Aston Villa’s Managerial Shift from Steven Gerrard to Unai Emery

As part of our series about important Premier League managerial changes, today we will be looking at the transformative effect that the appointment of Unai Emery has had at Aston Villa.

Gerrard’s Tenure in Birmingham

While an EPL legend in his own right, as evidenced by his inclusion in the Premier League Hall of Fame, Steven Gerrard’s managerial career has not risen to the same heights as his playing days.

After a short stint in charge of the Liverpool U18/U19 squads, he took the reins at Glasgow Rangers in 2018, leading them to the Scottish Premiership title in 2020-21. That triumph was achieved without losing any league matches, accumulating 102 points and only shipping 13 goals over the season’s 38 games.

All this success made Aston Villa get him to replace Dean Smith on November 11, 2021, after an unimpressive start to the season. Results under the Scouser were mixed at best, and he was sacked by the Birmingham outfit in October 2022, after winning just 2 of their first 12 games of the new season.

Emery’s Premier League Return

Having coached Arsenal between May 2018 and November 2019, Unai Emery was not a stranger to English football, but his stint leading the Gunners was not a successful one.

After rehabilitating his reputation in his native Spain by guiding Villarreal to a trademark UEFA Europa League triumph in 2021, he was appointed as Villa coach on October 24, 2022.

Aston Villa were sitting in 16th place in the EPL table as Emery arrived, just one point above the relegation zone. His debut game saw his team win 3-1 against Manchester United at Villa Park, marking their first home victory against the Red Devils since August 1995.

From Relegation Battle To Europe

The revival did not stop there, as Villa went on to secure 7th place in the final standings and qualifying for the 2023-24 edition of the UEFA Europa Conference League.

The stats of last season are nothing short of impressive, as Emery led the Villans to their first participation in UEFA competitions since the 2010-11 season. The 2023-24 season would also be the Spaniard’s 16th consecutive season coaching in continental competitions.

2023-24: Onwards and Upwards

This season’s Aston Villa is genuinely a team that no opponent is happy to face.

After a 5-1 away defeat to Newcastle United on the opening day, the team from the Second City managed 7 wins from their next 9 games, and went on to actually lead the table towards the end of 2023. This was achieved by beating both Manchester City and Arsenal in consecutive home games at the beginning of December.

While only the most passionate Villa fans would genuinely believe their surprise title charge was sustainable, it definitely provided a breath of fresh air to see a non-Big 6 team at the top of the tree.

Since then, Aston Villa has gone off the boil a little bit, but continues to do enough to keep themselves in the conversation for the top four.

As players like Ezri Konsa, Emiliano Martinez, and Leon Bailey, as well as star striker Ollie Watkins, continue to perform at such high standards, the team will benefit and hope to occupy 4th spot in the table once the season concludes.

At the time of this writing, Villa are in 4th, 6 points above Tottenham, but with 2 more games played than the Londoners. Qualifying for next season’s UEFA Champions League would be an incredible achievement for Emery and his team, especially considering the length of his stay at the club so far.

The European Journey

Since this is serial Europa League winner Unai Emery that we are talking about, it is only natural that any club he coaches will do well in one of Europe’s competitions.

Deeply embroiled in the 2023-24 season of the Europa Conference League, Aston Villa have made it all the way to the semi-finals, where they will be facing Greek outfit Olympiacos.

Aston Villa-Olympiacos | UEFA Europa Conference League 2023/24

After scoring ‘only’ 4 goals in 8 games in the competition, Watkins will certainly look to his head coach for guidance and try his hardest to spearhead Villa’s efforts to win the trophy, especially as they are the only team still representing England in UEFA competitions this season.

For the striker there is also the chance to impress Gareth Southgate further, and to secure a seat on the plane to this summer’s Euro tournament.

Conclusion

We looked up the word ‘transformative’ in the dictionary, and we are a little bit disappointed that Unai Emery’s tenure at Villa so far did not appear as the definition.

After being close to writing off last season and hoping to finish in mid-table, fans were buoyed by Emery’s arrival and the way he revitalised the club.

Whether it ends with UECL glory, a spot in next season’s Champions League, both, or neither, no one can argue that Emery and his squad are not giving it their all. The fact that he expects this dedication to be the bare minimum is what makes him one of the best Premier League managers in recent memory, and why his appointment merits a place on our list of transformative managerial changes in the EPL.