Unai Emery

[Stevo71]

Wish there was some vid of Unai and the bench when the winner went in. The harmony in the squad is just fantastic. 

[punkiller1981]

2 hours ago, dubbs said:

After last 2 games and getting married on Monday, this has been a pretty good few days for me so far.  Thank you UE!

Congrats on the last 2 games

[one_ian_taylor]

Can't remember us having a manager that can out think the opposition in the way he does. To put it another way...

Unai when you've been Tango'd

[Guardian_Angel_M]

I just can't wrap my head around such a turnaround in such a short span of time. For a season that was looking to be all about a relegation scrap now having us all excited and looking forward to each and every match, not just ours but those teams in 3rd to 7th place, it is just amazing. And not just that, also the club as a whole won't just settle for a one season of good results, we're shifting from fear of relegation to excitement about European football

Hopefully Unai is enjoying this experience as much as the fans and wants to be at the club for a long time 

[Talldarkandransome]

I've got some opaque beer googles on right now, but I love him.

There I've said it

I'm gonna have to tell the missus 

[Talldarkandransome]

6 minutes ago, Guardian_Angel_M said:

I just can't wrap my head around such a turnaround in such a short span of time. For a season that was looking to be all about a relegation scrap now having us all excited and looking forward to each and every match, not just ours but those teams in 3rd to 7th place, it is just amazing. And not just that, also the club as a whole won't just settle for a one season of good results, we're shifting from fear of relegation to excitement about European football

Hopefully Unai is enjoying this experience as much as the fans and wants to be at the club for a long time 

I think he's enjoying it

[turnbull]

It feels like we've won the Willy Wonka golden ticket. This guy is the shizz. 

[Demitri_C]

Why was emery sacked by PSG? Anyone know the story there?

[Steero113]

1 hour ago, Demitri_C said:

Why was emery sacked by PSG? Anyone know the story there?

He left, he still had a year left on his contract but wanted out. 

Edited April 6, 2023 by Steero113

[rubberman]

21 hours ago, rubberman said:

How long is his contract? I'm hoping about 20 years at this point.

To answer my own question - 4 and a half years. Already the longest contract we've given a manager. Just imagine where we could be if he keeps up this level of improvement.

[BleedClaretAndBlue]

12 hours ago, turnbull said:

It feels like we've won the Willy Wonka golden ticket. This guy is the shizz. 

Dream appointment it really is. Achievements so far:

• Erased the memory of that scouse bloke in record time
• Erased the curse of 27 years without a home win against Utd after being in the building for 2 days
• Erased the 3rd kit curse first time of asking
• Improved multiple players form, driving up potential prices on players heads
• Scored in every single game we’ve played under him
• Won 10 PL games in 16 (when have we been in that type of form)
• W6 D1 L1 on the road
• Implemented a new playing style that the players have all bought into; simultaneously whilst picking up points during the teething process
• Shown the owners he can do all this by working with the existing squad without spending millions (they’ll trust him with all their money if they werent willing to already)
• Made the perfect connection with the fans and always makes the point of referencing us. Really feel like we have our club back again (for the 2nd time after Deano)
• Already created the “family” that he speaks of, just look at the scenes at FT the other night

 

It really couldnt have gone much better, yeah we wanted a cup run, but I’ll sacrifice that every day of the week for the sort of league form we’re witnessing. Im honestly not expecting us to actually make Europe this season, but we’re putting some damn good foundations in place right now. I just hope he’s the sort of guy that can convince the players we want to keep, to stay when the inevitable pathetic six come calling for our best players. If you see how the Villareal lads reacted at his departure and the things they said, he is exactly the guy you want to work for so there’s hope that the family actually stick together this time

[Stevo71]

Enjoyed this, apologies if posted before:

 

[Pinebro]

I think Emery is best suited for an underdog club.

I think it's a match made in heaven.

[nick76]

23 minutes ago, Pinebro said:

I think Emery is best suited for an underdog club.

I think it's a match made in heaven.

We aren’t an underdog, we are by far the greatest team the world has ever seen because we are….Aston Villa, Aston Villa FC

[gwi1890]

3 hours ago, Demitri_C said:

Why was emery sacked by PSG? Anyone know the story there?

He wasn’t sacked he saw out his 2 year deal there. Probably the most successful PSG manager since they became a oil rich team. French media bullied him a mocked him like they did here during his time at Arsenal.  And like his time at Spartak to many idiots higher up meddling in football decisions.

[tomsky_11]

2 hours ago, BleedClaretAndBlue said:

Won 10 PL games in 16 (when have we been in that type of form)

In PL, last time was O'Neill 29th Oct 08 to 7th Feb 09. 10 wins in 16 which started and ended with wins against Blackburn.

Smith had a run of 11 in 16 that included one PL win. Bruce had as many as 11 in 16 in Championship as well.

Prior to O'Neill only Atkinson (10 in 16 on multiple occassions) and Gregory (13 in 16) got a least 10 in 16.

 

[Stevo71]

We've hit 1800 Elo for the first time since the MoN era. Getting more difficult to find superlatives for this guy.

http://clubelo.com/AstonVilla

[vero_jaro5]

3 hours ago, gwi1890 said:

He wasn’t sacked he saw out his 2 year deal there. Probably the most successful PSG manager since they became a oil rich team. French media bullied him a mocked him like they did here during his time at Arsenal.  And like his time at Spartak to many idiots higher up meddling in football decisions.

Exactly.

just adding: he saw his contract out (had a 2-year deal, with an option of a third year), he even had a goodbye speech at the Parc des Princes, it wasn't a bad ending for him at all. Unfortunately, he was ridiculed during his time there by some parts of the fans - just as the English "jokesters" have the phrase "good ebening"; in France it was Emery's press conference speech about "la concurrence" (he explained in French how he wants his players to challenge each other, to compete for places, to have the desire to be better). Naturally, a portion of the public made a meme out of him speaking French, while the reasonable part said "ok, his French is not perfect, but it's obvious what he's trying to say, come on". IIRC Pochettino didn't speak French at press conferences at all. Tuchel did - also making mistakes and not being perfect, naturally, but I don't remember him being mocked for it (or as much). 

idk if anyone here speaks French, but the quite known French show "Les guignols" made some sketches about PSG in the Emery era, and he's portrayed at being somewhat bullied by the players who don't respect him/have big egos/don't want to listen to him. It's all a joke but surely that helps create the image of him. It was also alluded to that the Brazilian clique in the dressing room led by Thiago Silva was a challenging thing for him to deal with. (since then, Silva's agent spoke some s**t about Emery, so there was probably some truth in it). In the end, the impression that he failed there seems to come down to this allusion to big-name players not respecting him and the media cartoon made out of his manner of speaking and personality. But he just announced he would leave at the end of the season in April 2018; he wasn't sacked. Yes, in the first season, he finished 2nd in the league, but the next year he won it. And he won the Coupe de la France and Coupe de la Ligue in both years, which might be seen as "the basic requirement" in France but we've seen the more recent managers fail to do that. 

I think it's clear today - after the managers that followed, who also "failed" in the UCL - that Emery did a good job there. Not perfect, but it wasn't half as bad as some make it out to be.

[Mantis]

A good times article on Don Unai

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/how-unai-emery-has-turned-aston-villa-into-european-contenders-6lq73mxjl

In his first press conference as Aston Villa head coach, Unai Emery spoke about his long-term ambition to guide the team back into Europe. Given their start to the season and how they had been playing, even the most optimistic Villa fan would not have believed it to be possible this season.

The Spaniard was brought to the club in October, when the club were three points off the bottom of the Premier League, with the prime objective of keeping them in the division. But after Villa’s win against Leicester City on Tuesday evening, Emery dared to mention that his side were in the European conversation as the season enters the final couple of months.

With only Arsenal having picked up more wins (13) in the league since he took charge, Villa have propelled themselves into seventh place and the European dream does not seem such a stretch. Here’s a look at what has improved.

Identity

Under Steven Gerrard, Emery’s predecessor, Villa had become difficult to watch, predictable and devoid of identity and urgency. Under the new coach there is a clear plan, and every player is aware of their role in the system. They move the ball quickly and efficiently up the pitch but are able to drop back into a bank of six to see out games and block out the opposition. He has also trained them to play fewer purposeless long balls.

Instead he wants them to control the game through possession, which has taken time — but things have now clicked. Against Leicester they had 64 per cent of the ball. They are also looking far more comfortable playing out from the back.

The previous time they played Leicester they had made mistakes while trying to play out from the back in a 4-2 loss, but Emery wanted his team to stick to a plan and that is exactly what they have done. At the King Power Stadium they looked far more comfortable and it is a plan that is working well for them. It’s no wonder the 51-year-old has been hailed a “tactical master” by some of his players.

Ollie Watkins

While the improvement has been as a collective there can be no denying the individual development of Watkins. Before Emery’s arrival he had two goals in 14 games and now he is on a streak of six in six and playing some of the best football of his career.

Emery had a conversation with the England forward at the beginning of his reign, outlining his plan for him and how he was going to help him to progress.

As is the case under the Spaniard, video sessions have been long. But his attention to detail, getting Watkins to focus on timing his runs, where to position himself and how to shape his body, has helped the 27-year-old to take his game to the next level.

And Emery has given him the target of providing even more. “I like to take challenges, always, with my striker, with my coaching. Because I like to be offensive and to be a winner,” the Villa head coach said.

Defence

Emery arrived with the reputation of being a defensive coach and, with Villa shipping too many goals, it was the most important aspect of the game for him to get a handle on.

The 6-2-2 formation to see out games has helped and, as the team continue to improve under his coaching and management, there is more of a calmness about them in and around the penalty area. They were heavily beaten by Manchester City and Arsenal, but the Harvey Barnes goal on Tuesday night was the first they had conceded from open play in their past six league games. They have also had four clean sheets during that time.

Emery’s blueprint is possession-based football, but everything he believes in rests on a strong defensive display, and that has come as much from the pressing of the forwards to win back possession as from the reinvigorated back line.

Standards

Losing 4-2 to the league leaders, courtesy of two late goals, is nothing to be ashamed of, but Emery was furious. He was raging at his team for abandoning the principles he had been hammering into them for four months.

It wasn’t that they had lost, it was that he thought they had not stuck to the game plan and were not brave enough in possession. It is a message he reiterated to his players, in public and private, and it underlines the standards he expects from his team.

Sources say that, under Gerrard, standards started to slip and players thought they could get away with things; under Emery, that has changed. His expectations are high, analysis sessions long, training sessions are detailed and there is little or no time to rest. But he ensures he sets those standards himself, spending long hours at the club’s Bodymoor Heath training ground.

Away form

When Emery arrived at the club, Villa had not won on the road in the league this season. After six games their record read: drawn two, lost four. It was an issue he wanted to sort out quickly and in his first away clash in the league they ran out 2-1 winners against Brighton & Hove Albion. Their win at the King Power took his record to six wins in eight away games, with their only defeat away from Villa Park coming against City.

He explained how he had made it his objective to make them more dangerous on the road: “I started being very, very demanding with them to be competitive away, because winning away is more difficult than at home. But now it’s different, it’s more difficult at home than away. The idea is to create and build a team and a way and be very demanding.”

Edited April 6, 2023 by Mantis

[Villaphan04]