Aston Villa: ‘Unbelievable’ Unai Emery verdict shared as Jamie Carragher agreed with
We’re delighted to welcome former Aston Villa full-back Alan Hutton as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at Villa Park…
Alan Hutton agrees with Jamie Carragher in saying Aston Villa manager Unai Emery is among the best managers in the Premier League.
Speaking to Sky Sports on 14 November, the Liverpool legend suggested that Emery is only behind Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola when ranking top-flight managers in England.
Carragher has been impressed by the former Arsenal manager’s work at Villa Park but has also pointed to his success in Spain with Sevilla and Villarreal. He won three Europa League titles with Sevilla and one, most recently, with Villarreal.
However, Hutton believes that even if you discount Emery’s achievements in Europe, he’s still in the conversation to be the next-best manager after Liverpool’s Klopp and Manchester City’s Guardiola due to how well he’s done in such a short space of time at B6.
“Emery is definitely up there – you just have to look at what he’s done so far,” Hutton told Villa News.
“I’m not factoring in his achievements at Sevilla or Villarreal, I’m just talking about what he’s done at Aston Villa.
“When he took over, they were in a relegation battle and now look at where they are, they’re fighting for the top four and they’re playing in Europe.
“It’s been an unbelievable turnaround so I think he has to be in the conversation.”
Aston Villa will go to Tottenham on Sunday (26 November) knowing that a win would see them leapfrog the North London club in the Premier League standings.
If results go their way this weekend, the Villans could rise as high as second in the table.
Emery’s men have a perfect home record of six wins in six games, scoring 23 goals in the process. However, on their travels, they have won just two of six and only scored six times.
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