Emery has Villa believing again

Having spent some time in the midlands finding out what is going right for Aston Villa, I have concluded that Unai Emery’s tactical expert knowledge and using it to his club’s advantage, both in training and during matches, is paying dividends. Manchester City’s unbeaten record is in tatters as in-form Villa produced a shock result last weekend.

Once again Chelsea’s recruitment has been under the spotlight with Nicolas Jackson scoring both of Villa’s goals. Jackson has suddenly come alive since leaving Stamford Bridge and much of the credit has to go to Villa manager Unai Emery. The striker is more mature, has understands Emery’s tactical strategy and is more confident.

Emery has effectively rebuilt his team after losing six of their main players during the summer transfer period. They finished fourth last season and then lost many of the best players who were responsible for winning the Europa League.

The beginning of the season did not go well but since hauling themselves out of the bottom half of the table they have beaten Tottenham, Newcastle and Manchester City and they have done well in the Champions League.

Recruitment has given Villa fresh energy, with Jackson providing the goals, João Gomes bringing aggression and toughness to midfield, Zion Suzuki impressing between the posts and young Johan Manzambi offering pace, technical ability and unpredictability.

But what particularly impresses me is Emery’s ability to adapt his team to different opponents. He studies them closely before every match and arranges his players accordingly, often abandoning his basic 4-2-3-1 formation when Villa have possession. He keeps midfield and defence tight, leaving opponents precious little room to move the ball around.

If I were to pick out one area for improvement, it would be the creation of more quality goalscoring chances. But considering Villa managed just one point from their opening four games, their transformation has been remarkable. Established stars John McGinn, Boubacar Kamara and Matty Cash are all contributing, and there is a belief around Villa Park that something special might be developing.

Where are the Glazers in United’s hour of need?

With the club in chaos, where are the owners of Manchester United? The Glazer family are nowhere to be seen when the club desperately needs leadership.

Michael Carrick has been granted a stay of execution following another miserable result, this time a humiliating 3-0 home defeat against Bournemouth. United are languishing near the bottom of the Premier League table, and the pressure on Carrick is becoming almost unbearable.

But the problems at Old Trafford go far beyond the manager

There is no doubt that United supporters have had enough of the Glazers. The banners, the protests and the green-and-gold scarves have become familiar sights at Old Trafford.

The family’s controversial takeover in 2005 saddled the club with enormous debt, and supporters have never forgiven them.

Then came Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS, with promises of rebuilding one of the greatest and most historic football clubs in the world.

Yet where is the progress?

Instead, we have seen job losses, upheaval behind the scenes, questions about recruitment and a succession of disappointing performances on the pitch.

Carrick, a former United favourite, still enjoys considerable goodwill among supporters. They remember his years of loyal service, and many believe he deserves better than the situation in which he finds himself.

But sentiment will not save him if results fail to improve.

United’s next Premier League match is away to Chelsea, followed by another difficult fixture against Aston Villa

And I keep coming back to the same question: who is really taking responsibility for the mess?

The Glazers also own the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in America’s NFL. They clearly understand the business of American football, but their stewardship of Manchester United continues to raise serious questions.

Will they eventually decide to sell? And what part would Ratcliffe play in such a decision?

These are questions supporters deserve to have answered.

Because Manchester United are too big, too famous and too important to English football to continue drifting from one crisis to another.

Alonso’s tactics leave Chelsea toothless

Chelsea’s loss to Tottenham at home underlined that a club can spend buckets of cash but still be left needing more.

Having lost striker Joao Pedro through injury, Alonso decided to play Morgan Rogers centrally as a forward but Chelsea lacked penetration. Why on earth play without a recognised centre forward?

I was surprised with Xabi Alonso’s failure to make important tactical decisions early enough and when he did, they were wrong. Using Rogers in a central attacking role meant Chelsea lacked a presence inside Tottenham’s penalty area. Liam Delap has departed the club but he never made the transition from Ipswich to lead Chelsea’s front line effectively. Cole Palmer was kept quiet and never found his attacking flair. Without that front threat why on earth, asked supporters, did Alonso not bring on Danny Welbeck earlier in the match, a seasoned and proven striker, who was left sitting on the bench?

Tottenham also controlled midfield with Mateus Fernandes particularly influential. Chelsea struggled to keep possession, made little progress into the attacking areas and they failed to create spaces between Spur’s defensive line.

The facts of the game prove all the above with Chelsea achieving only 7 shots on goal compared with Tottenham who achieved 15.

However, there was an even bigger problem for Alonso to tackle at Chelsea’s Cobham training ground this week. They have conceded eight goals from set pieces in the Premier league this season which is twice as many as many other team. Jordan Henderson was brought in to control and teach the club youngsters better discipline but Cole Palmer received a second yellow card in the 80th minute.

Chelsea host Manchester United on Saturday and it is a match both clubs cannot afford to lose.

Rose is making Bournemouth bloom

Bournemouth fans were bitterly disappointed when Andoni Iraola left the club to take up the reins at Liverpool. Gone was the man who put their club firmly on the map.

In came Marco Rose who realised he had big boots to fill. The German coach had a difficult start, failing to win any of his first six Premier League matches. Such was the success of Iraola, Rose also had to take on competing in European campaigns.

A 5-1 thrashing at the hands of Xabi Alonso’s Chelsea was a low point but since then there has been a remarkable turnaround. Four successive victories without conceding a goal included the 3-0 win at Old Trafford and humbling Euro giants AC Milan, also 3-0.

Two Brazilians have given Bournemouth new hope of staying at this level with winger Rayan winning Man of the Match and Evanilson finally showing what a class act he can be. Rayan arrived from Vasco da Gama in January but it has taken him time to adjust to the top level.

Rose said, “He struggled a little bit. He had the World Cup and then the national team again including travelling and preparation. This is hard for players. And now he is fresh. Evanilson is a No9 and needs goals and that’s why he has struggled sometimes and now he has four goals in five games.”

Van Dijk challenges Liverpool’s new generation

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has laid out a challenge to Alexander Isak, Bradley Barcola and Florian Wirtz after their fine win over high flying Brighton.

Virgil is convinced that the club can succeed again following the years of high goal scoring with Mo Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane.

After their fourth Premier League win, Liverpool moved up to fourth in the table. Barcola presented Isak the chance to score his sixth goal this season which puts him second behind Erling Haaland.

Van Dijk admitted that no one was likely to repeat Salah’s success rate on the wing but in a very positive manner he said, “Now is the time for others to step up. We can always think it was better in the day but that is not the mentality that should be at a club like Liverpool.”

The victory over Brighton was Liverpool’s eighth win in their last 10 games during which time they have only lost once. Remarkably they have conceded only one goal since August when they have had 11 players on the pitch and there is no doubt that Van Dijk’s partnership with newly signed 21-yer-old Jeremy Jacquet is working to build a solid defence.

Villa exposes City weakness

The big question is: Have Aston Villa exposed defensive weaknesses in Manchester City’s squad?

I wasn’t particularly impressed with Marc Guehi during England’s recent matches and his club performances are also being looked at closely by manager Enzo Maresca. In goal Gianluigi Donnarumma, arguably one of the best goalkeepers in the world, is making basic mistakes at the moment and has been responsible for several goals. By constantly employing a high defensive line, City are leaving spaces at the back which fast wingers and frontmen with pace can use to set up goal scoring chances.

When Villa’s attack moved through City’s defence and scored and Maresca’s men fluffed another attack, Villa fans amusingly chanted “That’s why you’re going down!”. Very funny and it caused much cheering.

One of City’s severest tests, which will indicate just how good they are, will be their visit to the Emirates Stadium to play Arsenal on November 29th. Saturday’s home fixture against Brighton will also be a test but the Seagull’s suffered a rare 2-0 defeat at the hands of Liverpool last time out and they might be a little short on confidence.

Tel shows his class as Spurs find their confidence

Mathys Tel said this week that he has a lot more to offer Tottenham after scoring his first goal in last weekend’s 2-0 win at Chelsea. The 21-year-old is seen as a solid club investment after paying Bayern Munich £30million to sign him last year.

Spurs have now made it seven points from their last three games after starting the season with only two points from the first five matches.

Manager Roberto De Zerbi said, “Before Manchester I spoke with the players. A big, big meeting removing the mask and speaking honestly, clearly in front of ourselves.”

He reminded us of the warm-air trip I mentioned last week when he took his team to Marbella in Spain for a bonding session and it certainly proved successful.

Fernandes said, “It was important, Marbella. We built a very good relationship with everyone, with the staff, with team-mates and now we are playing as a team. This is the change point for everyone.”

I think the point was proven when De Zerbi was talking to us in the rain after the match. Pedro Porro walked past and kissed the manager…I think he is really popular with the players right now!

Their next opponents are Crystal Palace, and with confidence now running through the Tottenham dressing room, I wouldn’t fancy being in Palace’s boots!