Unai Emery

[boozey182]

It's still quite raw, and I am a firm believer that the buck stops with the manager when things go wrong, but I am trying to believe that yesterday will ultimately help us in the long run.

Personally, I have no problem with the team selection, apart from Martinez should have started. And not because of Olsen not being good enough, but because I think Martinez needs more minutes with the team and he's just had a break. Leaving him on the bench was an error, in my view. Other than that, I think that every player that started (apart from Sanson) had been involved in a Premier League match within 7 days of the game - this wasn't a case of playing the reserves; it was a team that was more than strong enough to win that match. As a manager that hasn't been in the job very long and that is just entering his first transfer window, I think it would have been negligent of him not to take a closer look at other players in the squad.

I think our problem was one of mentality. I don't hold too much importance on the position of captain in a squad, but the fact that Ings had the job yesterday shows how little leadership we have in the squad - without Martinez, Mings, McGinn and Young I'm not sure we have anything in that respect. Again, the buck stops with Emery there I guess - I can only assume he wanted one of the others to step up and take charge. Ironically, the most likely was probably Dendonker, and he instigated the entire capitulation.

As a manager, you can't legislate for a mistake like that - it wasn't problem with the tactics or the system. There was a simple pass to the side to (I think) Chambers. There was no need for an international midfielder to try and take on a player (that was behind him) with 3 minutes to go in a cup tie that we were winning 1-0. I cannot for the life of me understand why he thought that was a good idea, especially at that moment. And I quite like(d?) Dendonker. I thought he'd looked okay up until yesterday and that he could have a role to play in our squad. That one mistake, though, will have severely dented the trust that the other players have in him, playing that kind of football.

And that will be here to stay, by the way. We will continue to play out from the back, despite the goals we have conceded from doing so. We'll keep doing it until we get it right - I doubt we have seen the last of the goals conceded like that, but it won't stop us. That's going to be how we play under Emery, who will drag us into the modern era of football whether the players and fans are ready for it or not. Within 18 months, shouting "get it forward" in the Holte End will get you the stink eye from all around you.

A culture shift is required. As it has for a while. I think after yesterday, Emery will focus on the mentality of the squad a little more than maybe he was planning. He wasn't just let down by the players, he was humiliated by them. I don't for a second buy the idea that he wasn't bothered by yesterday. The "every match gives us more information" quote was quite ominous, I thought. He will have learnt a lot more than he was hoping to.

I don't think we lost yesterday because the players that played aren't good enough. It was a freak result, caused by a freak mistake, compounded by some bad goalkeeping - but what it has done is emphasise (or maybe exaggerate) some fundamental issues with our squad. We don't score enough goals when we dominate possession. We are mentally fragile. We struggle to play against teams that are willing to run as much as we do. We are sloppy on the ball far too often. There's much more than that, I'm sure, that's just off the top of my head.

To what extent Emery is to blame for yesterday, and what he should have done differently, is debatable, but it's pretty much irrelevant now - what matters is that he is 100% responsible for fixing it and making sure this doesn't happen again. I still have complete confidence in him, but the honeymoon ended abruptly yesterday.

[pauliewalnuts]

There was a spell in that match, a long one, in the second half where we passed the ball at the edge of their area about 300 times with no idea whatsoever of how to try to cut through them. It was so fucking frustrating to watch.

I know they sat very deep and defended for their lives but they're a fucking League Two side, we're a team full of internationals, even the stiffs, we should have easily too much for them, we should be able to find a way through.

[tomd2103]

There was a spell in that match, a long one, in the second half where we passed the ball at the edge of their area about 300 times with no idea whatsoever of how to try to cut through them. It was so fucking frustrating to watch.

I know they sat very deep and defended for their lives but they're a fucking League Two side, we're a team full of internationals, even the stiffs, we should have easily too much for them, we should be able to find a way through.

I remember that passage of play.  What was annoying was that the ball went wide numerous times during that time and Bailey and both full-backs found themselves one-on-one with League Two defenders and didn't once try to take them on.  Instead, they opted to turn and play the ball backwards every time.

[aj2k77]

He needs to put his arm round Bailey and manoeuvre him into the back of a van, never to be seen again.

[LeeB]

He needs to put his arm round Bailey and manoeuvre him into the back of a van, never to be seen again.

He doesn't need an arm around him, needs a curtain and a shotgun

[Clark W Griswold]

Yeah i must admit, that first half performance and goal against Man Utd the other week doesn't make up for the fact that he's pretty shit nearly all of the rest of the time.

[Scott Nielsen]

This from Ashley Preece is quite interesting (I won't link to that rag):

<snip>

Good to see those comments from Emery but his predecessors had the same ambition. Let's just hope he is given free reign to dismantle this shitshow of a squad that has already let two managers down.

[clash city rocker]

I have sympathy for our manager. No way would he have wanted to lose however it was let down by the players many of which are international players. They let him down, themselves down and the club down. Chances are he would sell 6 of them tomorrow and bring in 6 players of his own choice. Because of the nature of the beast he can't do that and so we are going to have to be patient.  I truly think he is totally focused on the team and the club unlike some predisessors who were more focused on their media mates and there own profiles. For me he is the best manager we have had in years and step by step, little by little people will see this.

[cdward]

66 years since our last FA Cup
27 years since our last real trophy
7 years since we last won an FA cup game!
11 years since we finished in the top 10 of the PL.

Changing the above stats is the first thing Unai needs to do, we have a small team/club mentality.
Swansea, Small Heath, Wigan, Leicester, Blackburn, Middlesbrough, Portsmouth, have all won a trophy (League Cup or FA Cup) more recently than Villa have.
I can't be arsed to list out which teams have finished in the top 10 of the PL in the last 10 years, but it probably includes the likes of Burnley, Watford, Norwich, Sheff Utd. etc'

[Neil Hawkes]

Excellent post Boozey

[placeforparks]

20 league games left, no distractions.

after 18 games last season, we were 11th with 22 points.

after 18 games this season, we are 11th with 22 points...

we finished 14th with 45 points.

the barometer is year-on-year improvement.

for me, anything less than a top half finish for emery would be a disappointment.

[ChicagoLion]

20 league games left, no distractions.

after 18 games last season, we were 11th with 22 points.

after 18 games this season, we are 11th with 22 points...

we finished 14th with 45 points.

the barometer is year-on-year improvement.

for me, anything less than a top half finish for emery would be a disappointment.

without some serious replacements I don’t think we will do a great deal better.
There is very little after our first X1

[BC Villain]

6/7 games in and he’s blotted his copybook, Jesus wept.

He absolutely has.  He's piled so much unnecessary pressure on himself for Friday to get a result.  I've just watched his post match interview and he doesn't even look that bothered about today's shambles

He really hasn’t. Your reaction in terms of the manager specifically are miles over the top.

I think we have right to expect our manager to take the only two competitions we have any chance of having a run at seriously.  Yet in both cup games, he has decided to sabotage both, weeks after claiming he wanted to win a trophy.  What his pedigree in the past is irrelevant - both him and the players have effectively stuck two fingers up to the fans.

[SoccerHQ]

Really good comments from Emery. He's identified a big problem for us in last decade so now he must act on it.

I always remember after Newcastle away last season Gerrard let rip on how bad we are.....and then played pretty much the same team the next week v Watford when we were even worse.

From press reports at the time some of the players were amazed they weren't dropped for a few weeks after that game.

For a start I'd be starting Sanson v Leeds just to see what he's like in a high tempo prem game under Emery. It might not work but at least that will show a message to the squad.

[LeeB]

6/7 games in and he’s blotted his copybook, Jesus wept.

He absolutely has.  He's piled so much unnecessary pressure on himself for Friday to get a result.  I've just watched his post match interview and he doesn't even look that bothered about today's shambles

He really hasn’t. Your reaction in terms of the manager specifically are miles over the top.

I think we have right to expect our manager to take the only two competitions we have any chance of having a run at seriously.  Yet in both cup games, he has decided to sabotage both, weeks after claiming he wanted to win a trophy.  What his pedigree in the past is irrelevant - both him and the players have effectively stuck two fingers up to the fans.

He's just into the job and needs to evaluate the players he has, 'decide to sabotage both' is just hyperbolic nonsense ffs