Daniel Feliciano

Fri 10 March 2023 20:10, UK

It’s pretty crazy to think that Aston Villa are just five points off seventh place in the Premier League and a place in Europe before their clash with West Ham this weekend.

Villa started the season with four defeats in their opening five games under Steven Gerrard, with the only victory coming against relegation strugglers Everton at Villa Park on August 13th.

It wasn’t until September 16th that the team tasted victory again, with a 1-0 win against Southampton at Villa Park yet again. Those were the only two victories in the club’s opening 11 games of the season.

That run of results saw Gerrard lose his job, and while caretaker manager Aaron Danks turned in a huge 4-0 win in the very next fixture, he also suffered a 4-0 defeat straight after that to Newcastle.

At that point, it was time for the board to act, and they moved quickly to bring in the three-time Europa League-winning Unai Emery to help get them out of trouble and move them up the table.

Immediately he made an impact, beating Manchester United 3-1 in his first game in charge and then beating Brighton in his second game in charge before the World Cup break.

Fast forward to today and Emery has taken charge of 12 Aston Villa games in the Premier League this season, one more than Gerrard’s 11 and with far less money spent in the transfer window they had for the season’s expectations to be met.

Gerrard’s record this season in the Premier League was 11 games played, two wins, three draws and six defeats with just seven goals scored and 16 goals conceded.

From 12 games so far this season, Emery has put together a record of seven wins, one draw and four losses with 20 goals scored and 18 goals conceded.

Villa were sat in 17th place in the table at the time of Gerrard’s sacking, outside the relegation zone on goal difference alone with just nine points to their name.

Since then Emery has accrued 22 points in one extra game, and they are in 11th place in the Premier League table with a big 12-point gap between them and the drop zone. Instead, all eyes point towards a charge for a European spot.

“We respect a lot the feelings of our supporters, and we have to share their feelings,” Emery said in his pre-match press conference (10 March) before the clash with West Ham.

“Getting into Europe is a possibility and if we can get a lot of points in the matches we are going to face, we can be close.

“The most important thing now is trying to build a team, trying to build a family, trying to build a way, trying to build a good mentality. And then we can be excited and enjoy each match with our supporters, trying to connect with them, trying to use their energy.”

Villa fans would have been happy just to avoid relegation and go again next season, but now they’re allowed to dare to dream about a push for Europe.

There are five points separating them from a finish inside the top seven, with Fulham, Brighton, Brentford and Chelsea ahead of them in the table. Villa still have to play all four of those teams before the end of the season.

The decision to sack Gerrard was questioned at the time because of his legacy as a player, but the owners have been justified.

Giving him the longest contract in the club’s history for any manager is justified, giving him free reign on the squad in the transfer market is justified and hiring him at all is justified.

Emery is the man to take Aston Villa forward, that much he has proven. If he can secure a place in Europe for next season in the final 13 games this season, then we’ll be years ahead of the five-year plan for the manager and his place in the club will be justified even further.

In other Aston Villa news, the club should look to offer one first-team ace a new contract as he battles for a starting spot.