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After four seasons, is Unai Emery’s time at Valencia coming to an end?

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Updated: February 29, 2012

Will Valencia look for a new coach next season?

Valencia were defeated 2-1 at the Mestalla on Sunday by Sevilla to continue their poor run of form in 2012 in the Primera Liga. Since returning from the winter break, Valencia have only won one game out of the eight games they have played in 2012.

They have lost three games and drawn four which has led to many Valencia fans questioning the ability of Coach Unai Emery and some are calling for change at the club and a new Coach.

Unai Emery has been in charge for four years at the Mestalla and he has successfully guided the club to two 3rd placed finishes, despite the sales of very high profile players.

But it looks as if his time is slowly coming to an end at the club and the team looks to be in need of a new direction and new ideas. Emery’s record against the big clubs is pretty poor and this is something which has disappointed the club’s board and fans.

Also, the club’s disappointing early exit from the Champions League this season has led to many fans questioning whether Emery can guide the club to where it deserves to be?

SuperDeporte today drew up a shortlist of potential managers who could replace Unai Emery at Valencia, if the club decide to part ways with the Spaniard.

The four names mentioned were, Mauricio Pochettino, Laurent Blanc, Didier Deschamps and Luis Milla.

They conducted a survey with the Valencia fans and Mauricio Pochettino was the overwhelming favourite with 47% of the votes and Didier Deschamps was 2nd with 31% of the votes.

After four seasons at Valencia, is it finally time for the club to say adios to Unai Emery? Or will the young tactician be given another year to prove he can lead this team to good things?

  • Jeeshan

    Very surprised Mauricio Pochettino is ahead of Deschamps in the polls

  • Futrell

    Give him another year. Next year we should hopefully have a full squad and not been forced to sell our best player(s). Every year Emery has been here, he has lost our best players after the season. If we don’t bring home a trophy next season with the returning talent we have, then I say let him go. 

  • B.G

    If we play brilliantly and get 1 goal he always pushes everyone down inside of the box just waiting for the time to pass, even when it’s in the early minutes.. Makes me kinda sick.
    When we push everyone down we don’t even play good defensively. We never hold into the ball and we don’t actually make it hard for the opponent to create chances. Makes every shitty opponent look like Barça.
    Playing like that is ok if you’re Almeria fighting to avoid relegation, but Valencia isn’t a club that should be satisfied getting one point against crappy opponents. We should be killing all the poorer teams with awesome controlled play.
    I honestly feel like I could do a better job than him purely tactically, and that says it all. Someone with a brilliant tactical mind is what we need to push up against RnB. I want us to play more like Atletico have with Simeone. Actual football, not as cowardly as Emery has lately..

    • Jiwonsi

      Valencia DID make it hard for Simeone’s Atletico Madrid to “create chances,” Lazio and even Barcelona had a hard time at the Calderon recently. Chelsea and Manchester United couldn’t manage to win at the Britannia this season, but Valencia DID. Finally, how can Valencia “crush with awesome controlled play” when Banega and Canales are both injured? With Tino Costa in midfield the team loses a lot of creativity and patience.

      • Martin

        We make it difficult for opposition to score not because of some tactical genius but purely because we are content with playing safe and drawing the match and if maybe for some individual brilliance from one of the attacking players get a goal here and there. Luckily for us soldado has been in excellent form. Not one of the goals he scored can be laid down to briiliant football it was because he is in red hot form.

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  • ^^

    I love Emery..^^

  • Los Che 4ever

    think we should get Mauricio Pochettino or Michael Laudrup if we can get one of them! 

    • Los Che 4ever

      especially Michael Laudrup he is a brilliant coach, and he’s tactically management is good

      • Ross

        Michael Laudrup was a brilliant player, but as a coach he have never really succeed IMO. He had a good european season with Getafe, but they were close to relegation that season. He had a shitty season in moscow, and he didn’t succeed with Mallorca either. And Michael Laudrup can’t manager for another spanish team before next season.

        I rather get one of the coaches mentioned in the article.

        • Los Che 4ever

          it is also first when the new season begins we need a new coach! he did a good job for GETAFE, yes alright he didn’t make a good finish in la liga but uefa cup was fantastic and he hadn’t any moneys to build a team.
          in MALLORCA the sportdirector hated him and again he hadn’t any money to build a team, and his best player got sold without he knows!
          MOSCOW alright it was a bad decision to move to russia but he wanted something new!
          BROENDBY he did an amazing job, with one of the best periodes BROENDBY’S history 

          • Asker

            He only won the league 1 time with Brøndby, which were a team who could’ve won much more … Laudrup is mediocore/bad.

  • Martin

    Give the guy anathor year, next year should be the first time we have a complete squad:

    Alves/Guaita
    Van Der Wiel – Rami – Ruiz – Alba/Mathieu
    Topal – Ever
    Pablo/Sofi – Canales – Guardado/Piatti
    Goldado

    If he fucks up with a team like this, let him go. He can’t really be blamed for failling at times for the squad he had the last 4 years and having to sell his best player over and over again.

    2008/2009/2010/ -> He had a amazing squad with a team build around Villa/Silva and he kept improving everything.
    2010/2011 -> Had to build an entire team around Mata, did even better than the year before that.
    2011/2012 -> He has done pretty good till now, had to rebuild the team yet AGAIN and it is costing us points but so be it.

    He just needs some years with the same squad without selling the top players and rebuilding it every year.
     

    • kat

      He tried to build the team around canales and banega.. but as it turned out they both got very serious injury..
      sofiane feghouli and piatti have been mediocre..
      so emery’s job has been very tough this season..  

  • don

    Why are we back here? a poor run of form? its unfortunate yes but we can clearly see that its due to the loss of Banega. Since he has been at Valencia, Unai has to build a new side every season due to loses of his best players. We should be able to keep our best players this season so he would finally have some continuity. Why don’t coaches get a proper chance before they’re fired? he isnt a miracle worker.

  • mohanad

    Bring juande raamos! This guy was amazing wit sevilla and real madrid! He plays attcking football if not then y not benitez?

  • marwan

    Okay you know what? Pochettino is not a good coach. Not even slightly. He does with Espanyol what everyone else has done with Espanyol in the past 5 years. This club needs stability, and Unless he fucks up big time, we don’t let Emery go. The only decent manager here is Didier Deschamps, and in my book, Emery beats him. So no, none of these are upgrades, this guy has never come out of the transfer market a winner. Lets judge him them, shall we?

    • Jiwonsi

      Um, actually Espanyol are a lower half of the table team who were fighting relegation before Pochettino took over. Since then the have been contenders for the European places, despite the fact that most of the squad come from the youth side, and also that they sold many of their best players before the start of this season.

  • Fadi

    Unai should not be given an extension, yet he should be thanked for his positive contribution, hardwork, and dedication to the club. The guy did his best.

    It’s time to try new ideas, or try to bring out new talents from the players. Deschamps is great. Blanc is also excellent. Both have winning mentalities, and strong management skills.

    Pochettino is average, I would prefer the stay of Unai over him.

    • B.G

      Yes!

      • Fadi

        I hope we bring a coach who can take our players to the next level.

        Despite seeing very very good forms from Pablo, Aduriz, Topal, and Ricardo Costa (the beast) last season, we found ourselves losing their good performances this season!!!

        It was also sad to find that Emery struggled in an entire first half of the season trying to bring the talents of Piatti to the surface. That was too much. Is it too difficult to make Soldado consistent? Even the coach tactics can be blamed for that…

  • albelda

    didier deschamps’ OM is like the defensive liverpool under benitez that won the uefa. I don’t want a disciplined and defensive team. I would rather have a coach who can sell players while maintaining stability like wenger, RUDI GARCIA, blanc, garrido,

  • gray

    My first love is QPR. We’ve had so many managers over the past 4 or 5 years it’s embarrassing. After a period of stability under wiley Warnock I thought we were getting somewhere but he’s been chopped and we’re no better off under Hughes. It’s rife in football nowadays and I’d hate for Valencia to replace Emery based on a few poor results at the turn of the year. Need I remind anyone of the nightmare that was Ronald Koeman after Quique Flores was sacked for a similar run of results?
     
    While some of the reasons for a change are reasonable, personally considering the circumstances Emery is working under Valencia are still a competitive team looking at UCL qualification again and importantly the cash it brings with it… plus there is also potential progression in the Europa League. Valencia may be miles away from Real and Barcelona in the league but no one is likely to touch those two regardless of who is in charge and the club’s current financial situation.

    Valencia are the best of the rest and that is down to Emery. Stability should not be undervalued. I know that for a fact, just look at QPR!

  • marwan

    Ok I can’t believe some of you guys, how can Emery be blamed for players like Ricardo Costa not playing well? Think of our squad, then think if we go bankrupt, which calibre of team each player would go to.  Here’s where:

    Alba – Barca (only because they need a left-back
    Soldado – Top EPL side
    Banega – Atletico Madrid/Sevilla/Everton/Napoli

    Then every other player would go to a team BELOW our calibre. So technically, our team is performing above expectations. Don’t you think Atleti, Malaga and Sevilla have better or equal squads to us? We rely on the likes of Feghouli for creativity! Be realistic, This squad needs players, these bunch of players really don’t have enough to win a trophy.  

    • Asker

      Marwan, I’m also a fan of Unai, but your analysis of our squad is really weird.

      Is Alba, Soldado and Banega the only players who could go to a team on our calibre + higher? Rami has been watched by Chelsea, United and Barcelona, Barca has also had a good eye on Ruiz.

      Mathieu could be a PSG player, maybe some Italian top club as well. Diego Alves could play for Atletico or likeable. Parejo could move back to Real, Canales as well. Piatti could also end in Atletico or Sevilla. And what about Jonás? Italian top club or Spanish top club …

      Our players are good enough for us … Only important improvement is RB. The problem right now is spirit, not squad and coach might not be the answer neither – only time will tell.

      • kat

        the problem you see is exactly there.. we have very good defense..
        I would never have doubts with starting guaita, rami, mathieu,miguel and sometime ruiz.. these are very worth players and we have a very good defense and albelda as a DM has been excellent.. off late topal is doing well too..
        so as on now 2 lines are almost secured.. once we get another RB and another young CB these linew will be almost perfect and many teams will want these players..
        what worries me is the attack.. it has been jaded for quite a while.. and banega has been the only spark and canales in the few games he played.. I still have faith in feghouli.. but piatti needs to work much harder..
        alba seems to be a much better LW than piatti.. the CAM and the other CM is my main worry.. it’s the main reason we are so devoid of creativity..
        unless tino costa and Jonas step up I dont see much improvement in our play..

  • Adil

    Personally I think Emery’s time with Valencia needs to come to an end as he seems lacking in new ideas and tactics. Im grateful for all his hard work but I think the team needs a better coach if we want to challenge at a higher level.

    All the options mentioned sound good on paper, paricularly Deschamps, although Pottechino might be a bit of a gamble.

  • Los Che 4ever

    what about Andre Villas Boas

    • Stanley

      I’m with you on that.

    • Dizzy

      I’d love to see Andre Villas Boas at Valencia. He’s a great manager and he won’t have to deal with arrogant, egotistic cunts like Terry, Lampard and Cole here.

  • Akselito

    IF we are getting a new coach, it should be someone who is known to win medals, not another new Emery who has done a good job with a mid-table team. Due to the quality of the squad, Emery has done a good job, but as some people here has pointed, we should control more matches against poor teams. Valencia have become a boring team to watch, honestley, and that should also be tken to consideration. 

  • Erik

    Do you guys really think Emery is just standing there, watching as the team loses possession, going: “Yeah, this is a good performance. I think I’ll get a new contract”.

    Well then you are wrong, because he doesn’t. He is a pro coach and he sees the same flaws as we do, if not more. Of course he is working at correcting them, but the players are low on confidence at the moment. At the start of the season we played really well and we can do it again. But remember that Banega and Canales are injured, no coach would perform better without them than with them.

    We need stability and sacking the coach might not be the answer. He is a very competent coach. He was invited to the UEFA Elite Manager meeting this season, together with Ferguson etc. He has limited resources and has performed better than ANY of us would have imagined when Villa and Silva got sold. He is a trusted and well-known manager outside of Spain too. He could easily get a better job with less piss-taking and higher wages, but he is loyal to us!

    • Dizzy

      When did we play well this season? Sure, we had decent games against Barca. We beat Gijon 4-0 once. But we never played well for a prolonged period of time. We never had a good streak. We’ve had the same problem all season, and that problem stretches further back. We have zero confidence. This is why we have to defend against Granada. This is why we lose to Betis in the last minutes, this is why we can never beat the big teams, this is why the worst Chelsea team in a decade absolutely demolished us, while we sat back and crossed from 50 yards out. This is why we draw every second game, even though we play against teams with a quarter of our budget. This is why we barely score anymore. Really, you thought we played well at the start of the season? Really? All I saw was a mediocre team, grinding out 1-0 victories against teams we should be wiping the floor with. We barely do that anymore, too. Emery has to go.

      • Erik

        What I remember against Chelsea is that we dominated possession but they scored goals on stupid, individual mistakes. Look at the goals again, can you really blame Emery for Barragán tripping or for Ruiz forgetting how to mark a player?

        Or we can turn it around. Did Chelsea win against Stoke away? How many of the english top teams did that? We raped them.

      • Batman

        Wow, wow, Dizzy. We had “decent” games against Barca? You don’t get close to beating Barca with decent. Did you even watch the first part of the season?