'Superstar'. Ask Aston Villa staff about coach Unai Emery and that is the word you usually hear. For their first two seasons, the club relied on an elite footballer for an inspiration. Eighteen months after Jack Grealish left, they have thrown in their lot with an elite coach.
Villa's past and present are likely to collide on Sunday, with Grealish set to make his first start for Manchester City against his boyhood club, since his departure for £100million in August 2021. After trying – and failing – to replace his impact on the pitch, Villa decided to do it in the dugout instead, hiring one of Europe's best when they sacked Steven Gerrard last November.
Will it work? The early signs have been promising, but this is just the beginning of the process. Emery was hired to deliver European football – yet this is not the sole ambition. Grealish left Villa because he doubted he could fulfil his personal ambitions at his boyhood. If Emery's appointment goes to plan, the next homegrown superstar would think twice before taking the same step that Grealish did.
At Valencia, Sevilla and Villarreal, Emery built a team who could trade punches with the continent's giants, and win trophies. While he lacked the funds to compete for league titles in Spain, he would generally ensure his team were competitive against better-resourced clubs.
He has already made his mark in that respect. Emery's men overcame Manchester United in his first game in charge and won at Tottenham in their final game of 2022, as well as running Liverpool close on Boxing Day. And if Emery fails, it will not be for lack of hard work.
Villa employees admitted to Emery's office at the club's Bodymoor Heath training ground have become used to seeing the Basque hunched over his laptop, studying footage of Villa's recent matches or those of their opponents. He is based locally and spends up to 16 hours per day at the training ground.
Players have grown accustomed to highly detailed tactical work, followed by lengthy video analysis. There are fewer days off, too.
Villa supporters love to hear these details and the start has been positive, with 16 points from a possible 24. But make no mistake: this one has to work. Emery has more power than any other manager in the Nassef Sawiris-Wes Edens era and will be backed in the summer by Villa's billionaire owners. Expect more significant changes to the squad before the start of next season.
Yet with a 'superstar' on the touchline, Villa cannot have a third successive November of ripping it up and starting again. All the eggs are in the Emery basket, so they simply cannot break. Emery has the rest of this season to stamp his mark on the club and then from next term, there must be clear progress.
The ideal scenario for Villa is for Grealish to look at his old club in a couple of seasons' time and wonder whether he should have left after all. Sunday would be the perfect time to make him start to doubt his choices.
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