Tottenham Hotspur v Aston Villa Post-Match Thread

[Proposition Joe]

I think the post-2nd goal wrist slashing has clouded the performance overall up to their first.  I thought we were equal if not slightly better, given Benteke should have given us the lead.  But AVB really has them set up as a counterattacking team and the lucky goal played exactly into their hands.

The problem is, though, teams just know that even if they're in the lowest gear, just keep plugging away and Villa will gift you a goal.

[ez]

Was anyone else halfway off their seat as Benteke met that cross? Ho hum.

Like last week when he robbed the ball and advanced on goal before not scoring?

Benteke and Gabby were both poor today. I don't see that pairing delivering many goals.

[Malandro]

Some of your expectations are far too low.

most people seem spot on with their predictions

[Richard Richard]

McLeish got more out of a much more limited squad.

Fuck.

WE NEED MORE.

Posting so soon after a defeat is probably not best for you mate, give it a few hours next time or you may come out with something as insane as this again.

Insane?!

Buddy, we lost to West ham and got walloped by Southampton.. where do you expect to get wins?

Results, and only results, matter.

I can't believe were even having this conversation tbh, McCleish got absolutely nothing out of his team. Look at the same fixtures post match thread from last season.

[PaulWinch again]

We weren't that bad at the start of the second half, but you cannot miss the chances that we missed against a good side.

[mrfuse]

McLeish got more out of a much more limited squad.

Fuck.

WE NEED MORE.

Posting so soon after a defeat is probably not best for you mate, give it a few hours next time or you may come out with something as insane as this again.

Insane?!

Buddy, we lost to West ham and got walloped by Southampton.. where do you expect to get wins?

Results, and only results, matter.

Yet we drew against Newcastle beat swansea and Man city and drew against Albion something that would not have happened last season! It was never going to be instant fix after the the tosh of last season. weve got the right Manager weve just got to take any small positive at this point and for me its were trying to play football again

[PeterWithesShin]

McLeish got more out of a much more limited squad.

Fuck.

WE NEED MORE.

Posting so soon after a defeat is probably not best for you mate, give it a few hours next time or you may come out with something as insane as this again.

Insane?!

Buddy, we lost to West ham and got walloped by Southampton.. where do you expect to get wins?

Results, and only results, matter.

Last season we lost 2-0 at Spurs without even trying to get a result. We also lost at home to Swansea and Albion and at Newcastle.

[villa `cross the mersey]

For all of us that thought it couldn`t be any worse than the "Scottish Manager"- Is Lambert any better? He seems just as tactically inept as McLeish and with a similar stubborn streak. Fitness wise we seem to run out of steam in every game.
I have a feeling that Bent will be replaced by Holt in January  - Its all very well saying its early days and all that shit but we really do look poor and I faill to see where the improvement is gonna come from in this squad of players.

[nick harper]

We are in dire need of a DM, who wins the ball for us in midfield ? I was 10% optimistic we could win here but the other 90% was proved right.Patience and the holding of nerves are going to prove a real test for us fans, but what choice have we got ? Any one else think Chris Herd could have played today ?

Been saying that since before the season started. El Ahamdi is not that player and Herd isn't good enough either. We are poor through the middle.

[PaulWinch again]

For all of us that thought it couldn`t be any worse than the "Scottish Manager"- Is Lambert any better? He seems just as tactically inept as McLeish and with a similar stubborn streak. Fitness wise we seem to run out of steam in every game.
I have a feeling that Bent will be replaced by Holt in January  - Its all very well saying its early days and all that shit but we really do look poor and I faill to see where the improvement is gonna come from in this squad of players.

I think that's a bit dramatic, there is a tactical plan but we have a lot of inexperienced players and are struggling. The idea of not selecting Bent is crazy though.

[Richard Richard]

I think the post-2nd goal wrist slashing has clouded the performance overall up to their first.  I thought we were equal if not slightly better, given Benteke should have given us the lead.  But AVB really has them set up as a counterattacking team and the lucky goal played exactly into their hands.

Absolutely, we were very comfortable up until that fluke of a goal, then it was only after that they looked better than us.

[Lee]

In a very James May voice .... cock!

[ktvillan]

I think we are far from shit but unless we convert our good play into goals and points we will be right in the shit.  We looked good for a draw until they got the spawniest goal you will ever see, and the second was a bit unlucky too, going through Bennett's legs.

However the substitutions left us a shapeless mess with a huge gap between attack and defence.   I think it was over then, even before we went down to 10 men, and it shows Lambert may not be as brilliant tactically as we sometimes give him credit for.

I think Benteke needs to be eased in with a few sub appearances - he doesn't look entirely ready to me and has missed sitters in 2 or 3 games now.  I don't care that he gets more involved than Bent, Bent puts the ball in the net and should start. 

[django]

I only saw the last 15 minutes, from when Bennet was injured, so I haven't got much to judge it on today but I've seen most games this season.

Today was always going to be difficult, they have better players in every position in the team and that's true of  Man Utd/City, Arsenal, Chelsea, Arsenal, Everton. 6 teams who i'd be shocked if we got anything from.

Theres another bracket of teams with, Newcastle, Sunderland, Liverpool, Stoke, where some of our individual players might be on a par but overall their squads look stronger. These are games where realistically you'd be happy with a point from.

Then there are the group I feel we are amongst, West Brom, Fulham, Swansea, West Ham, QPR, Ideally you want to be winning these games but again realistically they would think the same about us. Our games against West Brom, Swansea, West Ham suggest our results will be a mixed bag.

Below us there's a slightly weaker group of squads, Norwich, Southampton, Reading, Wigan who you would expect to battle relegation. I make this only four teams where I would actually expect us on the balance of probability to win these games. As the Southampton result indicates, even these aren't bankers because there isn't enough of a difference in quality between us and them.

I think this is a fair enough assessment of our relative strength compared with the other teams in our league and it isn't too reassuring. I think we have got a great manager and I think ultimately his method of strengthening the squad looks like the way forward, signing players with potential and developing the young players who we already have. But it does look a squad that's desperately short on quality. I'm not surprised or too disappointed with todays result because it just seems a true reflection on where we are, but I feel we will need to start picking up some wins from the teams in our group VERY soon if the pressure isn't going to build on us again. Due to the make up of our team, which is built for long term development, and financial prudence, we are made up of young players and players without much premier league experience and I think it makes us particularly vulnerable to suffering under the pressure in the immediate short term.

I'm not panicking, but I think LAmbert has a massive job on his hands, bigger than I initially thought.

[PeterWithesShin]

For all of us that thought it couldn`t be any worse than the "Scottish Manager"- Is Lambert any better? He seems just as tactically inept as McLeish and with a similar stubborn streak. Fitness wise we seem to run out of steam in every game.
I have a feeling that Bent will be replaced by Holt in January  - Its all very well saying its early days and all that shit but we really do look poor and I faill to see where the improvement is gonna come from in this squad of players.

Did we run out of steam at home to Albion and Swansea or at Man City? How about comparing what we just saw to what was served up in the same fixture last season. Or are some people conveniently forgetting Hutton and Heskey in midfield?