Perspective is needed at Aston Villa after defeat to Brentford followed a goalless draw at home to Newcastle. It means Villa have failed to score in their first two games for the first time in over 20 years. They are the only one of the 92 clubs yet to score.
Villa supporters have been left frustrated by a summer in which spending has been restricted and Jacob Ramsey, one of their own, has left for Newcastle. Amadou Onana has now joined Boubacar Kamara on the injury list for Sunday’s game against Crystal Palace.
Emery shares that frustration, of course, describing the club’s start as “poor” but there is plenty of pride too. Villa’s unbeaten Premier League home record now extends over a year. Only last season’s top three have picked up more points since he came in.
That remains astonishing. Not just because of the circumstances of his arrival, with Villa looking lost and languishing near the bottom at the time, but because seven of the starting line-up on the opening weekend, including the entire back four, were here already.
The club is transformed. That context is important. “Before we arrived, they were struggling, they were even in the Championship,” Emery tells Sky Sports. “And now, everything happened. Everything we are sharing with them. It has been fantastic.”
He begins to list just some of the achievements. “I am very excited to play in Europe again. The Europa League is a fantastic opportunity for us.” That probably goes without saying when Emery has already lifted that particular trophy on four different occasions.
“We played in a semi-final last year in the FA Cup and we played in a semi-final two years ago in the Conference League.” He might have mentioned the small matter of a Champions League quarter-final too, edged out 5-4 on aggregate by Paris Saint-Germain.
But is it getting more difficult? That is a question being asked by supporters. They are asking that question of their club, of the Premier League, and of UEFA. Fans want to feel like they are always building towards something. The appetite for progress is constant.
Incredibly, after a season in which Palace, Newcastle and Tottenham ended long waits for a trophy, Villa are the only club with an average attendance over 40,000 in last season’s Premier League not to have won silverware since 2023. Their own wait dates back to 1996.
Emery himself posed the question in his programme notes ahead of the big kick-off against Newcastle. Referring to the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR), he wrote of ‘clubs doing good management, who will never be allowed to dream’.
Asking him about that and the challenges facing Villa, he is happy to explain. Typically, however, his first thoughts are tactical rather than financial. It is not just that his team needs strengthening, it is that the Premier League continually poses new problems.
Villa had 76 per cent of the possession away to Brentford but still could not score. The need to find new solutions is evident if they are to continue to outperform the budget and compete with those clubs at the top end of the Premier League table.
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“For two years, we have competed for the same positions and gone to Europe. The top seven teams are aware of how we are performing and they want to beat us as well. And it is becoming more difficult for us to try to surprise them. Now it is not surprising.
“We are facing them and we are playing well and we are getting good results in the league. But of course, the Premier League is very difficult. And there are other teams as well that are trying to get to the same position that we achieved in the last few years.
“Nottingham Forest, Brentford, Fulham. There are others as well. Everton and West Ham, they can be close to us as well to be getting a European position, a top 10 position. The Premier League is a challenge for everybody – for clubs, players and coaches.”
Behind the scenes at Villa, one suspects there are those who feel it would be fairer if their accomplishments were judged in comparison to these clubs rather than the free-spending heavyweights that Emery has helped to establish Villa alongside at the top.
“The most important teams in the Premier League,” he begins, before reeling the names off. “They are really spending a lot of money to increase the level of their squad with more big players.” The inference one takes is that Aston Villa are not in that position.
While Villa’s wage bill is significant, they actually have a negative net spend on transfer fees since the winter of Emery’s first full season in charge. For context, while their apparent rivals take up the top seven spots on the list, Villa are 84th out of the 92 clubs.
How can they grow, how can they continue to compete, in such circumstances? Emery is defiant. “We have our own way,” he says.
“We have our own way and we are happy.”
Even so, a few more players, UEFA wage restrictions permitting, would surely help bolster what is the smallest squad in the Premier League. Emery spoke in his press conference on Friday of involving the academy players but he would like another solution.
“We need to add some players in the attacking third,” he tells Sky Sports. Evann Guessand has come in at least. The flexible forward from Nice is currently adjusting to Emery’s specific tactical demands but is expected to be a useful addition to the squad.
“He is going to help us in attacking third,” says Emery of the 24-year-old Ivorian. “He is versatile. He can play wide. He can play a little bit close to the striker and even as a striker. I think his versatility is very important. He is going to be an important player for us.”
The final hours of the transfer window before Monday’s deadline are expected to be busy. “Maybe I will spend the day here until the last moment,” he suggests. In truth, it is the only way that he knows. “My response is to try to work. To work, to work, to work.”
He adds: “I am very, very motivated. I believe in the players, I believe in how we are, how we are building the team. Being intelligent and being competitive, this is the way we were doing it. And this is the way as well that we have to do it. This is the challenge.”
Watch Aston Villa vs Crystal Palace on Super Sunday; kick-off 7pm
