HeroesAndVillans

RIP Craig. Thank you for the part you played in our return to the top. Hope the lads do you proud this season. HEITS

The 'realist' in me is saying 5th or 6th, possibly even 7th, due to our business so far... That can obviously change and I hope it does.

Fantastic to hear he's on his way back. Fighter

"La Remontada" for The Boss... Best served cold!

Well I have had a couple of online mates from all over the world tell me that they're trying to get the shirt! Brilliant to see our brand & fanbase growing, growth off the pitch is so important these days.

Bye bye, Monchi get this prat gone... Enjoy rotting on the bench, what a shame, could have continued learning under one of the best managers in the world. Don't care if he scores against us or whatever, this is beyond disrespect now, just get rid!

Sod it, you're right!

Do I even need to say anything? Unreal!

Weird thinking that the kids growing up now have Emi, Watkins etc to idolise and get inspired by... How lucky!

My new home top complete with the UCL patch gets here in the morning I believe! So excited to wear it, it's a great shirt and I will wear it with pride. Well done on this one Adidas, I'm glad they seem to be putting in a great bit of effort with us.

Turnover in playing staff is completely naturall and it doesn't worry me at all either. As the literal head of our coaching department, it is the one area where Unai more than likely has absolute control. He will be looking to expand and upgrade the playing Staff all the time. As long as the key figures (Unai, Monchi etc) remain, then we will be fine.

I think something that has helped is that we are a club where he's been able to come into and kick-start a revival in from the get go, which has rightfully earned him trust and control from our owners. He is able to build a setup around himself, and to be the main piece if you will, as opposed to just being in another cog in the system like he was at Arsenal. He's been able to build his own philosophy, culture and ideas instead of having to adhere to an already set ethos. And it is working. You only have to look at what he has done at every other club where he had trust and control to see why we hired him. No matter how good a manager is, you have to give him the best environment and tools to enable him to succeed. Emery's time at Arsenal, and to an extent PSG, seems reminiscent of Brian Clough at Leeds in a sense. Though I wasn't alive, it was seemingly another case of a great manager who preferred to build his own footballers and wider culture as opposed to handling preexisting ones. I love how deeply this manager allows me to think, feel and express.

Ah yes, I absolutely love the quote by the way. It is beautiful.

Yeah it certainly wasn't an easy time. There weren't many in terms of heroes around when I really started having a deep interest in the club which is why I really "clung" to Jack I suppose. I know he left us in the end but it was amazing for every Villa fan to witness a local lad helping to lift the club out of its slump. Edit: Of course Deano, the gaffer, is and was a hero for myself and so many of us for what he did as well!

Agree about Enzo, I was surprised and delighted by him joining us and I think he will be eager to fight for a starting role. I actually didn't know that was Unai's preferred formation. In my opinion it does seem like our acquisitions might point towards him looking to move to that shape. We shall see, I can't wait for Unai's tactical vision for AVFC to be complete.

Right I'll try and do a bit better! Haha. Darren Bent was another player I really liked as a kid, unfortunately my earliest Villa memories and heroes are in the era immediately following the departure of O'Neill. There is another hero of mine but it's one of those where I can remember his face but not his name... If I do remember I'll be sure to post on this thread.

Sorry, trying my best to age up but it takes a while lol!

Let's just hope nobody calls him Andre or there could be trouble! I think he could be very special for us, hopefully a Midfield General for years to come.

It's mad to me how much more "involved" clubs seemed to be with their supporters back in the day. It's very sweet. I wish it was something we could see more of these days. JG was a bit of an idol for me I guess, as I mentioned I would always buddy up to him on FM, had him as my avatar on Instagram and everything lol! Was gutted when he left, it was amazing to see a local lad become a world class footballer, even though I'm not from Brum myself I love the area and have visited many times. But yeah, it's always good to have that one player who you just love isn't it?

The Gaffer is smart and level headed. Great thinking from him to play him in order to show his talents and get the money. Unai is a clever man, he decided to play chess instead of getting upset in the press.

Who was everyone's Villa hero as a kid/growing up? Maybe not a hero but Benteke sticks out for me. Grealish in my late teens especially since we were always best mates on Football Manager!

We have inarguably the second best manager in the league, a top 10 manager in the world even. We have the potential to be heading into one of our greatest ever eras both on and off the pitch. Our commercial profile is increasing and we are gaining fans overseas at such a high rate. If I was a young and ambitious footballer, bias aside, all I would need is a five minute phone call with Monchi or Emery to know that Villa Park is the place to be. So glad that Villa are back in a matter of weeks, always helps me out with my mental health when I've got matches to look forward to.

Any idea if we could shift away from the 442? It's a very fluid system anyway and it wil progress naturally anyway with our new acquisitions so I don't see will see a complete departure. The core of Emery's system and his main principles will always be present.

Trying to get more clued up on our academy, anybody coming through who could start to impress in 24/25?

To put it simply, any player who doesn't want to play for AVFC, let alone openly disrespects us, is free to leave. Best of luck to him and hopefully he sorts his attitude out because once your reputation goes in football it is hard to get back!