00:00Charlie, let's look at Aston Villa and let's just have a quick, brief review on their 2024.
00:07Obviously, I mean, you know, you look at the back end of 2023, they were on fire, beating
00:13Manchester City and Arsenal in the space of a week or so. Then they go into the into the
00:18new year and they are looking fantastic. Obviously fell in the FA Cup eventually to Chelsea in
00:24a brilliant performance from the Blues. But Villa then just kick on and they had a fantastic
00:29campaign in the Conference League. But then, you know, you thought they were favourites and
00:33they did sort of throw that away. It felt at times, you know, a bit of silverware under
00:39Emre in this fantastic era would have been ideal for fans so far. But then, you know,
00:44obviously qualifying for the Champions League was absolutely massive and starting this campaign
00:49really well. Then they go on a bit of a blip in November, festive period as well to come.
00:55It's just an interesting one. What do you sort of make of their 2024? Maybe seems like a bit
01:00of a missed opportunity. Yeah, I think the Conference League, obviously silverware would
01:04have been amazing and European silverware. But most Villa fans would probably say that they'd
01:09rather play Champions League football, which might seem a bit controversial, silverware or silverware,
01:13they'd have had Europa League anyway. But being in the top European competition, especially with
01:18the new rebrand, the new format, it's just such an exciting opportunity. And we've seen so far
01:22being in the top five of the Champions League league phase with all those 36 teams, they look
01:27as if they could finish in the top eight and advance straight through to the last 16, which
01:30would be an incredible achievement. I think it has worked out for the best. And considering that,
01:35and the fact they qualified in the first place, finishing in the top four, it's been a hugely
01:40successful 2024 for Unai Emre. And obviously things have dwindled at the start of the season a
01:45little bit. They had a winless streak of eight matches, nearly became nine. That would have
01:49been the longest in Emre's managerial career, but turned it around recently. Still inconsistency
01:54slipping in. I think injuries haven't helped. He likes to try and keep a consistent starting 11,
01:59and he's not really been able to do that too often. So to fix your congestion throughout
02:03December is also a very difficult thing to deal with for any team. But there are signs that things
02:08are going to improve and kick on as January arrives. And that should be able to fill some
02:13of the gaps Emre's been struggling with. Of course, more like John Duran kicking on as well,
02:17and should be able to help them as they progress in the Champions League.
02:20And who's been the standout player for Villa across 2024? There's obviously been a few big
02:25names. Ollie Watkins had that incredible summer moment for England.
02:31Yeah, I think that kind of encapsulates everything that Watkins was about last season.
02:35Scoring and assisting so many in the Premier League, second only to Cole Palmer last season
02:39for goals, plus assists. He's been remarkable. He's been a little bit stop-start at the beginning
02:44of the season. A few small injury problems for him, but he's shown why he's still a very
02:49consistent and clinical striker. Always seems to be beating his expected goals. Recently, actually,
02:54his finishing has dwindled a little bit, but he still remains one of Villa's best players,
02:57and probably the best of 2024.
Comments