Aston Villa threatened to spoil Tottenham's 125th birthday party last night.

Villa swept to a 4-1 lead with just a half-hour left at White Hart Lane, but the birthday boys roared back in what will go down as one of the EPL's classic encounters.

While Younes Kaboul brought the house down with his last-gasp equaliser, Tottenham still remain mired in the relegation zone—and, if possible, the pressure increases on Martin Jol.

After two consecutive fifth-place finishes and a summer spending spree of around £30 million ($60 million), Tottenham seemed in rude health.

However, even with just eight games gone, the preseason speculation that Tottenham would be the team to crack the Big Four seems misplaced.

Tottenham's major problem on the pitch is clearly their defence. They've leaked 16 goals in those eight games; the Big Four, by comparison, have allowed just 16 goals between them.

What's worse, Jol's attention is being distracted from his on-the-pitch defence by his off-the-pitch defence.

Far from backing their man, the Tottenham board have decided to engage in suicidal behaviour: "offering" the job to Sevilla's coach, only to do an about face when Ramos publicly rejected them.

While the bulk of Spurs players back their manager, he is being undermined by the lack of support from the board. Accurately or not, the Ramos affair has given the impression that the Tottenham brass are actively after a new manager.

As long as the board fail to stand behind their most successful Premiership manager, Spurs look set to disappoint—and the club's fans may well lose the man who has taken them to the brink of the Champions League.