Unai Emery

[Rudy Can't Fail]

With the height of some of these basketball players probably out there scouting a new CB and CF.

Unai looks like he's been to Wes Eden's tailor.

[andyh]

One thing to consider is that when Moreno and Ramsey come back next week, we have 2 players coming back mid season who haven’t played this season.
2 players who would have been nailed on starters had they been fit.

They will get fitter and stronger going into Christmas and beyond. It’s brilliant for us, like having 2 new players joining, when the team is flying.

[Risso]

As long as they do get fitter and stronger. Moreno especially seems to be made of the same sort of stuff holding big Keinan together.

[Toronto Villa]

Surely he had one significant injury and then came back too soon. He was pretty fit up until then wasn’t he?

[OCD]

What happened with De Bruyne showed that with a torn hamstring, you've really got to make sure they're ready before you bring them back. We have to look after him until we have confidence that he's not at risk of re-tearing the hamstring.

[Neil Hawkes]

What happened with De Bruyne showed that with a torn hamstring, you've really got to make sure they're ready before you bring them back. We have to look after him until we have confidence that he's not at risk of re-tearing the hamstring.

Especially as speed is one of his attributes.

[Pat Mustard]

Not sure if this has been posted but I know how popular those Tifo videos are on here...

It's an interesting video, although I do think there is a bit of ignoring the obvious to prove how clever they are in the evidence.  Isn't a big reason our away form looks so poor simply down to way the fixtures have fallen.  If we had played, say, Bournemouth, Palace and Luton away (as Spurs have) instead of Newcastle, Liverpool and Forest it would look a lot better.  Equally, let's see how our home form looks in a few weeks time.

[RamboandBruno]

Not sure if this has been posted but I know how popular those Tifo videos are on here...

It's an interesting video, although I do think there is a bit of ignoring the obvious to prove how clever they are in the evidence.  Isn't a big reason our away form looks so poor simply down to way the fixtures have fallen.  If we had played, say, Bournemouth, Palace and Luton away (as Spurs have) instead of Newcastle, Liverpool and Forest it would look a lot better.  Equally, let's see how our home form looks in a few weeks time.

I thought that was an interesting watch. Easy to forget when we are playing so well, what Emery has had to contend with, in terms of injuries. Makes the start to the season even more impressive.

[Clive W]

Apologies if this is in the wrong thread and has been posted somewhere else

Article by Percy in today’s DT

Also apologies for the pathetic cut & paste attempt!!


Love the bit about “the majestic  Holte End”


Aston Villa's £17.5m midfield is putting big-spending rivals to shame
While their rivals have spent big to plug midfield gaps, Villa have created a formidable unit for a comparatively bargain price
By John Percy 21 November 2023 • 9:19am

Aston Villa’s owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens have invested around £500 million on transfers since promotion to the Premier League, underlining their ambition to propel the club back among the elite.
‘Big-spending Villa’ has remained the narrative, and they have undoubtedly been one of the more active clubs in Europe’s top five leagues.
Yet there is a story that is frequently overlooked: Unai Emery’s charge for Champions League qualification is being driven by a midfield comprising five stars that cost just £17.5 million.
Emery’s reliable quintet in the Villa engine room are John McGinn, Douglas Luiz, Boubacar Kamara, Youri Tielemans and Jacob Ramsey [the latter is expected to return from injury soon].
With Villa preparing for a pivotal month of fixtures, starting at Tottenham on Sunday, those midfielders will be crucial in Emery’s mission to write some history.
That remarkably low spend is a triumph of scouting and recruitment, combined with a ruthlessness to execute deals at the right time.
When you consider that Chelsea spent almost £220 million on Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez this year, the signings of McGinn (£2.5 million from Hibernian) and Douglas Luiz (£15 million from Manchester City) stand out as excellent bargains.
McGinn is arguably in the best form of his career, scoring three goals and providing two assists in the Premier League so far this season. The Scotland international has also scored twice in the Europa Conference League.
The background behind McGinn’s move remains a warm and uplifting one. After establishing his career at Hibs, he had a concrete offer from his boyhood club Celtic, while there was also interest south of the border from Brighton.
Yet once Villa turned on the charm, whisking him down to Birmingham for talks with then manager Steve Bruce and turning on the floodlights at their empty stadium to show off the majestic Holte End, there was no disputing where he would end up.
Douglas Luiz has proved an equally shrewd signing and is worth upwards of £80 million now. The heartbeat of Villa’s midfield, he has started every game in the league this season and become indispensable following a relatively low-key arrival in 2019.
The Brazilian had been playing on loan at Girona, the La Liga club part-owned by City Football Group, in the previous two seasons after issues with his work permit.
He was recommended by Villa’s former sporting director, Jesus Garcia Pitarch, who had scouted him frequently and put him forward as a player with high potential.
City insisted on a £30 million buy-back within two years, which was the key to Villa being able to sign him. City declined to exercise it, although Pep Guardiola was a huge fan, and Luiz is now one of the mainstays in Emery’s team.
Arsenal are expected to ignite their long-standing interest in January but Villa regard him as not for sale and fundamental to their objectives.
Since returning to the riches of the top division, Villa have also been intent on making intelligent signings at little or no cost.
Kamara was signed on a free transfer from Marseille last May and the France international is arguably their most underrated player.
A defensive midfielder who regularly drops into the back-line when Villa are building up attacks forward, he is a footballer designed for the modern game.
Kamara’s signature was secured after a trip to the port city was undertaken by Emery’s predecessor Steven Gerrard, former sporting director Johan Lange and the previous chief executive Christian Purslow.
The trio attended Marseille’s Ligue 1 match against Nantes on April 22 and had no intention of leaving without a deal being agreed.
Villa had done their homework. Kamara was only 21 but played all the junior levels from under-17s upwards up to France’s senior team. He had also operated in both the Champions League and Europa League with his club.
After that game against Nantes, Gerrard performed a sales pitch in Kamara’s living room and he agreed to sign. Gerrard’s reputation remains a little tattered with Villa fans, but there is little doubt that his iconic status persuaded Kamara to join the club.
Tielemans, a Belgium international, was signed this summer after his contract expired at Leicester. He had endured a saga over his future with Leicester, declining to sign a deal that had been on the table for over two years.
It is now that Villa are seeing why Tielemans remains such a highly regarded player by his peers. After adapting to Emery’s methods and training regime, his last two performances against AZ Alkmaar and Fulham were perhaps his best in claret and blue.
Emery was the decisive factor in the move, convincing Tielemans to sign by outlining how he could improve him as a player.
It is also impossible to ignore the impact made by Ramsey, an academy graduate born in nearby Great Barr.
Ramsey was on the fringes of the England senior team before sustaining a broken metatarsal during the under-21’s tournament in July.
The 22-year-old was one of the rare positives during Gerrard’s troubled tenure and excelled in the second half of last season’s resurgence under Emery.
He suffered a recurrence of the same injury in October but is expected to return in the next few weeks, providing Villa with another major boost. Ramsey provides goals, energy and creativity.
His comeback will come at a perfect time. After the visit to Tottenham, Villa also have games coming up against Legia Warsaw, Manchester City and Arsenal, which will give us a clear sign of where this team is heading.
It will be the value-for-money midfield that provides the foundations for that top-four push.
 

[Footy-Vill]

My ode to Emery. Emotional.

When we found ourselves in times of trouble,
Nasar Sawiris came to see
Sacking with such wisdom, Stevie G

And in our hour of darkness, he is landing Unai Emery
Coaching genius wisdom, Emery
Emery, Emery, Emery, Emery
Always so demanding, Emery!

And when our broken-hearted fans living in this world could see
Unai has a system, Emery
For we saw at Villa how he started, beating Man U scoring 3
Made it into a fortress, Emery !

Emery, Emery, Emery, Emery
He came with the answers. Emery!

Emery, Emery, Emery, Emery
Coaches with words of wisdom, Emery

Emery, Emery, Emery, Emery
Europe is his kingdom. Emery

And when we see the team playing, there is thrill, delight, we shine. Can't disagree!
Happy that players follow Emery!

I wake up like we were crowned v Munich, Unai bringing hope to me.
Coaching Genius Wisdom, Emery

Emery, Emery, Emery, Emery
Europe is his kingdom. Emery

Emery, Emery, Emery, Emery.
He has all the answers, Emery!

Emery, Emery, Emery, Emery
Coaches with such wisdom, Emery!

[Footy-Vill]

To the tune of let it be.

[pablo_picasso]

Apologies if this is in the wrong thread and has been posted somewhere else

Article by Percy in today’s DT

Also apologies for the pathetic cut & paste attempt!!


Love the bit about “the majestic  Holte End”


Aston Villa's £17.5m midfield is putting big-spending rivals to shame
While their rivals have spent big to plug midfield gaps, Villa have created a formidable unit for a comparatively bargain price
By John Percy 21 November 2023 • 9:19am

Aston Villa’s owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens have invested around £500 million on transfers since promotion to the Premier League, underlining their ambition to propel the club back among the elite.
‘Big-spending Villa’ has remained the narrative, and they have undoubtedly been one of the more active clubs in Europe’s top five leagues.

Invested £500M is indeed the narrative, but NET spend is around £38M per season for over a decade, so it would be nice if that was focused on as well when these articles are being written.

It would only add statistically accurate backup to the point made regarding the good business Villa have been doing over the years.

And especially now we are challenging the upper echelons of the table.

Other than that, its nice some of the positives from Villa are being noticed by the media.

[Risso]

I’m hoping we try to strengthen in January, really got to go for it this year.

[Rigadon]

There's no doubting that we have some tough games coming up, but I think we can compete and stay within this group of 5 we're in. Do that and we have to invest big and really (really) go for it. 

[Brazilian Villain]

There's no doubting that we have some tough games coming up, but I think we can compete and stay within this group of 5 we're in. Do that and we have to invest big and really (really) go for it.

Agree with you and Risso, and I think the owners will back Unai if he identifies what he needs.