Unai Emery

[London Villan]

Two fortunate wins at the end of houllier’s season papered over the cracks of some dismal performances.

What about the rest of the top six form after January? And what was fortunate about winning comfortably at Arsenal (fourth) then beating Liverpool (sixth)?

Both were in their final places, couldn’t go up or down a position when we played them from what i remember. It was a very average season with 48 points.

[dave.woodhall]

Two fortunate wins at the end of houllier’s season papered over the cracks of some dismal performances.

What about the rest of the top six form after January? And what was fortunate about winning comfortably at Arsenal (fourth) then beating Liverpool (sixth)?

Both were in their final places, couldn’t go up or down a position when we played them from what i remember. It was a very average season with 48 points.

Arsenal could have finished third, Liverpool could have got into Europe if Spurs had lost. If I could only remember how Spurs got on that day...

[PeterWithesShin]

If Arsenal had beaten us they would have finished 3rd and avoided the CL play-off round.

[paul_e]

As Paul says we had a load of injuries under Houlier. In the 2-2 at home to ManU we had Albrighton, Hogg and Bannan start, and the bench was Lichaj, Lowry, Herd, Osbourne, Johnson and Fonz as another example.

And we finished 9th because we only lost 4 of the last 17, not because we 'jammed' two wins.

I knew there was a game with a bench like that but just couldn't remember which one it was.

There's probably a fair argument that coming in and massively changing the intensity of training to try to increase fitness levels after the season was statred is why we got so many injuries but that also reinforces the idea that our squad were appalling unfit after that summer, and it was a known thing in the league at the time that we were fucked by March and teams could just outrun us, I seem to remember Terry commenting about it at the time.

[London Villan]

Arguably we did better without houllier in the dugout too.

[dave.woodhall]

If Arsenal had beaten us they would have finished 3rd and avoided the CL play-off round.

I think that was the one where they had a protest march outside the ground complaining about their lack of success.

[eamonn]

Arguably we did better without houllier in the dugout too.

You really dislike the dead man!

[Percy McCarthy]

We went from the best team in the country at defending set pieces in MON’s last season, to the worst team in the country at defending set-pieces under GH.

I think the goals conceded from them went from 1 to 28. GH abandoned our successful zonal system, and then when questioned about our disastrous record, just straight up lied and said he didn’t have time to change the way we defended set-pieces so left it the same as the previous season. Much to my annoyance, no journo had the balls to point out this blatant bullshit.

[London Villan]

Arguably we did better without houllier in the dugout too.

You really dislike the dead man!

Well no, but i didn’t rate him as our manager.

One of the first baffling decisions by our incompetent owner, which only got worse.

[Tony Daleys Shorts]

Decent article on The Beeb website by Guillem Balague.

Let’s hope Unai is here for a further 3 years minimum, I’m convinced we’ll finally win something if he is.

[AV82EC]

As Paul says we had a load of injuries under Houlier. In the 2-2 at home to ManU we had Albrighton, Hogg and Bannan start, and the bench was Lichaj, Lowry, Herd, Osbourne, Johnson and Fonz as another example.

And we finished 9th because we only lost 4 of the last 17, not because we 'jammed' two wins.

But for the last 10 (?) games he was in a hospital bed and Gary McAllister was running things. As so mentioned earlier though about 6 results went our way on the final day which meant we jumped 4 places.

It was a weird season because we played some sparkling football but couldn’t defend for toffee. Lerner then gave up by appointing McLeish. 

[ez]

Two fortunate wins at the end of houllier’s season papered over the cracks of some dismal performances.

If i remember correctly we could still mathematically be relegated with two games left to play.

[Sexual Ealing]

I didn't like his attitude. Always came across as Houllier than thou to me.

[Baldy]

Decent article on The Beeb website by Guillem Balague.

Let’s hope Unai is here for a further 3 years minimum, I’m convinced we’ll finally win something if he is.

The last section of the article 'What he did immediately at Villa' is fantastic.

[Andy_Lochhead_in_the_air]

'From black and white football to full colour' - Emery's three years at Villa

On 6 November 2022 a packed house at Villa Park exploded with joy as Aston Villa beat Manchester United on home soil for the first time since 1995.

A dream debut for new head coach Unai Emery, less than a week after the work permit hurdles that delayed his appointment had finally been cleared.

There had been fleeting moments of joy in the past but, for many years, never anything like this. It felt like that the club had finally broken through into the light after years of gloom.

In the dressing room after the match the mood was electric with handshakes, hugs, singing, dancing and the feeling that something new had begun - that the sleeping giant that is Aston Villa had finally been roused from its slumber.

But, amidst the hysteria and the celebrations, Emery and his team were more measured, and Unai's objective analysis of the triumph was clear.

And he was not happy. Villa had won, but on the players' terms. It had been an end-to-end affair, chaotic and uncontrolled. This wasn't the football that Unai had envisioned.

In that one moment he knew that the non-stop, frantic, 100mph football that the fans demanded was the polar opposite of the controlled, patient, measured, deliberate, dominating game that he wanted to put in place at the club.

All Unai and his team had to do was persuade everyone at the club - players, owners, directors, fans - that his was the road the club had to take. And if they did not want it, he would move on. Three years on, he is still there.

Dismissal at Arsenal had left a bitter taste in the mouth, but also the overwhelming feeling that he still had unfinished business in the Premier League.

If Unai learned one thing from his time in north London, it was about the need of a top-flight manager to have a protective circle of loyal colleagues around him - people that understand him deeply, anticipate his needs and clear the path for him.

When a meeting was organised at Jorge Mendes' Madrid home with Nassef Sawiris, one of the Villa owners, Unai's first call was to one of his closest confidantes, Damian Vidagany.

At the meeting, both Unai and Damian stressed how often the difference between success and failure often came down to one thing - time.

Nasser wasn't there to offer a job. Nor a project. He wanted Unai to design one.

Unai was impressed. When things got even worse at Aston Villa, the club agreed to pay Villarreal his release clause of about £5.3m. On 24 October 2022 Villarreal announced Unai's departure and Villa confirmed him as their new manager.

Before doing anything else he asked Damian to join him in this latest adventure.

Unai envisioned a structure which contained those people who understood his vision and could help him execute it. Unai knew that Damian and his chosen people could breathe life into the atmosphere. Without that motivation the project would flounder before it had even begun.

Without even knowing any of the details - length of contract, role, salary etc - Damian accepted without hesitation. He would help Unai build a project, awaken the giant.

In the gym, flanked by the 10 assistants he had brought with him to the club, he met his squad for the first time. First impressions are not everything although, as a former player, he did not underestimate their importance.

Hoping above hope that his English would hold steady, he announced: "I'm not happy. I'm sad because a colleague of mine, Steven Gerrard, has been sacked.

"He was not the only one responsible for what went wrong here. You are responsible. You and everyone in the club. We cannot always put the blame on the coach.

"And something else. I didn't come here to waste my time. I've come here to win things."

Training often revealed habits ingrained in the squad's style. Players would shoot when it wasn't the best option, crosses were delivered aimlessly without assessing whether a forward was in the right position. A cross, Unai would frequently insist, was a pass and not a hopeful punt.

For some, leaving their comfort zone was disorientating - for others terrifying. Gradually the penny dropped. Unai with his 24/7 approach, his willingness to roll up his sleeves and get on with his task, wasn't just tweaking tactics, he was changing the way they thought about football.

Senior players like Emi Martinez, Ollie Watkins, John McGinn and Lucas Digne embraced the change. Their enthusiasm became contagious.

"We've gone from black and white football to full colour," was a statement heard in the first-team canteen.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c9d6xd6g182o