Emery needs time, space and, most of all, a little... R.E.S.P.E.C.T
IT’S only fitting that, in the same month Aretha Franklin passed away, the men who sing the most soulful songs in football should be asking for a little respect.
Look at Poch, patience with a manager can be a virtue
Jose Mourinho demanded it from journalists on Monday on the grounds he had won the Premier League more times than all the other current topflight managers put together, entitling him to never be questioned about any of his decisions again.
(Presumably he didn’t say this four months ago because the man he disrespectfully labelled a “specialist in failure”, Arsene Wenger, would have contradicted it?)
Roy Hodgson was at it after his Crystal Palace side lost the previous Monday, coming on to a Sky reporter like Joe Pesci, after he had dared to ask him about a refereeing decision.
“This is typical TV stuff. It’s all about making me some sort of villain because you’re asking me what I think,” he nonsensically raged.
And Mark Hughes is already into his tortured stride, baffled the world can’t see that every refereeing decision not in his favour is more proof of a conspiracy theory against him that’s bigger than the fake moon landing. All these blamedeflecting whines from seasoned managers about a lack of deference deserve the mockery they’re receiving.
Especially as Arsenal’s new one spent the first fortnight of his English career receiving a hysterical amount of disrespect. If anyone should be doing Aretha on the karaoke, it’s Unai Emery.
Most of the disrespect has been shown by ex-managers, ex-players and Arsenal legends like Tony Adams, who should know better than dismissing Emery’s chances of turning the Arsenal juggernaut around after two defeats to Manchester City and Chelsea.
Emery was chosen because he ticked many boxes. A young, ambitious coach with decent values, who has won trophies with big teams (three Europa Leagues with Sevilla, a French title and four domestic cups with PSG), has a record of bringing through youth and plays expansive, progressive football.
Taking over from a legend who ran a huge club like Arsenal as his own personal fiefdom for almost 25 years, would have been a challenge for any of the world’s greatest coaches in any era.
As Manchester United are discovering, trying to replace the greatest manager in your club’s history is the hardest nut to crack.
In the final two seasons under Wenger, Arsenal went from finishing 18 points behind the champions to 37 points behind. They are seriously off the pace. Getting up to speed again was never going to take just a few new faces or a few new training-ground drills (especially in a World Cup year when there was little pre-season to be had).
The one thing Emery needs is the space to make shortterm mistakes, time to reverse the slide and the backing to succeed over the length of his three-year contract.
Because, if the contrasting moods at the two clubs playing at Old Trafford on Monday show anything, it’s that patience with a manager can be a virtue.
Mauricio Pochettino has been at Spurs for four years and won nothing, but they believe in him even more than they did when they gave him the job.
The same can be said with Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp, as he approaches his third anniversary. There’s a belief at both clubs that something special is patiently being built.
Five years and three managers since Sir Alex Ferguson retired, United are nowhere near emerging from his shadow because the club never bought totally into the deal they struck with any of his successors.
If Arsenal need any advice in this post-Wenger era, it’s to take a look at what happened at United since Fergie left – and do the opposite.
It’s to ignore the short-term knockers and give their new manager – and their own judgement – a little respect.