It was an interesting game yesterday and one that was great to win. However, it was hardly a performance that will inspire. But it's one game into a season and the new players, or those that have come from overseas, will now know it's different to playing in France and that the tempo is quite different.
But, it was the first game and despite the pre-season and the hype, we should have known that things were not going to be as great as maybe we all thought. But it will and not many teams inspire after the first game.
Okay, some managers can inspire instantly and some players don't need that much time to gel or get up to speed. But some do and that doesn't mean that they're not going to be great players. And we got three points and that's all that matters.
But, I will say only because I can, that the mistakes from Guzan and Richards were basic footballing errors and they have to be nipped in the bud. I will also say that if Westwood is going to continue to take the corners for Aston Villa then Aston Villa need to put someone in front of the opposition defender that is now standing and waiting for the ball, aware that so many end up there.
The other option of course is to have someone else take the corners or actually work on them in training - I see very little movement so can't for the life of me imagine that work gets done on corners. But that's written now.
Rudy Rudy Rudy
And there is an irony; the goal came from a Westwood corner. It made it over the first man and on his debut after coming on as a substitute, Rudy Gestede scored with his head ... something he did quite a lot of at Blackburn.
He scores with his head because he's a big man and he'll score more like that for us this season, but he's not just a battering ram apparently. I don't care if he is or isn't and I'm sure he'll be able to score with his feet and hold the ball up well, but all that matters are the wins and he's a big lad, so why not play to his advantages.
But I've got a feeling that Gestede is going to become a liked player at Aston Villa. As for the other new players, nobody stood out but that doesn't matter. As a team we didn't concede and as a team we scored. We got three points and everything else will come together in time.