GlastonSpur

Well, once again Villa play defence, defence, defence, sit deep ... counter-attack from time to time. It ain't pretty, but it's effective. And not for the first time this season Spurs batter the opposition goal but can't stick one in. Spurs were the better team by some margin, dominated possession, had easily the lion's share of attacking play, but Villa defended very well so I can't say you didn't just about deserve to get away with a draw. Spurs miss Lennon ... need him back pronto.

Without Lennon there is some truth in what you say. However Bale has plenty of pace as a wing-back and Defoe is also pretty quick (Jenas is also quick, but I'd expect Huddlestone to start ahead of him today.) I'm wondering if some Villa players will be somewhat distracted by your looming Wembley final and perhaps overly-keen to avoid an injury that might mean the missing the chance to play in that final? Any result is very possible in the game today. On balance I think that Spurs are more likely to win, with a draw being the 2nd most likely result. The first goal either way will be crucial. Hopefully Spurs will score first, making Villa abandon their counter-attacking game plan and commit to playing more of an attacking, open game. Otherwise, if Villa score first, it will be hard for Spurs to break you down in search of an equaliser and the pattern of play will more suit you scoring a 2nd on the counter.

He's been on loan at Sheffield Utd (the club who sold him) since then, so this is the first time he's been actually been with Spurs in any practical sense.

No, because you miss the point: I'm told that Spurs expenditure is "laughable" because we haven't yet finished top 4. Yet when Villa spend more than Spurs - as they have done in the last 2 years - but likewise have not yet finished top 4, it's apparently a different story, and doubtless will still be a different story if you don't finish top 4 time around. Personally, I don't regard either clubs spending as laughable and nor do I imagine that reaching top 4 is as easy as some seem to think. This is not the original post that I responded to. That's fine - my response to that original post has sparked your post, a post which again changes the line of attack, the earlier argument having been quietly abandoned. But to respond to your new argument: Yes, Villa have gotten closer than Spurs to top 4 in the last 2 years, but not as close as Spurs came in either of the 2 years previous to that. And in the last 2 years Spurs have at least won a trophy and we're currently sitting in 4th place ... so it's not all so bad eh? I've no idea what Villa's net spend has been during the last 4 years. If you say that Villa's is lower then I'll accept that to be the case.

Anyone who has been thrown off a Spurs site has done it themselves by seeking to: (a) sneak in under false pretences, with false motives and intentions. ( join a site that didn't want them, despite knowing the policy of that site I post here without seeking to tell lies about my allegiance, without seeking to break site policy and with a genuine interest in discussing football with rival fans. The ones who lack "cojones" are those who lack the guts to be open and honest. Moreover, I hear that at least one Villa fan temporarily gained access and posted a torrent of racist abuse before being thrown out. I don't know who that was, but I'm sure the Villa fan concerned does.

Here's the usual pre-match team news update from the Spurs OS: New arrivals Eidur Gudjohnsen, Younes Kaboul and Kyle Walker go straight into the squad for Saturday's big Premier League clash against Villa. Neither were available for Wednesday's FA Cup replay at Leeds United, although Eidur can now play in the fifth round at his former club Bolton. Younes and Kyle are cup-tied. Ledley King is fit again and both Luka Modric and Wilson Palacios come back into the frame after being on the bench for the 3-1 win at Elland Road. Roman Pavlyuchenko remains a doubt with a groin problem and although Aaron Lennon is also out with his groin injury, there is encouraging news on his progress. "He's getting closer," said Harry. "He's working with the fitness coaches at the moment. "He's not doing ball work yet but he's running again in straight lines and will soon be checking, twisting and turning again. He's on his way back." Benoit Assou-Ekotto (hip), Jonathan Woodgate (groin) and Carlo Cudicini (wrist, pelvis) remain sidelined. Meanwhile, in terms of the role of captain following Robbie Keane's loan departure to Celtic, Harry added: "Michael Dawson has been captaining the side and Ledley King can as well, it's not a massive problem. "They are both terrific characters and if it's not one of them, there are many other players who can do it. "Whoever takes the armband I've got faith in them to be able to carry out what I want from them on the pitch." I'd expect Spurs to line up with: ---------- Gomes ------ Corluka - Dawson - King - Bale Bentley - Palacios - Huddlestone - Modric ------- Defoe - Crouch

Net spend is pure bollocks? On the contrary, it's of vital importance to any club's balance sheet and is the best measure of overall expenditure: money out minus money in. And so what if Spurs had more saleable assets than Villa? It shows that Spurs transfer spending is not - contrary to the claim of the original poster - so "laughable" after all. PS. Harry wasn't at Spurs when Berbatov and Keane were sold.

Correct (amongst other player sales). Like it or not, player sales do actually factor into net spending ... so what is your point? A typical response. The original argument was the silly view are Spurs are "laughable" for spending a lot in recent years yet failing so far to reach top 4. When it's pointed out that Spurs have come closer to top 4 than Villa in these recent years, and when it's further pointed out that Villa have spent far more in net terms than Spurs in the last two years, and thus when that original argument is shot down, then ..... .... the original argument is dropped, the subject quietly changed and a new line of attack opened up. If you wish me to acknowledge that Villa have finished top 6 more times that Spurs during the Prem era, then I'm quite willing to (again) do so. Happy now? Unlike some on here, I don't shy away from facts, nor desperately seek endless, ground-shifting, argument-changing, subject-changing opportunities - usually based on false facts and silly claims - to rubbish rival clubs.

This is because our manager isn't a cheating, bung-taking, fraudulent word removed If Harry is responsible for Villa's large net expenditure over these two years, then his powers are truly far more than I imagined.

I believe you only posted it once. And yes, I did 'get it': Spurs always fall away into nothingness according to you. But the facts I stated show this to be untrue. So I'm not sure why you throw such stones when Villa have yet to come as close to 4th place in recent years as Spurs have, far less recently win a trophy. Again wrong. This pre-season, for example, I predicted 5th place for Spurs. And I have never in any pre-season, predicted 4th place for Spurs. You seem unable to distinguish between fact and fiction. I'd imagine that Villa have spent more in net terms than Spurs over the last two years. Should I therefore describe it as "laughable" if you don't finish top 4 this season, or beat Manchester Utd at Wembley? No. Presumably you think that finishing top 4 is easy ... good luck to you in that case. See above, if it's still unclear to you.

Two 5th places finishes, plus two Wembley appearances and a League Cup, all in the last 4 seasons, says otherwise. Those who live in glass houses .... We've finished in the top 6 the last two season and have reached one cup final which is yet to be decided. True. But then again I haven't chosen to describe this as "falling away into nothingness", because it isn't.

Two 5th places finishes, plus two Wembley appearances and a League Cup, all in the last 4 seasons, says otherwise. Those who live in glass houses ....

My point was - and is - obviously in response to the silly earlier comment that the Spurs back four "are very suspect. Corluka is an absolute shambles of a player ..." You must already know this, since you multi-quoted the posts concerned. So your question is entirely hollow.

All I've basically said is "As far as the race for 4th is concerned, Spurs are still well in it". If you don't think that's true, then it's you that spouting the "shite".

Your assessment doesn't really square with the facts. Spurs have the 5th best defence in the Prem so far in terms of goals conceded and have let in just 3 goals (all in away games) in the last 8 league games. And this is despite playing more attacking football than do many teams. Only one team has scored more than 1 goal at WHL in a league game all season, and that was Manchester Utd.

The 2 away wins I cited (from our last 8 away games) were at Blackburn (not Hull) and Pompey ... not that it especially matters. As far as the race for 4th is concerned, Spurs are still well in it. How can we succeed in finishing 4th? The answer is obviously by winning a large proportion of our remaining games, whether home or away. Will we do that? Who yet knows, but I certainly haven't written off our chances ... far from it. For example, City may have games in hand, but we beat them 3 - 0 at home and I wouldn't be so surprised if we go to Eastlands and beat them again. And Villa come to us this weekend, as you know. It's all up for grabs and I'm reasonably content with the position that Spurs are in right now.

Actually it's 2 wins away in the last 8 away games (Pompey and Blackburn), plus 4 draws, including draws away at Villa, Everton, Fulham and B'ham. Is that so bad? I'm also not sure why you are laughing - take a look at the table and figure that after next weekend Villa might need to gain 6 points on Spurs in order to overtake us in the table.

I think you'll be disappointed then, because it seems that Spurs have just tied up a deal for a defensive midfielder - the first fruits of our new partnership arrangement with the Brazilian club Internacional. His name is Sandro - Brazil's U-20 captain and now recently capped for their senior squad. Not sure of the fee - around 7m maybe, but that figure is yet to be confirmed. He should be at the Lane to watch our game against Wolves. Of course it remains to be seen how quickly (or not) he is brought into the first team matchday squad and how well he'll adapt to the Prem.

I'm not sure why this surprises you. Lennon is the best winger in the Prem, bar none.

Try improving your readings skiills: I haven't said I don't want any Villa fans on my forum. Instead I said that the policy of the forum is to restrict it to Spurs fans. I don't make the policy. There are other Spurs forums that do allow on other fans. Seek them out if you wish.

Pretty dead eh? As of just now .... VT: Our users have posted a total of 507,917 articles COYS: Our members have made a total of 2,669,062 posts

Look, the obvious reason why some forums wish to try and remain exclusive to their own fans is to avoid all the hassle of dealing with posters from other clubs whose main wish may be to just cause trouble and disruption. It's also the case that some forums already have a lot of members - the one in question here has nearly 11,000 - and may already need to temporarily exclude some of their own members (e.g. those with low post counts) at times of peak interest (e.g. transfer windows) in order to avoid strain on the server(s). I won't vouch for you because I chose to abide by the policy of the forum in question, namely that only genuine Spurs fans should be admitted, and even then only if, in the view of the vouchee, the fan in question would be a good addition to the forum. It's nothing personal.

Why can't it be a normal/standard forum? The answer is that it can be, it just choses not to be and it's not unique in this respect. But the real, super secret, super exclusive answer is that x!!@@@55555 because $+^^^@@zxxx is planning to 44|||@!!xxxx .... [Message truncates] [Message auto-edited by Internet-Screening Bot v. 4.31 to exclude classified information.]

It's a forum that choses to only accept (or at least tries to only accept) genuine Spurs fans. There are other forums for other clubs that adopt the same policy for their fans and there are understandable (and obvious) reasons for doing so. But there are other Spurs forums that don't have such a policy, just as VT doesn't have the same rigid policy. Both approaches have their pros and cons. The bottom line is that if you wish to join other (non Villa) forums then you can do so. Or if you don't, then fine. Either way I don't see why you are critical about it all.

Oh dear. Having a bad day are we?