Taken together, that may be all the explanation necessary for Unai Emery's tone in Sunderland last weekend, so jarring for being so rare. Managers seldom criticise their players so sharply in public any more, and particularly not Emery, who has had very little cause anyway to complain about his Villa players since taking over nearly three years ago. Emery has been in management long enough to know how players respond to all kinds of stimuli, but this can still be a dangerous area.
Imagine a parallel footballing universe where no manager or player is interviewed after a game until the following day, allowing them time to review the match in detail.
But that's not where we all live. Instead Premier League managers are on the clock as soon as the full-time whistle blows, rather than being able to stand in a cold shower for a while.
Further allowance should also be made for managers not speaking in their first language. Taken together, that may be all the explanation necessary for Unai Emery's tone in Sunderland last weekend, so jarring for being so rare. Managers seldom criticise their players so sharply in public any more, and particularly not Emery, who has had very little cause anyway to complain about his Villa players since taking over nearly three years ago.
I hear a suggestion that the word that particularly leapt off the page - "lazy" - may not quite have been the word he had in mind, so let's discount it. There were plenty of other words to make his point: "Usually the players have [the right] attitude. But sometimes maybe they are a bit upset or not feeling good - they are not fighting."
Emery has been in management long enough to know how players respond to all kinds of stimuli, but this can still be a dangerous area.
No doubt he was saying nothing that he had not already shared with his players. It is hard to imagine Emery indulging in a public rant just for show. He has worked with most of his key players for a long time so he should know their likely response.
Plus, many of the key characters - Tyrone Mings, John McGinn and others - are straight-talkers themselves, and seem unlikely to be bruised by this.
That is just as well, because Emery will need them. Even after three years, many of his regular selections are players who arrived before him. This highlights how much they have improved in his charge, but how difficult it has been to refresh the squad.
Some of their more expensive signings have come and gone while hardly leaving a mark, and now the man who oversaw their arrival, Monchi, has exited too.
Emery may have been disillusioned with some of his team's work recently, but he will need to count on the same men repeatedly if Villa's progress since 2022 is not to be wasted.
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Category: General Sports
