Unai Emery said he'd leave in the summer

A radio station in Spain reported how Unai Emery has told the players that he won't coach Valencia CF next season. This is the supposed talk: "I hope we are able to win a trophy and qualify for the Champions League next season, but I won't be your coach then".

Speculation and reports about Emery's departure have been going on for quite a while now, with the second part of the season being really miserable for Valencia CF. While many international fans showed their support for Emery and in my poll were only beat out by 1 vote to AVB to be Valencia's coach next season, its almost certain Emery will leave in the summer, if not sooner.

Poll Results

Hi there, here are the poll results I've run for about 2 weeks and about 111 votes total.

What Manager?
Andre Villas-Boas 34 votes, 30%
Keep Unai Emery 33 votes, 29%
Marcelo Bielsa 14 votes, 12%
Didier Deschamps 11 votes, 9%
Mauricio Pochetino 9 votes, 8%
Luis Mila 4 votes, 3%
Other 4 votes, 3%
Laurent Blanc 2 votes, 1%

Personally I voted for Didier Deschamps. I think he is one of the most accomplished coaches from the bunch and yet comes with lower salary than say AVB or Laurent Blanc. He has also played for Valencia CF for a season at the end of his career as a player and has at least some connection to the club.

As far as Emery goes after today's heavy 4-0 defeat at the hands of Espanyol his career at Valencia CF is practically for all intense and purposes over. He's done what he could, he stabilized the club and deserves credit and respect for what he has done, but his time at Valencia CF is over and he needs to leave in the summer and a new manager to be brought in to Valencia, preferably Didier Deschamps or AVB.

Valencia CF 4-1 Rayo Vallecano Player Ratings

Guaita 6 - Wasn't troubled too much and dealt with what Rayo threw at him comfortably.
Barragan 6 - Good defensive display, but lacked drive going forward and was mostly content to sit back.
Rami 6.5 - Another good performance by Rami, two games in a row now and he looks more reliable right now.
R. Costa 6.5 - As Rami, Ricardo Costa had a good showing and has been reliable when called upon, scoring a goal as well that was not allowed.
Mathieu 6 - Did well to stop Lass who is on Valencia's radar and was secure in defense. Didn't venture forward too much.
Topal 6.5 - Another quality and reliable showing by Topal who was great in his defensive duties.
Tino 5.5 (FotM) - Reserved match from Tino, who's contribution was only few standard passes.
Feghuoli 7.5 (MotM) - Man of the match performance by Feghuoli who managed to assist two goals today and was a real danger for Rayo in the second half.
Pablo 6 - Scored a goal in the late stages of the match, but his contribution otherwise was limited.
Jordi Alba 6.5 - Wasn't particularly effective in the first half, but improved in the second and went on to score the second goal for Valencia.
Jonas 7.5 - Great match in his first match this season as a real striker. Scored two goals, albeit one from a penalty, but was dangerous with his movement and provided good outlet for attack.
Subs:
Parejo 6 - Came in for Tino and was more effective in keeping possession and spreading the ball.
Canales 6.5 - Came in for the first time after a long injury and had great success with good movement and passing, managing to get an assist as well.
Maduro N/A - Not enough time.

Real Madrid 0-0 Valencia CF

Guaita 7 - Some great saves by Guaita to prevent Real Madrid from scoring.
R. Costa 5 (FOTM) - Did average on the right side, made few mistakes and didn't offer much in attack.
Rami 7 - Great match by Rami, one of the few he hasn't made any mistake and dealt with every Madrid attack.
Ruiz 6.5 - Similar performance as Rami, though a bit less effective and had to make some last ditch tackles.
Alba 7 (MOTM) - Great performance at the back and was rarely challenged, offered support in attack and had few good opportunities in attack as well.
Topal 6.5 - Good match by Topal, had some key intervention in the middle and defense and was very reliable in helping the defense.
Parejo 5.5 - Had quite a lot of defensive duties and really helped out in defense, short and accurate passes to get the ball rolling in the midfield as well.
Feghuoli 6 - Great start to the match and one of the most active and dangerous members of Valencia, somewhat subdued in the second half and was replaced by Pablo.
Tino Costa 6.5 - Good performance at a more advanced position, had several shots, two of which hit the post. Good ball retaining and retained quite a bit of possession for Valencia.
Piatti 6 - Didn't cause too many troubles at the right, but was in position to shoot few times and had one good shot saved by Casillas.
Aduriz 5.5 - Not very effective, although was an aerial presence from corners and had a few headers.
Subs:
Mathieu 5.5 - Wasn't better than Piatti and apart from a chance soon after his arrival that he could have easily converted into goal, was rather modest in his contribution forward.
Pablo 5.5 - Had two shots towards Real Madrid goal, but wasn't a constant threat and tended to drift into the middle of the pitch.
Soldado 5.5 - One good header to grant Alba a good opportunity, didn't have time to impact the game.

April's fools

Hi there. In case you didn't know the last report was a fake and it was Aprils 1st joke. For those who got it great and those that didn't great as well, for some that took it way too seriously and had to curse and insult in the comments and email get over it, its a joke.

I wish the Levante draw and Emery's troubles were a joke as well, but they are not and my sources tell me that if Emery doesn't win the next La Liga match its almost certain that Emery will leave. What is known is that their is a battle going on in the board room and behind the scenes and even Llorente's job is insecure. I'd also like to take this opportunity and come to Llorente's defense and reach out to the Spanish fans to support this amazing president as he has made Valencia CF great again!

Official: Unai Emery fired

Earlier today I wrote an article explaining how Emery was under immense pressure to produce a win against Levante in order to stay as coach, but with the unfortunate draw he's been fired.

This was cooking up for months now as Valencia CF were getting bad results since Januray and it seems like today's draw was the last straw.

Reports have it that Mauricio Pochetino is the coach that will replace Unai Emery.

Unai Emery's last match vs Levante?

Valencia CF coach Unai Emery has been under increased pressure for the past month, after a very poor start to the second half of the season in which if we don't count the points from the first half would be fighting to avoid relegation.

On the back of few new losses in Spain and in the Europa League he is given an ultimatum to win and if Valencia don't win he could be out of the team. Manuel Llorente is supportive of the coach, but he is also pressured from the board and if he wants to stay president of Valencia may succumb to the pressure to fire Emery.

So tonight's match may as well be Emery's last and unless the team form changes drastically and we gets several wins in a row he is going to be under constant pressure. A little bit reassuring is the fact that Valencia CF has beaten Levante pretty easily 3 times before this season.