Ratings and Reactions - villa 1-2 spurs

[Demitri_C]

collins is pure shit, seriously amateur he has to be dropped. pure shit

[PompeyVillan]

The VT overreaction train is right on time as per usual.

I didn't think we were THAT bad. It showed us that we've known about for years - we can't break teams down. Hopefully this is something that will change once Houllier can get his own players in and have a full pre-season. Still not good to lose though but let's face it - Spurs are a better team.

Lichaj MOTM. Bale once again proved he's far from world class.

The excuses are wearing pretty thin when the performances are as bad as they have been.

[Mantis]

The VT overreaction train is right on time as per usual.

I didn't think we were THAT bad. It showed us that we've known about for years - we can't break teams down. Hopefully this is something that will change once Houllier can get his own players in and have a full pre-season. Still not good to lose though but let's face it - Spurs are a better team.

Lichaj MOTM. Bale once again proved he's far from world class.

The excuses are wearing pretty thin when the performances are as bad as they have been.

What excuses? We can't break teams down. When you can't break teams down you don't win very often.

[jackbauer24]

HOULLIER DID NOT TAKE OVER A RUBBISH SIDE! He is supposed to be a manager with great experience and tactical nous yet he has had three months and, if anything, we are getting worse. He's alienating decent players and playing young players regardless of if they're ready and often in the wrong position. Today that was Hogg who isn't ready and it has been Clark in midfield. Let's not forget Dunne was in the Premier League team of the season last year and hollier simply doesn't like him. It's ego. His methods are outdated, his style of play is outdated, he can't get players playing for him, he alienates players, fans and even perhaps the General!

He took over a team that finished 6th three seasons on the trot, rocked a little by MON's impromptu departure but it shouldn't take this long to sort it out. People talk as if we were destined for relegation before he came and he has to steady the ship first. Realistically we should be talking of landing no lower than 10th this season whilst ANY new manager got into the rhythm and the players got used to changes and pushing on next year from what has been sustained growth year on year. Instead we're facing the very serious proposition of relegation and deluded fans think he just needs more time.

Sometimes you simply have to realise you've made a mistake and rectify it, rather than hope that if you keep leaving it it will magically sort itself out.

Tell me even one thing GH has done well?

[RMB]

collins is pure shit, seriously amateur he has to be dropped. pure shit

Some players including Collins weren't playing this badly before this season. I don't know whether its cause of the manager, the type of play or what.

[Ponky]

pure shit

is a fascinating oxymoron....

[briny_ear]

today we have not been terrible, we've lost but we've not been terrible.

Give Houllier time.

Got a feeling these will be the signature keys for the rest of the season.

How much time does the new manager want? We've only got 18 matches left and we need to start picking up points somewhere or we will be sucked into a relegation fight.

I'd trade us being terrible but winning matches - MON style - for the rubbish we are playing at the moment. It may be pretty but it doesn't win matches or even get points.

Sorry, but someone has to start spelling this out loud and clear.

[YLN]

70+ minutes at home to ten men against a club who cant win outside of London?

As a pose to us who have been decimated with injuries

[villianusa]

Cueller was good but Collins was crap. Who was in the center of the goal and was marking the area where the player scored the first goal from? A poorly hit cross beat Collins while Cuelller didn't get to the ball.

Saying that the first goal was down to Downings positioning and the second I can't understand why Downing stopped running and watched Lennon pass to VDV.

The defense put in a lot of good work today but we were beaten by a goalscorer that we truly lack.

[Mantis]

today we have not been terrible, we've lost but we've not been terrible.

Give Houllier time.

Got a feeling these will be the signature keys for the rest of the season.

How much time does the new manager want? We've only got 18 matches left and we need to start picking up points somewhere or we will be sucked into a relegation fight.

I'd trade us being terrible but winning matches - MON style - for the rubbish we are playing at the moment. It may be pretty but it doesn't win matches or even get points.

Sorry, but someone has to start spelling this out loud and clear.

Funny enough though the MON style never won these games.

[jacketspuds]

today we have not been terrible, we've lost but we've not been terrible.

Give Houllier time.

Got a feeling these will be the signature keys for the rest of the season.

How much time does the new manager want? We've only got 18 matches left and we need to start picking up points somewhere or we will be sucked into a relegation fight.

I'd trade us being terrible but winning matches - MON style - for the rubbish we are playing at the moment. It may be pretty but it doesn't win matches or even get points.

Sorry, but someone has to start spelling this out loud and clear.

Funny enough though the MON style never won these games.

And we've got 20 games left. 60 points. We're still shit though.

[Ulver]

I couldn't say that was 'awful/terrible'.

For me it was just totally soft. We played the same pointless soft tippy tappy stuff we've been playing since Gerard came in (and lets be HONEST, its the pass pass football people were clamouring for under O'Neill) and the simple fact is. It doesn't suit the players we have.

Its all very well being pretty, and passing it about on the deck. But it's utterly **** pointless if the end product isn't there.

And on the other hand, there's little point lumping it into the box when they have 5/6 men behind the ball including Crouch.

There is no imagination.

Either abandon this nicey nice stuff until we have players that can play that way or we're going to suffer even more than we already are.

[Demitri_C]

Some players including Collins weren't playing this badly before this season. I don't know whether its cause of the manager, the type of play or what.

sorry but thats an excuse for me. collins is paid very good money so regardless who the manager is he should at least put ina performance. dire again, same story should be a bench warmer

[srsmithusa]

Lichaj MOTM. Albrighton the only other one worth thinking about. Pires was a waste of jersey. Is it January yet.

The season is a disaster so far, but I still put the blame on a man the walk with no notice and no time for the team to recover. Houllier gets more time from me. I think I see what he's trying to do. If so, his biggest mistake is that he's tried to make the changes faster than the players were ready for them.... but that may be the best course in the long run.

[briny_ear]

today we have not been terrible, we've lost but we've not been terrible.

Give Houllier time.

Got a feeling these will be the signature keys for the rest of the season.

How much time does the new manager want? We've only got 18 matches left and we need to start picking up points somewhere or we will be sucked into a relegation fight.

I'd trade us being terrible but winning matches - MON style - for the rubbish we are playing at the moment. It may be pretty but it doesn't win matches or even get points.

Sorry, but someone has to start spelling this out loud and clear.

Funny enough though the MON style never won these games.

or even get points.

Since you obviously missed this bit.

Can you guess how many points we got at home to Spurs last season? And how many points we got against Spurs last season overall compared with this one?

[VillanousOne]

At the start of every game we are set up wrong due to a decision Houllier has made, there is one player not performing in a certain position until our tactics are changed at half time or earlier. In the past it has been Ireland or backing an out of form Dunne, today it was not starting NRC or Petrov. I didn't really feel starting Delph was the right decision either.... although he didn't do that bad.

If he had started with NRC or Petrov instead of Hogg we might have been better placed to fight their midfield.

Every game we have a defensive nightmare, this time it was Collins (again) although not helped by Downing. Cuellar didn't look that great either!

Spurs are a quality team but we let them play, we had to be set up more defensively to compete with a team we know is now leagues ahead of us (and yes i hate that fact but i have the balls to admit it). Houllier still seems to think he is managing Liverpool! 70mins against 11 men and not getting point is unforgivable though.

There is so much wrong with this team that it is hard to know where to start! I don't think there is a single area in the team that we are strong in. Even if Houllier brings in a couple of players to improve things in Jan - it's unlikely they will have the impact we need straight away.

One player shines for one match, but one or two players doing well per match won't win us anything!

WE ARE PRETTY F*CKED RIGHT NOW AND NO-ONE CAN CONVINCE ME OTHERWISE.

SACKING HOULLIER WILL DO NOTHING TO HELP EITHER EVEN IF I DON'T WANT HIM AT THE CLUB.

[Ulver]

Every game we have a defensive nightmare, this time it was Collins (again) although not helped by Downing. Cuellar didn't look that great either!

I'm glad someone else thought that given his recent promotion to central defensive God whilst out of the side.

[dudevillaisnice]

today we have not been terrible, we've lost but we've not been terrible.

Give Houllier time.

Got a feeling these will be the signature keys for the rest of the season.

How much time does the new manager want? We've only got 18 matches left and we need to start picking up points somewhere or we will be sucked into a relegation fight.

I'd trade us being terrible but winning matches - MON style - for the rubbish we are playing at the moment. It may be pretty but it doesn't win matches or even get points.

Sorry, but someone has to start spelling this out loud and clear.

Funny enough though the MON style never won these games.

or even get points.

Since you obviously missed this bit.

Can you guess how many points we got at home to Spurs last season? And how many points we got against Spurs last season overall compared with this one?

Considering this season isnt over yet its pointless, its also pointless calling for MON back, I for one wouldn't take Milner or MON back - they both walked out, they werent sacked or anything they both walked out and I don't want quitters at the club, when the going gets tough he'll probably walk out again, sorry but no thanks - my memories of MON are actually really good i'd rather keep it that way then bring him back in the picture for him to walk away again.

Call for another manager, Jol etc is fine but sorry MON and Milner are history, MON will remain a good manager in my eyes but I will never forgive him for walking out 5 days before the season started.

Oh, I didn't say you called him back though, just generally saying to the people that want him back.

[OutByEaster?]

I can't believe we haven't got anything out of that game - I thought we were the better side when it was eleven against eleven and I thought we were the better side when they went to ten.

We played some good stuff, moved it around and should have got more out of it - we need to start putting some of our chances away.

Lichaj was excellent, he had a couple of dodgy moments but his handling of Bale was as good as anyone has done all season, defensively he was absolutely top drawer - he should have scored twice as well.

Overall, I think that the midfield was promising, Delph looked a little off the pace but decent and Hogg did well until his booking, it's good to see Petrov back and I think Downing and Albrighton were very lively.

Agbonlahor should have scored a couple and he'll be disappointed, so much of what we do relies in him putting the ball into the back of the net. Delfouneso also looked bright and lively but needs an end product - we desperately need one of these two to get on a run of goals.

Tottenham did what good away teams do; soaked up pressure and then scored off a couple of clinical breaks. Of course they were a bunch of arseholes too, Van Der Vaart has gone straight to the top of my list of footballing tits and their keeper is an embarrassment of a man. Their manager too showed his class, trying to get into a row with Pires late on.

Overall, I don't think there's anything to be ashamed of in that performances, we were the better side against a team that some people think can win the title. (and they're in with a chance if they can hold on to Martin Atkinson)

If we'd got either of the two penalties we should have had in the first half it might have been a different story, but we don't need much more than a bit of sharpness in front of goal to make us a good side.

The radio was full of doom and gloom, Houllier out, rank bad performances, all of that stuff - today I think it's misplaced.

[villa4europe]

Exciting end to a shit game

rocket polisher of a ref all day pen probably a goal for them some poor yellows and boughg into vdv antics

What a **** clearing in the woods vdv is, makes me think of all the ash comments you see but laugh at, dives everywhere and has a proper gob on him

Gabby was poor movement was rubbish, fonz did more but shame he blasted one over after 10 secs on and then wouldnt shoot when in space, delph looks the real deal but rusty at least he looked for a pass, albrighton was quiet but despite the vdv wankfest ekotto was motm imo, downing was dire didnt track back for both goals

Worst part was how so much of our play came from the wings, their keeper flaps, they have 2 big men in the whole team, yet we **** managed to find one of them with nearly every ball in