{"id":431351,"date":"2025-09-17T14:27:13","date_gmt":"2025-09-17T14:27:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/431351\/"},"modified":"2025-09-17T14:27:13","modified_gmt":"2025-09-17T14:27:13","slug":"what-has-gone-wrong-at-aston-villa-as-true-scale-of-problems-for-unai-emery-to-solve-laid-bare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/431351\/","title":{"rendered":"What has gone wrong at Aston Villa as true scale of problems for Unai Emery to solve laid bare"},"content":{"rendered":"

Aston Villa scored their first goal of the season at Brentford on Tuesday night, but remain winless after five games\"John<\/p>\n

Our dedicated Aston Villa reporter is always on the pulse of all things claret and blue, from major talking points to transfer news to match action, John Townley will bring you the very latest from Bodymoor Heath and Villa Park.<\/p>\n

\"AstonAston Villa lost on penalties to Brentford in the Carabao Cup(Image: Andrew Fosker\/Shutterstock)<\/p>\n

\u201cHave you ever, have you ever, have you ever scored a goal?\u201d taunted the Brentford fans, shortly before Harvey Elliott opened his Aston Villa account<\/a> and ended the club\u2019s long goal drought.<\/p>\n

But it was the Bees who had the last laugh, dumping Unai Emery\u2019s<\/a> side out of the Carabao Cup in the third round – a defeat that only deepened Villa\u2019s dismal start to the season.<\/p>\n

Villa have now failed twice to beat a Brentford<\/a> squad that lost key figures over the summer – Bryan Mbeumo, Yoane Wissa, Christian N\u00f8rgaard, Mark Flekken, and most significantly, Thomas Frank.<\/p>\n

New boss Keith Andrews made 10 changes to the team for Tuesday night\u2019s game, while Emery made seven, yet still fielded a strong side.<\/p>\n

Among the starters were Jadon Sancho and Elliott. Sancho also had a chance to score on his full debut but was denied by the woodwork after Evann Guessand pulled the ball across goal.<\/p>\n

Aaron Hickey punished the miss with a stunning volley at the other end. Brentford\u2019s clinical touch continued into the penalty shoot-out, converting all four of their spot-kicks, while John McGinn and Matty Cash missed for Villa.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no dressing up Villa\u2019s start to the season. A result – and performance – is desperately needed at Sunderland on Sunday, ahead of three home matches in the next four, against Bologna, Fulham, and Burnley.<\/p>\n

So, after five games of the new season, no wins, and only one goal scored – what exactly has gone wrong at Villa?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A refresh that didn’t happen<\/strong><\/p>\n

A refresh was badly needed over the summer because Villa have become stale. There are reasons for that, but the primary one is clear: there hasn’t been enough quality added to the squad.<\/p>\n

Financial restrictions haven\u2019t helped, limiting Villa to free transfers and loan deals by deadline day.<\/p>\n

It was a similar story last winter when Marcus Rashford, Marco Asensio, and Axel Disasi were brought in on loan. Rashford and Asensio both reinvigorated Villa\u2019s form, pushing the club to the brink of a Champions League return.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s harder to see Villa\u2019s summer arrivals having a similar impact. Sancho lacks match fitness, and Guessand – while physically capable – needs time to adapt to Premier League football.<\/p>\n

Signings not in the team<\/strong><\/p>\n

Despite financial restrictions, Villa have spent around \u00a3160 million since summer 2024 on talent for Emery’s first-team squad, unlike the likes of Lewis Dobbin or Samuel Iling-Junior.<\/p>\n

Yet Ian Maatsen, Amadou Onana, and Donyell Malen have all struggled to hold down starting spots.<\/p>\n

Onana hasn\u2019t been able to stay fit, while Maatsen – despite also showing promise – often rotates with Lucas Digne. With \u00a385 million tied up in those two players, Villa can\u2019t afford for either to be on the fringes.<\/p>\n

Yes, Villa need depth and two quality players per position, but the point remains: some of their recent recruits haven\u2019t had the desired impact. Onana and Maatsen are still young and hungry – but Villa must ensure every million they spend counts.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why the Malen signing is increasingly puzzling. He made his fifth start on Tuesday, playing as a No. 9 in place of Ollie Watkins, but only managed three touches in the opposition box.<\/p>\n

With little service, he had limited chances to impress – but it also appears Emery still hasn\u2019t figured out how to use him effectively, if at all. Ahead of facing Crystal Palace earlier this season, Emery was asked about Malen\u2019s lack of starts since the beginning of the year.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes I am not being fair with some players,\u201d he admitted. \u201cWhen you have 20 players and different options in different positions, sometimes you\u2019re not fair with everybody.<\/p>\n

\u201cEspecially Malen, I am happy with him. I am happy with him, and he can play in the starting XI. He can also play in various roles, as a right winger or a striker. He has some qualities that are very, very important for us. Sometimes, he can perform well either in the starting XI or as a substitute.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know every player wants to start, and even last year, when some players weren\u2019t available, he played in the starting XI or off the bench. He always showed his capacity to help the team, and now it is the same. He didn\u2019t start the first two matches, but maybe on Sunday, he will have the chance to start. Hopefully, he will perform well and, as well, achieve our collective objective and his individual targets.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of the 14 players who made more than 10 Premier League starts last season, only four were signed during Emery\u2019s tenure. That lack of turnover – and tactical evolution – is making Villa predictable.<\/p>\n

Emery needs full buy-in from his players<\/strong><\/p>\n

That sense of predictability might be seeping into the dressing room, too.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no questioning Emery\u2019s tactical genius. His meticulous approach has helped Villa achieve what similarly-budgeted clubs haven\u2019t – consistently breaking into the top six.<\/p>\n

But when results dry up, players may struggle to maintain the razor-sharp focus Emery demands.<\/p>\n

He needs 100% buy-in – and he\u2019s had it for most of his reign. But with confidence drained and results lacking, Emery now faces a different kind of test.<\/p>\n

His man-management will be crucial in the coming weeks, as he tries to rally a squad still coming to terms with such a poor start – especially considering much of it was assembled by previous managers.<\/p>\n

If you don\u2019t improve, you go backwards<\/strong><\/p>\n

Villa can\u2019t spend recklessly. They can\u2019t afford market mistakes. They also can\u2019t simply splash cash to fix issues, unlike rivals.<\/p>\n

Clubs like Manchester United are spending \u00a3200 million on new forwards like Mbeumo, Benjamin \u0160e\u0161ko, and Matheus Cunha.<\/p>\n

Villa, meanwhile, couldn\u2019t spend even after selling homegrown star Jacob Ramsey for \u00a340 million.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the harsh reality. In a league where rivals are improving rapidly, standing still – or making missteps – means going backwards.<\/p>\n

For that reason, it wouldn\u2019t be fair to overly criticise Villa\u2019s business, given the financial restraints they\u2019re under – especially when their rivals for top-six positions are afforded the freedom to spend hundreds of millions without repercussions.<\/p>\n

It is, however, still an obvious reason why Villa\u2019s level has dropped in comparison to other sides.<\/p>\n

What do you think has gone wrong at Villa? Tell us here<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Every day, the BirminghamLive football desk strive to deliver all manner of news, features and transfer-related stories as a part of our overall package of Aston Villa content.<\/p>\n

Our dedicated reporter John Townley – who you can follow on X by clicking here<\/a> – follows Villa home and away and offers you comprehensive coverage from matchdays, press conferences and everything that happens in between.<\/p>\n

So much happens day to day and sometimes you can struggle to keep on top of the very latest updates as and when they occur – that’s why we have produced a daily newsletter which you can sign up to, for free, and which means you’ll have a round-up of the key stories land in your email inbox. Sign up to the Villa newsletter here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

You can also get all your favourite content from BirminghamLive’s Villa team on WhatsApp. Click here<\/a> to sign up for breaking updates about the biggest stories in and around the club.<\/p>\n

If you prefer reading our Villa stories on your phone, consider downloading the BirminghamLive app, in which you can personalise the content you see by selecting Villa as one of your designated topics. You can get it from Apple here<\/a> and for Android here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Our weekly Aston Villa podcast, Claret And Blue, is also available to watch and listen on all major streaming services. You can subscribe to the YouTube channel here<\/a>, while you can access the podcast on Spotify here<\/a> and via Apple here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Aston Villa scored their first goal of the season at Brentford on Tuesday night, but remain winless after…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":431352,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7820],"tags":[422,855,748,393,4884,16,6543,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-431351","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-birmingham","8":"tag-aston-villa-fc","9":"tag-birmingham","10":"tag-britain","11":"tag-england","12":"tag-great-britain","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-unai-emery","15":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115220109740178489","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431351","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=431351"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431351\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/431352"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=431351"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=431351"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=431351"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}