Aston Villa vs. Tottenham Hotspur: Well, that was satisfying

First of all, I want to say that I feel really bad for Aston Villa and their supporters. They're just a pretty normal club, going about their business, trying to rebuild their team with a very professional manager who seems like a great dude and a lot of young players. I'd like them to do well. But holy crap, they are not doing well. They are god awful. I am astonished at how much they stink.

Now, to the good news. Tottenham Hotspur played very well today, and probably could have defeated an Aston Villa side that put in a respectable performance. Gareth Bale was at his best and netted a hat trick, while Jermain Defoe had one of his patented do-little, then score a stunning goal performances in a 4-0 win.

Tottenham dominated the first half, but Brad Guzan was brilliant and kept his team in a 0-0 deadlock heading into halftime. He made seven saves in the first half, but his luck ran out in the second. Defoe opened the floodgates with a brilliant poked finish from 10 yards, assisted by Kyle Naughton with a through ball. Villa had to start attacking at that point, and was subsequently ripped apart.

Bale's first came on a counter that followed a blocked shot. Villa's defense failed miserably to stop the ball and ended up falling apart to the point of giving Spurs a three-on-zero, which Bale finished off himself by rounding Guzan and finishing with his right foot. Gylfi Sigurdsson and Jermain Defoe assisted on his two left-footed finishes before he was subbed off in the closing minutes.

After the frustrating encounter that was the Stoke match, this was very nice to see. What was particularly encouraging or concerning about the performance for you?