Forget Ryan's lovers' tiff with Brighton - let's get on and put five past Crystal Palace

While many of us would have expected better from Ryan, him basically calling the Albion a steppingstone before going on to bigger and better things wasn’t the sort of exclusive that’s going to win media awards.

Players come, players go, Ryan arrived after his predecessor David Stockdale thought the grass was greener in the Midlands, Maty helped the Albion survive in the EPL in their first three seasons but talk of him being an Albion legend are grossly misplaced.

The Albion now have a far better option in Robert Sanchez, and Ryan is basically surplus to requirements. He’d possibly been goaded into saying what he said, but that’s the nature of the business.

Talk that his revelation has polarised the Albion support is a tad exaggerated. He’s moaned in the press, he’s not the first he won’t be the last, wherever he ends up, everyone wishes him the best, and I’m sure deep down, while he acknowledges that his Albion career is all but over, in years to come, he will regret doing the interview.

Meanwhile on the pitch the Albion entertained Aston Villa on Saturday night at the Amex hoping to make it back-to-back home EPL wins. A one-sided contest doesn’t even get near describing the 90 minutes: 24 hots on goal, eight of them on target, nearly 60% possession in the second, yet unbelievably a goalless draw.

But it was a goalless draw which had me leaving the Amex with renewed optimism. Things have turned round, as has previously been said, and for myself and the other former members of the ‘Potter Out’ faction it has required an admission that our concerns were misplaced. Basically, this is the best squad ever to don the shirts of Brighton and Hove Albion in their 120-year history, and there’s been much talk on social media this week about who is the greatest manager to date in the club’s history.

Currently there are a number of candidates - that said if this current squad, with some notable acquisitions along the way, fulfils its potential it will be an open and shut case with Potter being the clear winner.

His stock can certainly go up next Monday evening when deadliest rivals Crystal Palace arrive at the Amex. Relatively recent events have put the Albion into pub quiz territory as being the only side in professional football in the UK to record three consecutive home league wins over three years, but that fact will be temporarily forgotten if all three points are won against the Eagles.

Prediction time, and more of the same is required from what we saw on Saturday with one significant change - in our finishing.

I’m thinking back to Oct 2002 and a 5-0 defeat at Selhurst - perhaps one of the lowest points in my and many other supporters' Albion lives - but I’m going big and totally the other way this time, Albion 5 Palace 0. Bring it on!