Villa are going to make us look silly with their off-the-ball movement and collective defending. Just saying it now, they perform as a team rather than individuals
Aston Villa appoint Unai Emery as manager
- Thread starter DavidDeSchmikes
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik (@Rood) and Jamie (@Vault Dweller) review both the Everton and Bodø/Glimt victories at Old Trafford. Listen to the guys discuss 2 wins and 7 goals in the last week, analyse of the Amorim formation, focus on Amad and how he is playing, and also take a look at Hojlund, Rashford & Zirkzee – who starts v Arsenal?
Some context though...
We've made some poor appointments post-SAF because we had the wrong people making footballing decisions.
Moyes never looked like being capable of managing an elite club. LvG was on the brink of retiring and stated he'd only be in the job three/four seasons max. Jose was disliked by half the fanbase and OGS was a messy appointment.
EtH is the first United manager post-SAF who hasn't had to contend with Ed Woodward and, as of about 6-months ago, has had a proper support network of experienced sporting executives in Wilcox, Woodward and Berrada.
So managers have failed, but I don't think that's necessarily because of some kind of jinx, it's because a man with no knowledge of football made four of those appointments and they never had the right structure around them and the fifth, also appointed by folks without football background is just....bad.
The assumptions like this in this thread are interesting takes.
No.
Can he have Erik’s seat on the team bus on the way back on Sunday?
They just got one in the CL against Bayern, no?
Edit : This would have been an insane sentence 18 months ago.
I mean, what the feck was that?!
They were as bad as we were, which is saying something.
They were as bad as we were, which is saying something.
It is just Emery being smart and calculating that losing two points is better than us sacking EtH on the back of a loss and potentially posing a challenge to top-4 later in the season.
European hangover. They were lacking their usual physical impact, had very little intensity. Was to be expected.
Rogers wasted so much in the final third yesterday (second half). Was the key to us winning but final ball wasn't there at all.
Beyond that we were just happy to play out the point after the effort put in on Wednesday.
Frustrating but a pretty good first 7 games. November schedule is brutal though. Spurs, Liverpool and Chelsea all away in that month.
Beyond that we were just happy to play out the point after the effort put in on Wednesday.
Frustrating but a pretty good first 7 games. November schedule is brutal though. Spurs, Liverpool and Chelsea all away in that month.
It's the one question mark i have over Emery.
His record in European football is fantastic, no one can argue otherwise. However, at the clubs he's been at, he's been able to focus on European games, especially at the knockout stage, to the detriment to league form on many occasions, and not be heavily criticised for it. Even at Arsenal we were in the driving seat for top 4 his only full season and he rested players for a home game vs Crystal Palace and we lost 3-2 and then subsequently got beat by Leicester 3-0 and drew with Brighton 1-1 around about the latter stages of the Europa League.
However, i also accept that at the clubs he's been at, maybe he didn't have the squad to rotate and maintain form in multiple competitions, so i find it had to really evaluate him when it comes to the possibility of him taking over a major club. I suppose the proof of the pudding is in the eating as the saying goes, and i suppose he's done well enough to be offered that opportunity again, but it remains a question mark for me.
Maybe be perfect for someone like Bayern where they have an advantage in terms of resources and squad quality compared to their domestic rivals.
First starts for Barkley and Philogene wasn't it?
Onana to Barkley in particular is a very different kind of player and Philogene fresh out of the Championship, who knows if he'll make the grade.
Onana to Barkley in particular is a very different kind of player and Philogene fresh out of the Championship, who knows if he'll make the grade.
I still think under current circumstances, and given we’d played in Portugal late Thursday night, you should have done much more.
We set up quite well though and were good value for the point.
It's not a question mark about his management, it's about the club structure and the squad (which is what you say afterwards). Your squad at the time was absolutely brutal - managers who are able to handle both league and European campaigns have deep, capable squads. It's something he'd have to learn and perfect if he went to a big club that had those expectations.
It's the kind of result that both teams can be satisfied with, and both teams can be disappointed with. It was overall a poor game.
Yes and no.
I think it’s a better point for United as most expected a hammering.
It was a poor game though and one which United were pretty comfortable in. Just not buying the Bayern excuse given United had even less rest and had to travel.
Reminds me a bit of Poch. I think he's a good manager.
I don't think he has a particularly high ceiling though.
I don't think he has a particularly high ceiling though.
The intensity of a CL game is very different to an EL one, notwithstanding the extra day of rest. Add on top of that the emotional impact of Villa being back in the CL after so long, and the rollercoaster of winning it in that manner, then yes it's understandable that their players, a lot of whom are experiencing that level for the first time, would be more drained than ours and would struggle to start the game against Utd in the most energetic way. It's not really an excuse for you "to buy", it's just what they experienced, and was apparent especially in the first half.
He's so much better than Poch.
I'm not sure you can remove one from the other until it's proven either way.
In terms of our situation, we were in a commanding place for 4th. It was his choice to rotate, to gamble that position when the main goal for the club that season was to get back into the Champions League. He gambled that commanding position for Europa League which was a higher gamble to succeed in. In the end we failed on both counts.
I thought they would run right through United. Pleased to see that wasn't the case, they looked pretty pedestrian for a lot of the game.
Villa have a weaker squad than us and were missing a lot more players. They had to defend for most of the game vs Bayern, which would have taken a lot out of them.
McGinn (captain), Onana and Ramsey all start for them if fit. Cash made his 1st appearance in over 6 weeks. Konsa went off injured after 12 mins. Bailey started the game with a knock. And both Mings and Kamara are recovering from long term knee injuries.
They were down to the bare bones. No DM/CM on the bench.
Villa didn't play well, but I'm not surprised when you take all of that into consideration.
The likes of Rogers and Philogene were playing in The Championship less than a year ago. It's not like Emery is buying world class players for each position. They had to sell Douglas Luiz to get Onana. They'd have been much stronger had they kept him and signed Onana. Not possible due to FFP.
In hindsight, loaning out Barennechea was maybe a mistake. An extra option in midfield. Kamara coming back will be a huge boost if he's half the player he was pre injury.
McGinn (captain), Onana and Ramsey all start for them if fit. Cash made his 1st appearance in over 6 weeks. Konsa went off injured after 12 mins. Bailey started the game with a knock. And both Mings and Kamara are recovering from long term knee injuries.
They were down to the bare bones. No DM/CM on the bench.
Villa didn't play well, but I'm not surprised when you take all of that into consideration.
The likes of Rogers and Philogene were playing in The Championship less than a year ago. It's not like Emery is buying world class players for each position. They had to sell Douglas Luiz to get Onana. They'd have been much stronger had they kept him and signed Onana. Not possible due to FFP.
In hindsight, loaning out Barennechea was maybe a mistake. An extra option in midfield. Kamara coming back will be a huge boost if he's half the player he was pre injury.
The 3rd game in a row they haven't done that much going forward. Maybe we could have seen it coming? Easy to say afterwards and prematurely jumping on patterns isn't very wise, but still.
Flat v Ipswich and Villa's xG was low at 1.14 even though they scored 2. In their other 6 matches Ipswich have given up an average xG of 2.88 including almost 3 against Southampton and over 4 v West Ham who have been terrible against almost everyone else. It was Ipswich's best showing of the season for that stat defensively when they played Villa so not a good effort for Emery's men.
Against Bayen it was about 0.5 for Villa, same yesterday.
Flat v Ipswich and Villa's xG was low at 1.14 even though they scored 2. In their other 6 matches Ipswich have given up an average xG of 2.88 including almost 3 against Southampton and over 4 v West Ham who have been terrible against almost everyone else. It was Ipswich's best showing of the season for that stat defensively when they played Villa so not a good effort for Emery's men.
Against Bayen it was about 0.5 for Villa, same yesterday.
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Emery is clearly an excellent coach, seemingly at his best with players he can improve and don’t have the self-regard due to being at a top European club. He may get another move to a more prestigious side but he’s so well-suited to Villa.
The danger for him now is that Villa don’t continue to punch above their weight. He’s created a rod for his own back in some ways and he’s taken advantage of the mismanaged Chelsea and United by filling the vacuum they’ve left.
The danger for him now is that Villa don’t continue to punch above their weight. He’s created a rod for his own back in some ways and he’s taken advantage of the mismanaged Chelsea and United by filling the vacuum they’ve left.
I made this to check out United form since our League Cup Final but it does highlight what a terrific job Emery has done with Villa. 4th position over 59/60 games by a clear points margin. 4th lowest Loss percentage, 6th highest GF, 4th lowest GA. Terrific really to be that consistent over that many games with a club like Villa.
Club | Games | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Man City | 58 | 44 | 10 | 4 | 143 | 50 | 93 | 142 |
Arsenal | 59 | 40 | 10 | 8 | 142 | 55 | 87 | 133 |
Liverpool | 60 | 39 | 14 | 7 | 136 | 62 | 74 | 131 |
Aston Villa | 59 | 32 | 13 | 13 | 109 | 78 | 31 | 112 |
Newcastle | 60 | 29 | 12 | 18 | 126 | 87 | 39 | 102 |
Man Utd | 59 | 28 | 10 | 21 | 79 | 81 | -2 | 94 |
Tottenham | 58 | 27 | 10 | 21 | 112 | 97 | 15 | 91 |
Chelsea | 59 | 25 | 14 | 19 | 108 | 93 | 15 | 90 |
Brighton | 61 | 21 | 18 | 20 | 101 | 96 | 5 | 87 |
West Ham | 59 | 21 | 14 | 23 | 89 | 111 | -22 | 77 |
Bournemouth | 59 | 21 | 11 | 26 | 77 | 100 | -23 | 74 |
Fulham | 58 | 20 | 11 | 27 | 84 | 91 | -7 | 71 |
Crystal Palace | 59 | 18 | 16 | 24 | 81 | 86 | -5 | 70 |
Brentford | 60 | 19 | 13 | 27 | 90 | 94 | -4 | 73 |
Everton | 59 | 17 | 17 | 24 | 64 | 91 | -27 | 60 |
Wolves | 59 | 18 | 10 | 30 | 72 | 111 | -39 | 64 |
Nottm Forest | 59 | 14 | 17 | 27 | 76 | 99 | -23 | 55 |
I agree overall, but the "excuse" is a good one for the side expected to win and visibly lacking intensity.
It's easier to deal with the midweek effects when you choose not to take the initiative.
I reckon even the ref played into our hands / gameplan blowing up for any minimal contact.
Bayern game seemed a super emotional occasion for them, starting to pileup injuries too
If Villa are top-4 hopefuls then dropping the odd point is acceptable. They just have to dominate the ‘fodder’ home and away. You can drop about 40pts to get 4th spot. Yesterday is why they’re not challenging at the top of the league. They’re good and can be great, they’re just not relentlessly strong.
Looking at this Man United is not doing so badly. Perhaps you guys should be more patient with Ten Hag? The narrative has always been that Man United dropped off after the League Cup win. Even at the lowest point Man United is still the sixth best team.
Take a look at it again mate. Look at the goals scored compared to the rest of the league. We are literally bottom half and that has been a consistent factor since day 1.
Emery 
InformativeEmery
He's excellent and one thing that jumped out at me is that Villa actually scored more league goals than Spurs last season. Surprised me when looking at the respective managers.
We should sign Martinez
It doesn't sit well with me that ineos are just sitting on their hands whilst Aston villa can boast having a better manager than us, where is the ambition from our club? his time at villa now adds up to almost 2 seasons of consistently producing at a level expected of top 4 club, it's beyond the point of being a flash in the pan.
Yeah he's probably better than Bayindir.
Villa in dreamland. Emery is that guy
Top of the champions league table with 3 wins from 3 games
Our bench has been insane the last two games. Much bigger squad to rotate than Newcastle had this time last year.
Big November ahead so let's see where we are in the league going into the Christmas period.
Big November ahead so let's see where we are in the league going into the Christmas period.
Think they make the top honestly and get straight to the last 16. Don't see many games where they're likely to lose points.