Have I told you before that I quite like a drink? I don't mean that I need to drink, but I enjoy a drink. By that I mean that if we go to the pub, I'm not leaving after two or three, unless I need to go back to work, I'm there until I need to go home. Well, last night I opened a bottle of red by accident and then one thing led to another.
Something I need to get out of the way I think is that I'm in my late 40's so when I went to lunch 20 years ago, it was to the pub over the road and it was 2 or 3 pints, pretty much every day. I've got a feeling that isn't too common these days, but it was back then. It was great. It's how we should all work and in truth, it is how I work because I'm no longer in my 20s and well, it's a good way to work.
Anyway, the wine I opened was one of an ordered batch and when I say accident, it really was, because it only just arrived and I'd just not put it away so it was sat on the side with lots of other bottles. It wasn't an accident that I opened a bottle, it was an accident that I opened that bottle because it was one of those bottles that I was hoping to save and enjoy with friends, not just myself.
And accident is just my way of making an excuse for me playing music too loud at 1am this morning and dancing around my living room. You see, it wasn't the wine, it was the grappa that pushed me over the edge. And this is a long way of saying that we've got to act like grown ups and stop making excuses and that we never intend to be rude or do wrong, it just sometimes happens.
And this isn't me leading to anything, this is just me writing and seeing where it goes and drinking coffee. I started this post three hours ago and I'm struggling. So now I'm going to get it done.
Weekly football news in a few paragraphs
Sam Allardyce is back in management at Leeds and has he lost it already? Did you hear what Sam said? I thought Leeds would just survive relegation, before Sam took over. Right now, I'm not sure.
Brighton beat Manchester United last night so we've found ourselves dropping a place and now, I think, if the season ended today, we'd not be playing in Europe next season. That said there are four games to go and I think we can finish top seven. I think it's our destiny.
Finally, this isn't news it's a rumour, but Barcelona Director of Football Mateu Alemany is leaving Barcelona at the end of June. The rumour is, he's coming to Aston Villa. If true, it's actually hard to describe how this could impact the Club. It could be huge. It could be what triggers a number of new players. It could be what propels us into the top four.
I used the word 'could' a few times there because I'm not convinced. It could, but I don't think it's ever one thing. I think the manager is the most important person at the Club and it's his decisions, his way of working and his ability to manage that make it happen but he also needs the right people around him and maybe Mateu Alemany is one of those guys he needs around him.
If it happens, this really could be an exciting summer and next season. That written, things are heading in the right direction and I like what the manager is doing and we have to assume he was consulted, maybe even suggested, but for sure he has to be onboard with it.
Wolves tomorrow
So, all that written, it's Wolves tomorrow and we need to win. It would also be nice to see Spurs lose against Palace and Brighton lose to Everton on Monday, but with Everton probably going down, I think we need to put all our eggs on Spurs continuing their slide this season.
So, that written, some stats from the BBC ahead of the match tomorrow.
- Wolves are unbeaten in their past four Premier League games against Aston Villa (W2 D2), last having a longer run without defeat against them in the league between April 1957 and August 1961 (eight games).
- Villa's 1-0 loss at Manchester United on Sunday ended a 10-game unbeaten run in the Premier League and was the first time they've failed to score in 21 league games under Unai Emery. Villa last lost consecutive league games in February (a run of three).
- Ollie Watkins has scored seven away goals in the league this season, including in his past six such games. Only three Villa players have scored more in a campaign – Dean Saunders (eight in 1994-95), Dwight Yorke (nine in 1997-98) and Christian Benteke (eight in 2012-13).