When Unai Emery arrived at Aston Villa, he was seen as a figure of fun.
Within minutes of the announcement confirming the Spaniard’s appointment as Steven Gerrard’s successor, social media was awash with memes.
The infamous ‘Good ebening,’ line was used to lampoon a manager whose achievements deserved far greater respect.
Football isn’t laughing any more.
Villa supporters, however, most certainly are.
What has become clear is that for the first time – perhaps since Martin O’Neill’s arrival 17 years ago – the club boasts an A-list manager capable of delivering on the lofty expectations of its fan base.
That’s not to decry the capabilities of predecessors Dean Smith, Gerrard and all the rest who have sat in the illustrious hot-seat.
But Emery turned up in B6, boasting a body of work that proved he is a manager of proper substance, despite all the smart-a**e epithets which followed him into the job.
A string of Europa League successes with Sevilla, a semi-final in the Champions League with Villarreal last year – plus their own Europa League triumph – marked him down as a pedigree operator.
Even looked at now, in the cold light of day and, of course, with the benefit of 20/20 vision, was his time at Arsenal so bad?
A fifth-placed finish and Europa League final defeat to Chelsea in the aftermath of Arsene Wenger’s generational stay was a better return than David Moyes managed after taking over from Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford when a similar dynasty ended. A rocky start to Emery’s second season did for him at the Emirates, but he went away, returned home and set about repairing his reputation.
It is to the eternal credit of Villa’s owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens that they handpicked the 51-year-old when it was clear chief executive Christian Purslow’s experiment with Liverpool legend Gerrard had turned sour.
And it’s easy now – it always is with hindsight, isn’t it? – to highlight the reasons why the uptick in Villa’s performance has been so marked.
When Smith emerged from the Championship, armed with Jack Grealish but little else, he did so with a squad that were pretty much Premier League novices.
Players such as Grealish, Tyrone Mings, Ezri Konsa, John McGinn, Ollie Watkins, Matty Cash and several others had no depth of experience at the level.
Despite losing their way under Gerrard – whose major mistake was either alienating or falling out with Watkins and Mings – those players had, during an intervening couple of seasons, been growing into the job.
Mings himself said that, prior to arriving at Villa Park, he had played around 20 times for Bournemouth in the top flight. He was a rookie. Even Emi Martinez, the club’s first World Cup winner, had scant exposure after arriving from Arsenal.
But that was then. This is now.
What Emery has done is provide direction to a group of players desperately crying out for some.
Cohesion through a defined structure not seen under Gerrard and, to an extent under Smith, either.
From here, qualification for European football is achievable.
That would mark a huge step forward.
Villa are not yet being talked about in the same breath as Newcastle United.
Perhaps they should be.
Upwardly mobile with a manager who knows what he is doing and players who are flourishing.
With cash-rich owners, there hasn’t been a better time to be an Aston Villa supporter since the turn of the Millennium.
Social media might still be smiling at Unai Emery.
But those who he is set to challenge most certainly aren’t.
