You'd not like it if I lied, so I wont. I had a bet on us to win. When we went 1-0 up, I cashed out and put it on Spurs. Why? We essentially sat back and invited pressure and you can't do that against a side like Spurs. And even though that was in the first half, I knew they were going to come at us in the second.
And had I lost my second bet, I'd have been happy because it would have meant we didn't lose. I figured it was a no lose situation for me.
And hands up, I was actually surprised. Maybe it's just that I've read or heard things wrong, but I thought we were going to go out today and have a real go.
But this isn't me complaining, I've written for years and years that I'll take a boring 1-0 win every week, because it's a win. But we didn't go for it today and again, against a side like Spurs, if you sit back and don't go for it, you're going to find it hard.
And I think for a few today, they're going to see this as a wake up call. We took too long on the ball, we gave it away too easily and we were not exactly purposeful with our passing.
But there are positives. Mings and Engels, despite us sitting back and conceding three, looked good together. McGinn looks like he belongs. Heaton made a couple of very good saves and looks solid. And the players gave 100% in what they were asked to do. And I know that Dean Smith will have learnt today that you can't do this in this League.
And again, that's why I'm surprised. Because he know this. I know this, you know this. We all know this. But we did it despite knowing this.
But it's early in the season. We didn't start with the eleven I think we'll start with when everyone is ready and sometimes, even if you know or think you know something, it's actually got to happen before you learn.
I'm not disappointed but neither am ecstatically happy. Things are good and they can only get better and I know they will. Now it's time for a beer or two and to look forward to Bournemouth at Villa Park next weekend.