What we learnt as Aston Villa fans after Liverpool defeat and Mourinho’s mind-games

Paul Lambert had a minor run-in with Jose Mourinho on the sidelines during his side’s match against Chelsea (Getty Images)

Now that Sir Alex has retired there is a new Godfather in town. The culture that Sir Alex created appears to live on through Senor Mourinho as Steve Bruce made a lame attempt not to look star-struck this week. Contrast, for example, the attitude of Bruce and Lambert as they took their teams to play Chelsea. Fawning Steve Bruce had wittered on pre-match about getting extra tickets for his family to meet Jose, the celebrity football manager, whilst Paul Lambert was revving up his boys for battle and declaring, “We’ll give it a right good go!”

During the match itself, when Hull and Villa were losing, Bruce was laughing and joking on the touch-line with Jose, and Lambert was gesturing madly to the ref and driving his team on. After the game Lambert didn’t let up, he had a ‘conversation‘ with Kevin Friend and continued to fight for his players in the presser. Steve Bruce, meanwhile, was grinning from ear to ear like the village idiot. He really couldn’t have looked happier.

I really wish managers like Steve Bruce would show some dignity, if not for themselves then at least for their fans. I hate to see managers laughing and joking when their team are losing, and at least with Paul Lambert, Villa fans know that he is going to fight for the club. Vamos Lambert!

We are transfer window addicts

I don’t know many Villa fans who are not totally addicted to the transfer window by now. It’s intoxicating. That feeling when you see a new player holding a Villa shirt, reading their first interviews, following them on twitter, looking at scouting reports of a player we ‘might’ have inquired for. Thankfully, however, we are coming towards the end of the transfer window and perhaps we all need a break from the gossip and the rumours, or a stint in rehab.