Rain or Shine.. you'll always be...

"Rain or shine, you'll always be... one in a million, my fantasy come true"...

and: "System addict.....I never can get enough..."

One of my favourite bands of the eighties and good looking- (well, not the bloke).

I have the cd although it only comes out at Christmas.

Can't quite remember their name... wait a minute... yes...

Five Star.

Take away the League Cup wins of 1994 and 1996 and perhaps the semi-final FA Cup win over Bolton at Wembley in 2000, and I reckon Villa fans are currently enjoying their best sunshine week since their heydays of the early 1980s.

Bolton was good.

Derby was special.

But putting five past you know who..... simply delicious.

I tried to point out the enormity of the result to Martin O'Neill in a quiet moment some time after the final whistle.

"You do know that fans will be talking about this game in five, ten, 20 even 40 years time", I said.

Perhaps I had got a little carried away, but it was the joint-highest league win over Blues of all-time.

And fans still talk about that 5-1 win over Liverpool in December 1976.

"Well.... I won't be around then", he replied and smiled.

Not since November 1959 have Villa spanked more goals past three hapless clubs in succession.

Then it was Charlton (eleven), Bristol City (five) and Scunthorpe (five).

That's 67 goals for the season. Interestingly, that's just two less than O'Neill's Nottingham Forest scored when they won the title in 1978 after playing seven more matches.

Indeed the great Liverpool side of the late 1970s, arguably the greatest in my lifetime, won the title in 1977 having scored five less goals from seven more games. Of course their defence (in conceding 33) were somewhat more miserly than Villa's... but you get the picture.

You have to go back to 1935/36 when Villa last scored as many in a top flight season after 35 games of a season.

That just shows you how far O'Neill's revolution has come.

Ron Atkinson's dashing braves managed only 57 when they finished runners-up in 1992/93.

And yet it might count for little if they cannot get the better of Everton on Sunday in the fifth-place shoot-out to avoid a trip to Northern Ireland, Finland or Denmark in the InterToto.

Still, when you consider what happened to Villa the last time they hit 67 goals after 35 games it is a small price to pay.

72 years ago Villa finished second-bottom having conceded 110 goals and scoring 81.

Now that's entertainment!

As for Sunday's game.. Ashley Young was at times mesmeric. I have been critical of him on numerous occasions earlier in the season for looking for free-kicks. But that now looks behind him.

John Carew was superb, as was Gareth Barry... but you could hardly fault any of them.

Poor, poor Liam Ridgewell. He will not remember Villa's two victories of 2007/08 with much fondness.