Then again, injured or not there wasn’t much excuse for what happened on Tuesday night. Palace is a doghole of a place to get to at any time and when you do get there the team hardly ever turn up. We did at least start off brightly but then from their first attack, a sentence which is starting to write itself, Palace scored. We picked up a bit and got the ball into the net but VAR intervened. If that wasn’t enough, the team came out for the second half with Robin Olsen in goal. The omens were not good.

They were a bit better when Morgan Rogers equalised and with some of our big hitters to call on from the bench the rest of the match looked promising. Or not, as the case may be. Three Palace goals, nothing at the other end and even more infuriatingly it gave the Palace little drummer boys something to get excited about.

We’ve got a lot of injuries and some of the players who are fit could do with a rest. That, though, only tells part of the story. Too often this season the team’s looked disjointed and a few of the players are running out of last chances. When the midweek games had finished we were tenth in the table; if we’d won we’d have been fifth. That’s how tight the league is and we can’t keep wasting these opportunities.

There’s a nice story about James Chester. It doesn’t say anything we didn’t know already – playing when he shouldn’t have probably cut his career short and caused him other problems – but it’s good to see it recognised. A few players since then should bear in mind what he did for us.

Semi-automated offside technology will be in operation against Cardiff. Whatever it might be, it won’t do us any favours.

Not that it was needed as we eased our way into the FA Cup quarter-finals without fuss or drama. Unai picked a strong team and Martinez was playing, which always helps. What didn’t help was the keeper at the other end, who was infused with the spirit of Lev Yashin (one for you older readers) for above an hour, pulling off the sort of saves that should only be made by a Villa keeper.

Then when we would normally be wondering what minute they would get their breakaway winner, Marcus Rashford squared a ball for Marco Asensio to put us into the lead. Ten minutes before the end Leon Bailey did the same to give Asensio his second goal and all that was left was the expected and deserved ovation at the end for Anwar El Ghazi, who had gone one better than normal big game daytrippers by bringing half & half sons. It’s still our year.

Goalkeepers are only going to be able to hold onto the ball for eight seconds from next season, a rule that will doubtless be as scrupulously observed as four steps and all the others.