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Unai Emery has cited Aston Villa no longer having the element of surprise as the reason for their Premier League downfall.
As the Midlands outfit went eight games without victory with a 3-0 defeat to Chelsea, Newcastle United comparisons began ramping up. Like the Magpies, Villa have struggled to maintain their form following Champions League qualification.
Newcastle struggled to adapt to the added fixtures and slumped to seventh - with Villa following suit. Toon fans have joked about Villa copying the Magpies on several fronts, including a move for Emery and ditching Castore for Adidas as kit supplier.
The two clubs sit 11th and 12th in the Premier League despite recently upsetting the elite bracket. However, the situation has triggered more questions regarding FFP/PSR regulations.
Newcastle and Villa sided with Manchester City in their battle with the Premier League to veto Associated Party Transactions rules. Nottingham Forest aside, every other club favoured tighter restrictions on commercial deals.
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Chelsea’s recent revival following a staggering £1.2billion spend under new ownership also fuels the narrative that current financial rules protect the established clubs. Villa boss Emery, following his side’s 3-0 hiding at Stamford Bridge, preferred to highlight the surprise factor.
“This year has been different because we are not a surprise like last year,” the Spaniard said. “This year a lot of teams are trying to face us thinking we are an opponent to be in the top seven.
“Chelsea deserved to win but we have to keep calm. We lost here one opportunity because the gap before the game was three points and now we are six points behind them. We are thinking about our next match on Wednesday and trying to cut this spell of bad results.”
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