Unai Emery

[Brazilian Villain]

This looks interesting......

https://x.com/GuillemBalague/status/1839993238536470915

Looks very interesting given the title, and hopefully there's a trophy win coming to make for a fitting final chapter.

[eamonn]

What I find odd about Emery is that he seems to be happy to sacrifice defensive dodginess for the greater good. He had a reputation for being pragmatic in Spain with his teams being hard to beat more than being easy on the eye.

With us, he doesn't seem to give a shit about clean sheets if we're "imposing our idea" and scoring enough up the other end. Can't we have a bit of both though? Don't mean to be greedy but it would be nice.

[pauliewalnuts]

What I find odd about Emery is that he seems to be happy to sacrifice defensive dodginess for the greater good. He had a reputation for being pragmatic in Spain with his teams being hard to beat more than being easy on the eye.

With us, he doesn't seem to give a shit about clean sheets if we're "imposing our idea" and scoring enough up the other end. Can't we have a bit of both though? Don't mean to be greedy but it would be nice.

Yeah, I know what you mean, the odd clean sheet would be nice.

But had we won today, wouldn't we have been joint top of the league? It clearly works.

Still, I do know what you mean.

[ChicagoLion]

What I find odd about Emery is that he seems to be happy to sacrifice defensive dodginess for the greater good. He had a reputation for being pragmatic in Spain with his teams being hard to beat more than being easy on the eye.

With us, he doesn't seem to give a shit about clean sheets if we're "imposing our idea" and scoring enough up the other end. Can't we have a bit of both though? Don't mean to be greedy but it would be nice.

Yeah, I know what you mean, the odd clean sheet would be nice.

But had we won today, wouldn't we have been joint top of the league? It clearly works.

Still, I do know what you mean.

I don’t think we have the players to keep it tight when we need to.
Konsa out of position, Carlos is weak link, Onana Tielemans neither naturally defensive minded.Cash is not the answer either.
This is why I think we are so ponderous in attack, we know if we give the opposition the ball they will have a chance on goal.
I think Kamara return can not come too soon. But that still leaves the RB problem.

[Villan82]

What I find odd about Emery is that he seems to be happy to sacrifice defensive dodginess for the greater good. He had a reputation for being pragmatic in Spain with his teams being hard to beat more than being easy on the eye.

With us, he doesn't seem to give a shit about clean sheets if we're "imposing our idea" and scoring enough up the other end. Can't we have a bit of both though? Don't mean to be greedy but it would be nice.

When he replaced Gerrard, Emery made us tight at the back. We ground out to great wins against Man U and Brighton. In the latter we ended the game with 6 at the back! We were quite solid all through the end of the 22-23 season.

Then we started 23-24 without Mings but just blew teams away. The issues we have had defensively all stem from Kamara's injury which severely disrupted our system in my opinion

[Beard82]

What I find odd about Emery is that he seems to be happy to sacrifice defensive dodginess for the greater good. He had a reputation for being pragmatic in Spain with his teams being hard to beat more than being easy on the eye.

With us, he doesn't seem to give a shit about clean sheets if we're "imposing our idea" and scoring enough up the other end. Can't we have a bit of both though? Don't mean to be greedy but it would be nice.

Yeah, I know what you mean, the odd clean sheet would be nice.

But had we won today, wouldn't we have been joint top of the league? It clearly works.

Still, I do know what you mean.

I don’t think we have the players to keep it tight when we need to.
Konsa out of position, Carlos is weak link, Onana Tielemans neither naturally defensive minded.Cash is not the answer either.
This is why I think we are so ponderous in attack, we know if we give the opposition the ball they will have a chance on goal.
I think Kamara return can not come too soon. But that still leaves the RB problem.

I agree - as a team we dont defend well - and our current back 4 is pretty weak.  Digne a good left back - but lacks a bit of pace,  Pau isn't a great defender but important to the way we build up play etc.  Carlos just doesnt seem to be good enough, Konsa is but not at right back.  Cash is ok, Bogarde and Ned apparently not ready.  Missing Mings - but not sure how that will work with Pau

I dont think it helps that Bailey isnt at last seasons levels and Onnana doesnt keep the ball as well and Luiz or Kamara - so the ball isnt as sticky as it was

[Flamingo Lane]

Whilst commendable in its own way, I'm starting to think that Unai's exceptional and unwavering disinclination to criticise officials is not likely to do us much good in the long term scheme of things. Example, would the Ipswich captain have remained on the field today v Man City, Arsenal, Liverpool etc?

[cdbearsfan]

I think he does criticise them on the pitch, he's been booked in our last two home games.

[eamonn]

Yep, Unai was noticeably spitting feathers on the sideline when the ref refused to give the second yellow. But, the gent that he is, he didn't bring it up in the post-match interviews I've seen.

[PaulWinch again]

I’m kind of hoping our lack of focus on defence is due to the opposition we’ve been playing. Essentially he thinks we can outgun them and we’re just going for it - which to be fair has worked for the most part this season. I guess Wednesday will tell us if it’s been by design, but if it’s not and we’re that open against Bayern I don’t think it’ll end well.

[Risso]

I’m kind of hoping our lack of focus on defence is due to the opposition we’ve been playing. Essentially he thinks we can outgun them and we’re just going for it - which to be fair has worked for the most part this season. I guess Wednesday will tell us if it’s been by design, but if it’s not and we’re that open against Bayern I don’t think it’ll end well.

The defence has been crap for months, whoever the opposition is. We just haven't been abe to cope properly in that area without Kamara. Onana gives us something different, but he's nowhere near Bouba's level yet.

[PaulWinch again]

No I think he’s a different type of player to be honest. Kamara is one of the best defensive mids around, he’s absolutely vital.

[jon collett]

I think from memory we’ve let in two or more goals in ten of the last twelve home games.

[Sexual Ealing]

Yep, Unai was noticeably spitting feathers on the sideline when the ref refused to give the second yellow. But, the gent that he is, he didn't bring it up in the post-match interviews I've seen.

He doesn't want to give the players an excuse, is my interpretation.

[Risso]

Agreed, the ref should have done his job properly but we should still have had enough to beat Ipswich without needing a player for them to be sent off.