Unai Emery

[LeeB]

We've been mooching around the arse end of the league for so long, Emery could sign eleven Ben Mees and play them all in goal, and I wouldn't give a shit as long as we started winning consistently.

i've no problem with that view, at least your being honest about not being bothered playing anti football as long as it gets results
i've a totaly different view but like you i'm being honest about it

i've waited a long time for a foriegn manager with a brain and i hope we've finaly got one
but i do want the full package Mourinho football is not for me, thats probably where i differ from others on here
so good defence coupled with progressive attacking ball retaining football

so no i dont get excited about park the bus tactics, sometimes its nessasary but not as a default model for where we want to be
again if you dont mind how we play thats fair enough but i do
the same people who were lording the well drilled bank of 5/6 pointed out on match of the day as if it was some new genius way of playing football will be the same people moaning about Southgate in the WC when he does exactly the same thing, thats what pissed me off
anyone who says different is a arsehole hypocrite 😊

I don't think the options are that binary, though. It's not a case of having a manager that plays progressive attacking football or having one that parks the bus.

To be honest, I do slightly share your concern about Emery - I think he is at his best when he is being slightly more cautious, or at least, when he is the underdog. That could lead to playing more defensively at times. However, to lump him in with managers like Southgate and Bruce is incredibly harsh. I think he is a very clever manager that will change our tactics based on so many factors - our opponents, the match situation, the players we have selected etc.

Take Sunday - we went a goal down and responded pretty well. The embarrassing mistake that led to their goal didn't stop us from playing the same way, we stuck to the plan and worked our way back into the game - actually playing a little more direct than we did against Man U, because we wanted Ings to split their Centre Backs to create space in front of them. Anyway, we played what I think is going to be our more natural game for the majority of the match, until we got ourselves in front. We made our first sub 15 minutes after we scored, on 69 minutes, which really signalled the change in tactics - to drop back for the last 20 minutes. Brighton are a team that dominate possession and cut through the space in defence - so we eliminated all of that space and they barely had a shot.

We didn't do this in either of the matches against Man United, because they play differently - maybe we should have on Thursday to have seen the game out?

Winning on Sunday was massive for so many reasons. Coming from behind, breaking our duck away from home, getting away from the relegation zone, to mood of the group going into the break etc. So all tactics were justified. But I don't think Emery is the type of manager/person to not think that about every match we play. Winning is the most important thing, and he will shape us in the way that he thinks will have the best chance to get us the win. Even if it means playing a 6-4-0 formation when we are 12 points clear at the top, or in an end-of-season dead rubber match. He wants us to win.

I wish I could tell you that playing defensively is just a temporary measure, but I don't think it is. However, that doesn't mean to say we won't play more attacking football when he feels that is the best thing to do. What I am confident of is that we won't go into any matches thinking "if we can just keep it tight and hope to nick one from a set-piece", or anything like that. There will be a detailed plan to win every match we play. As the players build confidence and get more accustomed to his tactics, hopefully we will see more attacking football. It will help when we have a run of easier fixtures as well, as we have been the underdog in all of his matches so far. At home to Wolves on the 4th of January will probably give us a better indication of how we will deal with being the favourites.

5 goals with clear and obvious plans on how to defend against both teams we faced:

Man Utd we let them have space deep and wide so they were drawn into lots of crosses that we handled fairly easily.
Brighton we put all the space in fron of us and stopped them playing through the lines and they had no idea how to respond. The only sight at goal they had in the last 20 (and injury time) came from a corner.

I'm all for having a manager with the brains to do this, even if it means that we spend 20mins (over 2 games) being defensive.

Keeping teams at arms length and forcing them to move the ball side to side will eventually force them to take a risk or make a mistake, meaning better opportunites to score on the break.

[john e]

Ok all you Gareth’s you win, you’ve convinced me,
 it’s the way to go, I’m now on board with the well drilled bank of 6

I might have it printed on a t shirt

[chrisw1]

It's been 3 games John.  On the back of 18 months of horrendous form and looking like one of the worst coached teams in the league.

I agree, if Bruce or Gerrard had served up the Brighton performace people would have been moaning.  It's a game of fine margins, a penalty decision here or a Colwill header there and we draw or lose the game.  BUT, for the first time in a long time you can see there's a plan.  There's method in the madness.  The way we switched and changed in the first Man U game was a sight to behold.  And that was based on 3 days training. 

So yes, whilst against Brighton we played anti football at times which we would have dreaded under Allardyce or Bruce, I'm confident there's a wider plan.  And once he's had time to work with the squad for more than a few days hopefully there is much, much more to come.

[KevinGage]

Emery also had two changes forced on him in Watkins and Bailey.

That shirley impacted on our attacking plan and how we had to adjust.  Had it been the other manager in charge, he might have tried to play the exact way as the week before but with different personnel.

"I'm Steven Gerrard, I won the big pot once as a player, so I'll let the opposition worry about us. I haven't done the research."

With more pacey options up front even if Ollie is out in the future, I hope we see a level of performance closer to the Yanited one more often.

[Monty]

Ok all you Gareth’s you win, you’ve convinced me,
 it’s the way to go, I’m now on board with the well drilled bank of 6

I might have it printed on a t shirt

John, if we're going to get into that sort of way of speaking to each other, then let's just put it this way: if you think that adjusting where your wide midfielders are to hold onto a comeback win makes one of the best tactical managers in the world Gareth Southgate, then you just need to go and learn a bit more about football pal. Because it's nonsense.

[London Villan]

Club football is different though. Do I want Southgate's England to play 523 vs Iran and grind out a 1-0 win - no way. The gulf in class should be massive. Even when we come up against quality opposition, I still want England to play attacking football, particularly with the attacking options we have got. Also – I really don’t care that much about England, so I’m more than happy to see them take risks.

As for Emery – I’m prepared to see him set teams up to get results. It seems to work for him judging by his trophy haul. The opposition in the PL is on a much higher level and we’ll need to make adjustments (as we did with Ings on Sunday) to win games. Seeing that back six, well drilled and coping with everything Brighton had was brilliant. Also we had two key attacking players out (four if you count Buendia hobbling off and Phil’s absence) so going gung-ho was never an option once we got the lead.

[Drummond]

It's been 3 games John.  On the back of 18 months of horrendous form and looking like one of the worst coached teams in the league.

I agree, if Bruce or Gerrard had served up the Brighton performace people would have been moaning.  It's a game of fine margins, a penalty decision here or a Colwill header there and we draw or lose the game.  BUT, for the first time in a long time you can see there's a plan.  There's method in the madness.  The way we switched and changed in the first Man U game was a sight to behold.  And that was based on 3 days training. 

So yes, whilst against Brighton we played anti football at times which we would have dreaded under Allardyce or Bruce, I'm confident there's a wider plan.  And once he's had time to work with the squad for more than a few days hopefully there is much, much more to come.

Bruce and Gerrard wouldn't have though.

Bruce may have gone defensive but it would have been for the first 80 rather than the last 10. And he'd have hoped to nick it.

Gerrard wouldn't have the nous to get us as organised as we were defensively.

[LeeB]

It's been 3 games John.  On the back of 18 months of horrendous form and looking like one of the worst coached teams in the league.

I agree, if Bruce or Gerrard had served up the Brighton performace people would have been moaning.  It's a game of fine margins, a penalty decision here or a Colwill header there and we draw or lose the game.  BUT, for the first time in a long time you can see there's a plan.  There's method in the madness.  The way we switched and changed in the first Man U game was a sight to behold.  And that was based on 3 days training. 

So yes, whilst against Brighton we played anti football at times which we would have dreaded under Allardyce or Bruce, I'm confident there's a wider plan.  And once he's had time to work with the squad for more than a few days hopefully there is much, much more to come.

Bruce and Gerrard wouldn't have though.

Bruce may have gone defensive but it would have been for the first 80 rather than the last 10. And he'd have hoped to nick it.

Gerrard wouldn't have the nous to get us as organised as we were defensively.

Yeah, and their idea is just 'throw another body in there' rather than everyone knowing what their job is and how to adjust.

[Drummond]

It's been 3 games John.  On the back of 18 months of horrendous form and looking like one of the worst coached teams in the league.

I agree, if Bruce or Gerrard had served up the Brighton performace people would have been moaning.  It's a game of fine margins, a penalty decision here or a Colwill header there and we draw or lose the game.  BUT, for the first time in a long time you can see there's a plan.  There's method in the madness.  The way we switched and changed in the first Man U game was a sight to behold.  And that was based on 3 days training. 

So yes, whilst against Brighton we played anti football at times which we would have dreaded under Allardyce or Bruce, I'm confident there's a wider plan.  And once he's had time to work with the squad for more than a few days hopefully there is much, much more to come.

Bruce and Gerrard wouldn't have though.

Bruce may have gone defensive but it would have been for the first 80 rather than the last 10. And he'd have hoped to nick it.

Gerrard wouldn't have the nous to get us as organised as we were defensively.

Yeah, and their idea is just 'throw another body in there' rather than everyone knowing what their job is and how to adjust.

Yep, the organisation our team had was a joy to behold. It was purposeful defending and great to watch; controlling the game and the opposition to do what we wanted them to do. Loved it.

I'd also add that up front we have the players to really hurt teams too. I very much doubt Emery will be playing defensively all the time, when we've got the ability going forward that we have.

[john e]

Ok all you Gareth’s you win, you’ve convinced me,
 it’s the way to go, I’m now on board with the well drilled bank of 6

I might have it printed on a t shirt

John, if we're going to get into that sort of way of speaking to each other, then let's just put it this way: if you think that adjusting where your wide midfielders are to hold onto a comeback win makes one of the best tactical managers in the world Gareth Southgate, then you just need to go and learn a bit more about football pal. Because it's nonsense.

Apologies
all in jest

[usav]

Wasn't sure where to post this, but this seemed as good a place as anywhere. 

What are our non-WC players up to now?  Do they get a week or two off?  I know we are going to Dubai at some point, wasn't sure when that was.  Also, what happens to long-term injured players that are rehabbing like Carlos and Coutinho, do they get to go to Dubai or stay at Bodymoor?

[astonvilla82]

Wasn't sure where to post this, but this seemed as good a place as anywhere. 

What are our non-WC players up to now?  Do they get a week or two off?  I know we are going to Dubai at some point, wasn't sure when that was.  Also, what happens to long-term injured players that are rehabbing like Carlos and Coutinho, do they get to go to Dubai

back at Bodymoor Heath, learning bricklaying to build brick walls hopefully

[Drummond]

Week off. Trip to dubai. Then training and Villarreal.

[coreyfeldman]

Honestly, some people just don't want to be happy

[tomd2103]

 Think it might be a cultural thing as well though.  Was watching a podcast with Kieran Trippier the other day and he was talking about his time at Atletico Madrid.  He said most teams in the league would go ultra defensive to protect a lead.  He said Simeone was extreme in that respect and would substitute strikers for defenders as soon as they took the lead, even if it was in the first half.

I'm not overly keen on It, but he said that time wasting tricks and that way of closing out games was pretty much the norm in Spain.