Unai Emery

[ChicagoLion]

The last few games have shown how big the rebuilding job is.
If we are about sticking around the middle of the PL it’s minor adjustments,if we want to genuinely compete for European places it’s major surgery.
No idea what us going on with our WC winning goalkeeper but his distribution is piss poor.
Neither centre backs are good enough with the ball,
Still not convinced by any of our full backs.
The central midfield of Luiz and Kamara is the only properly functioning part of the team.
It’s hit and miss at best with Ramsey Buendia Coutinho Bailey Mcginn.
Watkins is limited but his energy and commitment is a positive.
So where we go from here I have no idea but it is going to take more than1 transfer window to turn this lot into a European qualifying team.

[Lastfootstamper]

I don't agree with the idea that a manager should compromise his ideals because of what he's got to work with. You bring in a manager because of what he does, and as a player you then either shape up or ship out. I think we'll be shipping a few out.

[aj2k77]

Yep, that's as I see it. You need 7 new players just to be close to Europe. Which shows how shit our last 2 summers of transfers have been. We are nowhere near a decent rate of progression.

[ChicagoLion]

I don't agree with the idea that a manager should compromise his ideals because of what he's got to work with. You bring in a manager because of what he does, and as a player you then either shape up or ship out. I think we'll be shipping a few out.

The problem is then being able to ship in the players good enough to play at that level.

[villa for life]

Fairly calm about the whole thing because I trust Emery.

Our players aren’t good enough - simple as that. They are good, but just not good enough.

Maybe only a couple of them could play in a top 6-8 team. Our team is basically full of players who would be on the bench for genuine top six sides.

It’s unrealistic to think we can change a whole team in one transfer window, but the hope would be we could recruit 2 or 3 genuine top players each window form now on and in two years be a regular top six team

[Sexual Ealing]

Not seen this mentioned, but apols if it has been

Arsenal and Aston Villa analysts fight in the stands

A heated argument briefly turned physical after Emiliano Martinez scored an own goal and then allowed in Arsenal's fourth

Aston Villa and Arsenal staff came to blows in the stands at Villa Park after Emiliano Martinez’s dramatic own goal secured three precious points for Mikel Arteta’s side. Eyewitnesses in the press box reported a furious war of words, which Telegraph Sport understands to have briefly turned physical, between analysts of Villa and Arsenal.

Victor Manas, Unai Emery’s data and video analyst who worked with the Spaniard during his time at the Emirates Stadium, is understood to have been involved in the fracas. An Arsenal analyst, Miguel Molina, subsequently left the press box in an attempt to calm the situation, Telegraph Sport understands.

Onlookers said it seemed that Villa’s staff had reacted angrily to the nature of the celebrations of Arsenal’s analysts, and had made their feelings known.

“Like anything that happens in the stands, we will look at it, address it and take action if it’s necessary," said Arteta.

"Ven y ten una estad' si crees que eres lo suficientemente duro".

Campeones de la Copa de la Paz, nunca cantarás eso!

[ChicagoLion]

Fairly calm about the whole thing because I trust Emery.

Our players aren’t good enough - simple as that. They are good, but just not good enough.

Maybe only a couple of them could play in a top 6-8 team. Our team is basically full of players who would be on the bench for genuine top six sides.

It’s unrealistic to think we can change a whole team in one transfer window, but the hope would be we could recruit 2 or 3 genuine top players each window form now on and in two years be a regular top six team

It is a hope all right, just not a very realistic one.

[colin69]

Or we do a Forest and sign 4 million new players in the summer.

[Bent Neilsens Screamer]

Undoubtedly we need better quality but I can’t see much difference, if there is it’s in our favour, between our team or squad and that of Brighton or Fulham or Brentford. 2 of those have had managers working with them for a lot longer than Emery.

[pablo_picasso]

Jesus Christ I can't believe some of the negativity on here. Sometimes I do wonder about Villa fans. Emery is an Elite manager only months into the job and yet people aren't 'convinced'. What do people expect. We are a mid-table squad trying to take on a new style of play. It will take time. I've seen positives under Emery in every game so far,  even when we have lost. Emery knows what Villa need. After all the shit managers we have had to endure over the past 20-30 years, I'm amazed that people don't have just a little more patience and faith in him.

He's not doing any better than any other manager though. It's like groundhog day at Villa, and this bloke couldn't even manage to get past Stevenage in the Cup.

What do you reckon we should do then?

Sack him?

He has a 50% win rate so far from his 10 games in the league. 4 loses to Liverpool, Leicester, Arsenal and Man City,  1 draw at home to Wolves.

2 home wins against Man United, Leeds, 3 away at Brighton, Southampton and Spurs. We're on for a 60 point season extrapolated across 38 games. When you think that 10 game run includes a majority of sides above us in the top 6, that's pretty decent.

He is statistically doing a lot better than Gerrard so far, with Smiths/Gerrard's squad. There's no real evidential basis to support some of the opinions from 1 or 2 this evening.

We barely scraped a win against Leeds & Southampton, who are both in the bottom three of the table. Performances in other games have been appalling for long periods, apart from the odd spell.

Look, I don't want him sacked, or even entertain the idea of sacking him. That is a stupid idea 10 games, or 12 with the cups? Fuck knows, it feels like we have had 157 years in the last 10. But, as fans, if there are things that we see that are concerning to us, then we have every right to voice them. And this is a forum for opinions after all. Things are not to the point of even entertaining the idea of removing the manager. But, he has to start showing more consistent form & better performances than he has so far if we are to get on the happy train.

And maybe that starts with not trying to play out the back with four defenders who are playing that magazine cover version of sensible soccer from the 90s where the football was a bomb. I can see that the defenders at the back cannot cope with being comfortable on the ball, with or without pressure, because they keep passing backwards at jaunty angles until either they or the goalkeeper hoofs if back to the opposition defence, or the opposition technical area. And thats a positive result. The other outcome is they fuck up & gift an opportunity or a goal to the opposition. Rinse, repeat, ad infinitum.

I genuinely don't know how many times I shout at my TV watching Villa play. My neighbours & my cat must think I am a mentalist. But it is so very very frustrating...

[Risso]

He’s got the same record as Gerrard after ten games but Gerrard had easier games at least the first few. 

Gerrard had Brighton, Palace, Man City, Leicester, Liverpool, Norwich, Chelsea, Brentford, Man U and Everton. Emery has had Man U, Brighton, Liverpool, Spurs, Wolves, Leeds, Southampton, Leicester, Man City and Arsenal. 5 of the same teams. Gerrard had Chelsea rather than Spurs, and Everton and Norwich rather than Southampton and Leeds, so all in all pretty well identical really. After a decent start the players let Gerrard down, and they're now doing the same for Emery.

[Sexual Ealing]

Gerrard let everyone down.

[Lastfootstamper]

If Gerrard had had the same luck that Emery has had from some games, we'd already be down. There's no comparison.

[PaulWinch again]

I’m much more confident that in time Emery will get it sorted. But the club have to back him, properly - no doing half a job.

[Risso]

Gerrard let everyone down.

Is the penny not dropping yet that it *might* just be this set of players? It's copying almost exactly what happened under Gerrard and Smith, with the slight difference that it's only taken Emery ten games to realise that they're incapable of following instructions and calling them out for it.