On Monday morning and on the back of arguably the most uncharacteristic week in Unai Emery’s tenure, an email dropped into supporters’ inboxes. ‘McGinn calls for perspective and positivity after Spurs defeat’, the title read.
Captain John McGinn had spoken to Aston Villa’s in-house media after the 4-1 thumping at Tottenham Hotspur. He and the club wanted to shape the narrative around the defeat not being one to define a season, nor the extraordinary progress.
The framing was understandable and corroborated Emery’s similar sense of perspective, insisting he was “not worried” by the nature of Villa’s second-half implosion. Despite the perceived lack of concern, north London followed a theme of players not speaking to the media in the mixed zone after defeats, or even some draws, such as the point against Bournemouth last week.
In other words, players take every poor result hard. Those of last week — one draw and two defeats — may have proven particularly cutting, given how untypical each performance has been of Emery and his side. A structure usually so coordinated has suffered defects and tactical missteps.
When Emery took stock this week, scouring match footage of the defeat at Tottenham and carrying out his own analysis — as an extra to the work of his analysts — of next opponents Club Bruges, he may reflect on the decisions he took. For instance, leading 1-0 at home against Bournemouth, Villa surprisingly became insular, sitting deep and clinging on. This gave Bournemouth momentum, which gained in the final quarter of an hour.
Villa have tended to manage games expertly when leading in the final throes. They have a blueprint and, ordinarily, stick to it so the scrambled clearances and concession of fouls against Bournemouth was odd. This may have contributed to Emery’s judgement in not bringing on Diego Carlos to provide extra height and an additional defender, wanting his players to return to the gameplan.
As it transpired, composure and concentration were lacking. A final free kick was swung towards the near post and Bournemouth equalised with 10 seconds left.
The Carabao Cup exit at the hands of Crystal Palace elicited diverging opinions, split between supporters who were intent on seeing the broader picture and those who are pining for silverware. Ten changes were made against Palace, before the starting XI Emery fielded against Bournemouth returned at Spurs.
Criticism was levelled at displays of the players on the periphery and Emery’s lack of firepower off the bench. When Villa found themselves trailing and those who had sat on the fringes let the game drift by, Emery turned to three academy graduates to overturn the deficit, having picked only one senior attacker among his substitutes — 23-year-old Jacob Ramsey.
The first-choice starters rested against Palace ultimately sagged at Tottenham. It was a wounding defeat, exacerbated by the fact it came against a team where eight of the starting lineup played against Manchester City on Wednesday, the same night Villa opted to rest key players.
The thread running across all three performances was one of underlying tentativeness. If Palace took advantage of Villa’s passive attitude towards the cup, Bournemouth and Tottenham saw Villa prove the inverse of the “protagonists” Emery desires, highlighted by substitutions, such as Jhon Duran partnering Ollie Watkins up top. That change only highlighted the dysfunction.
As was the case last season, Emery suggested Villa’s level was in line with being top-seven contenders, not top four, evidenced by their two league defeats coming against Arsenal and Tottenham — when facing the typically ‘bigger teams’, Villa have come up short.
“Keeping balance is the first message I can send in the dressing room because it is 38 matches,” said Emery in Sunday’s post-match press conference. “We are analysing each match and setting objectives. One is playing seven contenders for the top seven. We have played three: Arsenal, Man United and Tottenham. There are other points along the way and we have to be consistent in getting them.
“Until today we have been consistent. We will need more. It is not enough. The first objective is to keep (in) the top seven.”
The week was all so un-Emery-like and unrepresentative of Villa’s usual calm brilliance under him. By extension, it illuminated the mixed bag of results over the last two months.
Since the opening Champions League fixture away at Young Boys, Villa have won two of their six league matches and drawn three.
To match the high expectations set last year, league form — and that of certain players such as Watkins, Leon Bailey and McGinn, who, by their own admission, have not fully clicked into gear yet — requires improvement.
“We are not defending like last year. It’s not for the defenders, the goalkeeper, it’s for everyone,” said Emery last month. “The first defenders are the strikers and the first attacking player is the goalkeeper.
“We have to improve and quickly rectify the mistakes and build strongly because we cannot concede the goals we are conceding each match we are playing. I am positive and I believe in the work we are doing. But if we want to be at the top level, we are conceding more goals than normal.”
Their Champions League campaign has offered a far more consistent level of performance. Villa have been peerless, becoming the third side since the tournament was rebranded in 1992 to win their first three games without conceding.
Villa head to Belgium in what is among the most winnable fixtures within their European schedule, even if Club Bruges have won their previous four league matches. It signifies an excellent opportunity to strengthen their grip in finishing in the top eight and qualifying automatically.
This year’s new format comprises 36 teams, with the top eight going straight through to the last 16 and not having to compete in a two-legged play-off between those who finish ninth to 24th to determine who joins them.
Victory in Bruges would not only reduce the risk of having two more games on the slate but lift Villa out of the eight days that started, middled and ended with regret.
(Top photo: McGinn, right, has called for calm at Villa after a poor week – by recent standards. Morgan Harlow/Getty Images)
