Popular Post Marka Ragnos Posted January 19, 2023 VT Supporter Popular Post Share Posted January 19, 2023 (edited) I don't know. This week, with Ings gone and newcomers in or on horizon, it just really feels for me like we've crossed a Rubicon into uncharted territory with Emery. It's not just the Gerrard hangover lifting. The team looks different, and there are inklings of a whole different kind of football at Villa. For me, seeing Moreno come forward and try to score against Leeds was just so ... this is Villa? Whoa! And Bailey at times was playing almost fluidly for the first time I've ever witnessed. And Kamara, I felt like, who is this Real Madrid midfielder suddenly in our midst? Where'd he come from? New, new, new. I think it's good territory, but there's anxiety, too. Anyone else feeling that? Were you feeling it last year? Do you feel it every year? Something's different. I guess I can start see envision now the direction Emery is taking things, and I know if even I can perceive this, many of you will have picked up on that perhaps weeks ago. This "new era" stuff gets thrown around a lot, but the phrase seems to be turning up often in mentions of Villa. I'm excited. I'm worried. All at once. Is this a new Villa era? Quote Attendances at both grounds have been good so far this season, especially at Villa Park with supporters excited by a new era under former Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal head coach Unai Emery. Wanderers too are under fresh management, with ex-Real Madrid man Julen Lopetegui taking to the Molineux dugout since November. Edited January 19, 2023 by Marka Ragnos 16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post ender4 Posted January 19, 2023 Popular Post Share Posted January 19, 2023 Definitely feels like it could be the start of a new era. We shall see I guess. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aston_Villan4 Posted January 19, 2023 Share Posted January 19, 2023 (edited) Absolutely. It feels like we have people in charge who know what they’re doing and are actual capable of building a European contending squad. Feels damn good but of course there’s a little trepidation because it could all go belly up in a couple of years. But I have faith in Emery. I personally am glad he failed(if you can really call it that) at Arsenal because it forced him to grow as a manager and in turn he developed a really strong squad at Villarreal. So I believe Villa have (or has. Whichever you prefer) a very bright future. A new era that will be full of excitement. Edited January 19, 2023 by Aston_Villan4 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post MWARLEY2 Posted January 19, 2023 Popular Post Share Posted January 19, 2023 100 percent a new era. The 3rd one under this ownership. The first one was the day they bought us. The second was when they appointed Deano. And the third is them appointing the Sultan of Unai . Top class manager committing to a top class project. You can tell he gets the Villa. Amd that he will work harder than anyone in the club to get success for us. It screams long term this appointment. Which is what we need. Consolidation of getting us to be a perennial top half club with aspirations to get to the very top. It wont be easy as there are many other clubs with the same aspirations. What i hope is that they have far more turmoil and inconsistency with new managers and fluctuating results while we just build and build and get ourselves a real squad of talented and mentally strong players. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allani Posted January 19, 2023 Share Posted January 19, 2023 It definitely feels like we have the type of manager that we have sorely needed for a long, long time. I was reading some of his stuff the other day about "Villa being a family" and it sounded a little weird to me at first. I thought maybe it was one of those things that gets a little lost in translation - I live in Italy and so often come across translations of things that sound perfect in Italian and then you read the "literal" English translation and you're like "no that doesn't sound right at all" and then when you translate it into something someone English would say it's just completely underwhelming. But then I read it again and (whilst it is far too early in his career here to make wild predictions) it sounded like it was a genuine desire and kind of mirrors some of the comments that the owners have made previously. I just gives me a feeling that they are trying to do something different - a long term project rather than a short term view. It feels like Emery wants to try and create a legacy somewhere and yes - Arsene Wenger springs to mind (much more so than Alec Ferguson). It feels like that is what the Board want too. I think that a more reactionary Board might have looked to replace Bruce and (possibly) Smith sooner than they did. I can see the logic of the Board perhaps wanting to bring a new manager through and seeing him grow with the club (we just picked completely the wrong horse). I can see why and how the Board then decided to stop messing around and how they might have sold Villa to a manager used to competing with teams fighting at the top of the table and in Europe. But for all the sentiment - any manager will struggle if results go badly. A legacy is worth naught if it isn't a positive one and is at risk (as Wenger found out) if results fall below expectation. I think the Board, the club and the manager desperately want this to be the start of a new era. I think they will do everything they possibly can to make it so. The question is whether they have the time to create and maintain it in a world where long-term vision is routinely overlooked for short-term gain. A string of bad results that leaves a club teetering on the abyss of relegation is almost impossible to ignore. Very few managers survive more than a handful of seasons so the odds are kind of stacked against us. But I do think that we have owners who are unlike most others and it gives me confidence that they will support Emery as best they can. If he doesn't create a legacy here and this isn't the start of a new era then I don't think it will be for the lack of trying or wanting it to happen. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post The Fun Factory Posted January 19, 2023 Popular Post Share Posted January 19, 2023 (edited) Don't tell me, show me. We have been done this path many times in the last 20 odd years at Villa with new eras. This one looks one of the most promising ones but we are less than 10 games in. And one of those was one of the most embarrassing FA cup matches I have witnessed. Fingers crossed this time that we can do this right and not go round in the usual 18 month- 2 year circle. Edited January 19, 2023 by The Fun Factory 7 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
messi11 Posted January 19, 2023 Share Posted January 19, 2023 "An era in geology is a time of several hundred million years" I expect Villa to dominate for the next several hundred million years 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wurzel Posted January 20, 2023 Share Posted January 20, 2023 Who knows, how many false dawns have we had? I'm not having a go at Emery here or the owners, both are fantastic in my estimation but we all know lose a few games on the trot and the pressure will be building. I'm of the opinion to to not worry too much about league position for the next couple of years and see how the club progresses, if all goes well then maybe we will be pushing for Europe, but it is a big ask and is getting tougher and more expensive to achieve each season that passes. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
useless Posted January 20, 2023 Share Posted January 20, 2023 Of course a new era begins, it might be so sad, but a new era begins nevertheless. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnnyp Posted January 20, 2023 Share Posted January 20, 2023 I think and expect us to work for any progress we make. I don’t think Emery has a magic wand. We’ve had a tendency in the past to say “ well sure it’s not going well but we are Villa , it’ll come good “ I like him though. His success is borne out of sheer work. A process ( a word he name drops a lot ) has by its definition a start and an end. We’ve barely started. Will be ups and downs. Temper expectations and be patient. We have a good one. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A'Villan Posted January 20, 2023 Share Posted January 20, 2023 I've been hopeful since Wes Edens became invested in and involved with our club. I became quite confident since Smith's first November/December here that we were serious. Now I have faith we might just fulfil potential as a club that can compete with any other. Still a ways to go, though. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Posted January 20, 2023 VT Supporter Share Posted January 20, 2023 10 hours ago, MWARLEY2 said: 100 percent a new era. The 3rd one under this ownership. The first one was the day they bought us. The second was when they appointed Deano. And the third is them appointing the Sultan of Unai . Top class manager committing to a top class project. You can tell he gets the Villa. Amd that he will work harder than anyone in the club to get success for us. It screams long term this appointment. Which is what we need. Consolidation of getting us to be a perennial top half club with aspirations to get to the very top. It wont be easy as there are many other clubs with the same aspirations. What i hope is that they have far more turmoil and inconsistency with new managers and fluctuating results while we just build and build and get ourselves a real squad of talented and mentally strong players. I agree that this screams long term. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fun Factory Posted January 20, 2023 Share Posted January 20, 2023 Well it would make a change having a long term head coach/manager. Since Ron Saunders left over 40 years ago we had only MON has lasted longer than 4 years in the job. Gregory was nearly 4 years but not quite. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zab6359 Posted January 20, 2023 Share Posted January 20, 2023 2 hours ago, The Fun Factory said: Well it would make a change having a long term head coach/manager. Since Ron Saunders left over 40 years ago we had only MON has lasted longer than 4 years in the job. Gregory was nearly 4 years but not quite. Yeah but most the managers since then have been pretty average haven’t they? I’m genuinely enthusiastic about Unai he seems a real step up in quality a real winner, I feel if Arsenal had stuck with him they’d be a better team now with maybe some European silverware. I do feel Unai has some barriers currently, we need to up our game in the transfer market whether that is because of poor personnel in key positions I don’t know? But the future looks bright for us I think. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PussEKatt Posted January 20, 2023 Share Posted January 20, 2023 I have said ( in various posts ) that to move up the table and try for europe,we needed an A-list manager.At last we have one.We were never ever going to finish in the top 7/8 as long as we had managers like DS/SG/SB,etc etc etc 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
est1874 Posted January 20, 2023 Share Posted January 20, 2023 The start of the new era was Emery coming in. He's just shaping his team now. Ings leaving still strikes me as strange, but if it's what Unai wants then fine. Let's hope it all plays out as he imagines. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrBlack Posted January 20, 2023 Share Posted January 20, 2023 If we don't find reason to sack Emery, and he isn't poached, he'll be with us for 4.5 years. Think where we'll be if he has done well enough to keep the reigns that long. Think where we'll be after 4.5 years of Emery's technical brilliance. MoN destroyed us by the end of his 4 years (with the help of Doug). Emery is like nothing we've had before, and this is indeed a new era. No doubts, we've turned the corner. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
est1874 Posted January 20, 2023 Share Posted January 20, 2023 1 minute ago, MrBlack said: If we don't find reason to sack Emery, and he isn't poached, he'll be with us for 4.5 years. Think where we'll be if he has done well enough to keep the reigns that long. Think where we'll be after 4.5 years of Emery's technical brilliance. MoN destroyed us by the end of his 4 years (with the help of Doug). Emery is like nothing we've had before, and this is indeed a new era. No doubts, we've turned the corner. With the help of Doug? Ellis was chairman/owner for approx 1 month of MoN's tenure at Villa 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrBlack Posted January 20, 2023 Share Posted January 20, 2023 (edited) 7 minutes ago, est1874 said: With the help of Doug? Ellis was chairman/owner for approx 1 month of MoN's tenure at Villa I blame Doug more than Lerner for it. Doug had kept the reigns so tight for so long we had plummeted to just above relegation zone. MoN comes in and spunks a load of money on fix it now signings, that Lerner funded yes, but left us up shit creek. If we hadn't had the years of under investment leading to MoN coming in, we'd have never been in the position we were. Lerner messed up, but it was a long time coming by then. Edit: we are definitely in a new era. That all feels like ancient history now. Edited January 20, 2023 by MrBlack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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