Well that's kind of the interesting part... They are fairly stable against mid and lower table teams plus a few OK teams in the top half. It's the big boys they've been destroyed by up until now.
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 Imran @Annihilate Now! start with the good news by celebrating Manchester United Women's emphatic FA Cup win over Spurs at Wembley and the future of manager Marc Skinner.
Then it's the bad news and the ever worsening form of our Men with losses to Arsenal and Palace.
Finally the main debate - ETH Out now or keep him until the end of the season - if not longer. Are you Team Nik or Team Imran?
He's made Lucas Digne look like a half decent full back which in itself is a true feat of football management
Digne was good at Everton
They may not win the title but I think top 4 spot is theirs, their impressive form under emery has been going on for far too long now to expect them to collapse like spurs
Absolutely unbelievable how good they have been. Emery has really surprised me even though I rate him a lot, what a gritty and well-coached team he has got there. McGinn and Kamara are fantastic players, while Emi Martinez might be one of the best 5 keepers on the planet. Would not surprise me if they finish in top three.
Almost forgot about thatGerrard had this lot heading for the championship
Tielemans was the far better option than Mount this summer. Would be nice to have a real midfielder who can score and assist rather than this false midfielder we seem to be playing.
He doesn't have the right temperament for United's current predicament and is a bit moody. He was even grumbling in the press about his playing time at Villa earlier this season. I think he would not have been a good fit at all.
Imagine in 2013 when we strolled to the title vs Villa that 10 years later we would envy them as being a better run club than us.
On offence yes ... On defence No.
They bought in DOF that he has worked with at previous clubs and was a success with. Targeted players that fit his style and seems to be paying off.
I can't think of many (or any) that are worse run tbf, maybe Chelsea could run us close recently, Everton? That's about it.
I like Villa, so good on them showing us terribly run clubs up for the idiots we clearly are.
Douglas Luiz was available for about 20m in summer 2022. That's someone who'd massively improve your midfield with his tempo play and also increased scoring threat.
If SAF had been still advising he'd have told whoever was in charge to put in a bid for McGinn aswell. It has surprised me how much he's improved under Emery as before he was effective at box to box and pressing but in slower games his passing would be exposed a bit. Now he makes the correct decision with the ball 9.5/10 so that's great coaching day in day out compared to what he was getting previously which was just soundbites and indulgence by Slippy.
Doing brilliantly but been very lucky with injuries, especially Mings being out
He was fine defensively. Nothing special but as good as most modern full backs are.
Would have been a bad fit for a size large.
I thought he was a tad shaky as a defensive full back but as you say most modern full backs are .. It's a funny place that football has arrived at..
Would any of the Villa fans on here be able to help me get 3 tickets for the game vs. Sheffield United just before Christmas? Trying to as a present for my wife's family, though not sure how without buying three £40 memberships through the club website.
Looking forward to super John McGinn lifting the title.
https://theathletic.com/5124395/202...tterfc&source=twitteruk&access_token=14559658
A detailed analysis of the behind-the-scenes drive that has taken place alongside Emery's excellent work over the past 18 months. A really informative read that makes it feel obvious why things have gone so well for them.
A detailed analysis of the behind-the-scenes drive that has taken place alongside Emery's excellent work over the past 18 months. A really informative read that makes it feel obvious why things have gone so well for them.
Mings was brilliant in the run in last season. Yes he has mistakes in his locker but you can't measure the leadership he'd bring on the pitch and big part of our rise generally since 2019. His performance at Anfield right at the end of last season was the best game he's ever played for us, was imperious that day.
Losing him on opening day with a career threatening injury was a big blow at the time whatever the perception of him on here. I imagine if he'd stayed fit we'd have seen more of Konsa at RB as seen for the past three games. Diego Carlos has also picked up injuries here and there so last month has been his first run of starts since signing.
We also lost Buendia just before season commenced, he'd have started all the matches Zaniolo has so far. And that brilliant left sided combination of Moreno-Ramsey was not seen on the pitch together in prem until December 3th so that's a long old wait.
It's true we haven't had as many injuries as rivals but we've still had to contend with 4-5 regulars out so far. The two we simply can't afford to get injured from this point are Martinez and Watkins.
You'll struggle to get them all sat together even with membership.
He really wasn’t.
Has Tielemans scored yet in the league this season?
Has Mount?
No he hasn't, but then the claim was Tielemans had, when he also hasn't.
Really impressed with what he has done there so far.
Was he though? We had a 25m bid turned down that summer. Missed opportunity in hindsight, god knows what it would take to get him now.
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That wasn't the claim at all. Go back and read what I said.
So are they pulling a Leicester or is this a fluke?
The league is very strong. Unlikely for Aston Villa to pull a Leicester when other teams don't slip up behind even when they're not in top form. Leicester won PL in a season where many normal big teams were very underwhelming. Won the league with 81 points and had 10 points gap to second place Arsenal at 71 points. Last two seasons, 71 point only got you 4th place.
Aston Villa can have high finish if they keep up. Their point gain rate since Emery joined is healthy for top 3 finish.
I can't see them doing a Leicester, because I expect City to do their usual late season charge where they steamroll everyone and end up winning it again, but I see no reason why a top 4 finish is beyond Villa. Their competition for that is us, chelsea and spurs, all of whom are stuttering to varying extents.
The hope they do have is that City, Chelsea and United are struggling a bit (or in Chelsea's case, perhaps slightly more than a bit) and that two of their main rivals at the moment are Spurs and Arsenal, two teams who mostly feck up. Of course there's also Liverpool, but they've been a bit hot and cold as well.
Kinda funny that 2 (?) seasons ago Anwar El Ghazi was an important player for Villa and now they're here.
This would be something even greater than Leicester. A resurgent Arsenal; a Liverpool side who are winning at a very high clip; a City who will do their usual massive winning streak as others flounder; a much stronger set of supporting teams - this would be winning the league when it is at full strength rather than a very extreme and fortunate run of events conflating to have your team way up there whilst so many are sorting themselves out.
Can't say I agree with that...the Leicester squad that won the league cost c. 30m.
Villa have been spending c. 100m for about 5 seasons now.
Forget that, he's made leon baily look somewhat decent
You mean, they planned ahead...what kind of devilry is this? United told me it's better to just live season by season and throw money at problems.
You’re not wrong, but my rationale is that we’ve been here before with City, where it looks like they’ll have an off season and then they go into their mode where they beat everyone. I would love for that to not be the case this season though. And I would love for Villa to win the league.
Net spend would be important here, but also the relativity of what they're up against compared to Leicester who really had the perfect storm.