Watching the brilliant game on Saturday between Fulham and Aston Villa — two shining examples of entertaining English football clubs outside of the Big Four, I decided to try something I occasionally do. I turned off the volume.

The results were remarkable.

Believe it or not, but you get to “see more of the game” with the volume turned off because you’re not limited by only what the commentator points out – which is usually the obvious. You’re not distracted by what the commentator says. Instead, you’re able to focus more intently on the game and find it easier to identity tactics, formations and players

Instead of being force-fed pointless statistics that really mean nothing at all and serve only to fill dead air, watching a game with the sound turned off forces your brain to pay more attention to the game so you, yourself, can make your own observations. A perfect example would be a incident in the penalty area. It’s so easy to be led by the co-commentators opinion. With the sound off, it’s easier to develop your own objective view regarding whether the incident should have been a penalty or not.

To me, watching a game of football in silence is like watching moving pictures in a dream-like state or a wonderful silent movie where you get to focus on the art of football. It worked magically for the Fulham against Villa game so my mind could isolate those deft touches. Plus, I found myself getting more absorbed in the game. Sometimes when I’m watching a match, the commentary literally lulls me to sleep.

It’s rare that football commentators are actually commentating from the stadium itself these days. Instead they’re in a studio in west London seeing the same thing you’re seeing. So, try it once to see if you like it. Don’t worry. You can always turn the audio on for those times when you feel you may want to hear their insight such as why subs are used.

PS — I tried doing the same thing for the Hull against Stoke match, but it didn’t work because the football wasn’t as dazzling as the brand offered at Craven Cottage. Don’t get me wrong. I enjoyed the match with the Tigers, but it was better with the commentary switched on because the match itself wasn’t beautiful to watch.