Unai Emery

[Risso]

He has jumped clubs for 'better' jobs before. I seem to remember something happening around this time last year, for example. It's not the work of Satan to suggest he might do so again when the chance arises.

Surely the concise way to put it is that he would probably leave us if a "better" job came up, but it's looking increasingly unlikely that anything that qualifies as a better job than his current one will become available to him.

Also as Clampy says, it looks very much like he moves when he thinks he's achieved everything he can at a certain club. He's only just got started at Villa, and with us I can't really see a limit to what he can achieve. He's now in the biggest, strongest and most popular league in the world. Next stop, Champions League.

[LeeB]

And he'd taken a town the size of Stratford-upon-Avon to a European trophy and the Champions League semi finals, not much further you can go with that.

[Risso]

As an aside, anybody who is remotely worried about Emery going to Man U, you can currently get odds of 33/1 of him being their next manager. Stick a ton on, and help yourself get over the anguish with a nice holiday to The Maldives. Just for reference, that's longer odds than Graham Potter, Gareth Southgate, Wayne Rooney and Steve McClaren. Wayne Rooney!

[Smithy]

He has jumped clubs for 'better' jobs before. I seem to remember something happening around this time last year, for example. It's not the work of Satan to suggest he might do so again when the chance arises.

It will happen at some point.  It's the nature of things.  Clubs lose successful managers the same way they lose their best players.  Even the very top, most successful clubs, lose their managers.

What is in our favour here, as Risso pointed out above, is the freedom with which Unai has been allowed to build his supporting infrastructure.  Everything he sees, he controls.  I don't see him getting that level of control anywhere else. 

As a club, we were in that sweet spot of being unsuccessful enough that he could demand (and get) complete control of everything, while also having access to the resources required to bridge the gap to the very top teams.  That's a rare combination.

Yes, he might leave us eventually for a top job at one of the Champions League perennial knock-out stage teams.  But his departure won't be the forgone conclusion some think it could be. 

Obviously things change, but the way the first year has gone, it feels like only a matter of time until we become Champions League regulars ourselves, and then what more would he have to achieve, professionally speaking? International management maybe?  I'm sure the lure of Spain's top two might be too much to turn down if he's achieved what he wanted here, but that's a couple of years away at least.

[Dave]

Obviously things change, but the way the first year has gone, it feels like only a matter of time until we become Champions League regulars ourselves, and then what more would he have to achieve, professionally speaking? International management maybe?

And Spain seem to change their manager once every nine months or so anyway, so it's not like he won't have many opportunities for that in the future.

[Bully2345]

It's nice to have a manager that we worry he might go elsewhere. It's much better than us wishing that he would

[Olneythelonely]

No Villa manager has left to go on to “better things” since Graham Taylor. And that went to shit.

The sooner Unai realises he is here forever, the better.

[OCD]

Or until we get pissed off with not winning the Premier League for the 5th season running and only reaching the Champions League semi final stage.

[brontebilly]

He has jumped clubs for 'better' jobs before. I seem to remember something happening around this time last year, for example. It's not the work of Satan to suggest he might do so again when the chance arises.

There's some very sensitive sorts on here, is it a second city thing? Our club has been a managerial graveyard for 30 years + so having our manager linked elsewhere should be seen as a positive.

The one big thing in our favour is that Emery isn't desperate for CL football like for example Grealish was. He had Villareal in a CL semi final only a few years ago. But you can see why pundits like Carragher, and many others, will continue to link Emery to the likely imminent vacancy at Old Trafford. He improved most of our players immediately through coaching, ruthless decisions taken with likes of Ings and Archer and there's no baggage with him like Mourinho, Conte or even MON for us in the past. But Man United come calling with a huge package and budget for him and most in his shoes would jump.

[Billy Walker]

Every manager would leave their job if  a better offer comes along.  Every person would leave their job if a better offer comes along.  As others have pointed out, it's the definition of "better offer" that's key. 

What would represent a better offer to Unai Emery? No one really knows the answer to that except Unai himself but high up on his list of desires, I am sure, is to compete at the very top and win a Champions League.  Five years ago, and continually since, Villa's owners have stated that their ambition is to rebuild Villa into a world class club competing at the very top for the biggest prizes.  We're in a fantastic position where our owners and management are perfectly aligned in terms ambition and direction of travel.  It's rare to get such a harmonious fit where everything feels just "right". 

People argue, what if Man Utd get taken over and offer him a load of cash?  Well, to counter that, what if V Sports bring in new investment or partners over the next twelve months? If we are going to fantasise about Man Utd getting a financial windfall, we may as well apply the same to ourselves - Villa aren't immune to rebooting themselves financially behind the scenes.  Even without a financial reboot, given our owners backgrounds in investment, and private investment especially, I'm confident we have the means to compete. Could we offer Unai a salary to rival or match the league's highest paid bosses? Yes, I think we could.

People argue what if Barca or Real come calling? Both clubs have had fifteen years to give him a call - maybe in the past they already have? Maybe Unai is not interested in either.  Let's not forget in the summer Unai went to Barca to poach their sporting director so its clear he sees Villa to be in a good place when compared to them.

Lazy, predictable articles from the usual suspects need to be ignored for what they are - it's the usual disrespect Villa get from the national UK football press. 

[BC Villain]

Hr basically praises Emery but says ultimately he'll want to be in the Champions League, and winning it, and that Villa will give him the platform for his next opportunity. Although he does finish the article by saying there's every chance he'll be coaching in the CL next season with Villa, but if that doesn't happen we shouldn't be surprised if he leaves.

Not too much wrong with that I don't think.  If Emery gets vibes that we won't be able to keep up with his ambitions then he'll be off to somewhere that can.

[Simon Page]

Pretty much every mention of Emery (outside Villa Park) is based on myth. Links to the Newton Heath job are justified through the myth of that club still being the 1999 vintage. Everything he's doing with us is based on the myth he failed at Arsenal. Emery has a dream job at the moment: In charge, winning, fans that worship and - more importantly - trust him, club that backs him, players that love working for him, able to compete at the top level, and a CV that means he no longer needs to prove himself.

Yeah, of course he'd jack that in for a toxic brand living in a misty-eyed fog of a past that's as relevant as our 1890s.

[Beard82]

He has jumped clubs for 'better' jobs before. I seem to remember something happening around this time last year, for example. It's not the work of Satan to suggest he might do so again when the chance arises.

Surely the concise way to put it is that he would probably leave us if a "better" job came up, but it's looking increasingly unlikely that anything that qualifies as a better job than his current one will become available to him.

Yes its the media consistently conflating "better" with "a club that has successful in recent history".  Virtually inconceivable to think he wouldn't manage another club - but the driver wouldn't just be "Its Man Utd" or "Its Byern" it would be more complex than that in this case.

If you look at our rise over the last 5 years its been every bit as impressive as Newcastles, but they don't have to put up with this shit.  Since the owners came in we have had near consistent improvement - apart from the time we employed a scouse chancer - and I think it's clear we're not likely to do anything as small time as that again any time soon.  When Unai leaves - I fully expect the owners will go after another world-class manager.

[kippaxvilla2]

If he did decide to leave now or even at the end of the season he would immediately go to the ranks of O’Leary or Oneill in the wanker stakes.  And that is purely down to the way we have built the structure around him.

[john2710]

I don't recall the 'experts' discussing the likes of Man Utd coming in for Ranieri after Leicester won the league. They must be worried about us. We've passed Man Utd & are closing the gap on Liverpool.
Within 18 months, with good fortune, we'll be on a par with Liverpool & Arsenal.