Unai Emery

[Risso]

Virtually every good team I've seen in the last ten years had teething problems settling into the new style. Even Pep's City and Klopp's Liverpool - remember the latter conceding absolute buckets from all that space they'd leave behind them?

It is frustrating when we get pressed at the back into conceding possession close to goal, especially when it's a normally rock-solid player like Kamara doing it. But all that lovely football we've been playing, that's built on not just hoofing it when we get under pressure, and is the main reason we've gone from relegation candidates to annoyed we're not closer to the European spots in a couple of months under Emery.

I know it's annoying but life is full of trade-offs, and if you want the good football sometimes you have to put up with the clangers. I can tell you this - no fecking way I want us going back to the mesozoic hoofball horseshit that's characterised our football for two decades now just because our best midfielder had an off-day.

We mostly haven't been playing lovely football though. There have been some good passages of play, but mostly it's been Emery finding ways to get the team to win somehow, and it's not a sustainable plan. The first halves against Liverpool, Spurs and Wolves were all crap. Emery himself said we didn't deserve to beat Leeds and we got what our shitty defensive play deserved yesterday, ie nothing. This group of players has shown time and time again that's it not consistently good enough, and we've just passed up an opportunity to start the improvement process.

[ChicagoLion]

As good as Unai is, maybe yesterday Rogers was just as good? They seemed to have done their homework very well, they stretched our defence constantly, their press forced mistakes and they got behind us in wide positions at will, beating the offside trap regularly.

And we still should have won.

Agree and they targeted Kamara knowing he is our best link defence and attack in a critical area of the pitch.

[Monty]

I would not say 'mostly' - almost every game has included some stunningly incisive play, almost all of that starting from the back. And even our defensive work is built on Emery's Villarreal trick of keeping the ball in defence to suck in the opposition, which is going to involve some risk.

This team is building the most competent-looking Villa side of my lifetime, and the bedrock of competence is keeping the ball and not hoicking it out of panic.

[PeterWithe]

*Looks up Mesozoic*

[ChicagoLion]

I would not say 'mostly' - almost every game has included some stunningly incisive play, almost all of that starting from the back. And even our defensive work is built on Emery's Villarreal trick of keeping the ball in defence to suck in the opposition, which is going to involve some risk.

This team is building the most competent-looking Villa side of my lifetime, and the bedrock of competence is keeping the ball and not hoicking it out of panic.

As well as the problem that we are unable to hit the ball into the Chanel , I think Mings tried 3 times and found touch every time. So we don’t have an out ball.

[Risso]

I would not say 'mostly' - almost every game has included some stunningly incisive play, almost all of that starting from the back. And even our defensive work is built on Emery's Villarreal trick of keeping the ball in defence to suck in the opposition, which is going to involve some risk.

This team is building the most competent-looking Villa side of my lifetime, and the bedrock of competence is keeping the ball and not hoicking it out of panic.

Both Smith and even more so Gerrard were trying to build out from the back. I remember in one of Gerrard's early games against Man City we tried the short pass out every time, to nearly as bad effect as yesterday. We just simply don't have the players for it. Mings has some great qualities, but ability on the ball isn't one of them.

[SamTheMouse]

I would not say 'mostly' - almost every game has included some stunningly incisive play, almost all of that starting from the back. And even our defensive work is built on Emery's Villarreal trick of keeping the ball in defence to suck in the opposition, which is going to involve some risk.

This team is building the most competent-looking Villa side of my lifetime, and the bedrock of competence is keeping the ball and not hoicking it out of panic.

As well as the problem that we are unable to hit the ball into the Chanel , I think Mings tried 3 times and found touch every time. So we don’t have an out ball.

You'd think our No. 5 could do better.

[Footy-Vill]

For various reasons, I believe we are better suited to facing Man City next sunday and coming out on top. That's very Emery of him to get the Win. Not only that, but Man City will be rotating and focusing on Arsenal on the  following Wednesday.

Similarly, against Arsenal on 18th at home, early kick off Emery will be determined to defeat them. And they would have just played that big Man City game on the Wednesday 15th.
So their energy and focus would be taken from that. And we saw the struggle for Arsenal early away at Everton.

He'll have a strategy in place for both matches, and I'm optimistic about the results.
Man City, in particular, I believe that this is a winnable situation due to the way the result against Leicester went. It's funny how football outcomes can go and it can occur when least expect it. Due to the inconsistency the expected win at home then instead transfers to the expected defeat away
This happens sometimes you know.

[Percy McCarthy]

For various reasons, I believe we are better suited to facing Man City next sunday and coming out on top. That's very Emery of him to get the Win. Not only that, but Man City will be rotating and focusing on Arsenal on the  following Wednesday.

Similarly, against Arsenal on 18th at home, early kick off Emery will be determined to defeat them. And they would have just played that big Man City game on the Wednesday 15th.
So their energy and focus would be taken from that. And we saw the struggle for Arsenal early away at Everton.

He'll have a strategy in place for both matches, and I'm optimistic about the results.
Man City, in particular, I believe that this is a winnable situation due to the way the result against Leicester went. It's funny how football outcomes can go and it can occur when least expect it. Due to the inconsistency the expected win at home then instead transfers to the expected defeat away
This happens sometimes you know.

Wait, what! You’re saying that teams occasionally lose games they expect to win, and yet win games they expect to lose!!!!???

Where would we be without this level of insight.

[PeterWithe]

I would not say 'mostly' - almost every game has included some stunningly incisive play, almost all of that starting from the back. And even our defensive work is built on Emery's Villarreal trick of keeping the ball in defence to suck in the opposition, which is going to involve some risk.

This team is building the most competent-looking Villa side of my lifetime, and the bedrock of competence is keeping the ball and not hoicking it out of panic.

As well as the problem that we are unable to hit the ball into the Chanel , I think Mings tried 3 times and found touch every time. So we don’t have an out ball.

You'd think our No. 5 could do better.

Clever that, nice work.

[Brazilian Villain]

*Looks up Mesozoic*

Think it's a singing reference alluding to us playing high balls.

[Ads]

I would not say 'mostly' - almost every game has included some stunningly incisive play, almost all of that starting from the back. And even our defensive work is built on Emery's Villarreal trick of keeping the ball in defence to suck in the opposition, which is going to involve some risk.

This team is building the most competent-looking Villa side of my lifetime, and the bedrock of competence is keeping the ball and not hoicking it out of panic.

As well as the problem that we are unable to hit the ball into the Chanel , I think Mings tried 3 times and found touch every time. So we don’t have an out ball.

Yes, this in spades. Sides know our variation is a throw in for them. Carlos has that long pass in his locker though and you're less inclined to support the attacking press in midfield and advance if you know you're widening the gap to your defence and likely isolating them.

Mings has 1 year left, but I suspect come the summer his good race here will be done.

[Footy-Vill]

For various reasons, I believe we are better suited to facing Man City next sunday and coming out on top. That's very Emery of him to get the Win. Not only that, but Man City will be rotating and focusing on Arsenal on the  following Wednesday.

Similarly, against Arsenal on 18th at home, early kick off Emery will be determined to defeat them. And they would have just played that big Man City game on the Wednesday 15th.
So their energy and focus would be taken from that. And we saw the struggle for Arsenal early away at Everton.

He'll have a strategy in place for both matches, and I'm optimistic about the results.
Man City, in particular, I believe that this is a winnable situation due to the way the result against Leicester went. It's funny how football outcomes can go and it can occur when least expect it. Due to the inconsistency the expected win at home then instead transfers to the expected defeat away
This happens sometimes you know.

Wait, what! You’re saying that teams occasionally lose games they expect to win, and yet win games they expect to lose!!!!???

Where would we be without this level of insight.

The theory is based on both the lack of consistency of a team and gives the reasons why we enjoy/despair watching football, though it's hardly a high level of insight so think you're being a bit generous as I'm sure others would think we now end up unexpectedly winning the next game after the unexpected defeat yesterday.

 However, it presents a difficulty for me because I strongly believe that a victory vs Man City will happen after the loss to Leicester.
I already had a gut hunch, but given the philosophy behind football results, it's much stronger and that Man City play Arsenal on the Wednesday afterwards. Furthermore Man City are yet to play this week and couuld lose key players through injury or suspension though that would limit the rotation for next Sunday

So just maybe after Man City the next Sunday evening, we would feel considerably differently than we did after Leicester City.

I believe that when expected outcomes don't happen, these results are more likely to occur.
Especially so when a team is neither at the bottom or top of the league but even then, eventually, an unexpected result occurs over a 38-match (league format) season.  Predictable results reoccurring happen, though, for first at the top and 20th in last place, but that's stating the obvious, I guess.

[ChicagoLion]

Wooosh

[RamboandBruno]

I would not say 'mostly' - almost every game has included some stunningly incisive play, almost all of that starting from the back. And even our defensive work is built on Emery's Villarreal trick of keeping the ball in defence to suck in the opposition, which is going to involve some risk.

This team is building the most competent-looking Villa side of my lifetime, and the bedrock of competence is keeping the ball and not hoicking it out of panic.

As well as the problem that we are unable to hit the ball into the Chanel , I think Mings tried 3 times and found touch every time. So we don’t have an out ball.

Yes, this in spades. Sides know our variation is a throw in for them. Carlos has that long pass in his locker though and you're less inclined to support the attacking press in midfield and advance if you know you're widening the gap to your defence and likely isolating them.

Mings has 1 year left, but I suspect come the summer his good race here will be done.

Ive got a lot of time for Mings, more than my son, who although is just a teenager himself, has been playing centre back for a few years in youth football, and sees things on the pitch that i dont. He identifies flaws in Mings’ positional sense that i dont always notice. I think your probably right in terms of him being moved on in the summer, especially given his age and it being the last chance to cash in on him, 4.5 years at the club is fairly lengthy and in an important period in our reemergence from the black hole we were in. I think it would be quite radical to sell Konsa as well, but depending on how Carlos comes back from injury, Konsa may well take Chambers place in a supporting role.
Mistake aside, i really like the look of Moreno.