Tottenham Hotspur v Aston Villa Post-Match Thread

[Greg N'Ash]

Mind, Redknapp made me laugh claiming they could win the league after playing us. Obviously still being wheened off the painkillers

[Concrete John]

As I said earlier, looking above us in the league, the only team that is a surprise is Newcastle, so we're sort of where I expected. Just crapper.

Pretty much sums it up for me!

[Mister E]

Despite some of the disasters last season, I'm beginning to pine for Houllier's brand of football. At least he tried to ensure the team passed to each other and picked players to do that.

Bear in mind the limp excuse for a team that GHou put out agin' Citeh in the Cup; equally reprehensible as last night's set-up.

[JJ-AV]

That's the worst outfield back 8 we've put out in years.

Cuellar, Dunne, Collins, Warnock, Herd, Heskey, Hutton are all complete cloggers. Petrov is past it. Gabby wasn't fully fit and Bent is woefully out of form (as shit as we were he should have had two).

The team selection was horribly negative, but the genuine lack of quality of our players last night was the most alarming.

We're seriously in need of some quality. We need one of Ireland, N'Zogbia or Bannan to get playing and find some form soon otherwise the Christmas months are going to be very long.

[glasses]

This season has reminded me a lot of when O'Neill took over from O'Leary in 07. The squad was pretty thin, lots of underperforming players from the previous season improving slightly, a big money summer signing not living up to the price tag, but an unbeaten run at the start of the season, however with a few too many draws.

It would be nice to think Randy would invest in January, and we can find another couple of Ashley Youngs and John Carews. Then have a couple of more than decent seasons.

Oh well.

[Mister E]

I said on Saturday that Swansea will be a really tough game: they play with precision, aggression and a defensice meanness  that requires subtlety to unlock.
We cannot go to their place with the same mindset as last night otherwise the embarrassment will grow into humiliation; and they will definitely believe that they can beat us - and well - on Sunday.

Given that many of Swnasea's players are on the short side, it is a wonderful opportunity to play our talented players - Bannan and perhaps Gardner should be considered for the midfield starting line-up; certainly no Hutton and Heskey in MF, at any rate.

[JJ-AV]

Mind, Redknapp made me laugh claiming they could win the league after playing us. Obviously still being wheened off the painkillers

Aim for the stars and you'll land on the moon...

The difference between us and Spurs is they think and act big. In the short term it might not make much of a difference and I used to like the relative lack of hype that surrounds us, but after years of us signing Dunne, Reo-Coker, Ireland and Harewood while they got Gallas, Modric, Van Der Vaart and Berbatov I've started to realise how much of a difference making a noise can make.

That's before we even begin to compare how the two clubs contrast in their methods for identifying and appointing a manager.

[john e]

This season has reminded me a lot of when O'Neill took over from O'Leary in 07. The squad was pretty thin, lots of underperforming players from the previous season improving slightly, a big money summer signing not living up to the price tag, but an unbeaten run at the start of the season, however with a few too many draws.

It would be nice to think Randy would invest in January, and we can find another couple of Ashley Youngs and John Carews. Then have a couple of more than decent seasons.

Oh well.

to be honest Glass, i dont even care about investing in players in Jan, because we all know the sort of players AM likes, and they will still play in the same style,

[garyshawsknee]

Quote from AM:

"We played Carlos and Alan on the right. I just wanted to tighten things up a bit and I still think that was the right thing to do"


It's going to be a long long season

That quote is worrying. Playing two players who aren't the best on the ball is poor judgement. Surely you want their players defending more,so playing Nzogbia or Albrighton would be a better bet.

It's show Mccleishs natural instinct as a manager.

Swansea have attacking wide players,so will he do the same next week? I can see possession being 70 to 30 % again,this is all so expected and depressing.

[TimTheVillain]

Last night was a disgrace.

I can't single out a player as they were all dire, individually and collectively.

Saying that, playing Heskey anywhere in the team shows how low we are at the moment.

I am VERY concerned about the future of our club.

[Greg N'Ash]

Not much AM can do about the standard of players he's bought in with the budget available. Its similar to DOL's time in that respect - for every bargain like Laursen or Given, you're gonna have a hell of a lot of journeymen  like Hutton and McCann. Needs to look abroad a bit more though

[asgpaul]

McLeish lived up to every ounce of his reputation for negativity tonight.

It was thoroughly embarrassing.

Spot on - AM was totally clueless, selection, tactics, substitutions.

Wasn't the defeat itself, but the manner of it. 

[cheadlevilla]

have had some time to consider last night..... its not got better!
We are a team of donkeys, lead by a donkey wiyh a disinterested donkey master in charge, whos main concern is cutting the carrot bill.
I cant see how things are going to get better, and with the most boring sterile football ive seen at VP for years, the crowds will tumble like the aftermath of a Heskey sprint forwards
The whole defence needs to be benched... why does James Collins play wearing spats? why does Warnock put zero effort into representing our club
I think we've reached a turning point and I am worried.........

[SamTheMouse]

I have this recurring image in my head of Sir Alex, sitting in a big black chair, stroking a white cat and saying: "Ahhhh. Another potential enemy vanquished, Tiddles".

[Merv]

It was always going to be games like this that showed McLeish up. His mentality is still very much about being cautious, containing, not playing football - you'd imagine him taking his Birmingham side to WHL hoping and planning for a stalemate. But we're Villa, and we expect to go to Spurs and compete, and show a lot more than we did.

The formation was awful; I read it and knew we were finished. Don't see the point of playing Cuellar at RB and Hutton just in front; that says, to me, that he doesn't have enough faith to start Hutton at RB, as usual, and yet he doesn't have enough faith either in Cuellar. So, he starts with a player not totally comfortable at RB, being shadowed by a RB in RM.

He should have just stuck with Hutton at RB, and if he'd wanted extra cover, gone with Herd at right midfield, who has the legs to stay with Bale but also contribute going forward. OR my own preference, which would have seen Albrighton right midfield. He's got the legs, the pace and the heart to have tracked Bale when needed, but also would have forced Bale backwards and to defend by getting forward as much as possible.

You'll have to go a long way to see a worse starting midfield in the PL today than Hutton-Petrov-Herd-Heskey. And when the bench has midfield options in Bannan, Ireland, Delph and N'Zogbia (not to mention Clark) just sitting there, all overlooked by the manager, you know something is deeply wrong.

But that's the manager's mindset. He doesn't see it. Not sure he will. Grit your teeth and cross your fingers, everyone, because it's about to get rough.