1 month ago
16 Although the 2024/25 season is only a few games old, Unai Emery has already set his stall out again at Aston Villa.
Ever since taking over the Villa Park hot-seat from Steven Gerrard, with essentially the same squad, the Spaniard has seen his side get better and better and better.
There have already been a number of brilliant memories made under Emery, perhaps none more so than the recent 1-0 win over German giants, Bayern Munich.
Unai Emery is on a real high at Aston Villa
On that occasion, Jhon Duran added yet another top quality strike to his list, and the Colombian is surely giving Emery food for thought with regards to being handed a starting spot.
That said, The Standard detail just how close Duran came to moving in the summer.
In any event, the feelgood factor after the match even saw Emery have a royal appointment with Prince William.
There would appear to be a very simple reason why everything is falling into place at the club too.
Unai Emery celebrates an Aston Villa goal (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)“Unai Emery is a fantastic coach, but it’s the entire structure that has helped Villa get where they are now,” Fabrizio Romano said to CaughtOffside for his exclusive Daily Briefing.
“Monchi as director, his right hand Damia Vidagany… they’re supporting Emery’s ideas in the best way possible.
“So you’ve a top coach, a board doing an excellent job, and working in this way is the secret. How coordinated they are, how good the structure is…
“They really trust each other.”

 
As Romano notes, it really isn’t rocket science. Backing the manager to the hilt is a pre-requisite for a healthy working relationship, and if Emery continues to hit the sweet spot in terms of transfer business and level of performance, there’s no reason why the good times can’t continue to roll at Villa Park.
Things will begin to get tougher as we go deeper into the season, and it will be interesting to see just how far Villa can go.
