“I’ll never remember a time like this,” Unai Emery recently said after Boubacar Kamara became Aston Villa’s third player to be ruled out for the remainder of the season.
“That’s not an excuse. We always accept when injuries happen, but this is the worst. We are human beings and we will continue to support our players, especially those who have suffered anterior cruciate ligament injuries. In my career, I have always accepted injuries. If we get injured, other players have to take responsibility. As a coach, I have never experienced a situation like this before. There is no.”
Villa’s campaign has been so successful that their sense of unrelenting misfortune has been largely masked. Three of Emery’s players – Tyrone Mings, Emiliano Buendia and Kamara – suffered anterior cruciate ligament injuries.
Officials called on Emery to expose the “no excuses” culture around the training ground. For some time, however, this idea seemed to have filtered into the school from outsiders, who nonetheless had few supporters and recognized the enormity of the injury. Perhaps that’s because Emery refuses to take any mitigation measures for defeat and doesn’t want him or his players to take the easy way out.
“Excuses are not my mindset,” he said. “I’m not usually talking about ‘what if’s. We just have to play. We have to accept each result and enjoy each moment. My goal is to tell the players and supporters It’s all about sending the same message: Have fun.
“If you find any excuses, you are wrong because every team has injuries, good times and bad times. I plan to do so.”
Unai Emery celebrates away win (Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Villa have been unable to develop key relationships in several areas of the pitch, which threatens to affect their overall structure, or, as Emery puts it, “our ideas”.
Repeated injuries are a thorny problem, and deeper introspection may be needed to get to the root of the problem at the end of the season, but for now, the main reason for overcoming adversity is that despite being 15 years old, It’s all thanks to Emery’s no-excuses culture. A first-team player who has missed at least one Premier League game due to injury this season.
The trip to Kenilworth Road marked the start of a potentially decisive week. Three games will be played in seven days, and each opponent will have contrasting styles and cultures. Given Luton’s character as a town, it will be a little different than playing in Amsterdam on Thursday, but each will be a measure of Villa’s perseverance. After Luton there is a Europa Conference League first leg against Ajax, followed by a decisive game against Tottenham Hotspur three days later.
Friday’s press conference previewing Luton was mostly typical Emery. He was intrigued to analyze Villa’s opponents from a stylistic perspective. Unprompted, he reiterated the importance of “winning the duel” three times in the first 10 minutes, whether this was against Newcastle United or the 6-1 defeat of Brighton & Hove Albion in September. He explained that it was comparable to previous matches. Emery said he will defend deeper to prevent Luton’s directness.
“It will be very difficult to maintain control tomorrow,” he admitted. “Normally I want to keep the ball, take good positions and play with organization, but the demands will be different. I might be able to control it in a different way. There will be more players on the attacking side. Therefore, the defense will be deeper than usual, and there will be more duels.
In a sense, Emery’s hunch was both right and wrong. The general theme of the first half was control, keeping Luton in a co-ordinated pattern of play that involved attacking at arm’s length, luring the orange shirts into pressing and unleashing the penetration of Ollie Watkins up front. . Villa led by two points and the home crowd was silenced as Emiliano Martinez’s head skimmed the ceiling and headed into the tunnel.
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Briefing: Luton Town 2-3 Aston Villa: Perfect start, terrible second half but 3 important points
The structure of Kenilworth Road itself is intimidating. The stands overhang near the edge of the pitch, the walls are narrow and cramped and in need of a coat of paint. The situation was part of the reason why Emery did not expect the level of reassurance he had so impressively received from his players before the suspension.
But even in moments of tranquility, even when he reaches the level of authority that Emery aspires to, the injury remains serious. Jacob Ramsey had another foot problem and was substituted after 30 minutes.
Emery’s prediction that it would be an anti-control game came as Villa struggled with a similar type of implosion to the 3-2 loss to Manchester United on Boxing Day, with Villa looking the key to the collapse in the second half. For the first time, it became a reality. On this day, Villa took a two-goal lead, causing a change in manager Emery’s thinking. Since then, his tactical set-up has become generally deeper defensive, and he is content to sit in the middle block and have another midfielder in place of another forward.
What Emery has struggled with for years is the difficulty of applying the same control measures for 90 minutes away from Villa Park.
After conceding just one corner in the first half, Villa conceded seven goals to the home side after the break. Emery spoke openly about Luton’s aerial threat before the game, but his players only encouraged that very trait in the second half.
More dangerously, Villa’s vulnerable approach to dead-ball situations was tested by conceding a foul in their own half. This weakness will not be ignored by Emery, even in the aftermath of Luca Digne’s late victory. Villa have now scored five goals in their last six league games after conceding two goals from set-pieces.
“We needed to keep possession of the ball more,” Watkins said after the game. “They were man-to-man and in the first half they played in my favor and kept me away, but in the second half the midfield couldn’t get close enough to me.
“You relax when you’re two goals away, but that happened at Manchester United as well. That’s something we need to look at.”
Either way, Villa would rather win and learn than lose and regret it. The start of the decisive week followed the pattern of the season. Even in the face of bad luck and sometimes flaws in the system, teams find a way to stay in the race.
The three consecutive away wins are Villa’s first since Emery’s first three away games in January 2023, and extend their record to just one defeat in eight games away from Villa Park.
The no-excuse culture has led to a spirit of fortitude and spirit that shines through even when things are bad, whether it’s injury, bad luck or the scoreline.
(Top photo: David Rogers/Getty Images)