Jamie Carragher has defended his recent comments about Aston Villa, insisting he meant no disrespect while maintaining that football's hierarchy very much exists.
The Sky Sports pundit sparked a backlash when he suggested Manchester United should consider Unai Emery as a managerial target, then criticised Villa fans who questioned him. His remarks ended with the phrase "shut the f*** up Villa fans," which led to the club considering legal action.
Villa later dropped the matter following an apology from Carragher, but the former Liverpool defender has revisited the controversy in his Telegraph column.
Carragher explains his stance
Emery's achievements at Villa Park include two Champions League qualifications in three seasons and a Europa League triumph. Those results have made him a candidate for major European jobs, yet Carragher maintains that Manchester United will always hold greater appeal than Villa, even if Emery is content in his current role.
He wrote: "What is beyond doubt is that by every metric defining a club’s size, United eclipse Villa: honours won, fanbase size, financial power, history, global status. In that head-to-head, it’s not even close. It did not strike me as controversial to suggest that when a club of United’s size wants Aston Villa’s managers or players, traditionally they get them."
Different standards for United
Emery will take his Villa side to Old Trafford this weekend, with Michael Carrick's team sitting above the relegation zone only on goal difference. Despite that position, expectations at United remain high, placing significant pressure on whoever occupies the dugout.
Carragher insists that Villa and Emery are not held to the same standard as the Manchester club, pointing to the reaction following Villa's 3-0 loss at Barcelona in midweek as an example.
He added: "United clearly are not at the level of Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and PSG right now. But when any manager goes to Old Trafford, over the course of their contract they will be expected to build a team that will go head to head with those European giants. Anything less is failure. Villa are not judged to that standard."
"Emery is Villa’s best coach since their 1981 title-winner Ron Saunders, but he can take his side to Barcelona, get soundly beaten 3-0, and it will be brushed off as an understandable setback against European aristocracy. United managers cannot suffer that kind of loss without more scrutiny."
