GlastonSpur

That won't work. Any applicant has to be personally vouched for by an existing member and the vouching process does not use form-posting. The real question is: why would someone be so desperate to join a forum that clearly doesn't want them and clearly has a policy against them joining?

I've already said that Spurs deserved to lose. However, what I've said about the line-up and average age of the Spurs team remains correct. Yes, United also played a weakened team (more weakened than that of Spurs in relation to first choice XIs). But Park and Anderson are in their first team squad, as is Neville, as is Brown, as is their GK, as is Carrick (who came on later), and as were all of the players they fielded. They may not have been all first XI regulars, but they are in United first team squad - not United's reserve team, since that team plays in the Reserves League.

You know not of which you speak: King and Woodgate are the first-choice CBs. Your list of 7 is reduced to 5. Ah, shame ... you could always send a complaining letter to your MP. Or failing that, join MI5 and then infiltrate the forum using some newly learned, super exclusive, secret methods.

Yet another poster who prefers to try and make personal attacks rather than discuss football ... ho hum. On the subject of the game and League Cup this year: Spurs played tamely and deserved to lose because the players seemed to treat the game as a training session, with no real commitment, effort or passion. Spurs played with only 5 (or arguably 6) of their strongest XI, with an average team age that was lower than United's. However, given the tame performance delivered, Harry would have done better to field more of the younger players. At least they would likely to have busted a gut to impress. However, progress in any cup competition is often highly dependent on the luck of the draw: playing at Old Trafford is a rather different proposition than playing away at Pompey. Still, congratulations to Villa - you should now have a good chance of reaching the final, having been drawn against easily the weakest of the remaining teams.

This leaves out at least four things: 1) That managerial turmoil (the sacking of Jol and then Ramos) was seen as the major factor in the dip in Spur's league placings rather than any innate lack of squad quality. This was borne out by the dramatic improvement last season once Harry took over. Thus the media, rightly, were not fooled by the Ramos dip into thinking that Spurs would not be much improved this season. 2) That Spurs try to play attacking football, which tends to lead to more goals (both for and against) and makes for more entertaining games. The media like entertaining teams because entertainment (attracting attention) is what the media is all about. 3) That Harry is liked by the media (as was Jol), partly because he makes himself available more than most managers, and partly because of his extrovert personality. MON is much more introverted in comparison. 4) That Spurs tend to engage in more media-noteworthy transfer dealings compated to Villa: e.g. Berbatov to Man. Utd, Keane to Liverpool (then back to Spurs), Modric to Spurs after his exploits in the European Cup internationals (qualifers and finals) etc. I could also go back further and cite players like Ginola, Klinsmann, Gascoigne etc.

Except it didn't strike his arm, as the replays show clearly.

Well .... Typical Villa at the moment if I may say so: score from a set piece (a scrappy goal in this case), then sit back, defend well, well-organised and hope to hit on the counter ... it ain't pretty, but it's often effective. Spurs deserved to win, but didn't. All in all I'm happy enough with a point since Villa away is a tough fixture. We stay in 4th and at least preserve the gap between us and Villa. Plus you still have to come to WHL, where I think we'll win if - a big IF - both teams play at today's performance levels.

Spurs: Gomes, Corluka,Bassong,Dawson,Assou-Ekotto, Lennon, Huddlestone, Palacios, Kranjcar, Crouch, Defoe Subs: Alnwick, Bale, Hutton, Bentley, Jenas, Rose, Keane

Won't he be up against Young at LB?

The current voting on my home Spurs forum re. the predicted result is: Win (Spurs) = 47 votes, Lose = 25 votes and draw = 64 votes. I went for a draw myself. So there you have it ... startling news.

Spurs have no new injuries following the Wigan match: King and Cudicini remain out, and although he's now back in training it's too soon for Modric. Everyone else, now including Dos Santos, is available for selection. I'd guess Harry will make 2 or 3 changes changes from last week: Bassong in for Dawson (since otherwise, without King, we'd have little pace in the CB pairing to cope with the likes of Agbonlahor), maybe Keane instead of Crouch up front, and maybe the pacier and more energetic Jenas instead of Huddlestone in CM. So my guess would be: ------------ Gomes ------- Corluka - Woodgate - Bassong - Ekotto Lennon - Jenas - Palacios - Kranjcar ---------- Defoe - Keane Tbh, as long as Harry doesn't try to play Crouch, Defoe and Keane all at the same time, and sticks to 4-4-2, I don't mind too much which outfield players he choses to pick alongside Lennon, Palacios and Defoe.

OK. I've not heard of it, but it sounds intriguing.

1. Not correct. In fact Tottenham Hotspur plc has just a single non-executive director (Sir Keith Mills) and two executive directors (Daniel Levy and Matthew Collecott). 2) True. Plus the stadium is sold out for almost all games. Premier League gate receipts brought in £19.8m - plus £8.1m in gate receipts and prize monies for cup competitions - for the 12 months til June 2009. 3) True. The current shirt sponsorship deal is the 7th largest in football globally. And the total sponsorship package (including not just the shirts) is the 3rd largest in the Prem and includes: * A minimum of £34 million over the four seasons from Mansion for 2006-07 to 2009 10. This expires at the end of this season and the search for a new sponsor is all tied in with the new stadium plans (naming rights etc). * 20m over 5 years, from Feb. 2006, from Puma as technical sponsors. * Deals with Carlsberg and Ensleigh Insurance (I don't know how much for). In total sponsorship (plus corporate hospitality) brought in £27.4m for the 12 months til June 2009. 4) Often (but not always) true. This was especially the case during the 12 months til June 2009, and is the main reason why Spurs announced record pre-tax profits of £33.4 million. In addition: * Merchandising: £7m for the 12 months til June 2009. * Media and broadcasting revenues: £44.8m for the 12 months til June 2009. Spurs get chosen quite a lot - more than the average Prem club - for coverage in live televised games.

Anyone reading your "summary" - and not knowing the actual league table - would be amazed to discover that Spurs are just 3 points off 2nd place, despite having already played 4 games against last season's top 4 clubs. I guess you must imagine that Spurs have just luckily stumbled into this position. I'd say instead that the way Spurs usually set out to play - attacking football with a line-up of mostly attack-minded, capable players - means that although we'll get badly beaten here and there, we'll also stand a good chance of picking up all 3 points in plenty of other games. The key for Villa, City, Spurs and Liverpool - in the race for 4th - is not so much how many games they lose from here on, but rather more how many games they win (as distinct from just drawing).

I'm a bit surprised that some of you are so pessimistic. You'll be playing at home. You have a much better defence and team than Wigan, and will pose a much greater attacking threat. Spurs won't get the enormous amounts of time and space that Wigan gave them. Warnock won't be as inadequate as Wigan's Edman was against Lennon. Huddlestone won't be so easily allowed to spray passes around (and nor will Kranjcar) and Spurs are unlikely to be so easily allowed to play fluid, attacking football. I'm expecting a fairly cagey game, partly because both sides know that a loss will count for a lot in this particular match. So I don't see Spurs opting for a very attacking aproach as this would be too risky given the stakes, the fact we'll be away from home and given Villa's reputation as a counter-attacking style of team. In fact, I won't be surprised if Spurs sit back somewhat and play a counter-attacking style themselves, relying on the pace of Lennon and Defoe to catch you on the break. Apart from anything else, Harry will know that a draw suits Spurs more than Villa and that, as the home team, the onus will be on you to bring the game to us.

Well, this match is nicely set up now: A Villa win will take you level with Spurs on points, whereas Spurs will go 6 points clear if they win. Spurs will surely be full of confidence after today's result. I just hope Harry finally gets the message now: don't ever mess around again with trying to shoe-horn Keane into the team along with 2 other strikers in a bastardised 4-3-3. Either play him in a 4-4-2 or don't play him at all, but either way play 4-4-2 because (as today again showed) Spurs play best that way. Lennon came off late today with a knock - hopefully not enough to keep him out for this next game - but there'll be time enough for team news later in the week. Crucial match this one.

First of all Walcott appears to be injury prone. Secondly (and in any case) I don't agree that Walcott is better in terms of attacking threat than Lennon. You think that he is - but personally I've not seen much evidence in support of your notion. Actually it's a thread about Spurs on a Villa forum: a thread moreover in which various Villa (and other) players are also discussed. If you don't like me posting in it - and clearly you don't - then I can only suggest that you contact the mods and ask that they ban me. And if you don't want to discuss Spurs then why are you in this thread?

.... it is a claim you have made! The claim in question is - in your own words - "all the Spurs players are better than the Villa players". That is not a claim I have ever made. It is a claim invented by you - and I don't see any point in you trying to deny it.

I'm just picking a cut-off point that best fits the question originally framed. However, that question was daft one in the first place, since it also picked up on a claim that no-one had actually made.

No. Your question referred to Spurs players vs Villa players in relation to finishing positions. If that question is to be more accurately framed, then, as I've already said, it would need to cover the period that at least some of the current players for both teams have been at each of the clubs concerned. Thus it would need to cover the 4 seasons prior to this one. In 2005-06 the following players were all at Spurs (and are currently): Lennon, Jenas, King, Huddlestone, Defoe, Keane, Dawson.

I don't know where you get your stats from, but they are wrong: Lennon has 5 assists. But in any case stats don't tell the whole story - for example they miss the way that Lennon pulls defenders out of position, causes panic and mayhem and thereby creates spaces and gaps for other attackers to exploit.

Should I say the same about Milner or Young in relation to Villa finishing 6th and winning nowt? Personally I don't think so.

I can only suggest that you: (a) ask someone who thinks that "all the Spurs players are better than the Villa players"; and .... ( modify the 2nd part of your question so that it reflects the facts (the finishing places) during the period that at least some of the current players for both teams have been at each of the clubs concerned.

Capello has rarely (if ever?) started Milner on the right. Clearly you missed my earlier post detailing exactly what Lennon has been part of whilst at Spurs, in contrast to Milner so far at any club.

I have already explained why. But since you seem incapable of reading the thread let me repeat: The primary role of a wide midfielder is not "defensive duties" and Milner's "creativity going forward" is far less than Lennon's (Milner poses far less of an attacking threat). As for "work rate", I think that Capello, in relation to wide midfielders, is rather more interested in looking for attacking, game-changing players. Apart from anything else, Milner is not even competing with Lennon for the same RW slot. So Milner may well be in Capello's WC squad - I just happen to think that his place is less secure than Lennon's. I didn't ask how you recognised me. I asked why you are so interested in tracking what I post elsewhere, when frankly I couldn't care less whether or not you choose to post elsewhere. The difference is that I prefer to talk about football rather than sadly obsesssing with individual posters and seeking to to target them. As I've said already: good luck with your "hobby". The rest of your comments are not worth responding to.