Aston Villa had a shaky start to the season, but the Spanish manager kept his cool and guided them to 10 wins in their last 12 competitive games.
Last Monday, Josep Guardiola admitted he was “embarrassed and embarrassed” after confronting a cameraman on the pitch at St James’ Park. Pep, there is one simple thing you can do to prevent something like this from happening again. Please stay away from the pitch. After all, you’re not a player anymore.
Of course, it is now standard for the manager to be on the pitch after the match. It may be harsh to criticize him for going out just to thank his fans, but sometimes he thinks a little too much about his coach.
Imagine Pep giving a hyper-animated lecture to an opposing player. Think of Jurgen Klopp’s chest strikes and air punches. After the game on the pitch, it should just be about the players who just sweated it out on the pitch.
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Quite a few managers are aware of this, but quite a few are not. After all, from a commercial point of view, it is in the interest of the profession to have greater visibility.
However, one manager who is far from being a household name is Unai Emery. Since he hasn’t played in every Aston Villa game, it’s hard to say for sure that Emery shakes hands with his opponents after every game and trots off to the tunnel, leaving them to either applaud or criticize.
But that’s what it looks like. And good for him. It’s fair to say that some Premier League managers enjoy the spotlight, while others avoid it.
Emery is clearly one of the latter. To be fair, Villa’s achievements haven’t been in the spotlight too brightly of late.
They were duly recognized for their 4th place finish in the Premier League in the 2023/24 season and their brilliant efforts in the Champions League the following season (which ended up being won by only Paris Saint-Germain). However, Villa are still unlikely to be among the clubs expected to progress towards winning the title. And it’s about time for a change.
Their domestic efforts earned them qualification for the Champions League in the 2023/24 season, an achievement worthy of praise. However, it can now be said that their failure to qualify for the Champions League in the 2025/26 season through domestic efforts is a lack of achievement.
There are many doubts about the strong teams Liverpool and Manchester City, and this season presents a huge opportunity for Emery and Villa. They are in good form and 10 goals in their last four games (two Premier League wins, two Europa League wins) suggest they are finding a solution to the force problem that has seen them score 14 goals in their first 14 games in all competitions.
Donyell Malen looks like a relatively late-blooming quality attacker and Ollie Watkins will regain his decisiveness. Morgan Rogers has proven to be a midfield threat with few equals in this department.
The futures of Rodgers, Watkins and Emi Martinez were the subject of intense speculation over the summer. Of the three Premier League games played before the transfer window closed, two losses and one draw would be the flimsiest of excuses, but there was an air of hopeless uncertainty at Villa in late August.
Since the transfer window closed, Villa have won six, drawn two and lost one. This is excellent form and should continue to improve when Wolverhampton Wanderers visit Villa Park.
Emery has a core of players in their prime and a number of players like Malen who should develop into very capable operators in the Premier League. For example, players like Evan Gessand and Ian Maassen.
We have a balanced team and, importantly, a very balanced manager. Yes, he is a manager who has chosen to avoid praise…but this season has been an opportunity for his players to give him no choice.
