If I'm going to write and highlight when things are not going as hoped, I've got to write when that changes and yesterday, it was better. It was almost like when Stevie G took over. Not much more or different than that, but it is a reason to be positive today. There was a little more fight. And with Ings and Watkins both starting.
Because of the win yesterday we also moved above Leicester and at the start of the season had we known we'd finish the season above Leicester and only that, most would have taken it. I think I would have. And talking of Leicester, that's another demonstration of what success in Scotland means in the Premier League.
But yesterday was nice. Defeat would have made things feel not very nice today and it almost feels like the win yesterday gives the manager plenty of time again. I think we really do want to be optimistic by default, I think as Aston Villa fans though, we know how it feels to be let down and because it's happened so many times before, we recognise the signals and signs.
But we want Gerrard to do well and that win yesterday sets us up perfectly for Southampton next weekend. They might be five points ahead of us but we have a game in hand. If you also look at the last six games, they've picked up 11 points to our eight so even though Southampton are doing well at the moment, if we beat them and win our game in hand and we're above them and everything in the garden is then rosey.
And that is how we need to look at the past few weeks and the few to come. Yes, we have to focus on the next match but we need to understand the context. Context is everything. And that leads me to my final thought of the day and it's about Everton.
The Championship isn't that bad
Everton are one of those sides that have always been in the Premier League and you sort of think of them as too big to go down. I guess many thought that about us before we went down. And now they've got their own version of Steven Gerrard, they find themselves one place and one point above the relegation zone. I've got an eye on Everton because they've taken the same gamble as us, but for different reasons.
I should also say I don't think Everton will go down but if I was an Everton fan, I might be quite nervous at the moment wondering why did we hire Frank Lampard. For the record as an aside, Frank Lampard talks with passion and I like that a lot, but he's got his job, not because of experience, but because of the old boy network and I don't like that.
On current form (last six games) they are in the bottom three, ahead of Leeds and Brentford and if you look at the last eight games, they're only above Brentford. It simply has to be nervous times for them and much like I wonder if Steven Gerrard is our long term manager, there will be some Everton fans wondering if Frank the Bank will be the manager for that much longer at Everton.
I will say this to Everton fans and it's not nice to think about but it is true. You're not going to win the Premier League any time soon and if you do happen to be relegated, you'll enjoy winning more than you lose in the Championship. It's actually not that bad, the world doesn't end and nothing really changes.