Unai Emery

[Toronto Villa]

Gerrard was, it's becoming evident, basically Billy McBingo with a scouse accent.

The more you look at the players since he left the more you realise they must have hated him being in charge, he was obviously useless at man management, And as it turned out management in general

It might work as a player and as a captain of a big club. That incredible fire and desire to not just play at a high level but elevate others. Probably say the same about Roy Keane too. But it doesn’t always translate to managing players where you cannot expect them to be you and treat them like shit when they’re not. I like the way Vieira for example has transitioned to the role at Palace. As determined and hard a player as you’ll ever find but now as a manager he doesn’t come across that way and he’s doing to a nice job there

[Dante Lavelli]

Weird one, with Gerrard I often listened to his press conferences and post match interviews as I was seeking clues that he had a plan (for what it is worth I thought he often spoke very well).  I’d never done that with a manager before and am back not caring with Emery.  It feels like there’s an adult in charge again.

[N'ZMAV]

I really wanted it to work for Gerrard, I don't really know why - I backed him longer than most did, I feel a bit foolish now

[cdbearsfan]

I was convinced Lambert was gonna be brilliant, so don't worry about that. 🙂

[Sexual Ealing]

I was convinced Lambert was gonna be brilliant, so don't worry about that. 🙂

And me.

[pauliewalnuts]

I was convinced Lambert was gonna be brilliant, so don't worry about that. 🙂

And me.

We all were.

There was barely a voice of dissent when we took him.

[LeeB]

I was convinced Lambert was gonna be brilliant, so don't worry about that. 🙂

And me.

We all were.

There was barely a voice of dissent when we took him.

I can remember messaging you saying he's going to be great, about a week before the Chelsea game

[pauliewalnuts]

I was convinced Lambert was gonna be brilliant, so don't worry about that. 🙂

And me.

We all were.

There was barely a voice of dissent when we took him.

I can remember messaging you saying he's going to be great, about a week before the Chelsea game

I remember our first game under him - was it at Norwich? Our fans were singing "We're Aston Villa, we're passing the ball" as if we were about to undergo some sort of footballing renaissance.

Fast forward a year or two and he's sat there next to Keane on the bench, looking like a couple of fat wasters who stink of chips, with no idea what to do as we stink the league out.

[LeeB]

No, you were mistaken. We were outstanding.

[Villa in Denmark]

I was convinced Lambert was gonna be brilliant, so don't worry about that. 🙂

And me.

We all were.

There was barely a voice of dissent when we took him.

I can remember messaging you saying he's going to be great, about a week before the Chelsea game

I remember our first game under him - was it at Norwich? Our fans were singing "We're Aston Villa, we're passing the ball" as if we were about to undergo some sort of footballing renaissance.

Fast forward a year or two and he's sat there next to Keane on the bench, looking like a couple of fat wasters who stink of chips, with no idea what to do as we stink the league out.

West Ham. I think we lost 1-0

[cdbearsfan]

You're mixing up McLeish's final game, away to Lambert's Norwich, when we serenaded him all game to the annoyance of the inbred locals, with Lambert's first game as Villa manager which was a one-nil defeat at West Ham. We did sing the "passing the ball" song at Upton Park, though. At Norwich, a few months earlier, we were singing "we're Aston Villa, we play for a draw".

[Legion]

Followed by, "We're Aston Villa, please just have a shot."

[Clampy]

I remember thinking Isiah Osbourne was going to be the next big thing.

[cdbearsfan]

I liked him. I think I may have been blinded by the fact that he scored about thirty a season from midfield for me in Football Manager. Or about half as many as Luke Moore got.

[not3bad]

It's early days, but Emery could be the very epitome of a successful Aston Villa - get the job done, no ego, quality football, let the players do the talking on the pitch, substance over fame.

I like the sound of this a lot.