Ratings and reactions: Spurs 2-0 Villa

[kidlewis]

Herd MOTM he was the only one who put in a shift. maybe Petrov too as he tried as well, but his legs couldnt' carry him 90 minutes.

we didn't get the ball away and were so defensive it was unreal.

every corner we had all 11 men out and no outlet, we didn't change formation and we didn't close down early enough.

We created nothing bar one DB header which forced a good Brad Friedel save.

playing like that against Swansea we will lose as well.

[Stevo985]

but my opinions on th e game in the McLeish thread.

In short, the setup was wrong from the start. Problem lies in the midfield. No link between midfield and attack.

No changes, and when a sub came, the system stayed the same.

Awful, pathetic, terrible. Whatever.

No-one deserves MOTM, but I thought the least pathetic performance came from Emile Heskey. At least he tried.

[avfcgoodie]

One felt for the visiting fans who negotiated all that traffic, paid all that good money for tickets and were treated to a display utterly at odds with a proud club’s traditions. - Henry Winter (Telegraph)

Sums it all up for me.

[TezzRexx]

I never realised Hutton was a winger. I don't think Hutton did either looking by the way he played last night.

Collins and Hutton need to be dropped ASAP but that wasn't the only problem last night. AM fielded a completely defensive team that couldn't even hold the ball.

[Gramme]

It is a miracle how we kept the score at 2-0

We didn't keep the score to 2-0; Spurs did, either through poor finishing or not bothering to get out of second gear.

I was at the game; an absolute waste of time and money. I took two non-Villa mates along for a taste of Premiership action (at least 150 empty seats in the upper tier, by the way) and I was embarrassed by our showing.

The manager is an idiot, picking that team and instructing them to sit so deep when we lost the ball (which was over 70% of the game, stats fans). Even when Spurs had the ball halfway inside our half, they had time to look up and pick their passes. I mean, we're not talking Karl Henry here - it's Modric, Van der Vaart, Bale - players who can use the ball and have a bit of guile about them. They will hurt you if you let them, and we did, and they did. It was an absolute stroll.

But as much as McLeish is a disgrace, the players need to shape up too. Defensively we were a complete shambles. Somebody up-thread praised Heskey for his workrate; that's the biggest joke of the night. He didn't track a single off-the-ball runner all night - not one. Warnock was left hopelessly exposed time after time, two-on-one or worse. Every time Spurs came down a wing, we gave them an easy 5-yard ball inside - no pressing, no tracking, reaction rather than proaction. Corners and throw-ins were a joke, whether attacking or defending them. No movement, no awareness of movement.

The good bits? We were fairly vocal in dire circumstances. But best of all, a Villa fan in a wheelchair made what seemed to be a decent attempt to get at McLeish. He just casually rolled out of the lower tier by the corner flag and got halfway to the dugout before the stewards realised what was going on and trundled him back. That was pretty much the most passionate act by anyone in claret and blue all night.

Also, can anyone guess which player made the biggest effort to come over to the away support at the end to thank us for our commitment? On-loan flying fullback, Kyle Walker. Wait, but... Oh. Sums up the night for me.

[NeilS]

We are going to be deep in trouble if we can't put up a fight against the likes of Spurs. Yes they are a good side, but to just accept defeat without even a whimper is a disgrace. McLeish has to go imo, he has no idea how to manage a succesful side in this division. For him it is all about keeping it tight and maybe nicking a goal, it was the same with sha and we saw what happened with them. Unfortunately we can't even keep it tight. I have been giving him time, but he has had the luxury of a pre-season (something Houllier didn't have) and he has churned out some really terrible performances. We haven't had any real positive displays at all this season, even last season we had some glimmers of hope. It is going to be a tough season, and I hope that we can clock up enough points to avoid relegation and Randy finally realises what a stupid decision he has made before it's too late.

[chappy]

My internet wouldnt let me on here last night, probably a good thing. Watched it in the pub with a Spurs fan, he couldnt believe how little of a game we gave them.

Not going to repeat everything that has been said in this thread but we were an absolute shambles.

Shocking formation which was asking to be battered, if Spurs had got out of first gear it wouldve been a cricket score.

Not one attacking player in midfield and no wingers, it was embarassing.

AMC needs to take full responsibility for this, and for Nzogbias inevitable crap performance next time he plays due to his slowly buillding confidence being shot by being dropped for a game where he couldve actually done something.

[flamingsombrero]

We didn't keep the score to 2-0; Spurs did

This, all day long!

[rjw63]

Spurs are decent but we were shockingly bad. Mid table at very best is what we are and more people should get used to that fact

[sir_gary_cahill]

spurs are better than decent, they are a class football side

[Alec]

The sad truth about last night's defeat is that is was all too reminiscent of those numerous occasions last season when Houllier sent out a team that looked beaten before the referee blew the first whistle. And like those worst days under Houllier, the players looked just as listless, disinterested and devoid of anything resembling belief.

Everyone always knew that McLeish would have his limitations, but many of us expected that at the very least any set of eleven players he sends out on a matchday would be well-organised and prepared to fight. The reality is that this doesn't happen and it now appears that we are left with the worst of both regimes - defensively poor, weak in possession, devoid of creativity, no leadership. On OR off the pitch.

The players clearly recognise this just as much as the fans do. And they know that when their manager sends them out with a right-back in one of the winger positions when he's struggling to find any degree of form in his natural role that they are playing for someone that has no confidence in their individual or collective ability to take on the opposition. Last night didn't feel all that removed from the white-flag waving attitude of last season's FA Cup exit to Man City or O'Neill's Europa League capitulation in Moscow back in 2009.

I feel like I've come full circle since the summer. I vehemently did not want Alex McLeish to be appointed and railed against the decision. I then accepted it and decided to give him a chance to prove the doubters wrong having been impressed by his generally honest, straight-talking approach. I tried to find positives in the early weeks of the season and encouraged others to see the benefit of an unbeaten start as being something to build upon. But with the high volume of underwhelming draws becoming increasingly frustrating, patience started to wear thin and ever since that woeful defeat to Bolton in the League Cup, the team shape, selection and performances have been almost uniformly dire. The inexcapable fact is that we play some of, if not the outright, worst football in the Premier League and when I think back on when I ultimately turned on McLeish, it will probably be the moment I saw Alan Hutton lining up on the right wing when orthodox wide players were available for selection. The fact that he still didn't even see fit to make any changes to a system that had led to us going two goals down at the break only serves to reinforce the impression that he has absolutely no idea of how to set up a team that needs to take a game to the opposition.

I feel like our curren eighth place standing in the League is due more to the ineptitude of the dozen teams below us than anything we have 'achieved' this season, and I can see nothing but apathy spreading among our supporters who simply expect underperformance for as long as McLeish is in charge.

[dAVe80]

Regardless of how good any side we play are, I expect them to come off the pitch after playing us and think, "Bloody hell, that was hard work!" I don't care if it's Brentford or Barcelona, I want them to give their all, and if need be die trying. Last night we watched a side, who were beat before they walked onto the pitch.

[Brumstopdogs]

We gave up before a ball was kicked - rather than set up a team with players that would cause Tottenham a problem we put up the white flag.

Collins and Heskey are shocking players - I will not be spending any money on Villa until both are out of the team!

McLeish has to go. Randy has to go.

Birmingham had the most long balls last season and the way we are playing we may well emulate them.

[barryod11]

The most frustrating thing of all is that we have some decent players who are capable of giving the big teams a battle, but it seems AM has got rid of the players desire to win. Last night we were an embarrassment, no flare about us, no passion, just a few lifeless players moping around the pitch.

And I'm not even going to get started on the ridiculous team selection.........

[Brumstopdogs]

3 shots in the whole game for Villa! One shot less than every half an hour (even off target).

Less than 30% possession. 68% pass completion. Basically we give the ball away about once in every 3 passes!

Mcleish has to go.

[NormandyVillan]

I’m glad to see that everyone else is as impressed as I was by what we witnessed last night.

So congratulations to all involved in last night’s heroic performance at Tottenham, where our players fought tooth and nail to cling onto a highly creditable 2-0 defeat against one of the best teams in the world.

The admirable spirit of self-sacrifice was epitomised for me in the 90th minute when Stiliyan Petrov, completed undaunted by the risk of a red card, lunged in perfectly to fell Gareth Bale just inches outside the penalty area.

Well done to our very own Captain Marvel for that act of heroism, and to each and every one of the players who worked so hard to achieve such a splendid result.

With such warriors in our ranks, we are surely destined for greatness. “To dare is to do”, as the slogan proclaims at White Hart Lane, and without wishing to be too rashly optimistic, I believe that with this team of heroes, with this indomitable fighting spirit, even the glittering prize of a point at Swansea could be within our grasp.

[limpid]

The BBC says Villa had 41% possession. Still not good, but not as bad as 30%. Where are your figures from?

[Brumstopdogs]

Sky Sports:

http://tinyurl.com/7srbvm2

[limpid]

That's a huge discrepancy. I think I trust the BBC more than Murdoch though.

[Woodytom]

We definately didnt have 41% possesion