Ramón Rodríguez Verdejo (AKA Monchi)

[TheToffnar]

Not an enormous amount of insight there outside of the Martinez/Flekken debacle and confirmations regarding JJ etc.

As highlighted, it will be very interesting to see how things develop with Olabe now and how that may effect the managerial power of Emery when it comes to signings. Can't see much changing, being more efficient would be a win at this stage.

[dave.woodhall]

Emery's not being pushed out. He's got total authority and him going would be worse than O'Neill.

[PaulWinch again]

Emery's not being pushed out. He's got total authority and him going would be worse than O'Neill.

Yup and therein lies the problem. Having everything hinge on one individual is an absolutely crazy way to run any type of business, regardless of how good that individual is.

[Sexual Ealing]

It's how we're running our striking department too!

[Brazilian Villain]

Guillem Balague will be annoyed with his book coming out this week. It's probably going to be choc full of 'tight knit triumvirate' stuff which is now out of date.

He's already got it covered. https://x.com/GuillemBalague/status/1970449459780649198

[Drummond]

It's how we're running our striking department too!

I know right, especially one so shit!

[Ads]

Emery's not being pushed out. He's got total authority and him going would be worse than O'Neill.

Yup and therein lies the problem. Having everything hinge on one individual is an absolutely crazy way to run any type of business, regardless of how good that individual is.

Not really.

If the choice is having a world class manager and giving him everything he wants to build a dynasty or not having that world class manager, then we've absolutely made the right decision.  Given how the past 2 years and 10 months have gone, it seems like a good one.

[ChicagoLion]

I still want to hear Unai is ok with this, and this isn't the beginning of the end of his reign

According to Tanswell in The Athletic “ Monchi is returning to his native Spain — largely for personal reasons — but is expected to remain in an advisory capacity to Villa’s ownership group, V Sports, as part of plans to restructure the football department.”

If that’s true it all sounds fairly amicable

It’s a well worn route from executive position to Advisor it saves face, here is a position, a few bob as a retainer, don’t make a fuss we will call you when we need you, no need to stand by the phone.

[N'ZMAV]

Emery's not being pushed out. He's got total authority and him going would be worse than O'Neill.

Yup and therein lies the problem. Having everything hinge on one individual is an absolutely crazy way to run any type of business, regardless of how good that individual is.

we've tried it every other way from MON up until Unai's arrival - safe to say MON & Unai were more successful than the rest.

[Caribbeanvillan]

The tone for Aston Villa's season was seemingly set before the previous campaign had ended. The club's director of football operations, Damian Vidagany, addressed Villa's end-of-season awards dinner and warned it would be a “difficult” summer — and that was even before they had lost to Manchester United on the final day to miss out on Champions League football.

Why would anybody in his position (Damian Vidagany), give out this information before one of the most important league games of the season, it's obviously had an effect on the players, and carried forward to this season.

[Demitri_C]

What i Would like to know is how to the journalists get big stories  like this before its made official? Is someone from the  club leaking these stories?

My understanding is that they guess.

In every news HQ there is a room lit only by the ghostly blue light of a large strange aquarium, in whose synthetic amniote solution floats the the newsroom's resident Vatic (a creature sort of like a large axolotl). It communicates what it sees by ultrasonic humming and the occasional emission of ink, that forms itself into suggestive symbols. Journalists then consult the ancient books to piece together what the messages mean ('Yoane Wissa Valued At £40m+', 'Kate Adie buys a duck farm' and so on), from which they assemble what you and I call 'The News'.

Haha taht made me laugh

[LeeB]

The tone for Aston Villa's season was seemingly set before the previous campaign had ended. The club's director of football operations, Damian Vidagany, addressed Villa's end-of-season awards dinner and warned it would be a “difficult” summer — and that was even before they had lost to Manchester United on the final day to miss out on Champions League football.

Why would anybody in his position (Damian Vidagany), give out this information before one of the most important league games of the season, it's obviously had an effect on the players, and carried forward to this season.

May I suggest we need to replace these players with their, to quote Jim Morrison, 'fragile, egg-shell minds' with some more sturdy types.