Unai Emery - our manager

[pauliewalnuts]

I think I enjoyed his first season every bit as much as the next three - in the first one, other than Petrov, he was forced to make do with what he had largely had, at least until January and even then, that season was mostly someone else's team. Moore and Gabby either side of Angel worked really well.

Of course the next three seasons were good to watch, but we absolutely were a much more exciting prospect away from home, he never really found (again) a way to get the home form to match the away, we struggled to break defensive sides open

In his last two seasons, we scored 27 or 28 at home both seasons, and in both of those years there was a couple of games where we had 4+ goals (seem to remember Bolton always playing a suicidally high line against us with the pace we had and getting a panning every year), leaving a ratio of approx a goal a game for the other 17 fixtures.

[Neil Hawkes]

Just listening to the press conference this morning and it strikes how much better Unai’s English has become in the past few months. Having to speak it every day helps of course but I’m sure it will be beneficial all round to him, his staff and the players.

I thought the plan was that everyone at the club will be speaking Spanish?!

I think it would be foolish of players not to make small efforts to know some Spanish phrases.  Its decent nod to Emery and the coaching staff.

I am incapable of learning a foreign language, don't know why but nothing works.
Sailed with predominantly Spanish speaking seafarers for 17 years - I know a few words in Spanish.
Lived in the middle East for 10 years - I know a few words in Arabic.
Worked in Nigeria for 4 years - I know a few words in Nigerian.
Lived in Cyprus for over 14 years - I know a few words in Greek.
Lived with my partner now for over 10 years - Moldovan, speaks 10 languages - I know a few words in Moldovan.
I have never been able to string a sentence together in a foreign language and thank my lucky stars I have been able to get by in English (with an Irish accent), for over 42 years while dealing with multiple Nationalities (working in shipping).
It's an art I admire in others.

[Sexual Ealing]

I know loads of Spanish phrases but I'm still shit at football.

[Risso]

I am incapable of learning a foreign language, don't know why but nothing works.
Sailed with predominantly Spanish speaking seafarers for 17 years - I know a few words in Spanish.
Lived in the middle East for 10 years - I know a few words in Arabic.
Worked in Nigeria for 4 years - I know a few words in Nigerian.
Lived in Cyprus for over 14 years - I know a few words in Greek.
Lived with my partner now for over 10 years - Moldovan, speaks 10 languages - I know a few words in Moldovan.
I have never been able to string a sentence together in a foreign language and thank my lucky stars I have been able to get by in English (with an Irish accent), for over 42 years while dealing with multiple Nationalities (working in shipping).
It's an art I admire in others.

Most people are good and bad at different things mate. My son does really well at school, but like you he just doesn't get foreign languages, so he's not taking any for GCSE.

[Axl Rose]

I am incapable of learning a foreign language, don't know why but nothing works.
Sailed with predominantly Spanish speaking seafarers for 17 years - I know a few words in Spanish.
Lived in the middle East for 10 years - I know a few words in Arabic.
Worked in Nigeria for 4 years - I know a few words in Nigerian.
Lived in Cyprus for over 14 years - I know a few words in Greek.
Lived with my partner now for over 10 years - Moldovan, speaks 10 languages - I know a few words in Moldovan.
I have never been able to string a sentence together in a foreign language and thank my lucky stars I have been able to get by in English (with an Irish accent), for over 42 years while dealing with multiple Nationalities (working in shipping).
It's an art I admire in others.

Most people are good and bad at different things mate. My son does really well at school, but like you he just doesn't get foreign languages, so he's not taking any for GCSE.

I'm the same. I'll still absolutely hopeless at speaking Japanese, despite having been here for 10 years.

I'm an expert in rude words, however!

[dave shelley]

Just listening to the press conference this morning and it strikes how much better Unai’s English has become in the past few months. Having to speak it every day helps of course but I’m sure it will be beneficial all round to him, his staff and the players.

I thought the plan was that everyone at the club will be speaking Spanish?!

I think it would be foolish of players not to make small efforts to know some Spanish phrases.  Its decent nod to Emery and the coaching staff.

I am incapable of learning a foreign language, don't know why but nothing works.
Sailed with predominantly Spanish speaking seafarers for 17 years - I know a few words in Spanish.
Lived in the middle East for 10 years - I know a few words in Arabic.
Worked in Nigeria for 4 years - I know a few words in Nigerian.
Lived in Cyprus for over 14 years - I know a few words in Greek.
Lived with my partner now for over 10 years - Moldovan, speaks 10 languages - I know a few words in Moldovan.
I have never been able to string a sentence together in a foreign language and thank my lucky stars I have been able to get by in English (with an Irish accent), for over 42 years while dealing with multiple Nationalities (working in shipping).
It's an art I admire in others.

Oh the joy of being harangued by the wife in another language and not knowing barely a word of what she's saying.   

[Neil Hawkes]

I am incapable of learning a foreign language, don't know why but nothing works.
Sailed with predominantly Spanish speaking seafarers for 17 years - I know a few words in Spanish.
Lived in the middle East for 10 years - I know a few words in Arabic.
Worked in Nigeria for 4 years - I know a few words in Nigerian.
Lived in Cyprus for over 14 years - I know a few words in Greek.
Lived with my partner now for over 10 years - Moldovan, speaks 10 languages - I know a few words in Moldovan.
I have never been able to string a sentence together in a foreign language and thank my lucky stars I have been able to get by in English (with an Irish accent), for over 42 years while dealing with multiple Nationalities (working in shipping).
It's an art I admire in others.

Most people are good and bad at different things mate. My son does really well at school, but like you he just doesn't get foreign languages, so he's not taking any for GCSE.

Lucky bugger - I had to endure the humiliation of compulsory exams and the embarrassing results afterwards.
Fortunately Latin was only for one year and I was so shit at that they did drop me from the curriculum.
French was throughout up to GCSE O Level - you can guess how I fared there.

[Neil Hawkes]

I'm the same. I'll still absolutely hopeless at speaking Japanese, despite having been here for 10 years.

I'm an expert in rude words, however!

I can order a beer anywhere in the world, normally a one word grunt though.

[Neil Hawkes]

Oh the joy of being harangued by the wife in another language and not knowing barely a word of what she's saying.   

I know I'm really in the shit if she starts in English, but is so pissed off she slips into Moldovan (and even worse if it's Russian) :-)

[adrenachrome]

Oh the joy of being harangued by the wife in another language and not knowing barely a word of what she's saying.   

I know I'm really in the shit if she starts in English, but is so pissed off she slips into Moldovan (and even worse if it's Russian) :-)

i feel your pain but I have to have to point out that there is no such language as Moldovan.

[Axl Rose]

Isn't it a dialect? I have absolutely no idea to be fair. I'd imagine Romanian to be the predominant language

[Neil Hawkes]

The 1994 constitution of the Republic of Moldova asserts that the country's official language is 'Moldovan'. There is some promotion of this language label amongst Moldovan nationalists, though in linguistic reality the language is the same as Romanian.

There are huge similarities, but still a few differences; when Moldovans and Romanians are speaking to each other.

A bit like Greek & Cypriot conversations - there are differences but Cypriot Greek while different from Greek is not classed as a Cypriot language.

[Smirker]

Never doubt King Unai 

[Footy-Vill]

El professor!

[Axl Rose]

El professor!

You're going to run out of things to follow El eventually, footy