Should we dig down into Aston Villa’s remarkable transformation these past ten months, and study the tactical changes that have been implemented, and the spiked improvements seen in individuals, no matter where we look, or how diligently we analyse their quantum leap, every avenue leads us back to one man and one simple truth.
That man is Unai Emery and the truth is that the 51-year-old Spaniard is an exceptional coach. He was at Arsenal, but circumstances went against him there, charged with the onerous task of succeeding a club legend in Arsene Wenger.
In his first year in North London, five recent captains of the Gunners left and replacing such influential figures required time that Emery wasn’t given.
He was at PSG, but so great are the heightened demands in the French capital that a failure to guide them past the last 16 in the Champions League saw him gone.
His track record meanwhile at Valencia, Sevilla and Villarreal speaks for itself, as season after season he took these teams to the pinnacle of their capabilities.
At Valencia, Emery made Champions League qualification the norm, despite severe financial restrictions. At Sevilla and Villarreal he made winning the Europa League the norm, lifting the trophy on four separate occasions.
His astounding success in that competition incidentally brings us back to the top, explaining in some manner how he revolutionised the Villans so quickly and dramatically but before we get to that, some context is needed as to precisely what has been achieved in the Midlands this past year.
On taking the reins at Villa Park, Emery inherited a side devoid of confidence and heading nowhere fast under Steve Gerrard, a side that was among the favourites in the football betting odds to endure relegation.
From the start of 2022/23 to late October, a dispirited, ill-organised group – a couple of whom had taken to privately briefing journalists concerning their misgivings about the Liverpool icon – picked up a pitiful 0.8 points per game, averaging 0.6 goals per game in the process.
The situation was dire.
From November onwards however, with Emery at the helm, Villa picked up 1.9 ppg, ultimately finishing seventh, their highest league place for 13 years. Defensively sound from thereon in, Ollie Watkins and co only failed to score in two of Emery’s 27 games.
It is a staggering upgrade made all-the-more impressive if we focus only on 2023’s results, after Emery was afforded a month on the training pitches with the majority of his squad as the World Cup ran its course in Qatar.
This calendar year, Villa bow only to football prediction giants Manchester City for results and points accrued. Does this suggest therefore that even better things can be anticipated going forward?
Absolutely it does, even by using basic logic, and certainly it’s possible considering their encouraging transfer activity this summer.
Pau Torres is a Spanish international centre-back Emery inherently trusts, having got the best out of him in la Liga. Youri Tielemans is a shrewd addition, the Belgian offering even greater nous in the centre of the park. Winger Moussa Diaby, secured for a hefty £52m, has all the attributes to take the Premier League by storm.
If Villa continue where they left off, and are further improved by three clever signings, there is only their reputation as a solid mid-table club stopping us from believing they can push on and challenge for a Champions League spot.
Having done likewise with a similarly sized club in Valencia it would be folly to think Emery doesn’t have the pedigree to do this. Moreover, the evidence is right there, before our very eyes.
So how was it done, this remarkable transformation?
Finding the formulas to get consistent excellence from Tyrone Mings, John McGinn and Ollie Watkins has played a part of course, but when looking at Villa from a tactical standpoint what intrigues is that there hasn’t been a seismic shift to a different set-up, not substantially so at least.
For much of the latter half of the last campaign Villa were deployed in a 4-4-2 formation, with a compact midfield emphasising Emery’s conservative approach.
But here we go back to his numerous Europa League final triumphs, a high number that has seen Emery referred to as the ‘king of knockout football’.
By applying the adaptability needed to navigate a knockout competition to the Premier League we have witnessed Villa – using roughly the same formation – take on different opponents using very different means.
Against sides that press high, they typically go direct to good effect. In Emery’s opening game against Manchester United, they sought to kill the tempo at every opportunity, just waiting for a chance to exploit the Reds’ susceptibility to pace down the middle.
Few managers turn an opponents’ weaknesses against them better than Unai Emery and this we saw week in, week out.
What’s the betting he has many more tricks up his sleeve this term as Aston Villa look to establish themselves in the top six. From there, who knows what is possible?
*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to AP Photo*
