Unai Emery

[frankmosswasmyuncle]

We only went to a 6-4 formation once we had the lead and wanted to go ultra defensive to make sure they couldn't break us down.

This.
It's a perfect example of game management deployed by a high quality coach and playrs who have bought into him. As I said to my mate at the time, we could have played for another hour and Brighton wouldn't have broken us down.

Depends if you want to defend a lead as soon as you go a goal up or keep going for another goal

one of their players missed a sitter, an open goal header with no pressure from 6 yes out late on, 9 times out of 10 that’s put away normally then we’re coming away with a point because we were to defensive and cautious

But he missed.
And we won.

[Chris Smith]

We only went to a 6-4 formation once we had the lead and wanted to go ultra defensive to make sure they couldn't break us down.

This.
It's a perfect example of game management deployed by a high quality coach and playrs who have bought into him. As I said to my mate at the time, we could have played for another hour and Brighton wouldn't have broken us down.

Depends if you want to defend a lead as soon as you go a goal up or keep going for another goal

one of their players missed a sitter, an open goal header with no pressure from 6 yes out late on, 9 times out of 10 that’s put away normally then we’re coming away with a point because we were to defensive and cautious

That’s assuming that they would not have made chances if we’d just carried on as we had been which is obviously impossible to know.

[frankmosswasmyuncle]

We only went to a 6-4 formation once we had the lead and wanted to go ultra defensive to make sure they couldn't break us down.

This.
It's a perfect example of game management deployed by a high quality coach and playrs who have bought into him. As I said to my mate at the time, we could have played for another hour and Brighton wouldn't have broken us down.

Depends if you want to defend a lead as soon as you go a goal up or keep going for another goal

one of their players missed a sitter, an open goal header with no pressure from 6 yes out late on, 9 times out of 10 that’s put away normally then we’re coming away with a point because we were to defensive and cautious

That’s assuming that they would not have made chances if we’d just carried on as we had been which is obviously impossible to know.

Yep, however we look at it in theory, too many "ifs".
Those are the kind of things that keep me awake at night!

[Stu82]

Emery is obviously really new and yet in that time, the players have clearly shown they understand their roles, can adapt, and play good football. It's a revelation, and shows that those calling for us to go all out for a top manager and/or who said our players are good enough are right. We may not be about to win the league, but we are sure as hell going the right way.

It's promising but still far too early to make any definitive statements. I'm feeling more positive about Villa than I have for a long time, but that's usually when the universe decides to give Villa a good kick in the bollocks! Let's see where we are and how the players are doing at the halfway point in the season, and whether any new players arrive in January.

I am feeling more positive of pushing up the league to be in contention, than I have since the late 90’s.

Feel this is the manager to make us great again. Also makes you realise in those two games, most of  the players are of a much higher ability than has been shown in the last 12 months. They just needed better coaching and someone to Instill belief in their abilities.

Need a centre half, and a top striker in Jan hopefully

[Hookeysmith]

As mentioned by other posters the analysis on MOTD2 was very good and incredible to see how organised they were after only a handful of training sessions.

Apart from Bouba these are the same rabble that got Smith the sack and with Bouba the shambles that was Gerrard

Imagine when he gets his own players in 

[pauliewalnuts]

It is indeed too early to make predictions of greatness (or failure, for that matter), but what we have seen in two premier league matches is the difference between coaches who are hewn from the same stone as the likes of Bruce and the merry-go-round of British managers who are largely stuck in the past (of which, on the evidence of this last year, Gerrard is one), and modern highly tactical, innovative coaches of the type of Emery.

What is kind of ironic is we were actually the first club to attempt to introduce that second type of manager when we appointed Venglos.

[Percy McCarthy]

It is indeed too early to make predictions of greatness (or failure, for that matter), but what we have seen in two premier league matches is the difference between coaches who are hewn from the same stone as the likes of Bruce and the merry-go-round of British managers who are largely stuck in the past (of which, on the evidence of this last year, Gerrard is one), and modern highly tactical, innovative coaches of the type of Emery.

What is kind of ironic is we were actually the first club to attempt to introduce that second type of manager when we appointed Venglos.

I kind of think that maybe the players weren’t ready for Doctor Jo.

[LeeB]

It is indeed too early to make predictions of greatness (or failure, for that matter), but what we have seen in two premier league matches is the difference between coaches who are hewn from the same stone as the likes of Bruce and the merry-go-round of British managers who are largely stuck in the past (of which, on the evidence of this last year, Gerrard is one), and modern highly tactical, innovative coaches of the type of Emery.

What is kind of ironic is we were actually the first club to attempt to introduce that second type of manager when we appointed Venglos.

I kind of think that maybe the players weren’t ready for Doctor Jo.

I always thought it was just Ellis thinking he'd got someone he could push around after being schooled by SGT.

[PeterWithesShin]

Dr Jo was derided by many of the players and a number of the press for the methods he tried to bring in. Many of which were methods used by Wenger when he arrived at Arsenal.

[Smithy]

We only went to a 6-4 formation once we had the lead and wanted to go ultra defensive to make sure they couldn't break us down.

This.
It's a perfect example of game management deployed by a high quality coach and playrs who have bought into him. As I said to my mate at the time, we could have played for another hour and Brighton wouldn't have broken us down.

Depends if you want to defend a lead as soon as you go a goal up or keep going for another goal

one of their players missed a sitter, an open goal header with no pressure from 6 yes out late on, 9 times out of 10 that’s put away normally then we’re coming away with a point because we were to defensive and cautious

Going defensive doesn't guarantee the opposition won't score, and it doesn't guarantee they won't get chances - it just reduces the likelihood of either of those things happening. If you're good at it, it reduces that likelihood by a hell of a lot. Yes, Brighton created one good chance in the last twenty-five-odd minutes when we were primarily defensive.  But in my book that's actually pretty good going. Considering they were dominating the ball at that point, that's the equivalent of three chances in a whole game, and none on target.

To say 9 times out of 10 that header gets scored is wildly inaccurate. It's about 1 in 4 (according to the expected goals for that chance, which is pretty accurate for tracking these things). So, technically, we could give away chance like that in every game where we go defensive to hold onto a lead and we'd still win three out of four.

I don't like us being overly defensive, but there is no debating that it actually works, or that Unai got them well-drilled enough to be able to do it for 25+ minutes while conceding very little in the way of goal-scoring opportunities. 

We've been crap at holding on to leads in the past, if this change means we have the ability to "shut up shop" more effectively when we're into the last 20 minutes of a game and have a lead to protect, then I'm all for it.

[paul_e]

We only went to a 6-4 formation once we had the lead and wanted to go ultra defensive to make sure they couldn't break us down.

This.
It's a perfect example of game management deployed by a high quality coach and playrs who have bought into him. As I said to my mate at the time, we could have played for another hour and Brighton wouldn't have broken us down.

Depends if you want to defend a lead as soon as you go a goal up or keep going for another goal

one of their players missed a sitter, an open goal header with no pressure from 6 yes out late on, 9 times out of 10 that’s put away normally then we’re coming away with a point because we were to defensive and cautious

Going defensive doesn't guarantee the opposition won't score, and it doesn't guarantee they won't get chances - it just reduces the likelihood of either of those things happening. If you're good at it, it reduces that likelihood by a hell of a lot. Yes, Brighton created one good chance in the last twenty-five-odd minutes when we were primarily defensive.  But in my book that's actually pretty good going. Considering they were dominating the ball at that point, that's the equivalent of three chances in a whole game, and none on target.

To say 9 times out of 10 that header gets scored is wildly inaccurate. It's about 1 in 4 (according to the expected goals for that chance, which is pretty accurate for tracking these things). So, technically, we could give away chance like that in every game where we go defensive to hold onto a lead and we'd still win three out of four.

I don't like us being overly defensive, but there is no debating that it actually works, or that Unai got them well-drilled enough to be able to do it for 25+ minutes while conceding very little in the way of goal-scoring opportunities. 

We've been crap at holding on to leads in the past, if this change means we have the ability to "shut up shop" more effectively when we're into the last 20 minutes of a game and have a lead to protect, then I'm all for it.

It also depends on the opposition. Offer that much territory to a team like Man City or Liverpool and they take advantage of it. Offer it to a Brighton side who have been goal-shy for most of the last 3 years and the chances are that they're not going to be able to break you down. It's a bit like doing it to Gerrards Villa team (as we saw 4-5 teams do this season) and watching us amble about looking utterly toothless.

[Drummond]

As mentioned by other posters the analysis on MOTD2 was very good and incredible to see how organised they were after only a handful of training sessions.

Apart from Bouba these are the same rabble that got Smith the sack and with Bouba the shambles that was Gerrard

Imagine when he gets his own players in 

And Digne, Chambers, Bednarek, Augustinsson, Dendoncker... Coutinho injured obviously.

It makes you think about our recruitment and whether it's not that bad really.

[john e]

You’re going to have to forgive me for not wetting my knickers in excitement about seeing a bank of five or six spread across the back line to defend a one goal lead for 40 minutes

I’m going to be shouting fucks at Southgate during the World Cup for doing exactly the same thing for the next month when England take the lead, so no I don’t think it’s management genius to park the bus at an away game and see a game out

I’ve always been more BFR than John Gregory, I remember hating Gregory Football and we were top of the league, so if anything I’m pretty consistent

But the rub is here, as Monty says the same tactical nous can be used in midfield and further forward in which case it will make the whole team More threatening
That’s what I want to see progressive attacking football, if that means sorting the defence out first then fair enough

I know I’m coming across negative and I hate myself for it,
so I will say I am delighted that we have a foreign boss in Emery, i’ve hated British managers for playing well sort of the same way as we did against Brighton but I’m willing to let it go because that’s not the whole picture
But I won’t be fawning over Southgate Allardyce football any time soon and I know you’re all going to say it’s A different thing and I’m getting confused but it’s not it’s fucking six at the back defending a one goal lead for nearly a whole half And I won’t be a hypocrite

Anyway up the villa and bring on Liverpool

[pauliewalnuts]

Southgate Allardyce football is proper histrionics, John.

[astonvilla82]

In hindsight I wish Emery had gone all out attack, which would have suited the seagulls and and perhaps we would have lost 5 or 6,,we been shit before he come