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Here is Brian Judson's preview of the game
Prem Pl W D L For-Ag Pts
Home 10 3 4 3 11 -12 13
Away 10 0 4 6 7 -16 4
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Total(Prem) 20 3 8 9 18 -28 17
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Football Lge
Home (Div 1) 47 25 5 16 99 -77 62
Away (Div 1) 47 17 11 19 72 -75 48
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Total(Div 1) 94 42 16 35 171 -152 110
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Football Lge
Home (Div 2) 2 1 1 0 4 - 3 3
Away (Div 2) 2 0 1 1 1 - 3 1
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Total(Div 2) 4 1 2 1 5 - 6 4
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Total(Prem) 20 3 8 9 18 -28 17
Total(Div 1) 94 42 16 35 171-152 110
Total(Div 2) 4 1 2 1 5 - 6 4
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Grand Total 118 46 26 45 194-186 131
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This particular fixture always reminds me of the home debuts of Villa and
Ardiles in August 1978. We had drawn the opening game of the season 1-1 at
Nottingham Forest and the team came out to a welcome of confetti. But we
crashed at home 4-1, principally because the whole team did not really
know how to bring out the best in Ardiles and Villa. Gordon Smith had a
disastrous game at left-back. The only goal we scored came from the
penalty spot when Hoddle scored.
Over the years, Spurs have usually beaten Aston Villa. One such win was
the season we went down in 1976-77 when Chris Jones, Hoddle and Taylor
gave us hope that we might yet survive. Jones was never going to make the
grade at Tottenham. The surprise was that Tottenham persevered with him
for so long.
I remember season 1963-64 when Derek Possee made his home debut for us
against Aston Villa. He looked quite speedy but being on the short size,
it was clear manager Nicholson was not going to persevere with him. I
remember Possee and Weller both playing for Millwall at the old Den at a
time when football was very defensive in the 1970s. It was a joy to watch
two wingers playing for a team not noted for its footballing skills.
In past previews, I have mentioned our 5-5 draw against Aston Villa in the
1965-66 season. It was almost certainly that match that spelt the
beginning of the end for Laurie Brown at Tottenham. Towards the end of the
season, manager Nicholson was experimenting with Ron Henry at centre-half
with a view to playing him there the following season (Ed:- Ron Henry's grandson now plays for the reserves!) but that went out of the window when Spurs signed Mike England.
Aston Villa have been a sleeping giant for far too long. I watched their
match against Liverpool on Sky TV last weekend and was not impressed with
them at all. They have lost two good players in Boateng (Middlesbrough)
and Merson (Portsmouth). They still have Steve Staunton but the old
warhorse is now well past his best days. Had it not been for Enckleman,
there is no doubt that Villa would have had a thrashing from Liverpool.
The goal they conceded demonstrated all that was wrong with Villa. No one
challenged Murphy as he ran at the Villa defence and Delaney slipped as he
went to challenge Riise for the ball.
Villa have similar problems to Tottenham. Both clubs are not going to
invest in megabucks for the construction of a better side. The fans on the
Holte end of the ground have vented their feelings towards the Chairman,
Doug Ellis, in no uncertain terms. It remains to be seen what happens but
manager Taylor is under no illusions about their chances of honours.
The one piece of good news that Tottenham have heard this week has been
the likelihood that both Poyet and Carr will be back sooner rather than
later. However, the rumours persist that Carr will walk away from
Tottenham at the end of the season. Much as I would like to see Carr stay,
if he is an unsettling feature in the dressing room, perhaps it will be
wiser to cash in on him now and make sure we get something out of him
rather than let him walk away for nothing.
It is too early in the season to predict what will happen with any
accuracy but I would venture to suggest that Tottenham will just about
shade it on Saturday afternoon.
COME ON YOU SPURS!
Cheers, Brian
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