Fans have expressed their discontent with Pep Guardiola winning the Premier League Manager of the Season award over Unai Emery.
Guardiola led Manchester City to a 4th consecutive league title, becoming the first manager to do so in English football history.
In turn, the Sky Blues also became the first club to win the English top-flight league title four seasons in a row.
Following his exploits with the Cityzens, Pep Guardiola was handed the Premier League Manager of the Season award on Tuesday, May 21, 2024, much to the dismay of many footballing enthusiasts.
Before the season ended, different names sprung up for the award, including Mikel Arteta and Unai Emery, with fans wondering why they weren’t given the award ahead of Guardiola.
A fan on X (formerly known as Twitter) replied to the Premier League post announcing the winner, by writing: “Should be Emery and you know it.”
Another simply wrote: “Emery robbed.”
One fan also sounded infuriated and his reply on X reads: “What a joke it should be Unai Emery all day long. I could win manager if the year with that City team! It’s ridiculous”
Should Unai Emery Have Won The Premier League Manager Of The Season Award?
The standout name mentioned by the fans amongst the duo is Emery, who led Aston Villa to qualify for the UEFA Champions League for the first time in 42 years.
Unai Emery has been wonderful with the Villains, and his brilliance has seen the club compete squarely amongst the big guns in modern day football.
Aston Villa definitely are an historic English side, boasting of one European Cup (now UEFA Champions League), however, they regressed for many years, but are now back to reckoning in English football.
The borderline reason for which Pep Guardiola was given the Premier League Manager of the Season award is obviously due to him winning the league title.
The manner at which he went at it might have been a factor, given he also made history by leading Manchester City to the crown four times consecutively.
When Was Unai Emery Appointed Manager Of Aston Villa?
Emery certainly has had to rejig Aston Villa in recent years, developing the team since he was made the club’s manager in October 2022.
He has spent just one full season at the club, but has managed the Birmingham-based side across two campaigns.
Definitely, being able to galvanize the Villains to the UEFA Champions League in your first full season in charge is laudable, particularly seeing how they did it.
Aston Villa didn’t lose to any of the tesms surrounding them in the top 5 across two legs, as they faltered only to Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur in the second leg, whilst winning the first leg of both matches.
Manchester United and Newcastle United were the only clubs to do a league double over Unai Emery’s side, but the primary target for the season was ultimately met.
The hunt for a UEFA Champions League spot might have not been at the forefront of their agenda when the 2023/24 campaign commenced, however, at some point during the season, they would have harbored hopes of achieving that feat.
Unai Emery is a master tactician, and he has managed several clubs in his coaching career, including; Arsenal, Sevilla, Valencia, Villarreal and Paris Saint Germain.
He has had a relatively successful career winning several trophies, including; 4 UEFA Europa League titles, 1 French Ligue 1, and 2 Coupe de France.
Emery was the manager who guided Sevilla to a three-peat of Europa League titles from 2014 – 2016.
Yes! Emery Did Well, But The Premier League Title Factor?
Unai Emery has made a big statement at Villa which should have won him the Manager of the Season award and it is understandable to see the thought process of his fans.
However, Pep Guardiola won the league title, and more often than none, managers who will the league crown are given the award.
The 2023/24 Premier League Manager of the Season award is the 5th that Guardiola will be winning since he joined Manchester City in 2016.
Sir Alex Ferguson, who won 13 Premier League titles, has won the award the most, winning it on 11 different occasions.
