The Seagulls Reminded Me Of Something That Cantona Said...

A win, of course, is very welcome. And to see nearly 50% of our shots go on target is a double welcome after last week's mere 5%. But can we draw much from this match that we haven't seen before? Not a lot except the extra effort in Villa's play was welcome to see. How much that was to do with the Brighton players appearing to lack confidence upfront, I'm not too sure.

One of the first questions I asked myself when I saw the team was "Why is Luiz still playing (in that role)?", and having seen him play two ridiculous passes straight to the opposition in midfield, I asked the question some more. I was actually pleased when he was taken off, but less pleased to see the Villa manager give him a warm embrace as he went off the field. He likes Luiz but not Sanson? That's not what he said a few weeks ago. Well, at least Sanson got some minutes on the pitch today.

Yes, sloppiness was still evident, including an occasion when Ramsey attempted to dribble across the edge of his own penalty area and nearly gave away an opportunity but for swift covering by the defenders. Yes, the defensive work was pretty good today, but Brighton were off-colour I feel. Eric Cantona might have elaborated about 'seagulls' if he'd seen that performance of theirs.

I played, today, with selecting my own team, which was:

Gerrard was not going to pick this team to please me, of course - let alone the 4-4-2 formation that I prefer. But this is the ideal one I would really like to see play, as a 4-4-2, in the absence of Archer.

I said last time that playing all three of Coutinho, Ramsey and Buendia was too much, and at least Gerrard decided that was the case and left Buendia out, as I had done. I agree with Gerrard that Coutinho can always come up with the unexpected, and therefore difficult to leave out, but for me he's not doing quite enough these last 3 games. Seeing what I saw today I am now thinking that Buendia is more capable - at least he's provided Ings with a lot of chances this season. Of course, some of them occurred before Gerrard arrived and therefore would not be aware. That's a pity, for if Gerrard had seen those missed chances by Ings he might be less inclined to play him (Ings).

Well, a win is a win, but I am not at all sure what will happen in the rest of the season. Next Saturday should help us to see the immediate future a bit more clearly. Perhaps.

UTV!