News emerging that this Azza Blud injury is turning into a saga.

What started off as a papercut with some minor complications has escalted into a suspected minor hernia and it is suggested that surgery may well be on the cards.

If that's the case, we could expext the wing heeled Horatio to be out for another three weeks. At least.

Bad news indeed, pop pickers.

 Gomes 8.1 Super duper double save

Corluka 6.8 Now again does a bloody good impression of a chap who's been with us forever. 

Dawson 7.1 Needs to be handed the Captain's armband, perhaps in a small, low key ceremony.

King 7 One of his better outings. Listen closely today and you'll hear his blood being changed.

Bale 8 Bale is good stuff. More please.

Modric 7 He's rather good, isn't he? Croatian interntional by all accounts.

Huddlestone 6.8 Much more consistent performance. Cracking shot on him still I see.

Palacios 7 The friendliest enforcer you could possibly meet.

Bentley 7 The argument against him is now built purely upon his hair.

Defoe 6 Almost, but not quite anonymous when not shooting.

Crouch 6.7 Did much right, countless knockdowns in the first half.

Arry 7 Do you know how to make a substitute, Aitch?

Shin when you're winning, you only shin when you're...

 Generally I find Villa fans to be a balanced breed. Like us, they've spent an awful lot of time bumbling around not quite living up to their own expectations, not to mention being troubled by getting the right man to manage them.   

And on current form you'd barely get a cigarette paper between the two teams. 

Their back four is less suspect than ours and when it comes to strikers their embarrassment of riches may not be quite as lavish but they face similar issues. Agbonlaperroncel has scored ten, but Milner (yes folks, that's England's James Milner) has scored more times than Heskey.

Whilst not impossible to call, plenty of shrewd money is touting a draw. Villa's win at Craven Cottage was a good result, yet they see us and rightly so as tougher fare. Tottenham will be banking on Defoe again, but he'll be very bloody lucky to shin in so many as he did at Elland Road.

Consequences of anything but a win are a complex array of mathmatics I lost interest in pursuing after about three or four seconds. Win, we stay top four.

What price love? Villa leading at half time and us to win it vends at an appealling 25/1. The old one all draw sketch is surprisingly long 11/2. And my crazy bet would have to be The Sarge as an anytime scorer at a bar bill settling 9/1 or better check local press for details.

BIOYC!

 There's Only One FA Cup

Gomes 8 Largely untroubled not at fault for their goal.

Corluka 8 A key figure in our counter attacks.

Dawson 7.5 Dominant in the air and an absence of hoofs. Less hoofs = more love, Michael.

Bassong 7 Looking better all the time, not amazing, but going in the right direction alright.

Bale 8.1 Another good shift as they say in footballing parlance. Well done, welcome back and carry on.

Bentley 8.9 MOTM. Given a chance, given a few games, given all he's been denied, he's good stuff.

Hudd 7.9 As most of it came from our flanks his roloe was minimal. What he did do was nice enough.

Jenas 4.1 Yesterday upon the stair, I met a man who wasn’t there,  He wasn’t there again today... Apologists will say he bossed the midfield. I'l tell you our League One friends didn't have one. I saw a bloke occasionally doing star jumps. 

Kranjcar 7 He's a very talented boy. Everytime he has the ball he does something positive.

Defoe 9 The hatrick hero. He could have had three more. I'm serious.

Crouch 8.9 A pivitol performance. He won just about everything.

Keane 5 Could have earned more if he insisted Jenas went with him.

 Some local colour

 What becomes of the broken hearted? My best guess is they end up spending an eternity talking to a bloke called Dominic on a laptop insurance helpline. A man who hasn't seen the IT Crowd or for that matter quite possibly daylight in several weeks. I didn't know you could still contract scurvy.

Less of my morning and to tonight's test. And it wil be a test. A testicular test if you've all had breakfasts and I might make so bold.

Arry cannot afford to send in the clowns for this one. The Leeds are more interested in getting out of that damned league than pursuing this pot,  but they genuinely believe they can win this. If you were unaware then you ought to be.

With Born Again Bob dispatched to adminster missionary work to our Scottish cousins, our odds are automatically improved by an eleventh. And in a game where actions and not intentions will held to account, the removal of Jenas from the equation will tip the scales our way further yet.

There will be talk of the 42 league place gulf that exists between us and them. The gap in terms of want, desire and need is one that can only be devined by seeing what attitude we display on the night.

And there's the rub.

Siralix can send a team to Elland Road with say Rooney and Giggs on the bench. Because he knows that Berbatov aside, he will field a team, no matter who he selects, comprised of players who will play for their lives. Players who want to exceed that which is expected of them.

Why does Tevez look so dangerous at Citeh? Because he's not playing like 'he quite fancies it' or he 'wants to make his national team'. No, he looks dangerous because the drive, the want in him is explosive. He's determined almost to the point of being unhinged, tearing into every ball, every challenge like a ravenous lunatic.

Leeds aren't Manchester United, nor are they Citeh but they have demonstrated their desire. This Beckford guy obviously has some talent, but I don't want to hear about it. I don't want to hear about their keeper being the best thing since sliced bread. I don't want to hear about the 'lottery of penalties'.

What I want is us to naffing well go up there and do a job on 'em. No fannying around whining about the cold. Listen up you shiftless lot. I want iPods off, brains in gear and you to give a decent account of yourselves.

BIOYC! 

 'Eidur must have scored with his first touch," reported Clive Allen.

 "Jon Obika closed the goalkeeper down, blocked his clearance and the ball spun out to Eidur and he finished from about 12 yards.

"Jon scored two excellent goals after that. His first was a left-foot shot into the top corner from the edge of the box and his second a finish at the far post after a break from Andros Townsend.

"Dagenham scored just before half-time to make it 3-1 and Eidur scored his second and our fourth with a near-post header from Jon Bostock's corner midway through the second half.

"It was ideal for Eidur as he's worked hard with the fitness coaches over the weekend but he needed a game from a match fitness point of view and just to get to know everyone. It was a real benefit for him."

Mido to the Ammers. Oh my good gawd. No idea what his wages are but one would imagine that there is an inbuilt bonus structure dependent upon how many matchday programmes he sells.

And the Canning Town Cowboys have also shipped in the best kept secret in Strikerdom, Benni McCarthy, bless 'em. Interesting to see if the Portly Pugfaced Pornister and Poundland's Vincent Price can achieve what the depressed coach driver, Alladay Breakfast couldn't.

Pompey have flogged the bloke that was initially coming with Kaboul. Turned out he was a goalie. Well done Stoke. Stick him between the sticks and you won't look back. Trust me.

Adam Johnston to Citeh. I prefered it when he was keeping schtum. As a dull as paint and with an interview that's being rotated on SSN like one of those Asda pre-cooked chickens. When we see the boy on the field for them I predict the similarities won't end there.

Moses has gone to Wigan. Insert your own Biblical wise crack here. I'm inert for both parties. But here's a warning. Wait until Leeds flog their super star striker. Then we'll see what it's like to have Auntie Climax outstay her welcome. Michaela Chopra anyone? Give me strength.

On an upbeat note, I'm bloody delighted about Keane being on the other side of Hadrian's. I can unexclusively reveal that a half cut pensioner on the telly just said he thought that PSB was an upgrade on Scott MacDonald. Which I've probably spelt wrong. Where's that Laird O' The Wing fella when you need 'im?

Hopefully it'll allow Arry a really good excuse to give us some more Super Roman Crazypavinchenko. He's an enigma, a riddle, a puzzle, a right proper conundrum. Even his hairdresser doesn't know what that bit at the back is all about.

'Whatever happens Snowy, hang on tight!.'

Wise words if you're a french detective about to charge off at speed with a unsecured dog on the back of your motorbike. But my gut feeling is that the remaining hours of this transfer window won't warrant much in the way of buckling up.

Niall Quinn let slip to a windscreen washer this morning that he mistook for a Sky Sports Source that this morning is all about trying to prize Levy & Co's avaricious fingers from Alan 'Wa cad did that?' Hutton. 

There's a sniff of rumour flying about that Rose may be off for a bit of a loan. Birmingham being the most likely destination. Naughton's Boro bound. Boy, he must have p*ssd someone off.

Calamity James might have missed out on the opportunity of a lifetime to be our number two and is all set to be Super Stoke's number one. Which is a crying shame. Sorenson has served my fantasy football team with honour and distinction this season.

A word of course for disgraced, publicly shamed f***wit, John Terry.

HH's take is that he's one of the most hateful  pieces of sub human chav scum in football and this level of revelation makes me very happy. As far as his football future is concerned, their ought to be a conversation amongst the England manager, Mr Acca Pello and the rest of the squad to discover if the player still holds/indeed ever did hold the respect required to lead.

You what? I don't see much mileage in mounting a moral crusade. This is football.

Elsewhere, West Ham have reportedly put a bid in for the Tower of London. They intend to transform into their new But British Box Office. This proposal is, it is thought to be heavily dependent upon planning application for a lap dancing license. 

Oh, and Arry wants a goalie. CV's then readers to the usual N17 address.

BIOYC!

 It's an emotional business. I didn't catch much of it, so before MOTD descends I'm still quite balanced. Comparatively

After having a quick shufty at some of the angst out there it's apparent that we may well ahve played with nine man after the substitutes. Sure this is my blog, if you will, but please raise a voice if that's a bad call. 

On the highlight above Jenas' non tackle gay twirl would appear to be more at home as a warm up exercise for the Dagenharm Girl Pipers than on a Premiership football pitch.

Word on the street is that the boy Bentley had another have good game. 'Damn This Whore Of Babylon And His Flowing Carefree Locks' was the headline run by The Neasden Advertiser.

Again, the frustration centres around Arry and his subtitutional savoir fare.

Arry will centre on the fact that we remain fourth. I'm not stupid enough to start disputing this, but I'm in deep enough with us to know I'd prefer if we did it it with greater aplomb.

A point away at St Andrew's cannot be confused with a disaster, but each time you, me and the bloke who doesn't even bally well support Spurs we happen upon in the pub all think the same, all agree we could have done 'em ... it's gotta count for sumfink, no?