Unai Emery

[kippaxvilla2]

I think this will be us next year if we don't make CL.  Once Unai leaves (dread the day), I will probably have had enough of football.  By that time our neighbours will have moved into a 60k seater chimney dome and as it will be at the end of a decade - it will coincide with our usual periods of unmanaged decline.  I need a cup of tea and a lie down.

[Percy McCarthy]

^^ I think the APT rules on sponsorship were rushed through in the weeks following the Jaudi takeover.

They were and originally voted for by all but Newcastle. So the "Greedy 6 19" got together to fuck over Newcastle. When it came back to voting the changes, 16 other teams voted for them with Villa, Citeh, Newcastle and Forest voting against. So is that the Greedy 5 or Greedy 16 voting against aspiring clubs with money such as Citeh?

Dunno. I’m bored of people moaning about the rules. The club is doing all it can to compete within them (because they accept reality) but all we here from fans and podcasters is ‘tay fair’.

[The Edge]

The wheels seem to be falling off at St James Park.

Isaak went last summer and they had to sell Elliott to balance the books

And now Gordon, Tonali have gone and  Guimares looks to be on his way as well.
Eddie Howe's quit and it seems Joelinton wants out too.

I have real sympathy for the Geordie supporters who see their club bring pillaged by the Sky clubs. Joking aside, they're a much better bunch and we gave much more in common with them than wuth the glory hunting plastics who folllw the Greedy6.

Like us, the Toon has a big ground, a loyal fanbase, wealthy owners and ambition; but are hamstrung by the regulations.

Unfortunately their management team - from boardroom to coaching and recruitment haven't been up to the mark.

Unai turning them down in Nov 21 and then saying yes to Villa in Oct 22 seems to have been the ultimate Sliding Doors moment for both clubs.

We are so, so lucky.

Pity some fans are unable to realise it.

Are you suggesting that some of our fans don't realise how lucky we are to have Emery? Because that's the one thing that unites us. I'd say 100% of our fans know exactly how lucky we are to have him.

[paul_e]

Villa voting in favour of SCR isn't remotely unsurprising and it is absolutely in the clubs best interests because those rules were already in place at UEFA level so what we actually voted for was the standardise the rules to avoid the situation we had of having to juggle 2 different financial control processes. Changing the EPL regs to align with UEFA is the best idea for any club that is in Europe or has any interest in trying to qualify for Europe, even if said rules do give some unfair advantages to a handful of ultra-wealthy clubs.

[Dogtanian]

Villa voting in favour of SCR isn't remotely unsurprising and it is absolutely in the clubs best interests because those rules were already in place at UEFA level so what we actually voted for was the standardise the rules to avoid the situation we had of having to juggle 2 different financial control processes. Changing the EPL regs to align with UEFA is the best idea for any club that is in Europe or has any interest in trying to qualify for Europe, even if said rules do give some unfair advantages to a handful of ultra-wealthy clubs.

Yes, I remember at the time there was an analysis about who it benefited the most, and it was the Sky 6, us, and Newcastle.

[jwarry]

Unai says he’s optimistic and excited about the new chapter (Unai’s Villa 2.0) and having just watched the Indonesia game I can see why.  It’s starting to look like a completely different team with the pace and energy of the kids and new players.  He seems to be keeping his basic tenets of ball retention and passes through the middle but you can see he wants to play down the wings more. 

Garnacho clearly has some work today as he didn’t seem to have the confidence to take on his man and Alysson still looks a bit raw but get another winger in and it will help.  Lynch looks like a real find!

[Olneythelonely]

Seeing this pinned absolutely terrified me.

[Stu]

Seeing this pinned absolutely terrified me.

Saaaaame!

[Drummond]

Seeing this pinned absolutely terrified me.

You and me both, especially with a 3 hour page load time. It gave me enough time to flick to BBC Sport and make sure there wasn't a headline..

[Percy McCarthy]

Seeing this pinned absolutely terrified me.

I was sitting there saying ‘no, no, no, no, no,’ while I waited for it to load.

[Brazilian Villain]

Seeing this pinned absolutely terrified me.

Saaaaame!

And me. I knew he hadn't left, but thought he might have a serious health issue.

[Steve67]

Seeing this pinned absolutely terrified me.

I was sitting there saying ‘no, no, no, no, no,’ while I waited for it to load.

By the time it actually loaded, don't you mean 'no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no...................

[Percy McCarthy]

Seeing this pinned absolutely terrified me.

I was sitting there saying ‘no, no, no, no, no,’ while I waited for it to load.

By the time it actually loaded, don't you mean 'no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no...................

It was a mercifully short delay this time, like it sometimes is.

[jwarry]

Has Unai come unstuck again? I’m confused