Once a genius, always a genius.
Few men would have spoken out in support of a team they had just seen on the wrong end of a 5-1 opening day hammering, let alone tip them for success. But Sir Alex Ferguson is no mere mortal.
The legendary Manchester United boss did not dominate the Premier League landscape for 20 years by pointing out the obvious, and clearly the remarkable insight that made him perhaps the finest manager in football history has not deserted him, even a decade into retirement.
Ferguson, when asked by Sky Sports back in August to name the one club he expected to go onto achieve big things in 2023/24, did not settle for Tottenham Hotspur side with a new sense of positivity under Ange Postecoglou. He did not even single out a Newcastle side he had just watched begin the season in thrilling style, and with a thumping win.
Instead, Ferguson dismissed the idea that Aston Villa’s 5-1 hammering byEddie Howe’s team would signal a season of struggle for the Midland giants. Seeing enough – even in that humiliating defeat – to suggest that better days were just around the corner.
Sir Alex Ferguson’s Aston Villa prediction comes true
“To be honest with you, I watched Aston Villa and I can’t believe the scoreline. Honestly Aston Villa played fantastic football and just lost to bad goals,” Ferguson said, to the surprise of many wondering if the 81-year-old Glaswegian had lost his touch.
“Newcastle are going to be very difficult to beat, in their own ground in particular, and their manager has done a great job there. It’s a surprising game, football. You can play teams off the pitch and not score – that’s what Aston Villa did.”
Villa’s high line was obliterated by a speedy Newcastle frontline that August afternoon.
Unai Emery, one of the most meticulous and obsessive tacticians in the modern game, devoted countless hours on the training pitch ensuring that such mistakes would not be repeated, and the reward for all that hard work came on Tuesday evening.
Nine months on from that Tyneside tonking, claret-and-blue confetti covered the sky as Midland giants celebrated Champions League qualification for the very first time. Tottenham’s 2-0 defeat by Manchester City not only put Pep Guardiola’s side on the verge of a fourth-straight title, it also ended Spurs’ hopes of a top-four finish with Villa finally doing under Emery what they threatened to do under Martin O’Neil around 15 years ago.
Unai Emery celebrates Champions League qualification
“It’s a very special day today,” beamed Emery, his voice almost as gravelly as Sean Dyche’s after a night of wild jubilation (talkSPORT).
“It’s our dream. It was our dream when we started the season to be here. To play Champions League is, after the Premier League, the best. When you are playing in the Champions League you are playing against the best teams, at the same time, from other countries.
“And it’s amazing. Of course, I’m very, very, very happy and very proud of you (the fans), the players and everybody.”
If any lessons can be learned from Aston Villa’s remarkable success story – from relegation candidates to Champions League-bound in less than two years – it’s that you should write off Unai Emery at your peril.
And furthermore, when Sir Alex Ferguson speaks, you listen.