Unai Emery

[Dogtanian]

In a 25-man Prem squad I think only Philogene, Archer and Duran will get the opportunities.  These other young players we see I expect to be loaned out or occasionally called up to a match day squad but will mainly be at under 23/21 level academy matches.

But here’s the thing Footy, there are plenty of rumours around Doku who is the same age as Philogene, but is he any better? I am pretty sure our owners were sold on Unai’s vision for the academy and to be fair we have been getting our act together for 3 years now so if nothing was coming through then he should spend spend spend, but I think he has spotted a few rough diamonds

Very good points JW but Yes, Doku is well ahead and has the potential to become one of Europe's top players. There are no comparisons between Doku a member of the Belgian national team and Philogene. Look at the transfer tag of Doku.

I do think that the present ethos of the Aston Villa academy is that players are just being "fattened for slaughter." Few will ever succeed as first chocie first team members. It's the way Villa owners and operations have decided by  bringing in all these highly regarded and rising stars from everywhere and then make money force to let them go when the time is right.

Prediction:
We'll see a return to Aston Villa being made of a players from ceremonial counties of Warwickshire and the West Midlands. One of the chief reasons for this is when football gets more localised owing to environmental issues, but that's in the future. Starting by 2035

My estimate would be around 2040 or at least 2050 where significant and drastic changes to football and humans vs AI and robots would take place.
Tech will be the governing body and main factor within the sporting pursuits.

All of this has happened before, and all of this will happen again.

[ChicagoLion]

If Arsenal had backed him do you think they'd have won the league by now?

More than likely

Not while Citeh are allowed to cheat the system.

[Risso]

My estimate would be around 2040 or at least 2050 where significant and drastic changes to football and humans vs AI and robots would take place.
Tech will be the governing body and main factor within the sporting pursuits.

In 2050 I'll be 80, and my 'pulling power' may well have diminished somewhat. Will there - ahem - be 'sexy' robots by then?

Nope, it’ll be a sparkly, self-cleaning sock for you.

[Marlon From Bearwood]

I think we may have been ahead of our time in this department considering Robot Snodgrass and Ian Ormon-Droid have already played for us. Also, Peter Crouch gave the game away with his robot goal celebrations.

[Dogtanian]

I just can't work out why we programmed so many of our robot players over the years to be shit.

[Eckybloke]

I just can't work out why we programmed so many of our robot players over the years to be shit.

And any football intelligence they seemed to have was definitely artificial.

[Dogtanian]

Actually, I think I get it. It's all Isaac's fault.

The three laws of robotics would prevent our players functioning. They can't tackle as they won't want to risk hurting a human, and they know scoring a goal will lead to emotional pain for the opposition fans, so that's out too.

[Chris Smith]

I just can't work out why we programmed so many of our robot players over the years to be shit.

Robots are only as good as the code they run on.

[OCD]

I just can't work out why we programmed so many of our robot players over the years to be shit.

Beta versions are always a bit shit.

[PeterWithe]

And I for one, welcome our new Robot overlords.

Whatever happened to Paranoid Ormondroid? One of the best ever usernames.

[Dogtanian]

And I for one, welcome our new Robot overlords.

Whatever happened to Paranoid Ormondroid? One of the best ever usernames.

He's spending 20,000 years as a parking attendant.

[Toronto Villa]

I’m convinced TSM2 was a robot. Programmed to lose every week and to say “we go again” after each defeat. Started out smart and sharp ended up obsolete, all rusted and a tramp.

[Drummond]

From John Percy in the DT.

Aston Villa are upwardly mobile and a genuine threat to Premier League elite
Expectations are high under Unai Emery after a superb finish to last season and Villa's sights are set on Europe

It is usually when the passports get rolled out where Unai Emery excels, and the emerging force of Aston Villa are finally ready to make their mark on the European stage.

Villa are upwardly mobile under their meticulous and brilliant Basque coach, and optimism is building that they could be a genuine threat to the Premier League’s private members’ party.

We have obviously been here before, and Emery’s predecessor Steven Gerrard was speaking openly of European ambitions before his unhappy tenure was ruthlessly brought to an end last October.

Yet these last 10 months under Emery have taught Villa fans to dream. When he insists the target is to win a trophy this season, those supporters now believe it is far more than just hyperbole.

Emery the European specialist
Emery’s impact since his appointment last year cannot be overestimated: with 49 points from 25 matches, the one regret from Villa’s hierarchy is that he did not arrive earlier.

Owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens have never concealed their desire to return Villa to European football, and they have one of the undisputed masters in continental competitions.

Edens’ vision of sport is understood to be driven by data, analytics and statistics, and Emery has emphatically delivered in all those departments.

Indeed, this will be the 16th successive season that Emery is operating in a European tournament. He has lifted four Europa Leagues in that time and juggling the demands of a congested fixture list has never been an issue.

It may only be the Europa Conference League, but try telling that to Villa and their fans. They have not played in Europe since 2010, when Rapid Vienna knocked out a Villa team including the likes of Stiliyan Petrov and Emile Heskey at the play-off round stage. Hopes will be high that the serial trophy winner can prove the difference.

Emery’s methods are already the stuff of legend. He loves a long meeting, where he drills his philosophy into the players in exquisite detail. He is extremely punctilious, and on the team bus back from away games is often seen scouring his iPad in preparation for the next opponent.

He works long hours, and is understood to even be something of a joker on the training pitches at Bodymoor. While he has never really opened up on his experiences at Arsenal, there is no question that his messy departure in November 2019 has fired him up to prove people wrong.

Smart recruitment on and off the pitch
Villa’s transfer business has also delivered a statement of intent. The capture of Youri Tielemans on a free transfer was solid enough, but the arrivals of Pau Torres and Moussa Diaby have turned heads.

Torres, a left-sided centre-back, has been on the radar of many European heavyweights before Villa agreed a cut-price £31.5 million deal with Villarreal. Diaby, the record £43 million buy, was on Villa’s radar for years and sources in Germany initially expressed doubts over whether the French attacker would be interested in moving from Bayer Leverkusen.

With claims that Diaby favoured a ‘big-six’ club and Champions League football, it is testament to Emery’s powers of persuasion that the deal was completed. Emery already had the nucleus of a decent squad, and the improvement of Tyrone Mings and Ollie Watkins as individuals has been tangible.

John McGinn, the Scotland midfielder, has proved outstanding after returning to his preferred position and Emery made it clear that he should be offered a new contract. McGinn signed the deal last month, and the hope is that Watkins will soon follow. If they can add another proven striker to their squad, it could prove significant.

Another eye-catching arrival has been made at senior board level: Ramón Rodríguez Verdejo, known as Monchi, has rejoined Emery as the club’s president of football operations. His reputation across Europe is excellent, despite a scratchy period in Serie A with Roma, and the expectation is that he can elevate Villa to another level.

Monchi is also renowned for backing homegrown talent, which aligns with Villa’s belief in their academy. Talented homegrown youngsters including Cameron Archer and Jaden Philogene have been offered a chance to stake a claim in pre-season.

It all means that expectations are incredibly high ahead of the new season, which kicks off at Newcastle on August 12.

This will be a test for Villa’s players and the challenge is to build on last season’s momentum. The draw for their European return will be made on Monday and the hope is that city squares will be swamped by claret and blue flags over the coming months.

With ‘Super’ Unai Emery in charge, there should be no limit to what Villa can achieve.

[Brazilian Villain]

I'd say that's a relatively positive piece by Percy. Can't wait!

[olaftab]

Now I am getting worried.