Unai Emery

[Ian.]

The negativity isn’t towards him. I think the vast majority are impressed with what he’s been able to do in a short span of time. But you can still be frustrated at aspects of our play despite the win. We were quite ponderous today at times and lacked real invention in the final third. We didn’t have a shot on goal until the second half which isn’t good enough at home. At the back we looked nervy while in possession and bringing the ball out. Those are all honest observations. But that’s not to say most of us don’t believe in him as the manager. On the contrary I think given his proven record he very much is and needs the time and resources to improve us.

His emphasis is clearly on retaining the ball, which nullifies the opposition.
A case in point for not going gung-ho in attack is the Palace offside goal when we lost possession high up the pitch and after that the whole team played a lot more pragmatic, with minimal long punts when there is nothing on; and it gave us the result we needed.

One of our players hoofed the ball from the edge of the box just before half time and he went mad at that. Brilliant, it's about bloody time.

Absolutely right!

[Footy-Vill]

Last season after 25 matches Villa were 13th 
W9 D3 L13 GD-4   30pts

[Footy-Vill]

During the first half against Palace, Emery or one of the coaches was clearly shouting guarda to Moreno and Buendía when in possession of the ball.
That is Spanish.
I rest my case.

I wish.

Anyway, he was shouting at McGinn, it was Garda, and basically telling him to police his part of the pitch, which he did effectively I thought.

Emery is advising players to 'keep'  the ball.

[Villan82]

When was the last time we scored in 12 consecutive games at this level? Maybe there is method to playing it out from the back....

Superb post Rory, I agree wholeheartedly.

I honestly think this is a real moment for our club. Do we embrace it and prioritize success with Emery or are we going to moan that the style isn't fast and furious like the good old days a quarter of a century ago. A quarter of a century of winning fk all has certainly led me to embrace Emery.

I think we need to get fully behind this

[Exeter 77]

When was the last time we scored in 12 consecutive games at this level? Maybe there is method to playing it out from the back....

I think we scored in 17 consecutive league games early in 2009/10.

[Ian.]

I have got to be honest - and I am not throwing around accusations that anybody wants Emery out or anything silly like that - but some of the negativity does surprise me.

Today was the first game I've been able to afford to get to since the loss to Watford in February (?) last year.

I thought we looked a bit ponderous in the advanced midfield positions, a little rigid in central defence, but overall we dictated the game. We weren't at our best but equally we never really needed to be, and if Watkins & McGinn had buried their missed chances (as they should have) we'd be talking about a 3-0 win.

I feel like some of the expectations of Emery are a tad unrealistic. If that's coloured by our meek exits from both Cups then I understand that, but he took over a team teetering on the brink of relegation form.

In large part we can infer support, excitement, even flattery, from the dissatisfaction, but he's not a miracle worker. When Gerrard was sacked we were 17th, on 9pts from 11 games. We're now 11th with 34 pts from 25 games.

That we didn't win emphatically enough today is not a concern for me right now.

Excellent post Rory.

[pauliewalnuts]

It is going to be an up and down season, we just have to accept that.

You have matches like yesterday where we got the points but weren't particularly brilliant (although good point Rory re the Watkins and McGinn chances), but then you have games like Leicester where we got beaten 4-2 at home despite playing well.

I reckon if you look at our history the last decade, "played really well, got no points" is one of the most frequent 'dynamics' you'll find. Now we are able to throw in some "played badly, got the points anyway" then that's a massive improvement.

[OCD]

Look at how tight the relegation fight is for the 9 teams below us. For now, it's good to just not be a part of that.

[pauliewalnuts]

During the first half against Palace, Emery or one of the coaches was clearly shouting guarda to Moreno and Buendía when in possession of the ball.
That is Spanish.
I rest my case.

What case are you resting exactly?

Why would he speak to Spanish speaker players in any language other than Spanish?

I imagine Guardiola speaks to Alvarez in Spanish too. And to Kyle Walker in English.

[Risso]

I reckon if you look at our history the last decade, "played really well, got no points" is one of the most frequent 'dynamics' you'll find.

I think it would finish a long, long way behind "played really badly, got no points!"

[TonyD]

On the whole the football has improved and our games are more exciting to watch than with the chancer in charge.  3 more quality signings in the summer and I think he can really kick us on.

But and this is a big but for me.  If he screws up in the cups again next then I’d want him gone. 

[Brazilian Villain]

I have got to be honest - and I am not throwing around accusations that anybody wants Emery out or anything silly like that - but some of the negativity does surprise me.

Today was the first game I've been able to afford to get to since the loss to Watford in February (?) last year.

I thought we looked a bit ponderous in the advanced midfield positions, a little rigid in central defence, but overall we dictated the game. We weren't at our best but equally we never really needed to be, and if Watkins & McGinn had buried their missed chances (as they should have) we'd be talking about a 3-0 win.

I feel like some of the expectations of Emery are a tad unrealistic. If that's coloured by our meek exits from both Cups then I understand that, but he took over a team teetering on the brink of relegation form.

In large part we can infer support, excitement, even flattery, from the dissatisfaction, but he's not a miracle worker. When Gerrard was sacked we were 17th, on 9pts from 11 games. We're now 11th with 34 pts from 25 games.

That we didn't win emphatically enough today is not a concern for me right now.

Good post and glad you got to a game (and we won).

[astonvilla82]

The negativity isn’t towards him. I think the vast majority are impressed with what he’s been able to do in a short span of time. But you can still be frustrated at aspects of our play despite the win. We were quite ponderous today at times and lacked real invention in the final third. We didn’t have a shot on goal until the second half which isn’t good enough at home. At the back we looked nervy while in possession and bringing the ball out. Those are all honest observations. But that’s not to say most of us don’t believe in him as the manager. On the contrary I think given his proven record he very much is and needs the time and resources to improve us.

His emphasis is clearly on retaining the ball, which nullifies the opposition.
A case in point for not going gung-ho in attack is the Palace offside goal when we lost possession high up the pitch and after that the whole team played a lot more pragmatic, with minimal long punts when there is nothing on; and it gave us the result we needed.

One of our players hoofed the ball from the edge of the box just before half time and he went mad at that. Brilliant, it's about bloody time.

that's the way I would play

[astonvilla82]

One of the problems with the build up play is from the stands we can see most of the playing area and where players have room for defenders to past the ball out, where the players can only see it at ground level and don't see what the fans see

[Rory]

I have got to be honest - and I am not throwing around accusations that anybody wants Emery out or anything silly like that - but some of the negativity does surprise me.

Today was the first game I've been able to afford to get to since the loss to Watford in February (?) last year.

I thought we looked a bit ponderous in the advanced midfield positions, a little rigid in central defence, but overall we dictated the game. We weren't at our best but equally we never really needed to be, and if Watkins & McGinn had buried their missed chances (as they should have) we'd be talking about a 3-0 win.

I feel like some of the expectations of Emery are a tad unrealistic. If that's coloured by our meek exits from both Cups then I understand that, but he took over a team teetering on the brink of relegation form.

In large part we can infer support, excitement, even flattery, from the dissatisfaction, but he's not a miracle worker. When Gerrard was sacked we were 17th, on 9pts from 11 games. We're now 11th with 34 pts from 25 games.

That we didn't win emphatically enough today is not a concern for me right now.

Good post and glad you got to a game (and we won).

Thanks BV, I certainly enjoyed it more than the last one!