Faced with a bad run of results, many managers will blink.
They may move from a back three to a back four, shift the time of training sessions or reduce the length of meetings. A big-name player may be dropped unexpectedly to set an example, or the manager will start to name the team two hours before kick-off, rather than on the previous day.
Apart from leaving out Emi Martinez for one game when the Argentine was in the eye of a transfer storm, Unai Emery did none of these things. There was no ‘Plan B’, just a desire to do ‘Plan A’ even more thoroughly, despite a six-game winless run at the start of the season and growing concern among players and supporters.
Training has been as intense and detailed as ever. Emery’s analysis of previous performances and future opponents has been typically exhaustive with the manager – as is his habit – in his office at the club’s Bodymoor Heath training ground deep into the evening, poring over his laptop. Unlike other Premier League managers, Emery does the lot, even leading some recovery sessions.
Perhaps by sticking so closely to his principles, Emery has managed to calm the waters. Barely a month ago, Villa were still searching for a win. They broke that duck by beating Bologna in the Europa League on September 25, the start of a sequence of six victories in seven matches, with the only blemish a surprise defeat at Dutch club Go Ahead Eagles. Liverpool will be nervous about facing them at Anfield on Saturday.
After completing his third anniversary in charge of Villa last week, Daily Mail Sport looks at how Emery has pointed Villa in the right direction again after a tumultuous couple of months…
Unai Emery refused to panic despite Aston Villa’s poor start to the season and is now turning their fortunes around
Villa have now won six of their last seven fixtures, with attacking midfielder Emi Buendia coming to the fore
Timing is everything
Emery is at his best when he can devote all of himself to football – training, tactics, analysis. If he is distracted by other matters, perhaps he is not quite the same force. Small wonder, then, that the Villa boss did not seem quite himself during August, when the transfer window remained open.
During that time, Emery was hugely frustrated, both at the financial restrictions that curtailed Villa’s spending, and the failure to deliver the signings he wanted. Emery would never cut corners in the day job but the external noise may have affected his focus, even if he did not realise it himself.
Despite the amicable statements on all sides, the departure of Monchi as ‘president of football operations’ 23 days after the window shut can be interpreted in this context.
Daily Mail Sport understands the rapport between Emery and Monchi was not always entirely rosy, particularly towards the end. Monchi enjoyed the limelight whereas his replacement, Roberto Olabe, is thought to be very different. Olabe is quieter, an unassuming character who prefers to stay in the background.
You are unlikely to see Emery’s fellow Basque celebrating on the touchline and posing for pictures after victories in European games, as Monchi liked to do.
For a few weeks at least, Emery can forget all about that. He can occupy himself simply with what he loves – working out in painstaking detail how to win the next match.
The 1-0 win over Manchester City was Villa’s third straight victory at home over Pep Guardiola’s side and featured the sort of tweak Emery loves – wingers staying wide, rather than moving in off the flank, to upset Guardiola’s plans.
Villa’s financial position is likely to mean limited activity in the winter and that may prove a blessing in disguise.
Monchi left Aston Villa as ‘president of football operations’ 23 days after the tranfer window shut
He has been replaced by Roberto Olabe who is a quieter more unassuming character who prefers to stay in the background
The players are happy campers again
Many of Villa’s squad felt unsettled during the summer. After missing out on Champions League football so painfully on the final day of last term, the players were alarmed at the lack of reinforcements.
The sale of Jacob Ramsey, a popular team-mate, to Newcastle in mid-August made the mood darker. Martinez was making little secret of his desire to leave the club and when such a strong character is unhappy, the vibe can spread quickly to the rest of the squad.
Morgan Rogers was attracting interest from Chelsea and Tottenham, John McGinn from Everton. McGinn and Matty Cash were among the players who believed they deserved improved deals.
Now Cash has been rewarded and McGinn’s new deal is in the works, with an announcement expected soon. Villa have long been in talks with Rogers.
Desperate all summer to join Manchester United or Atletico Madrid, Martinez now seems to have accepted that he will be at Villa for the season and, furthermore, Argentina have a World Cup to retain in the summer. This is no time to let his guard slip.
Rogers hopes to help England wrest the trophy from them and knows he can do so only through performing well for Villa, after Spurs and Chelsea were deterred by the high asking price last summer.
Ezri Konsa is becoming ever more a leader off the pitch to match his outstanding displays on it and looks like being Thomas Tuchel’s first-choice centre back at the World Cup.
The squad are also thought to have been impressed when they met Olabe for the first time and appreciated his low-key air of authority. While a sporting director cannot alone dictate the mood for a group of footballers, every little helps.
Morgan Rogers hopes to help England win the World Cup and knows he can do so only through performing well for Villa
John McGinn’s new contract is in the works, with an announcement expected soon
Kamara’s influence
Because of his unglamorous position and habit of picking up injuries, Boubacar Kamara can slip under the radar. But Emery and his staff regard the French holding midfielder as crucial to their plan.
The statistics back that up. With Kamara in the starting XI, Emery has won nearly 60 per cent of his games at Villa – played 85, won 49, win rate 57.6 per cent, conceding an average of 1.2 goals per game. Without Kamara in the starting line-up, that win rate drops to 48.5 per cent, and the average goals conceded rises to 1.4 per game.
It has been no different this season. Kamara has completed 90 minutes six times, with Villa winning five of those matches and drawing the other. Of the remaining seven, Villa won one, drew two and lost four, including one defeat on penalties.
Kamara is not the type of player to gee up others before or during games. Martinez, McGinn, Tyrone Mings and – increasingly – Konsa do those jobs. Rather, Kamara makes team-mates feel better through his presence alone.
The deal to bring him in on a free transfer in summer 2022 was one of Villa’s best in recent times and had it not been for his patchy injury record, the 25-year-old would surely be playing for a Champions League regular by now. It is lucky for Villa that he is not.
Clarity over Sancho and Elliott
Desperate to make some outfield signings before the window closed, Villa brought in Jadon Sancho and Harvey Elliott on loan from Manchester United and Liverpool respectively.
How much Emery actually wanted the pair is another matter – Sancho was available all summer, while Emery is thought to have been undecided on Elliott when Villa had the chance to move for him much earlier in the window. Between them, they have made four starts.
Only one of those was in the Premier League, and on that occasion Elliott was taken off at half-time of the 3-1 win over Fulham. The midfielder was not even in the squad against City, while Sancho was a substituted substitute.
Holding midfielder Boubacar Kamara is vital to Villa and when the Frenchman is fit the team are so much better
Matty Cash, who scored the winner against Manchester City, has signed a new deal at Villa
Harvey Elliott has struggled for game time under Emery and may return to Liverpool next summer
All is not lost for them. Players take time to adapt to Emery’s methods and sometimes they flourish after a slow start. Yet others do not, with Donyell Malen, signed for about £20m from Borussia Dortmund last January, one of those still to establish himself under Emery.
Elliott joined on loan with a £35m obligation to buy but Daily Mail Sport understands that clause will be activated only if the 22-year-old makes a certain number of starts.
Much can change but at this stage, it is difficult to imagine Elliott becoming a permanent Villa player next summer. As for Sancho, only if he buys entirely into Emery’s methods can he hope to win his trust.
Others, notably his sometime Manchester United team-mate Marcus Rashford, have done so. Whether Sancho can follow them, only time will tell.
