Unai Emery

[Nev]

I feel like we started at the bottom of a well. We are slowly crawling up, inch by inch. It's cold wet and horrible, more rain and filth pour down on us but we cling on manfully knowing one slip could see us at the bottom again where things may have to change before we start the ascent again.

We really can't afford to lose on Sunday.

[PeterWithesShin]

Nobody forced us to spend what, £130m?, on Maatsen, Onana, Malen and Guessand. Meanwhile the bloke we never seemed interested in actually playing for us and only cost £8m was scoring in the CL. As Paulie says, we haven't always helped ourselves when signing players.

[adrenachrome]

Interesting post on X from Stanloi:
93% wages to turnover means 80-90% of signings have to perform and 80-90% of outgoings gave to realise a lot of incoming money, plus there has to be a plentiful supply of them.

The reality is that Unai got mostly Dean Smith's signings to exceptional consistent highs, a raft of sales brought in good cash but I'd challenge any Villa fan on any assertion that more than 3 or 4 Unai signings gave been a resounding success out of 23 incoming in his tenure.

I use Malen and Maatsen as examples. £60m for the pair and on very good wages. Neither have been that A1 player needed in their position, even more so when you let other players go to accommodate them.

The first XI can still compete, I'm sure of that but when you see the likes of Ramsey go, the Emi situation and don't replace with quality or add 3 or 4 every window to push on then you stand still or go backwards.

We now have a problem with UEFA compliance and if we're not careful players will start to look elsewhere as they sniff all is not well.

The much vaunted recruitment team haven't proven they're a match for Bournemouth or Brighton, that's the truth, and if results don't improve I'd expect Unai to be touted with a move away too.

The squad needs quality and fresh injection of quality which can't happen until Villa's financial compliance allows a window or 3 to operate properly in. That may not happen for 3 or 4 more windows.

Easy to blame PSR but overspending on wages and fees along with ( in my opinion), average recruitment ( it's the Smith players who've excelled) that's created this.

We'll see how good Unai is at motivating now.

[curiousorange]

At this point ten years ago we had four points and were still in the League Cup. I think I just felt someone walk over my grave.

[Ian.]

But we've also been dealt and manufactured bad hand with FFP etc,

Yes, but we have played it abysmally.

Forcing Ramsey out, creating uncertainty around practically the whole squad because they couldn't shift Bailey early enough, spunking big money on players who don't even get used, let alone deliver.

Yes, it is a problem, but we have totally fucked it.

.

I really believe we’ve done something really stupid before last season even finished. Either something was said to the squad or something got out and the players had heard rumours. That last game was appalling and the summer turned into a farce. The seasons started and they look flat and something seems very wrong.

[villa for life]

Interesting post on X from Stanloi:
93% wages to turnover means 80-90% of signings have to perform and 80-90% of outgoings gave to realise a lot of incoming money, plus there has to be a plentiful supply of them.

The reality is that Unai got mostly Dean Smith's signings to exceptional consistent highs, a raft of sales brought in good cash but I'd challenge any Villa fan on any assertion that more than 3 or 4 Unai signings gave been a resounding success out of 23 incoming in his tenure.

I use Malen and Maatsen as examples. £60m for the pair and on very good wages. Neither have been that A1 player needed in their position, even more so when you let other players go to accommodate them.

The first XI can still compete, I'm sure of that but when you see the likes of Ramsey go, the Emi situation and don't replace with quality or add 3 or 4 every window to push on then you stand still or go backwards.

We now have a problem with UEFA compliance and if we're not careful players will start to look elsewhere as they sniff all is not well.

The much vaunted recruitment team haven't proven they're a match for Bournemouth or Brighton, that's the truth, and if results don't improve I'd expect Unai to be touted with a move away too.

The squad needs quality and fresh injection of quality which can't happen until Villa's financial compliance allows a window or 3 to operate properly in. That may not happen for 3 or 4 more windows.

Easy to blame PSR but overspending on wages and fees along with ( in my opinion), average recruitment ( it's the Smith players who've excelled) that's created this.

We'll see how good Unai is at motivating now.

Yes, this is all true

[Sexual Ealing]

Interesting post on X from Stanloi:
93% wages to turnover means 80-90% of signings have to perform and 80-90% of outgoings gave to realise a lot of incoming money, plus there has to be a plentiful supply of them.

The reality is that Unai got mostly Dean Smith's signings to exceptional consistent highs, a raft of sales brought in good cash but I'd challenge any Villa fan on any assertion that more than 3 or 4 Unai signings gave been a resounding success out of 23 incoming in his tenure.

I use Malen and Maatsen as examples. £60m for the pair and on very good wages. Neither have been that A1 player needed in their position, even more so when you let other players go to accommodate them.

The first XI can still compete, I'm sure of that but when you see the likes of Ramsey go, the Emi situation and don't replace with quality or add 3 or 4 every window to push on then you stand still or go backwards.

We now have a problem with UEFA compliance and if we're not careful players will start to look elsewhere as they sniff all is not well.

The much vaunted recruitment team haven't proven they're a match for Bournemouth or Brighton, that's the truth, and if results don't improve I'd expect Unai to be touted with a move away too.

The squad needs quality and fresh injection of quality which can't happen until Villa's financial compliance allows a window or 3 to operate properly in. That may not happen for 3 or 4 more windows.

Easy to blame PSR but overspending on wages and fees along with ( in my opinion), average recruitment ( it's the Smith players who've excelled) that's created this.

We'll see how good Unai is at motivating now.

That all sounds fair enough to me.

[aj2k77]

Guessand on £90k a week is madness. How stupid can you get?

[Toronto Villa]

When it comes to discussing transfers they are all accountable to the fact so many Dean Smith and Steven Gerrard’s group are considered starting options. The FFP and SCR rules have obviously made it much harder to develop the squad but maybe we just did things too fast and we are being burned because of it. The problems though are starting to come out on the field. And Emery has up until this season done an amazing job hiding all it. I don’t see how this gets better any time soon.

[Toronto Villa]

Guessand on £90k a week is madness. How stupid can you get?

That’s the going rate for a player doing well playing for a PL club. And £90k isn’t even that much anymore when you have players on £250k plus.

[pauliewalnuts]

When it comes to discussing transfers they are all accountable to the fact so many Dean Smith and Steven Gerrard’s group are considered starting options. The FFP and SCR rules have obviously made it much harder to develop the squad but maybe we just did things too fast and we are being burned because of it. The problems though are starting to come out on the field. And Emery has up until this season done an amazing job hiding all it. I don’t see how this gets better any time soon.

That would only be a valid assessment if we hadn't wasted almost all of the money were are actually allowed to spend.

[Beard82]

But we've also been dealt and manufactured bad hand with FFP etc,

Yes, but we have played it abysmally.

Forcing Ramsey out, creating uncertainty around practically the whole squad because they couldn't shift Bailey early enough, spunking big money on players who don't even get used, let alone deliver.

Yes, it is a problem, but we have totally fucked it.

Maybe but there is no prescedent for how to handle it.

[curiousorange]

I honestly think, and as much as I don't want to become these clubs, the best way for us to evolve now is to nick Brighton or Bournemouth's scouting teams, so the bargains they find can be coached under somebody who can make them into actual winners. If we're not allowed to use our giant piss-pot, we'll have to do the next best thing, which is to buy players cheaper but have the financial muscle to keep them when the ESL come calling.

[Ian.]

20-30 million on a player is not a high figure anymore. The signings of Malen and Guessand are not really players you’d expect to be relying on. Last season we had Rashford and Asensio.

We’re downgrading, I guess not through choice.

[PeterWithesShin]

We had to offer him that because of the Saudi offer. Not saying I agree with it but that's why his wages are higher than a bloke from Nice should be on.