I don't often write a post the day after a match but we have Spurs on Sunday and there are a couple of things to write about after last night and it's nice to get it out of the way while it's fresh.
I want to start with VAR and I've been a fan of VAR and the referees in Europe this season and for a long time because VAR doesn't get involved unless absolutely necessary and the referees like to let the game flow. I like this. But I don't think VAR should be in the game and I think there is a reason for it that nobody wants to discuss.
It's ruining the game and it fails too often. Last night is another great example. Look at the image below. You can't make a tackle like this in the game. It's an ankle breaker.
I'm confident if the referee saw this in the match, it would have been a red. I'm confident that any referee that sees this happen in a game, it's a red. I haven't heard anyone on the radio this morning that isn't a Nottingham Forest fan say this isn't a red. It's a red every day of the week if it's seen. And that is exactly what VAR is here for.
And because I'm confident of that, I'm absolutely flabbergasted that VAR didn't give it. And you can't blame the referee and if we didn't have VAR and this happened, it's one of those things you'd accept. If we didn't have VAR, we also wouldn't have had the penalty awarded against us, so the game would have ended a draw and that feels like a fair result when you consider this ankle breaker happened in the first half.
So if VAR isn't doing the job that it's supposed to, you've got to ask yourself why. And when the most obvious reason is something people don't want to talk about, you've got to ask yourself questions. Is it corrupt? Are people in football corrupt? Is the amount of money floating around in the game enough to make people corrupt?
I don't know, but I'm a fan of Occam's razor and I've referenced it several times over the years. But, that's that written. We have to accept it and move on to next Thursday and we have to hope that things are different.
But I did write yesterday that we would know after the match if we were going to be playing in the final next month because we would see in the match if they really wanted it. I'm not sure we saw enough desire or intensity last night. Next Thursday is going be a very nervous night and Sunday against Spurs has a part to play.
Something else I've also written several times on this blog over the years is that behaviour breed behaviour. We need to go out on Sunday and demonstrate that we want Champions League next season. Sure, we have four matches left this season and we have an eight point gap, but we need more points and we can't rely on teams below us to not catch up.
It's possible that the sides below us don't get the points and 58 is enough, but we can't hope for that. We have to stand up and we have to show that we want it. And intensity and desire doesn't mean getting rid of the ball as quickly as possible. It means creating the opportunities to move the ball forward, it means looking, it means playing the right pass, it means taking the chances when we can.
These are not easy things to do when the team you are playing against are also chasing the ball, closing down spaces and making tackles. This is why the game is about very specific details. It's why I trust the manager and why it bothers me that some of the players play those silly passes or flicks when they're not certain it's going to one of our players.
It bothers me when they run and run and look like they're putting the effort in but make silly mistakes and clearly lose focus. Sunday is important because three points and it's going to be easier on Thursday because behaviour breeds behaviour. We have to win on Sunday and dare I write it, we need to win next Thursday.
Match facts from the BBC
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Aston Villa won this exact fixture 2-0 last season, last beating Tottenham Hotspur in consecutive home league games in May/November 2004.
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Tottenham Hotspur have lost six of their last 10 Premier League games against Aston Villa (W4), more than they had in their previous 34 against the Villans (W19 D10 L5).
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None of the last 21 Premier League meetings between Aston Villa (7 wins) and Spurs (14) have finished level. Only Chelsea v Crystal Palace (26 between September 1997 and February 2024) has had a longer run with no draws in the competition’s history.
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Aston Villa have won just two of their previous seven Premier League games (D1 L4), suffering as many defeats as in their prior 24 matches (W15 D5), though could win three in a row at home for the first time since January (run of eight).
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Spurs ended a 15-game winless run against Wolves last time out (1-0) and could record successive victories in the Premier League for the first time since their opening two matches of this season against Burnley (3-0) and Manchester City (2-0).
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36.9% of the chances Aston Villa have created in the Premier League this season have come through the middle third of the pitch, the fourth-highest proportion behind Bournemouth (39.4%), Brighton (37.7%) and Newcastle (37.5%), while 33.9% of chances created against Spurs this season have come through the middle; the fifth-highest rate.
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Under Roberto De Zerbi, Spurs are averaging more pressed sequences per game (12.7) and possession won in the final third per game (5.3) than they were under Thomas Frank (11.1 and 3.7) and Igor Tudor (10.8 and 3.8) in the Premier League this season.
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10 of Ollie Watkins’ 11 Premier League goals this season have come since the start of December, no player has more in that time. Indeed, he’s scored goals in three previous Premier League games against sides managed by Roberto De Zerbi, including a hat-trick in September 2023.
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Aston Villa’s Pau Torres is averaging 9.5 line-breaking passes per 90 in the Premier League this season, the fifth-most of any central defender with at least 1,500 minutes. In Aston Villa’s defeat to Fulham last time out, his 11 played was the most of any player.
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Spurs’ Richarlison is averaging 0.72 goal involvements per 90 this season (9 goals, 4 assists in 1,615 minutes), his third-best rate in a Premier League campaign behind 2023-24 and 2024-25 (both 0.9 per 90).