Unai Emery Not As Bright And Bubbly As Last Term Feels Ex-PL Boss | OneFootball

Unai Emery Not As Bright And Bubbly As Last Term Feels Ex-PL Boss | OneFootball

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·17 September 2025

Unai Emery Not As Bright And Bubbly As Last Term Feels Ex-PL Boss

Article image:Unai Emery Not As Bright And Bubbly As Last Term Feels Ex-PL Boss

Alex Livesey/Getty Images

Former Premier League manager Tony Pulis is of the view that Aston Villa boss Unai Emery does not have the energy he had last term.


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Aston Villa suffered a further setback on Tuesday night after being knocked out of the EFL Cup by Brentford, while they already sit second from bottom in the Premier League standings and are yet to secure victory this season.

It is in stark contrast to the form they displayed last season, when they finished sixth in the league, made the FA Cup semi-final and were knocked out of the Champions League at the quarter-final stage by eventual winners Paris Saint-Germain by a narrow 5-4 aggregate margin.

Pulis noted the constant pressure a top-level manager is subjected to is unending, adding that it is something the average fan would not be able to relate to.

The former Premier League manager believes Emery looks like he has lost his energy and bubbly nature from last term.

Article image:Unai Emery Not As Bright And Bubbly As Last Term Feels Ex-PL Boss

Pulis, said on The Managers (39:00): “People don’t understand the amount of pressure and the amount of energy that you need to run football clubs and to run teams, especially at the top level.

“It’s consistently difficult whichever way you cook it.

“You win a game and then that lasts for about a couple of hours and you’re on to the next game. You lose a game and it’s pressure on straight away.

“He didn’t look as bright and as bubbly and as on it as he did last season.”

Article image:Unai Emery Not As Bright And Bubbly As Last Term Feels Ex-PL Boss

Pulis is hoping that last weekend’s draw at Everton can act as something of a turning point for Aston Villa.

“Hopefully, fingers crossed, they had a good result at Everton on Saturday.

“That was a good point at Everton.

“They will manage to turn it round because he has got a fantastic record of managing especially in Europe.

“And up until this point he has done brilliantly at Villa.”

Aston Villa have insisted they were limited by financial fair play considerations during the summer window, something which broadcaster Richard Keys believes is an excuse the owners are hiding behind.

Harvey Elliott, who arrived on loan with an obligation to buy from Liverpool, notched up his first goal for the club against Brentfoird, and in the process ended Aston Villa’s goal drought, with the Villans yet to score in the league.

The season is yet young, and with memories of last season still fresh amongst supporters, Emery will receive backing from all corners to turn the season around.

Aston Villa are due to visit the Stadium of Light on Sunday to face Sunderland as they hope to get their Premier League campaign up and running.

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