Unai Emery

[supertom]

In my lifetime our best managers have been lowish profile types who just get on with it and don't play to the gallery.

Gerrard et al were more quotable. And there is a role for PR.

But this guy is an actual manager.

Gerrard was great for post match insight until falling into the same trap as a few previous managers. An increasingly frosty relationship with the press, a raft of stock phrases and deluded excuses. He seemed to say all the right things when he first arrived but as we increasingly saw, not the first idea how to make those come to fruition after it took 2 months for opponents to figure out how to play Gerrard's Villa.

I don't envision similar issues with Emery. The BIG test is to come when we start playing 'easier' games. It's been more of an achilles heel than playing top 6 sides, almost for as long as I can remember.

[Brazilian Villain]

Early days but I'm beginning to suspect he may be a better manager than Steve Bruce.

[Toronto Villa]

Early days but I'm beginning to suspect he may be a better manager than Steve Bruce.

Slow your fucking roll. Always someone that has to get carried away.

[Steve67]

Man United, Brighton, Liverpool and Tottenham and we pick up 9 points.  I'd have been happy with 4.  Great start, playing some lovely stuff too.  First clean sheet, hopefully, of many.  Bring in some quality this window and we might be fighting for the Conference thingy.  Making the world notice us seems to be mission achieved. 

[olaftab]

That's the thing Steve67. When Unai joined us we were looking up the North Face. 4 games where we could have easily come out with zero points. But we have 9...bloody marvelous.
And I still think we deserve at least a point from the Boxing day game.

[olaftab]

Early days but I'm beginning to suspect he may be a better manager than Steve Bruce.

Heresy...go and wash your mouth out say 99 hail Stevens. Steve is football man who knows the game inside out, absolutely immersed in tradition of English football that foreigners know nothing about, he can do a job anywhere and get results by just rolling his sleeves up.

[ChicagoLion]

Early days but I'm beginning to suspect he may be a better manager than Steve Bruce.

Madness.

[pauliewalnuts]

What I can see already with Emery is that we have a manager who sends his team out knowing exactly what he wants them to do, and who then conducts the game from the sidelines, making adjustments where needed to get the team over the line - it is like there is a direct link between manager and how we are on the pitch.

We haven't had a manager like that for a long time.

[Villan82]

Man United (h)
Brighton (a)
Liverpool (h)
Spurs (a)

_
9 points from that. Very impressive. Any team in the league would be happy with that.

[Stu82]

I have absolutely no idea what system we were playing after the triple substitution but it bloody worked!

Agree, but all the players seem to know their jobs and are comfortable.

If I would have seen some of those changes under Gerrard I would have thought wtf.

He is a great communicator of his tactics, love it.

[PaulWinch again]

Top work today.

[Lsvilla]

Cash for Bailey to nullify Sessegnon was a great example of his tactical awareness.

[john e]

Loads of our players have improved noticeably since Emery has been at Villa
that’s the sign of a good manager and something the previous one couldn’t and didn’t do at all

[pelty]

Cash for Bailey to nullify Sessegnon was a great example of his tactical awareness.

Just unsure why Cash does not start. I like Ashley a ton, but I prefer Cash going forward.

[Jon Crofts]

Cash for Bailey to nullify Sessegnon was a great example of his tactical awareness.

I’d forgotten Sausage dog played for them still and yes it was a great example.