Unai Emery

[PaulWinch again]

First little phase of the season done - points tally is basically ok given the fixtures. Plenty for Unai to think about from the Newcastle and Liverpool games. I don’t know whether the European game had any influence on the latter, but it’s something we need to deal with better if it did. Midfield is the problem to fix, both of the big defeats have largely come from a failure to put pressure on the ball. Hopefully we’ll see big improvement in this space post the international break.

[LeonW]

He’ll get it right. I just feel he’s trying to evolve us faster than we’re ready to or capable of right now against better opposition. With it happening now twice I think we’ll be more pragmatic next time away from home against a stronger opponent. He’s pretty much fixed everything he’s touched so far and this will be no different.

[85kota]

I hope so Leon. That felt like our most disappointing performance, much worse then the Newcastle game or any defeats last season when he'd not long been in charge.

Gameplan seemed all wrong and we didn't do much about it.

[Simon Page]

It's too early in the season to really tell, but from what we've seen it looks like Man City, Liverpool and Arsenal for the top three, then a bunch of clubs looking at fourth and the remaining European spots. That includes us, Chelsea, Spurs, Man United, Brighton, Newcastle, plus maybe there'll be another who has a blistering season.

I see us as having to perform really consistently against the sides outside the top three to stand a chance of fourth, but we are so early into our work in progress that an uninspiring top ten wouldn't surprise or concern me. We're coming off the back of over a decade of being ordinary-to-shite. You don't just jump from there to consistently competing at the very top. Our injuries haven't helped either. They've hit players who are already a long way into understanding and implementing what Emery wants. We'll be fine, just might have to wait a couple of seasons for the inevitable world domination.

[Drummond]

It's too early in the season to really tell, but from what we've seen it looks like Man City, Liverpool and Arsenal for the top three, then a bunch of clubs looking at fourth and the remaining European spots. That includes us, Chelsea, Spurs, Man United, Brighton, Newcastle, plus maybe there'll be another who has a blistering season.

I see us as having to perform really consistently against the sides outside the top three to stand a chance of fourth, but we are so early into our work in progress that an uninspiring top ten wouldn't surprise or concern me. We're coming off the back of over a decade of being ordinary-to-shite. You don't just jump from there to consistently competing at the very top. Our injuries haven't helped either. They've hit players who are already a long way into understanding and implementing what Emery wants. We'll be fine, just might have to wait a couple of seasons for the inevitable world domination.

*Stamp, stamp, stamp* but I want it now!

[OCD]

Based on what we've seen so far, rule Chelsea out and put Newcastle down as questionable.

[Toronto Villa]

Nice interview with the boss on Villa TV

Snippet here

https://x.com/avfcofficial/status/1701998674329637225?s=46

[VillaTim]

Big test Saturday for Emery vs the old wily fox at palace. It's a game we should be winning given the money spent .

[andyh]

Big test Saturday for Emery vs the old wily fox at palace. It's a game we should be winning given the money spent .

At Villa

[VillaTim]

Big test Saturday for Emery vs the old wily fox at palace. It's a game we should be winning given the money spent .

At Villa

Yeah sorry just meant Hodgson was back at palace.

[Nev]

I've been at the end of so many games like today. We do everything but score. Hit the bar, unlucky deflections, piss poor refereeing decisions. You name it, it fucking happens. And always to two bit, wasters like Palace. And then they win, 1-0.

And at 75 minutes I thought it was going to happen all over again. I then decided that if this Manager was different he would turn it around.

And he did. Enjoy it everyone.

With that thanks to Nodge for the inspiration.

[Daley’s dreads]

Love Emery. Best manager since Saunders for me. However, I do feel the subs were a little lucky today. We lost quite a lot of shape and it looked a little Lambert against Bradford at times. Although 2 of them did score and the other set up a goal!

[Drummond]

I think Emery showed some humility to the players in hist post match comments.

Saying that they played with their hearts not their heads for the last period of the game, and that sometimes that's what's needed, will have reinforced to them that he believes in them.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

He’ll get it right. I just feel he’s trying to evolve us faster than we’re ready to or capable of right now against better opposition. With it happening now twice I think we’ll be more pragmatic next time away from home against a stronger opponent. He’s pretty much fixed everything he’s touched so far and this will be no different.

Nail on head as always, Leon.

I found this encouraging from post match yesterday:

Emery: "Last year with the players we had I was very happy with how they were working. They were so competitive and they increased their levels a lot. Tyrone Mings was very important in that process.
"But now we have new players like Pau Torres and Lenglet - last year Diego Carlos was injured. But we have to do the same work.
"Of course I know that we are some distance from the expectation I have for this team and some players. Every player can improve and every player has to improve - I have this idea in my mind.
"I have to be demanding of them but I have to try and support them in the process. Like last year it is a process and of course we lost two matches to Newcastle away and Liverpool away.
"Those matches we didn't reach the level we have to play at and I could understand that for now, they are better than us. But then we won two matches away at Burnley and at Everton and we played really very well.
"The fine details we can try to improve by being very demanding on ourselves - not changing a lot of things we did well and are still doing well. That is the message I have for the players and on the pitch."

[Drummond]

Unai Emery is the only manager in Aston Villa history to have won the majority of his matches. His win rate at the club is a staggering 58% whilst the next best is the legendary George Ramsay with 49.6%. 👏