As we step into a new year it’s important to reflect on a number of big moments across the past 12 months. With Unai Emery’s Aston Villa endeavouring into the Champions League, what have been their best moments and can fans expect more to come in 2025?
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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.