Champions? Ignore the Talk, Enjoy the Ride

It wouldn’t be football if there weren’t constant speculation, predictions, and meaningless opinions. There’s a void, apparently, that needs to be filled 24/7. Which is fine. That’s the way of things in our media-saturated age.

Now that Villa have laid down a marker of sorts, many supporters are getting what they’ve wanted, a little bit of attention for Villa. Long overlooked in the Sky 6 era, it feels good to get a little respect. And when we do, there’s lots of people immediately shooting it down.

Coming off a big week like this, I’m certainly buoyant. I’m also 100% in agreement with Unai Emery. Let’s talk about titles in week 32. For now, enjoy the ride. Enjoy the progress, the moments of joy and relief. Dwelling on the future takes you out of the present.

But isn’t the future what we’re really interested in? Yes, ultimately. But it will come as it always does, and we’ll have precious little influence over the shape of it beyond the throngs at Villa Park and away urging the team on and giving them that extra lift that tired legs, hearts, and minds often require to get over the finish line.

What We Know
Me, I’ve been seeing the mentality we know is required, at least to this point in the season. The players have bought in. They’re not afraid, and certainly neither is Emery. They could’ve wilted Saturday, could’ve shrunk from it and let voices of doubt creep in, but they didn’t. They showed they want it, that they’re willing to work and suffer for it. Wednesday before, they saw that if they took it to City, if they wanted it more, and believed that would affect the outcome, they could bend the game to their will. They played aggressively, freely, and with confidence, outside their heads and doubts.

They’re also willing to take accountability, which is what happens in those little moments where they accept what the manager has to say. For example, Luiz talking about having a disagreement with Emery over something on the pitch and then talking it through. “Sometimes my head isn’t totally right and I say something back. We end up arguing, but afterwards we talk and everything is okay.”

Point being, you’ve got a player reaching his potential, influencing matches, getting recalled to the Brazil squad, being speculated about for the usual CL favorites. He could be a bit full of himself.

But he knows Emery’s fanatical attention to detail has made him a better, more consistent and influential footballer. He knows Emery has made the structure and players around him better, giving everyone a chance to progress together. If you take the advice on board, as John McGinn did about what to do when he found himself with the ball back to goal in the seventh minute against Arsenal, you just might be glad you did. And once a manager or the staff are proved right, you begin to trust.

That’s where Villa are, at the moment. They’re learning, they’re practicing in matches, as Emery admits. They’re growing into themselves and finding that by trusting and listening, they’re improving. There’s an elite footballing mind in the building and he’s shown aspiring elite players just that. His instructions and demands produce results.

And the resulting ride has been glorious. It’s actually fun now, and the years of disappointment start to give way to hope and belief.

Yeah, But
We’ve also seen some of the intangibles at work, like luck, timing, and decisions. We’ve faced top teams at those fortuitous moments when they’re missing a key player or two. When they’re tired, as well, and feeling some pressure. The tight decisions and penalty shouts have gone Villa’s way.

Which isn’t to say we haven’t been robbed of key players, too, or been on the receiving end of epically farcical decisions. Even before the injuries, we were starting out with a threadbare squad compared to several others. I don’t think Emery’s just acting humble when he says there are six or seven better teams. On paper, yeah, there certainly are better, deeper squads. And that might well be what decides things over the long arc of the season.

On the other hand, Villa just played their 38th match of the 2023 calendar year and find themselves second: 24-6-8, a point above Arsenal, and eight below City. So I guess it’s us and them for all the marbles.

Can we do a Leicester? Of course. Is it likely? Well…Me, I’m more focused on our relative position, the fact that City will get everyone back and almost inevitably kick it into gear. Never mind winning it all, top four would be astonishing. That was always the first landmark goal for Sawiris and Edens: getting to the Champions League. And that seemed impossible a little over a year ago. Now it is a distinct possibility.

So that’s why I’ll keep living in the present, week by week. Not because I don’t believe Emery has what it takes to manage us there. Not because I don’t believe the players want it or that they’re afraid. Only because it’s a long, hard season and there’s plenty of time for fatigue, luck, timing, and decisions to go against Villa.

It might seem like negative framing, and for the players probably it is. We want them playing for the title Emery’s way, because that’s what it will take to finish where we want to be, and this past year, well, the record doesn’t lie.

In Emery We Trust
I’ve no doubt Emery will keep the players’ heads straight because he knows the reality. He’ll stay focused on the last performance, and the next one. That’s how we got here. If he’s looking ahead, it’ll only be about recovery, load management, when to slot in Zaniolo next. The January window. Improving the away record, starting a new home streak when the current one ends because streaks always end.

If Villa do manage to climb the heights, that’s what will get us there: one detail at a time, one session at a time, one day at time, one game at a time.

If you’d asked me at the beginning of the season if top four and Conference League champions were possible, I’d have thought that was a bridge too far. Too many games, too little depth. But now it’s truly on offer and would arguably be Villa’s greatest achievement overall in four decades.

Don’t get me wrong: Back-to-back victories like those against City and Arsenal are foundational. They tell the players they can win out in Europe. They tell the players they should be beating Bournemouth and Brentford. They tell us we’re actually in the mix. But they also remind us, given where we find ourselves after, just what’s required to win this league. Pep won’t forget in the return fixture, and neither will little Mikel.

I’ll be taking Emery’s advice, basking in the moment, and looking no further ahead than Zrinjski.

Over to you.