Unai Emery

[Rigadon]

A great read indeed.  And a fucking ace manager and man it would seem.  We are so lucky to have him. 

[AV82EC]

You just can’t help loving him more after reading that.

[Percy McCarthy]

A good read, thanks. And he’s right about the book too.

[SaddVillan]

And still his decision making and team selections get questioned.

[LeeB]

Deano and Unai, blimey we have been blessed when you think about it.

The one in between, not so much.

[algy]

The title? “Well, every team can get hurt by injuries and other clubs have more squad power, and we know as coaches things can change quickly, so let's look at it when there are ten games to go. “That's with my manager's head on. With my Villa fan's head? Listen, I'd love it if they're still there with ten games left. I'll definitely be flying back.”

I love Deano. Unai is the best manager we’ve had in my lifetime, I love him to bits, and there’s not a single manager in the world I’d have in his place. But Deano is my favourite Villa manager.

[Somniloquism]

Yet Emery never harked back to that pivotal refereeing error at Old Trafford, for which Villa received apologies from the official, Thomas Bramall, and Howard Webb, chief of the refereeing body Professional Game Match Officials Ltd (PGMOL).

Where? I have never seen a report about this ever since that week. Not even reviewed in ref's micced up or anywhere else that I can see online.

[SaddVillan]

Yet Emery never harked back to that pivotal refereeing error at Old Trafford, for which Villa received apologies from the official, Thomas Bramall, and Howard Webb, chief of the refereeing body Professional Game Match Officials Ltd (PGMOL).

Where? I have never seen a report about this ever since that week. Not even reviewed in ref's micced up or anywhere else that I can see online.

This jumped off the page of the Unai article

PGMOL's Key Match Incident reports identified that Villa suffered more refereeing mistakes (nine) than any other top-flight club in 2024-25.

Haven't seen this before anywhere, either.

OK so other clubs might also have been sinned against, but if we suffered most, then had all these 'errors' not been made which club would have benefitted most?

Water under the bridge now. The learning point? Don't be left needing all the chips to fall our way on the last matchday.

Grind out those dull, boring, unexciting wins and draws in the winter months.

[AV82EC]

I still maintain the last minute loss at The Emptyhad was far worse than the Old Trafford brain fart.

[Dave]

F365

Premier League winners

Unai Emery

Aston Villa being third in both the Premier and Europa League tables and on a run of nine straight wins is great and all, but Emery reappropriating a Manchester United spare part just underlines his coaching acumen.

With 25 Premier League minutes to his name all season, Victor Lindelof was trusted to step into the shoes of one of the more difficult players to replace in the entire country. The Pau Torres role is sacred under Emery but a free agent made it work.

“We signed him for it,” Emery said. “He showed his experience today. Playing in our structure, he was comfortable and calm with the ball in the build-up.

“It is not easy in the build-up on the left side when he is right-footed. He managed the passes we needed from him to the next players. He did fantastic.”

It does make you think precisely what Harvey Elliott is doing in training to the extent that Emery finds his mere presence in matchday squads unpalatable. But Lindelof, with that uncharacteristic carry, then simple and effective pass into space for Morgan Rogers to venture and fire home the winner, showed that any player can thrive under the Spaniard if they listen and learn.

[Somniloquism]

It does make you think precisely what Harvey Elliott is doing in training to the extent that Emery finds his mere presence in matchday squads unpalatable. But Lindelof, with that uncharacteristic carry, then simple and effective pass into space for Morgan Rogers to venture and fire home the winner, showed that any player can thrive under the Spaniard if they listen and learn.

Reminds me of the quote from the article earlier about what he told Rashford.

Before signing Marcus Rashford on loan from Manchester United last season, Emery met the player and was encouraged to find he was still a football-obsessed young kid at heart. He told Rashford to go away and do his research. “Find out how I train, how demanding I am, how many videos I show. If you still want to come after that, then you're my player,” he said.

[Mellin]

I've not heard that line. That is superb.

Entirely against Rashford's alleged reputation that he jumped at it too.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

Never seen that one before, love it!

As for Harvey Elliott, the question is who would you drop from "one of the best midfields in the world"* to accommodate Elliott?

*Quote from some pundit at the weekend.