Unai Emery

[PaulWinch again]

Yeah I’m sure that’s part of it too.

[olaftab]

Clearly we're not as good as last season. 

Clearly we have a higher burden than last season with Champions League duty.  And clearly we are not quite ready to compete in 3 competitions like we are doing this season so something has to suffer.

[RamboandBruno]

Clearly we're not as good as last season.  Our well-drilled high-line worked wonders last year until it started getting found out towards the end of the season.  This year he's not found a structure for the defence that's as a strong as it needs to be.  But, I think he will.  Whether that means some personnel changes in the summer, or not, I have no concerns whatsoever that the trajectory is up, and that Unai will keep us up towards the top end of the table for the long-term.

Indeed the tone of Elvis in Vegas…thank you very much.

Sensible post as ever

[Dave]

Suddenly find themselves as low as 10th after the highs of the late, late win over Chelsea were followed by a thumping defeat at Selhurst Park.

It’s been the story of Villa’s league season, one that has never really had any great momentum to it. Not since September have they managed more than two league wins in a row, and every time a corner appears to have been turned they find another cul-de-sac.

Those three early-season wins were followed by a run of one win in eight. A pair of back-to-back wins in early December by a run of one win in four. And the two wins that kicked off Villa’s 2025 have now been followed by one win in seven.

They are still only four points off fifth given the chaotic nature of this season, but having played a game more than all their rivals have plenty of work to do while also trying to do something they’ve struggled with all season: juggling league form with other commitments.

And Unai Emery cannot escape all criticism. The Mailbox came for him after the Palace defeat in a way we’ve not seen since the dog days of his time at Arsenal.

Nobody doubts the man’s CV or the work he’s done in turning Villa from relegation battlers into a Champions League side. But they have taken a huge PSR gamble on wages, and it really cannot be worth it if all it delivers is a mid-table league finish and a Champions League quarter-final.

Villa’s struggles post-Champions League games have been well documented, but this defeat at Palace highlighted the other major flaw in Emery’s side this season. They are quite simply a totally different beast away from Villa Park.

At home they boast a record that stands up against any in the land, but away from home the story is very different. Only the cast-adrift bottom four have fewer points on the road – and Wolves only two fewer – while even more damningly only those four have defensive records as bad as or worse than Villa’s.

Emery’s mid-block and high line is all too often all too easily picked apart when Villa leave the comfort of home. This was their fourth three-goal defeat away from home in 13 games. It cannot be good enough.

[Hookeysmith]

He looks stressed out  - the way he was smashing the dug out and celebrating our goal like a madman is not the cool dude we all love

[Brazilian Villain]

He looks stressed out  - the way he was smashing the dug out and celebrating our goal like a madman is not the cool dude we all love

He's been reading Demitri's posts, he's feeling the heat.

[Clampy]

He looks stressed out  - the way he was smashing the dug out and celebrating our goal like a madman is not the cool dude we all love

He's been reading Demitri's posts, he's feeling the heat.

All 6 million of them.

[Ozzjim]

Has to adapt to a low block counter away from home.

[Steve67]

Has to pick a side and formation that does not plan to the hands of the opposition.

[Toronto Villa]

Dear Unai - we love you but stop fucking telling the world we are not contenders for CL, POL top 4, FA Cup. For Fucks Sake. We have a really good squad that should be contenders for everything. So be proud and say it. Nothing kills fan morale than telling us we are just plodding along.

[OCD]

Dear Unai - we love you but stop fucking telling the world we are not contenders for CL, POL top 4, FA Cup. For Fucks Sake. We have a really good squad that should be contenders for everything. So be proud and say it. Nothing kills fan morale than telling us we are just plodding along.

Presumably he's saying something very different behind closed doors.

[Louzie0]

I hope he’s showing a lotta love to our goalkeepers.

[Demitri_C]

He looks stressed out  - the way he was smashing the dug out and celebrating our goal like a madman is not the cool dude we all love

He's been reading various other  posters  on heroes and vilians as well as Demitri's posts, he's feeling the heat.

Fixed for your convenience 🙃

[Percy McCarthy]

All the talk is of lack of consistency yet I read recently we have had  a total of 10 different Centre Half pairing combinations including the recent one of a young kid from the reserves with the best CDM in the prem.

It's not all about tactics and game plans if it's changing personal each week. I am sick of hearing about other teams injury list.
We have done very well to be where we are so far

I saw an analysis of all the PL clubs injuries that took into account injuries, player valuations and general squad strength and it came to the conclusion that we have been second hardest hit with our overall squad strength reduced by 37%. I can’t remember who was first, probably Spurs, but it was only just above ours I think.

[pauliewalnuts]

It was Spurs, yes.