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EPL As Morgan Rogers was completing the final bits of paperwork to sign for Aston Villa, he walked across the gymnasium at Bodymoor Heath. The facility at the training ground is newly refurbished and spacious. The room lends itself, in particular, for small-sided games of basketball to break out, with hoops attached to the walls. Rogers noticed Villa staff playing. Advertisement Basketball and key figures from Villa’s recent history are interconnected. Co-owner Wes Edens has a controlling stake in the Milwaukee Bucks franchise in the NBA and Damian Vidagany, director of football operations and Unai Emery’s key ally, played semi-pro basketball for over a decade. In November 2023, Vidagany, Emery and Monchi, president of football operations, flew to meet Edens and watched a Bucks game court-side. The basketball hoops inside Bodymoor Heath are there due to popular interest as much as anything. “Football and basketball are different because in the NBA, they were playing on the Friday and then on the Saturday, ” said Emery a week later. “But they are similar in how you can manage your players. ” Modern-day coaches sometimes lean into other sports when learning about methodology and what similarities can be distinguished. Basketball is a highly transitional sport, its attraction based on quick scoring and fast attacks, going from one end and then the other. Making fewer passes means the defensive team is invariably less organised and leaves more gaps to exploit. Transitions only last a matter of seconds but in that window comes opportunity. Last season, Villa were among the best sides at that in Europe. Emery built a team that baited opponents into pressing before ripping through the space left and boasted multiple final-third dribblers, all with ability to bypass pressure and carry the ball at length. Villa blended control with a knowing of when to attack spaces quickly, in turn manufacturing their own transitions when opponents were disorganised, akin to basketball. This season has been different. A consequence of Villa becoming a European contender has meant opposing sides have set out to nullify their best strengths. A winless run of eight games carried defensive issues which had been a long-running theme but, more concerningly in comparison to last season, a lack of inspiration going forward. Emery insisted the “small details” were letting Villa down, in and out of possession. Advertisement It was perhaps why Emery did not see much of Rogers’ exquisite finish for Villa’s first goal in the much needed 3-1 win over Brentford. During the build-up, he turned his back away from play and nodded after Boubacar Kamara (44) escaped pressure and played forward, generating the type of transition that was customary at their best. Kamara’s pass set off Rogers (27) with vast space to drive into. He combined with Ollie Watkins (11), who simultaneously made his trademark run inside the left channel and Rogers applied a finish that matched the quality of the move.   Kamara and Youri Tielemans served as Villa’s thermostat, knowing when to cool down play by taking additional touches and when to entice opponents into pressing and playing forward quickly. In a thirteen-minute window, Villa scored three times and finally held the same purpose in their play as last season. “We knew they were good at that (transitions), ” said Brentford head coach Thomas Frank following his side’s 3-1 loss. “We definitely didn’t handle it well enough and that’s something I need to look into. There are some tactical bits I’m not satisfied with, like Villa having so many opportunities running forward. I can’t say why it was, just that we didn’t handle that well enough. ” Watkins was fouled inside the box after Leon Bailey’s long ball over the top, another occasion when a Villa player successfully recognised when to retain possession and when to hurt the spaces behind Brentford’s backline. Watkins scored from the spot and Matty Cash snuck in at the far post six minutes later. It was not until Brentford scored against the run of play in the second half in which Villa’s scar tissue re-emerged, with players’ decision-making suddenly shaky. Yet nothing should detract from the promising signs in Villa’s attacking work. Even after Brentford’s goal, they created chances regularly, passing forward decisively when Brentford, in search of another goal, pushed players further upfield and left more space on transition. Brentford have traditionally been a hard style match-up for Villa. They thrive on turnovers, counter-pressing and making matches like a ping-pong game. In the same fixture last season, Brentford scored three goals in nine minutes to hold Villa to a draw. Advertisement Knowing when to indulge Brentford in those games was Villa’s biggest challenge. With that, it required a deep know-how and understanding of when to go up and down the gears, explaining why Emery’s starting lineup consisted of a spine that held Emiliano Martinez, Tyrone Mings, Kamara, John Mc Ginn and Watkins — five of his most experienced players — together. “They were letting us have transitions and to create chances, ” said Emery. “They were playing man to man in the high press and we were breaking it, trying to connect with players forward. We wanted to exploit the space in behind. Sometimes we struggled in our buildup, but we needed to adapt and to keep calm when they were pressing well. ” Emery was pleased Brentford gave Villa a basketball-style game at certain stages, allowing his players to shake from their stasis. Carving open low blocks, as Emery says, remains “the next step” for Villa, but this victory provides a reminder that they can still be excellent when attacking quickly. (Top photo: Watkins hugs Rogers after the stunning opening goal. David Rogers/Getty Images) Get all-access to exclusive stories. Subscribe to The Athletic for in-depth coverage of your favorite players, teams, leagues and clubs. Try a week on us. Jacob is a football reporter covering Aston Villa for The Athletic. Previously, he followed Southampton FC for The Athletic after spending three years writing about south coast football, working as a sports journalist for Reach PLC. In 2021, he was awarded the Football Writers' Association Student Football Writer of the Year. Follow Jacob on Twitter @J_Tanswell