"I'm not here to criticise the referee. This match boiled over in a couple of incidents and I thought the referee did quite well because he never let it get out of control.

"I will not be giving him bad marks, he will be getting a good response from me.

"It was not an easy decision for him to make [the sending-off] because he was 35 yards behind play.

"But never at any time did Vassell get in front of Andy, so there was never any question of a tackle from behind, never at any time did Vassell have the ball, never at any time did Vassell even touch the ball.

"Those are significant points. Both players have fallen over and we didn't get the benefit of the doubt; the doubt went to the attacking player and when that happens the referee has to be absolutely sure and he can't be sure.

"I'm not panning the referee but it was a difficult decision and it went against us."

About the disallowed Vassell goal:

"I'm told television evidence said that did not take place. There seemed to be a trip and so, in that sense, Aston Villa have been hard done to."

"I thought Gary Speed was unlucky to get his name taken because he jumped high, Hendrie got knocked over and made a meal of it."

"I think in the scheme of things getting a point is a valuable point."

"I'm proud of my players. It was a measure of our team morale, our guts, our enthusiasm, commitment and work ethic and discipline that we were not going to concede all afternoon unless there was something magical.

"Considering we played with 10 men Shay Given has not made a save. Our defensive work was extraordinarily good today."

"It is a frustrating game. I thought we were at our best when they had 11 men on the pitch."

"Their agenda changed when they had a man sent off and they ran the clock down. The onus was on us to break them down and we didn't do that.

"Bobby was shouting and begging the ref to blow up so they were delighted with a point.

"You have to have a special guile and quality if you are really going to break somebody down enough the way Newcastle sat in there and we didn't have that today."

"The bottom line is the players here have done fantastically well for me."

"If someone said to me, with the squad I've got, that I had a chance with a few games to go to beat Newcastle and go into fourth I think I would have taken it without a doubt.

"But I think a few of our players can play a lot better than they did today."

"I did ask Vassell at half-time and he said `I never touched him', but I don't think the referee gave it, I think the linesman gave it.

"Those decisions can go either way for you, like the sending-off."

I really can't abide David O'Leary and his sickly self-awareness.

It obviously started during his time as a player for Arsenal but I've gained some respect for other horrible-players-turned-Managers - Mark Hughes perhaps? But I think it was after he was sacked at Leeds that the softly spoken, rigid-fringed fool really started to grate. His failure to make the Champions League really was a catastrophic disaster of gargantuan proportions given the talent at his disposal, and Peter Ridsdale knew what its impact would be.

From then on his appearances in the media have been so contrived it's untrue. Sky pandered to his every whim as he touted for a new job every other week. The climax of this came as he threw his hat back into the Elland Road ring just as old Monkey Heed was having crisis talks with Professor Mackenzie. Disgraceful.

And if you heard his interview on Radio5 on the day of our game it was enough to make your flesh crawl. Of course that fat thief (wages under false pretences) and former Highbury colleague, Kenny Sansom had just been gabbling on about something or other so I wasn't in the best of fettles but then on comes O'Blarney to give one of his "rare interviews".

He's a nice chap - according to himself - who desperately wanted to go to a club with no money so he could disprove the snipers who had alleged he'd spent millions and then lost the dressing room at Elland Road. His squad is so thin at Aston Villa - apparently - that he's grateful to be above the relegation fight let alone challenging "the might of Newcastle and Liverpool". Who's he trying to kid? If only I'd had the microphone I'd have asked him a few choice questions. One about what exactly went on in the dressing room at Elland Road. The "eggyboff" phenomena for a start (don't ask)....

Having said all that, there's no sniper more surprised than I that he's managed to get Villa anywhere near fourth spot - I thought they might just get involved in a relegation fight as Doug Ellis' boardroom belligerence threatened to tear the club apart. So, with no money, no fans and no players he's done a good job. Fair play to the miserable, whingeing twerp.

With that sort of prejudice firing my belly and a crucial Premiership fourth place clash ahead I was reasonably stoked up for this one. Unlike the Villa fans it seems. They really are a benign bunch - when they bother to turn up that is.

Nobby Solano was warming up for them when we got there and with Kieron Dyer also stretching and limbering up it looked like the pre-match doubtfuls would be starting. The line-ups confirmed it. Solano's reception from the away contingent was decent but not of Big Les proportions. There were even a few round us who booed him - presumably blaming him for breaking the contract agreement about playing friendlies for Peru. To be honest I was glad to see Nobby starting. Any player returning from that length of lay-off was bound to be a bit rusty although the ex-player jinx risk was obviously high. 

Villa started the brighter of the two sides and that included the kick-off - a tactical masterstoke of actually finding opponents with passes rather than a big hoof out to the wing. Ingenious.

Laurent Robert's first contribution was to present the ball straight to Hitzlsperger and only a Dyer foul prevented him threatening our goal. The free-kick from the German was wayward. Robert did the same a few minutes later putting us under pressure once more. Jenas had words with the Frenchman who simply shrugged and told JJ to calm down.

Let's just get a few things straight about Robert. The player is abundantly talented and would be in my starting line-up virtually every time. His goal and assists record is outstanding and always has been - far, far better than David Ginola's ever was. No-one can deliver corners and free-kicks for us the way he can. However, his attitude still stinks.

There must be some stats out there to prove something I've always felt about his play; he gives away possession more than other player I've ever seen in a black and white shirt. He often overruns the ball and forever pirouettes to get the ball onto his left foot thus enabling defences to re-group. The maddening thing is he does the difficult things well but it's the simple things - that most of us could do - which he simply chooses not to bother with. It's difficult to know whether to put that down to stupidity or arrogance. Both inexcusable in my book.

Minutes later came the turning point of the game. A hopeful ball forward saw a straight race between O'Brien and Vassell. The Villa man started behind O'Brien but was gaining on him. Suddenly he was in front and both tumbled to the ground. As soon as the ref did anything other than wave play on, O'Brien was off. At the time I thought it was fair enough and although the TV replays aren't as conclusive as I thought they would be I still think it was a foul. 

He's done it before; on WBA's Jason Roberts and Ryan Giggs at St. James', and on Mutu at Stamford Bridge. He got away with two of them on home soil but not the other two. The old adage of things evening themselves up here doesn't really apply - four fouls, two sending offs. A calculated risk perhaps - Adams and Pallister did it for years - stop the player but try and make it look like a collision. The annoying thing is I would have fancied Shay against Vassell - the Villa man isn't a great finisher.

Solano stepped up to hit the free-kick which was a perfect distance from goal. You couldn't help but fear the worst but Nobby's kick was poor and even if it hadn't sailed over the bar, Shay wouldn't have needed to move to catch it.

Bobby and John Carver weren't sure what to do. Within minutes Robbie Elliott was stripped ready to replace either Robert or Dyer presumably. The fourth official even had the numbers plugged into his board ready to hold up but Robbie was told to sit back down. Twenty minutes later and finally the switch came - JJ limped off for Bowyer and Robert made way for Viana. Ultimately the delay proved to be a wise one with JJ tearing a thigh muscle.

The contest from then on was even. Bellamy played down the wing and supported Shearer when he could and Hughes helped Woody in the centre with Dyer playing at right back. We looked solid, helped by the sheer awfulness of Crouch and headless chicken impression by Vassell. Scary to think that both have made giant strides at international level - Crouch's strides not just metaphorical.

We had a couple of decent first half efforts - a long range free-kick from Robert which Sorensen fumbled - and just before half-time our best chance; Bowyer broke and played in Bellamy who laid on a decent chance to Shearer but the shot had more power than accuracy and went over. 

At the other end Vassell beat Given but had just sent Hughes tumbling - something seen by both linesman and referee but one not confirmed by the cameras apparently. No idea what footage they are watching but my own frame by frame analysis has Vassell's knee clearly clipping Hughes' left ankle. Accidental? Possibly. A foul? Most definitely. Anyone suggesting Hughes tripped over himself - Vassell was never going beat him to this one - is an absolute fool. Vassell knew it with his half-hearted celebration.

Half-time saw a further illustration of Villa's standing as the "glamour club" of the Midlands - a relative term obviously. A poorly conceived penalty shoot-out(?) that involved three youngsters running at an empty goal and shooting when adjacent with a couple of chairs was hosted by the usual denim-clad would-be disc jock. 

The three youngsters were asked from where they hailed. The answers included Wednesbury - Baggies territory and "Birmingham, errr, I mean, Bromsgrove". In the end the one wearing what looked like a Birmingham City coat was deemed to be the winner although no-one really knew nor cared.

We still carried some threat into the second half and Bellamy scampered down the right outdoing Johnsen for pace. He was actually threatening the goal, not just the byline when he recoiled in pain as his hamstring snapped. A seemingly bad day just got a lot worse.

Bowyer and Viana were showing they actually had got something to offer and the former started to look like the player we thought we were getting. Viana seemed to be caring less about his hair for a change and got stuck in to good effect - almost turning in a cross to give us the lead. But with Bellamy being replaced by Bridges it became even more of a rearguard action.

Bridges looked a little nervous on the ball but did wriggle into the box before horribly slicing a shot that almost turned into an astute pass. At the other end Allback really should have tested Given with a header but tempers started to fray as referee Knight lost control.

Lee Hendrie really is a nasty, cowardly, little turd. He initially appears to fit into the vertically challenged but vicious variety but it's worse than that. He's the type that taunts from afar and then pretends to be the injured party. He'd already applauded the dismissal of O'Brien before his confrontation with Speed. 

Speed should have known better but the poisoned dwarf's attempts to get our man dismissed were appalling. The two squared up and foreheads touched slightly. Cue Hendrie falling to his knees checking his eyebrow for blood. Thankfully, ref Knight was still in his own little world and his linesman wasn't taken in by the antics.

Seconds later a nudge from Speed then provoked Hendrie into headbutting Speed's arm before tumbling theatrically to the ground again. Laughable but enough to get Speed a booking while the munchkin-like Villa man escaped.

Thankfully, then, Hendrie's shot near the end went the wrong side of the post as half of Villa Park celebrated what they thought was the winner. It would have been a miscarriage of justice for our lot to lose especially if that nasty piece of work had won it.

There was still time for Ronny Johnsen to heave Bridges over in the penalty area with a move that Stone Cold Steve Austin would have been proud of. Does the ball really have to be in play for that to be deemed a penalty and doesn't it constitute violent behaviour of some kind? Apparently not. Johnsen's wrestling repertoire had been seen all game with full and half-Nelson's on Shearer but funnily enough he doesn't have the reputation of Wor Al so they can't be fouls. Those criticising Shearer would also do well to watch Crouch's flailing limbs.

In the end it was a point well won and it did feel like a victory. In truth, they were so poor that anything less than three points was disappointing but we'll never know what would have happened if we'd had 11 v 11.