't control (outside of games against one another, obviously). Two seasons ago we finished 11th on 55 points, which when viewed against other seasons is unfortunate as that total would usually have you no lower than 9th and in some cases as high as 7th. It can really change the outlook/judgment of a season, Emery of course wasn't without his issues at Arsenal but things would probably have looked a lot healthier for him had he not narrowly missed out on 4th in that first season.

It's all led to him being at Villa now mind, so thankfully they didn't!

[Delphinho123]

23 hours ago, skarroki said:

I was thinking last night how it just dawned on me then that Ramsey and McGinn both had really good games. I don't think I was in the minority of fans insisting that they were too similar and should absolutely not play together in the same midfield. 6 months later with some good coaching and they both played well together and performed completely different roles to a high standard. Obviously a massive well done all round for the players taking on the instructions and turning form around but also without Emery it wouldn't have been possible. 

Ramsey and McGinn were playing the most bizarre roles under Gerrard. Playing as a hybrid fullback almost at times. They both struggled. In fact, it could be argued that both struggle to play in a central midfield role where they are expected to come deep and receive the ball under pressure from defenders. Luiz and Kamara can play it excellently. 

Ramsey and McGinn are better in wider/more advanced positions because it suits their skillset more. Emery has obviously noticed this and although McGinn is playing centrally now, I fully expect him to move back to the slightly wider position on the right when Kamara is back fit. 

Just good management really. 
 

[Talldarkandransome]

4 hours ago, TRO said:

Hindsight is a wonderful thing and its clear UE knows his onions.....but we are 14 games in and its gone great, bar a few hiccups.....consistency, and longevity is what we crave, I don't expect that, until we get new faces in.....The start is unquestionable, but great.

I can't say what has been different at BMH as I am not privvy to their methods, but what is clear is UE is clearly levels above SG in coaching and probably in Commitment...but there is no point, labouring it, as some do.

I think all managers have plans....its just some are more sophisticated and detailed than others.....the best see things, the lesser ones don't.

 

 

I've totally wiped Gerrard from memory even though I was desperate for it to work with him. I suppose when you get to our age most things are meh, but I'm really looking forward to the rest of the season and the future seasons. I think Emery wants to be successful with Villa and he's deffo got the tools to do that (with a few more top signings)