Unai Emery takes up Eddie Howe 560 days challenge – Staggering parallels | OneFootball

Unai Emery was celebrating on Tuesday night.

An astonishing 560 days achievement.

Unai Emery starting work at Aston Villa on 1 November 2022 (he was appointed on 24 October 2022 but had to wait for his work permit).

Then 560 days later on Tuesday 14 May he and his team qualified for the Champions League, as Manchester City’s 2-0 win last night means Tottenham can’t now catch Aston Villa.

Unai Emery took over Aston Villa back in November 2022 when the club were 14th in the Premier League, now in May 2024 they are guaranteed fourth spot and Champions League football next season.

Undoubtedly a brilliant achievement.

However, the parallels with another manager are impossible to ignore. Indeed, was this manager’s achievement even greater than that of Unai Emery?

I am of course, talking about…

Eddie Howe

Eddie Howe took over at Newcastle United back on 8 November 2021, almost exactly a year before Unai Emery would start work at Villa Park.

When Howe arrived, Newcastle United were in absolutely freefall and looked certain to be relegated, standing 19th in the Premier League and the double whammy of Ashley and Bruce meaning the team and club had become a shambles.

However, on 22 May 2023, Newcastle United picked up a point in a 0-0 draw with Leicester City at St James’ Park and that guaranteed NUFC fourth place and Champions League football the following season.

To achieve this incredible outcome, it had taken Eddie Howe precisely… 560 days!!!

Yes, from starting work with NUFC in 19th place in the Premier League to finishing fourth and Champions League qualifying, only 560 days.

EXACTLY the same number of days it has taken Unai Emery to do the same.

A tale of two managers and the Newcastle United owners

Unai Emery turning down the Newcastle United job back in October / November 2021.

How different things might have been…

Or just maybe, how very similar things might have been…

The recruitment of players at St James’ Park has been exemplary since the new/current Newcastle United owners arrived.

On the management front, exactly the same.

When the Newcastle United takeover finally happened in October 2021 and Steve Bruce was thankfully sacked before he could do even more damage other than the lame home defeat to Spurs immediately after the takeover, we then saw the new NUFC owners ridiculed for the length of time it took to appoint a new manager.

That ridicule reaching ever greater heights as Unai Emery eventually turned them down, then the ridicule reaching its pinnacle when ‘that fella who got Bournemouth relegated’ was appointed.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Unai Emery talking about why in October / November 2021 he turned down the Newcastle United job – April 2022:

“The Newcastle project is an attractive project, something to build, different to Arsenal.

“With Arsenal, you first had to knock down the walls, which is hard work, then start to build again. Newcastle no, it was just about building, from the ground up. So it is different, and I liked the idea.

“So when Newcastle called me, I thought a lot about the opportunity to return to England, to a serious project. For me, it was a source of pride, satisfaction and I appreciated it.

“The opportunity of a club like Newcastle, what it could turn out to be, it is normal for me to listen to the offer, to consider it.

“I thought about the offer and I spoke with (Villarreal president) Fernando Roig but I also had to take into account that we were in the Champions League with Villarreal, mid-season. In the end, with a lot of respect for Villarreal, and a lot of respect for Newcastle, I decided to stay here. I am happy here and we are doing an important job.”

Unai Emery talking about Newcastle United and the job Eddie Howe is doing – April 2023:

“Newcastle is a team with a development that has been very strong.

“They are building a very serious and organised team.

“Now they are one of the best teams in the Premier League.

“The coach [Eddie Howe] is playing with his identity, playing aggressively, high pressing.

“They are feeling strong with their mentality as well.

“Their idea is to improve and to get in the top six…now they are in the top four.

“They are signing players, very good players, young, experienced, mixed, they are keeping the squad with players they had before.

“Progressively, they are growing up.

“Historically they are a big team.

“Last year they weren’t in the same way but now it’s a different Newcastle.

“The coach is doing very good work and I knew Eddie Howe before, he was working at Bournemouth.

“He has done very good work.

“His team are strong in their mentality and he works tactically, as well as being difficult as well for the opponent.

“They are a good, big club, going for top four, with a good coach.”

I find it strange / amusing that despite Eddie Howe proving beyond all doubt to be an inspired choice by the Newcastle United owners, some still choose to taunt NUFC and their fans that Unai Emery turned Newcastle down.

It is possible to say that Unai Emery AND Eddie Howe are both excellent managers, including if you happen to be an Aston Villa or Newcastle fan.

It was clearly a case of right job wrong time for Unai Emery when he turned Newcastle United down just over two years ago. He had just led Villarreal to their first ever trophy in the club’s history and they were enjoying a superb Champions League campaign, eventually reaching the semi-finals and came within a whisker of playing Real Madrid in the final. Incredible for such a small club.

By the end of that season though it was then only a matter of time before the right offer came along and Unai Emery would be off. Sure enough that ended up being Aston Villa in October 2022.

As a Newcastle fan I don’t have anything negative to say about Unai Emery, you can understand his reasons for sticking with Villarreal and as I say, it was the right offer for Unai Emery but just bad timing with what he had still to finish in Spain.

Instead I see Emery’s success at Villa as a massive positive for Newcastle United, in terms of proving once again just how high quality the advice the NUFC owners have received from person / persons unknown, when it comes to the football side at the club.

That the then (in football terms!) lengthy process in Autumn 2021 that led to them identifying Unai Emery and Eddie Howe as the two stand out candidates, proving inspirational.

Howe and Emery proving themselves two of the very brightest and most talented managers in the Premier League.