Alex Riehl: Appointing Christian Gross was as bizarre as his tube ticket press conference

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Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino tells Sky Sports that his team are not resting on their laurels following their unbeaten run:

"Football is always in the present and we need to show tonight why we are unbeaten. We never think in the past, we live in the present. Football is present, present, present. It is true that we have momentum, but tonight we have a difficult opponent.

"We always need to stay motivated and try to win every game. It is about us, our mentality and not the opponent."

Spurs stuck five past Bournemouth last weekend - the perfect result going into a busy week. Because tonight's match is the first of three matches inside seven days for Mauricio Pochettino's men. 

They return to White Hart Lane on Thursday for a Europa League tie against Anderlecht, then there is the not-so-insignificant matter of the north London derby at Arsenal on Sunday. At least they are not racking up the air miles...

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Leon Bradley: At the time the appointment of our physio @TheNigelAdkins, external for @SUFCOfficial, external seemed a strange one!!

Rizpey: Chris Ramsey here at QPR. NO experiance at all. Gets relegated then gets full time job, what?

Jon Payne: Northampton once had Terry Fenwick as manager for all of 5 or 6 games and he's not been seen since

Tottenham midfielder Dele Alli talking to Sky Sports: "We're playing really well and confidence is growing as we keep the undefeated record going. Hopefully we can carry that on today."

On a possible 'new manager effect' for Villa: "It doesn't have an effect on us, we have got to go out there and play as well as we can - like we have been. We will go out there and try to play our best football."

"Why are you banging on about Aston Villa?!" I hear Spurs fans cry. "What about us???"

Forgive me. In short, Spurs are trundling along very nicely. Since losing to Manchester United on the opening weekend, Spurs are unbeaten in the Premier League.

Four wins and five draws mean they have slightly gone under the radar. But three points tonight will stick them in the top five and hot on the heels of fourth-placed Manchester United.

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Oh hello - a couple of strong shouts here....

Has your club made a stranger appointment? And did they bomb, or actually manage to do a decent job? Let us know.

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Villa caretaker boss Kevin MacDonald on Sky Sports on his contact with Remi Garde: "I've not spoken to him, he sent me a text and hopefully he will get here on time to watch the game, but I understand that there have been problems with the plane.

"I've picked the side, and brought in a few players from the under-21s. It's up to Remi whether he wants to be involved tonight. He might see something up in the stands and want to change it."

Lost in the fog is not a metaphor for Aston Villa's current plight. Nope, it is a literal description of Remi Garde's day. The new Villa manager was scheduled to arrive in Birmingham about lunchtime, but his flight from Lyon was delayed by the mist across England. So instead he had to sit around in the departure lounge for a little spell before boarding a plane to Luton instead. Bet he spent a packet in the duty-free shop to pass the time.

The former midfielder - who was Arsene Wenger's first signing at Arsenal - was capped six times by his country. After retiring from playing at the age of 33, he coached at Lyon before becoming manager in 2011.

Wenger confirmed Villa's chief executive Tom Fox - a former Arsenal employee himself - had been in touch to discuss Garde's pedigree.

Garde - who also played for Lyon and Strasbourg - was assistant to former Villa boss Gerard Houllier at Lyon and the pair discussed the Midlands club this week.

Garde's only major honour as a manager arrived in 2012, when he guided Lyon to the French Cup. He left Lyon at the end of the 2013-14 season for personal reasons.

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Charles Martland: Strangest ever managerial appointment: Claude Anelka at Raith Rovers (2004). No experience, 8 games, 1 point and a resignation.

Richard M Evans: Dean Saunders, Terry Connor, Stale Solbakken all Wolves inside 12 months.

The Spurs boys are all smiles as they walk into a slightly misty White Hart Lane. Plunging temperatures in the capital see Harry Kane and Hugo Lloris wearing warming gilets. Maybe they were left behind in Tim Sherwood's old office at the Lane.

And that brings us nicely on to Sherwood. Wonder where he will be watching this clash between his two former clubs? Will he be watching? Will he be recharging his batteries on a luxury Caribbean island and staying far away from a television? Who knows. Tim - let us know if you're following our words...

Tottenham are unchanged following their 5-1 win over Bournemouth, with Harry Kane leading the line fresh from his hat-trick in that game. 

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Villa caretaker boss Kevin MacDonald makes three changes to the team which lost to Southampton in the Capital One Cup last Wednesday. Joleon Lescott returns from injury to take his place in defence, while Jack Grealish and Scott Sinclair are back in to make up a five-man midfield. 

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Team news is just breaking from White Hart Lane - and there is no Micah Richards in the Villa starting XI. That's because their captain has been banned for one game after an incident in the tunnel after defeat by Swansea. A decision announced, in fact, about 20 minutes ago.

Pat Murphy
BBC Radio 5 live

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"Garde will be expected to get more out of the more inexperienced French speaking players. The feeling still remains though that these players actually might not be good enough.

"Whichever way you look at it, whatever way Villa try to dress up Garde's pedigree and potential, it still is a major gamble by owner Randy Lerner to appoint a highly talented, promising young manager in his first job as a manager outside of France. He's really got to hit the ground running straight away."

Is it fair to describe Remi Garde as a left-field appointment? Well, many see it is a huge gamble to appoint a man with no Premier League experience. However, it is hardly out of the Massimo Cellino recruitment handbook. David Hockaday? Darko Milanic? Sorry Leeds fans...

But it has got us thinking about other bizarre managerial appointments. What is your club's strangest choice? And did it work? Tell us using #bbcfootball, external on Twitter or by texting 81111. What are you waiting for?

So what do you make of the news that Aston Villa have appointed Remi Garde as their new manager?

Let us know by voting at the top of the page. The vote will close at half-time and terms and conditions can be found here.

But the worry of some observers is that Remi Garde, who replaces Tim Sherwood after signing a three-year contract at Villa Park, might become the subject of another quiz question in the near future. For example, 'Which Frenchman led Aston Villa to their first relegation from the Premier League?'

Harsh? Possibly. Pessimistic? Definitely. Realistic? Time will tell...