There were plenty of times last season when we heard moaning about half our squad being out on loan, and admittedly it was quite hard to keep track of with John Carew at Stoke, Barry Bannan and Eric Lichaj at Leeds, Andi Weimann at Watford, Brad Guzan at Hull, Nathan Delfouneso at Burnley, Stephen Ireland at Newcastle, Curtis Davies at Leicester, Jonathan Hogg at Portsmouth, Shane Lowry at Sheffield United - did I forget anyone?

But it certainly seems to have done some of our youngsters the world of good, which can only be a good thing for the club in the long run. Eric Lichaj and Andi Weimann demonstrated on Tuesday night just how much the experience has improved their game, with Lichaj grabbing his first goal and Weimann being desperately unlucky to be denied by the crossbar.

Both were incredible popular amongst their respective loan team's fans last season. Simon Grayson was reported in the Yorkshire Evening Post to be incredibly keen to have Lichaj back at Leeds this season, and the Leeds' fans would have welcomed him back with open arms, not least so they could steal pizza off him again! Lichaj himself certainly seemed to have enjoyed the experience, telling the same paper "Everyone has been great, the players, the coaching staff and fans. Playing the amount of games has probably been the best thing. It's the longest stretch in my career and it's good to get that under my belt."

There's a similar story at Watford, with Malky Mackay saying "Andi was fantastic from the minute he arrived at the club. Obviously he is from a Premier League club, he is only 19 and he is Austrian so with all those different factors, to immediately adapt to another group of players shows the character of the boy. He became an immensely popular character at the club and I think whether it was coming off the bench or if he started, he really contributed for us in terms of his whole game", and Weimann telling the Watford Observer "I enjoyed my time at Watford so much, it was a brilliant time. I would definitely like to come back. I want to play for Aston Villa in the Premier League, that is my first target. But if I am not going to have the chance to play then I would definitely want to go out on loan again and would definitely like to come back there [Watford].”

 The experience of lower league football and the additional game-time they both enjoyed last season seemed quite evident in both of their performances against Hereford United, where they both displayed a maturity that perhaps was lacking this time last year. Watching them both in the youth and reserve games previously, they've shown great promise and potential, but on Tuesday night neither of them looked like kids playing. They looked like they were meant to be there. They stood out, not for their youthfulness and inexperience but for the strong and positive performances they both delivered.

The loan system works remarkably well for players like Lichaj and Weimann, who are incredibly talented young players who could use some experience and game-time to enhance and improve their game, and in turn can contribute greatly to the clubs they go on loan to. They both seem to have thoroughly enjoyed the experience and their loan clubs seem to have loved having them. Of course it does help that they both seem so damn likeable.