Unai Emery

[paul_e]

The thing is I don't think it's possibly to overperform for that long a period. You can exceed expectations and, as players, you can push your ceiling higher than people thought but, for me at least, over-performing is a purple patch of form, not 3 1/2 years of being in the mix for the top 4.

It's semantics but I think people instinctively see over-performing as somehow not being deserving of how well you've done and that feels insulting, even if it wasn't really intended that way.

[Smithy]

The most consistent long-term indicator of where a team will finish in the league, is the wage bill.  The teams with the highest wages, finish higher.   Season-to-season there are the odd blips, but over time, teams regress to their position in the wage bill table. 

Our wages bill has been 7th for the last couple of years (unless it's changed recently?).  So finishing higher than 7th, is, in my opinion 'overperforming'.  There will come a time when our finances have improved such that our wages are comparable with the top 4, and then we can 'expect' Champions League and title challenges each season - but right now, Unai is doing more with the players at his disposal, than would ordinarily be expected.

Which to me, shows that he is an elite manager, and he is CAPABLE of getting better performance out of the players at his disposal. That's not true of all managers.

[eamonn]

Agreed.

There's also a snobbery about Unai that he's perfect for the second tier of clubs who aren't expected to challenge for titles.

[dave.woodhall]

Agreed.

There's also a snobbery about Unai that he's perfect for the second tier of clubs who aren't expected to challenge for titles.

And he doesn't speak English properly from people who can't speak two, let alone four.

[cdbearsfan]

Fuck those guys.

[stevo_st]

I read Nick Mashiter ‘over performance’ for 3.5 years assumption as being based on the xG theoretical nonsense.

AI journalism

[Simon Page]

We haven't over-performed. The ability was clearly there, it's just been realised or at most optimised. This is what we can do, we might be able to do more, we can sure as hell do less. You don't over-perform consistently for three and a half years at the top of far and away the hardest and most competitive league in the world. This is just the level we are right now.

It's only over-performing if you think name, cash, cheat codes and expectation are the main metrics. We have brilliant footballers, brilliant coaches and a brilliant set up which are all working well together.