Villa Preseason: 4-0 Roma

So, not a bad night for preseason. Comparable level of team (Europa League), ‘home’ game, and a fairly decisive scoreline.

But what I think was interesting was that it perhaps put a couple of creeping fears to bed. Which, being Villans, creeping fears are akin to the sun rising.

Being specific, what I saw were some rather obvious tweaks, like going long more often, some different patterns, and some wrinkles in the press. The reason I care is that they indicate Emery isn’t a one-trick pony. He’s adapting.

As I mentioned last time, aggressive high pressing is becoming much more common. The reasons are obvious, as are the risks. But if you can’t punish teams for doing it, then there’s no incentive not to roll the dice.

And it’s seemed for a while that this is where Villa struggle most: playing fast, athletic, high-pressing sides.

Why? Quality and decision-making. You need one-touch players who take and give effortlessly. You need patterns that facilitate players being in position for quick, one-touch passes. You need players who understand the permutations on the fly and are confident in executing. Which really goes back to quality, but it’s also a bit different.

And that’s schoolboy stuff: The ball is faster; let it do the running.

Decision-making is the thing, though. It means thinking like the manager…Which is to say, executing correctly without thinking, without slowing things down.

You never know what’s instruction or not, really, unless it’s made hugely obvious. We’re often left to wonder if Emery would’ve wanted the ball played forward there a step or two earlier, or are the players having caution drilled into them and looking at certain situations and thinking, “the gaffer wants me to just play it back here and have us reset”.

When Villa flow, it seems to be the former.

And I thought Emi Buendia had a lot to do with that working so smoothly. As I’d also said, he’s basically an Asensio-type player. He’s small, but strong on the ball. He has exceptional awareness. He’s a one-touch player. He’s always looking to put the knife in. He’s also relentless, a bit rash, and plays with a lot of emotion. He cares. He’s completely in the moment. And I like that.

What this means is that I understand why we’re still maybe trying to sign Asensio, apparently. But I also wonder if we don’t have a lot of the same thing already on the books. Is Marco a bit more ‘cultured’? Maybe yes. Otherwise, I’m not sure he’s a huge upgrade. For a player on the fringe who in all likelihood came into the summer expecting/hoping to be sold, and probably resigned to being loaned out, I thought Buendia made a strong personal statement. A goal, an assist, and countless lovely touches, retentions, and harrying actions. He’s committed to giving his all.

I didn’t really mean this to be about him. Regulars will know I’ve always been a fan. The injury and Phil put him out of the frame, largely, and maybe we did overpay back in the day. But the way he took that central role was excellent. He shaded right and came high when pressing, but with he ball it, seemed he was expected to be a 10. And he did it well.

Why do I care? He’s already on the books, he’s good enough, and if he can convince Unai, whatever money there is left can be allocated elsewhere. With Youri deep, Buendia playing a 10-role…I think it’s better than McGinn there. And you’ve got Rogers to change it up or vice versa. They do different things, but you know what I mean about where players slot in and what they do differently. Buendia makes the pass. Rogers carries it. Oversimplified, but that’s basically the difference.

The rhythm to preseason has also been interesting. Emery clearly gave the main group of midfielders and attackers extra time off. A week or two in this age is a lot of extra time, crazy as it sounds. Based on the first half, looks to me like it’s working. The players seemed sharp and had plenty of running in them. We’ve now got Marseille and Villareal in a nutty back-to-back and then it kicks off with the toon.

It could all change in an instant, but I’m feeling better about our ‘stagnant’ summer and the side’s footballing evolution. The methods seem to be sinking in. Emery is adapting. The players seem to be answering. The culture actually seems to be taking shape. Who knows how it looks when the rubber hits the road, but I liked what I saw, and I hope the final two runouts reinforce the perception of a fit and rested side who’ve reached a new tactical maturity.

Over to you.