If his first season was one to savour, his second has been little short of sensational.
In the space of 18 months, Unai Emery has transformed Aston Villa from a club fourth from bottom in the Premier League table to one finishing fourth from top among England’s elite.
Our highest final position for 28 years has ensured qualification for next season’s UEFA Champions League. It’s the first time we have competed in Europe’s most prestigious club competition since 1983, when it was known as the European Cup.
Unai also steered Villa to the semi-finals of the Europa Conference League on our return to European football following a 13-year absence, secured on the back of a remarkable seventh-placed finish in 2022/23.
The manager has brought the best out of his squad, most notably Supporters’ and Players’ Player of the Season Ollie Watkins, whose 19 goals in 2023/24 gave him our highest individual total in the Premier League. That impressive haul left him just one short of Peter Withe’s 20 during the League Championship campaign of 1980/81.
Ollie is now our third-highest marksman in PL games with 59 goals. Only Gabby Agbonlahor (74) and Dwight Yorke (60) have scored more. The striker was also involved in a record 40 goal involvements in all competitions last term – 27 goals and 13 assists, while Villa recorded their most Premier League wins and highest points total in a 38-game season.
We also scored 25 set-piece goals, more than any other team in Europe and the highest number since records began.
All of this has been achieved under the guidance of a man who clocked up his 1,000 match as manager in the first leg of the European quarter-final against LOSC Lille.
When the Spaniard took charge of his first fixture in November 2022, we stood just one point above the drop zone. With a third of the campaign completed, there was clearly a lot of work to be done, just to consolidate top-flight status.
Unai achieved rather more than that. By the turn of the year, the outlook was more encouraging as we edged towards mid-table, and a controlled, composed 2-0 victory at Tottenham Hotspur on New Year’s Day epitomised everything the boss wants from his players.
Victory in north London was the first of 32 league and cup wins during 2023 – a club record for any calendar year – and Villa also created another record of 15 consecutive Premier League home successes, starting against Crystal Palace in March and culminating with superb back-to-back wins against Manchester City and Arsenal in December.
Unai’s incredible achievements inevitably spark memories of the club’s most successful managers, and there’s no doubt he stands among the finest of Villa bosses.
In his first Villa News & Record column following his appointment, Unai stated: “I am here because it is the right club and the right project for me.”
As a certain Ron Saunders might have said, do you want to bet against him?
