Ponky

4 weeks ago I would have been pessimistic with this match but I think our form has turned around incredibly since the Spurs game and that 3-man attacking midfield is lethal. However, I would play 4-5-1 in this one, with NRC alonside Petrov and Young, Milner & Downing pushing forward to support Gabby.

9-1 might be one of the worst things to have happened to Spurs this year. Nothing seems quite so easy now by comparison does it?

It's 4.15 am. How the hell am I supposed to get to sleep after that!

Highlights. 1. Villa win at OT with a superb performance from each player. 2. Fergies' chewing gum flying out of his mouth whilst screaming at the 4th official about 'only' 3 minutes time added 3. Rooney's yellow card for diving. Lowlights: 1. Martin Atkinson. In a league of utter turds who pass for referees surely this man's performance was a turd's puke in a bowl of turd soup. 2. Warnock's injury. Hope it's not serious because I think he is not far off becoming our most valuable player. And a special dedication to those Villa fans who faithfully trudge off to Old Trafford year in year out to support the boys - this one's for you!

Agree we need to attack - we have been a bit unlucky not get another 1 0r twp but we have had some luck up the other end. We need Milner to come out of his shell a little. Warnock playing with great heart. If we are still in front at 75mins I would say sub Heskey for NRC and try to control midfield a little better.

All in all, I would be stoked to come away from that place with a point, no matter how many injuries they have.

Yes but what worries me is the above discussion about Everton and freak injuries. Cahill and his glass legs are all that really stand between us and World Cup oblivion :?

This is exactly what we did 2 seasons ago and we were on the end of a 4-0 thrashing!

What was Dunne even doing there for his goal? Only saw fits and starts on the stream, but they didn't really look capable of penetrating our defence. Seems like a bit of confidence is starting to creep into our attacking play.

Anything happening yet?

I think this was an extremely good analysis: David Pleat's tactical report: Aston Villa v Tottenham Hotspur

Interesting and I agree with you but would also say Carlos took a big step forward the day he played alongside Clark - ie in a leadership role. I hope for him that he gets a chance to show the Spain selectors what he can do in a friendly or something before the World Cup.

I agree with that on the whole but there is one caveat to that I would add in that it remains to be seen how Collins would deal with a striker like Defoe. So far Collins has excelled for us against the likes of Drogba but we are yet to see if he can handle the smaller more mobile threat of a striker like Defoe who could cause him problems with his movement. I rather suspect that Ceullar is better equiped to deal with this kind of opponent and so like you right say with Collins in regards ability on the ball has a distinct advantage. One thing is for sure its nice to have decent options in that position so we can potentiallu (when fit) pick players best suited to dealing with the opposition we are facing. I agree with this. He took Tevez to the cleaners at OT last season and has given Torres very little when he has played on him. He is probably our third best CB in the air but probably the best on the ground and probably the best tackler of all of them.

1-1 was fair. We created a lot of opportunities but didn't really turn them into chances. Spurs had plenty of opportunities but couldn't crack our defence. The ref gave Spurs everything he refused to give us & the Defoe handball was the only real benefit of the doubt he gave us all night. I have no problem with the Dawson goal but I reckon Assou-Ekoto cleared the ball off the line with his arm just before Gabby scored and a red card there might have changed things (although we'd have missed the penalty!)

0-0 or 1-1 for me.

It's like "Candyman". Stand in front of a mirror and say "Spurs are Shit" three times and Glaston will appear behind you and stab you to death with a huge rebuttal.

**Hopes for a Gareth Bale start**

How quickly do you reckon 'Arry would jump off the Spurs wagon if offered Liverpool?

Tott 9-1 Wigan Tott 2-0 Sunderland Arse 3-0 Tott Tott 2-0 Everton Tott 0-1 Stoke Ports 1-2 Tott Not exactly consistent or one a roll really. Make no mistake, Tottenham are a very good attacking team and can put teams to the sword seemingly with ease, one thing we fail to do time and again. But some of those goals Wigan conceded were laughable. Spurs defence is mentally and physically brittle - something we can exploit if we are good enough to take our chances. This isn't really true. For most of the season so far Wooodgate and Dawson have been injured. King and Bassong have also been injured for about half our games. That's effectively what I mean by physically brittle though. Trip over a blade of grass and Woodgate's out for 6 weeks.

Tott 9-1 Wigan Tott 2-0 Sunderland Arse 3-0 Tott Tott 2-0 Everton Tott 0-1 Stoke Ports 1-2 Tott Not exactly consistent or one a roll really. Make no mistake, Tottenham are a very good attacking team and can put teams to the sword seemingly with ease, one thing we fail to do time and again. But some of those goals Wigan conceded were laughable. Spurs defence is mentally and physically brittle - something we can exploit if we are good enough to take our chances.

Could not agree more. We need to approach this match like we did the Chelsea and Citeh games. Anything less will not do. Luckily, I can't make this game - like I missed the Bolton game - so we'll probably win. :winkold: We played 4-4-2 against Citeh and Chelsea...

I would suggest that if we had a 'shots off target' count Sidwell's name would be right up there. He gets plenty of looks on goal but his finishing is woeful at the moment.

They kind of looked all over the place but I think Downing mostly stayed left and Milner Young & Gabby kind of swapped in and out of each other's positions. Then Milner was up front for a bit, Young in middle and Gabby out wide right, before Milner went to RB. I have to say this season when Gabby has gone out to the right wing he has impressed me with how much he has improved in that position.

Milner went to right-back when Heskey came on. I think we were by far the superior team in the second half, no coincidence Burnley were also more threatening with gale force winds behind them. We deserved a point in the sense that we created more than enough half-chances and one or two clear chances before Heskey scored. Friedel was probably our best. Warnock, Cuellar and probably Gabby looked the only ones really up for it today. By God you have some shit weather in England!!! Does the fact that our boys train in a heated, undercover training ground put us at a disadvantage in conditions like that?

Too many players with their heads not in the game. **** awful officiating. Worse than WWE refs.