Unai Emery

[Brazilian Villain]

My mate is an Arsenal fan and he doesn't rate Arteta one bit. He also reckons Emery is a genius and said had Arsenal backed him to the extent they've backed Arteta, they'd have won the league by now.

He genuinely thinks Emery is absolute master of football.

And he hates Arteta.

Guillem Balagué was on Radio 5 last week and he recounted that he'd had lunch with Emery at his resturant In Valencia shortly after he left Arsenal. He asked Emery if managers talk to their successors about the club they've left and Emery said "no". Unai then called Arteta and told him the 5 things he needed to do at Arsenal, which Balagué says Arteta has subsequently done. Thought it showed Emery's class given the nature of his departure from Arsenal.

[jwarry]

In today’s Times

Are Aston Villa genuine contenders for  Champions League spot?
Charlotte Duncker

Wherever you turn at Aston Villa, the power trio of Unai Emery, Monchi and Damian Vidagany are together.

Whether that’s huddled over the seating at the top of the stairs overlooking the vast gym space at the club’s Bodymoor Heath training ground, pitchside as Emery undertakes his pre-match media duties, having breakfast, or on the team bus on the way to a game, it is rare that you will see the head coach without the other two — Villa’s president of football operations and director of football operations — in close proximity.

They are the brains behind the effort to awaken a sleeping giant. So far, with Villa sitting fifth in the Premier League table after seven wins from their first ten games this season, it has been a remarkably successful start to their project.

The arrival of Emery and his trusted lieutenants has accelerated Villa’s progress. The Spanish coach is rightly lauded for his work but the foundations were laid long before he set foot in Birmingham.

Emery, 52, is fully aware of that and, in a nice moment before Villa’s game against West Ham United last month, he thanked Dean Smith for the role he had played. Smith was integral in getting Villa promoted in 2019 but the tide really started to turn the year before, when the club were taken over by the businessmen Wes Edens and Nassef Sawiris, who jointly own the company NSWE.

“Our goal is to bring sustainable success to the club, building on its rich history while respecting its loyal fanbase and unique culture,” the statement from NSWE read when it acquired 55 per cent of the club. Dr Tony Xia, who at that point became co-chairman, declared: “The future is exciting on a number of fronts.” Xia was wrong about a lot of things during his time owning Villa but on this point he was correct, especially if you look at where Villa are now.

Plenty of changes were made. New staff arrived, including Christian Purslow as chief executive, debts were paid off and there was investment in the academy. Most of all, there was a clear vision from the owners that set Villa on the path towards “sustainable success”.

This is not to say that in the five years they have owned the club everything has been plain sailing. Villa avoided relegation on the final day of the 2019-20 season, then there was the failed Steven Gerrard experiment — the former England captain lasted less than a year in charge. But on the whole, Villa have been a club on an upward curve for a while now.

Add into that mix a seasoned winner in Emery — a four-times Europa League-winning manager — and it has provided the perfect blend to turn Villa from mid-table toilers to European contenders. So how has Emery done that?

It has been more about small tweaks than a drastic overhaul. There was no need to revamp the players’ diets or fitness levels, as is often heard when new managers take over at clubs. Rather, Emery set about bringing in the support team who have been critical to his success over the years. In came Pako Ayestarán, the assistant head coach, Pablo Villanueva, the first-team coach, Antonio Rodríguez  Saravia, the individual performance coach, and Victor Manuel Mañas, as data and video analyst.

Moisés de Hoyo Lora, who worked with Emery at both Sevilla and Villarreal, also arrived as performance and fitness coach. At the training ground he has had a machine installed that scans body fat to ensure the players stay at their physical peak, a piece of equipment he used in Spain.

By now, everyone is aware of Emery’s meticulous, somewhat obsessive nature when it comes to preparation. He analysed 27 Legia Warsaw games before the Europa Conference League meeting in September and thinks nothing of doing similar levels of research on every new opponent he comes up against. That analysis is, as you’d expect, passed on to players through long meetings, individual sessions and video footage.

As the team bus was pulling out of the Marshall Josef Stadium in Warsaw after their 3-2 defeat, some Villa players were already on their laptops, viewing clips from the game as they headed for the airport.

There has been individual development, with squad players who were struggling to find form under Gerrard thriving under Emery. Ollie Watkins is in the form of his career, John McGinn is revitalised and Emiliano Martínez’s impressive displays have been in part credited to his work with the new goalkeeping coach, Francisco Javier García. It is understood that his attention to detail has helped Martínez take his game to the next level and the pair are said to have a close bond, with the Argentina goalkeeper having taken the coach as his guest to the recent Ballon d’Or ceremony, at which he won the Yashin Trophy for best goalkeeper.

Emery is involved and active in training and makes sure he keeps himself in his best physical shape so that he can keep up with the intensity of his own sessions. They will work on patterns of play until the players get it right, with Emery ordering them to restart every time it doesn’t go exactly how he wants. Even with Villa’s strong opening to the season, Emery is demanding more from his players as they prepare to face Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Sunday.

His team have made Villa Park a fortress, winning 12 consecutive home games, but he wants them to improve on the road, having lost 5-1 away to Newcastle United and 3-0 at Anfield against Liverpool.

“Away, we are not being consistent like I want,” Emery said. “We have to improve and we can play better. This is the challenge: we can play better, we can be more competitive.”

Whatever Emery does to try to achieve his goal, his right-hand men, Monchi and Vidagany, will never be far away.

Monchi is the transfer guru who was central to Emery’s success in Spain and a key negotiator who knows how to get a deal over the line, while Vidagany is the man who brings everyone together. He won’t be getting involved in telling the club who to sign next or making big decisions on selection, but his presence is reassuring for Emery and allows him to focus on coaching and preparing for forthcoming games. The combined expertise of the three men is what is keeping Villa pushing forward.

As the new banners on the ticket office building at Villa Park state: “The giant is now awake.”

[Villafirst]

Very good article. I'm sure Wes and Nassef are aware of the mounting press and media attention UE is getting and will be negotiating a new contract for him and his team.

[Baldy]

Great article.

At the press conference yesterday, they asked Emery how he would be celebrating his birthday that day. He replied 'we are focused on the Forest match and if we win, I will celebrate afterwards'.

Talk about practice what you preach. We wont be putting in a bid for Marcus Rashford any time soon!!!

[Villan For Life]

Ironic that we get a positive article in the Times but in the Torygraph Carragher is trying to undermine us.

[LukeJames]

Ironic that we get a positive article in the Times but in the Torygraph Carragher is trying to undermine us.

Sacked his mate didn't we.

[Villan For Life]

Ironic that we get a positive article in the Times but in the Torygraph Carragher is trying to undermine us.

Sacked his mate didn't we.

Yep. The article stopped short of saying Unai should go to Old Trafford to replace Ten Haag and if the offer comes then Unai will not be able to resist it.

He’s building something here that can exceed expectations, why would he go there where everything seems to be broken?

[danno]

The article does make a very valid point (one of many) despite the one managerial cock up as a club we have been slowly building a squad to challenge for European places. At Old Trafford I’m not sure how many players Emery would be willing to persevere with for two/three years.

They’ll be a different proposition when Fernandes Rashford and Hojlund are firing, but still schooled whenever they come up against the likes of Liverpool Arsenal Man City.

[pauliewalnuts]

Ironic that we get a positive article in the Times but in the Torygraph Carragher is trying to undermine us.

That's Tories for you.

[Somniloquism]

Lets hope this is Footy Insiders "Stopped Clock" moment.

Prospective new Manchester United investor Sir Jim Ratcliffe plans to replace manager Erik ten Hag with Brighton boss Roberto de Zerbi if he completes a deal to buy 25% of the Old Trafford club. (Football Insider)

[Behind Bluenose Lines]

Happy Belated Birthday Unai!

I feel very twitchy about all this speculation about us as well. I'm concerned about our best players being tempted away too. Yet again. We're cursed: as soon as we get somewhere,  events conspire to slap us down again.

I truly want to believe it's different this time. It's been a long, long time since that 1996 League Cup win. Hearing people singing that 1982 song at the ground is truly embarrassing.

[LeeB]

The things that have caused us to lose our best players and see hopes of success fade, namely Doug and ineptitude, seem to have gone so I think we'll be alright this time.

[LukeJames]

Happy Belated Birthday Unai!

I feel very twitchy about all this speculation about us as well. I'm concerned about our best players being tempted away too. Yet again. We're cursed: as soon as we get somewhere,  events conspire to slap us down again.

I wouldn't stress it mate, how many of our best players have we lost since NSWE came in? Grealish, thats it. If we want them to stay, they'll stay.

[not3bad]

Carragher is the 2nd ex-Liverpool player recently trying to act like Unai Emery's agent. Who was the first now? Robbie Fowler?

[malckennedy]

Happy Belated Birthday Unai!

I feel very twitchy about all this speculation about us as well. I'm concerned about our best players being tempted away too. Yet again. We're cursed: as soon as we get somewhere,  events conspire to slap us down again.

I truly want to believe it's different this time. It's been a long, long time since that 1996 League Cup win. Hearing people singing that 1982 song at the ground is truly embarrassing.

Singing about winning the European Cup in 1982 is not the slightest bit embarrassing to me. Being present in Rotterdam for the greatest moment (so far) in our history that night, it still seems quite recent. I suppose it depends on your age.