March is about as popular with Martin O'Neill as it was with Julius Caesar. In 12 attempts, he has never won a Premier League match as Villa's manager in the month in question, and he was left ruing a barren scrap at the Britannia Stadium, which saw his team fall further behind in their pursuit of Champions League football next season.

Victory over Blackburn earlier in the day enabled Tottenham to consolidate fourth place in the table, six points ahead of Villa, who have two games in hand. Unfortunately for O'Neill and company, turning that notional advantage into profit is beginning to look increasingly problematic after five draws – four of them goalless – in their past eight.

O'Neill said: "We haven't lost a league game since four days after Christmas [1-0 to Liverpool], but we have to try to turn a couple of these draws into wins." The trip to Wigan on Tuesday night provides an inviting chance.

Goalless draws can be entertaining, but this was not one of those. The ball was often in the air, which with Stoke involved is about as revelatory as saying night follows day, and in a strong, swirling wind, control and precision were horribly elusive.

Tony Pulis at least had the excuse that his players were suffering from battle fatigue in this, their sixth match in 17 days. Understandably, they have faltered after an excellent start to 2010, which saw them unbeaten in 11, and are now without a win in their past four. Rory Delap tossed more bombs than ever [19] into the opposition penalty area, but nobody was able to translate them into anything worthwhile. It is a recurring problem. Stoke have scored a miserly 28 goals in 29 league games – fewer than lowly Burnley. Nobody has contributed more in the league than Tuncay's four.

Because of their rudimentary tactics, the pride of the Potteries have been compared to Wimbledon's "Crazy Gang", but they have no John Fashanu - not even an Alan Cork.

Villa hardly have an abundance of prolific finishers either, and it was something of a surprise that O'Neill benched his leading scorer, Gabriel Agbonlahor, and paired his two big men, John Carew and Emile Heskey, in attack. Between them, Heskey and Carew boast seven league goals in 44 appearances, Agbonlahor has 11 in 27.

The absence of decent goal attempts left some of us counting Delap's raisons d'etre, and he threw 19 long and one short. O'Neill says these long throws are "all part of the game", and that he would use the tactic if he had anybody who could hurl the ball far enough. When Carlos Cuéllar tried, after seven minutes, and fell short, his attempt was ridiculed by the crowd with a chorus of [expletive deleted] "What the hell was that?"

There was not much else to shout about. Villa played what little football there was, Stoke did the scrapping, and noteworthy chances were few and far between. For Villa, Stiliyan Petrov tested Thomas Sorensen from distance, Stewart Downing had a goalbound shot deflected into the side-netting by Carew and James Milner was only a foot away with a 20-yard free-kick. For Stoke, Ricardo Fuller would have scored but for James Collins's last-ditch intervention.

"It was a tough afternoon, but we defended very stoutly," said O'Neill. "The game didn't have many clear-cut chances, so I suppose the draw was probably a fair result. It is tough to keep concentrating all the time, knowing they [the long throws] are coming in. One knows what to expect here, but knowing and coping with it are two different things."

Interestingly, it is Tottenham's turn in the Britannia Stadium bearpit next Saturday.

THE FANS' PLAYER RATINGS AND VERDICT

RICHARD MURPHY, Author, Stoke City On This Day It was not a good game, although the second half was better than the first. Neither side put much together and we were reliant on corners and throw-ins – the usual fare, which led to a few dodgy moments for the Villa defence. Friedel flapped at a couple, but they were only half-chances. Fuller made a difference when he came on, with Dunne and Collins both making good blocks from his shots. It was good to see Etherington back for only his second game after injury. He gives us something extra down the left. Delap made a contribution too and not just with his throws. His midfield play is often overlooked. Sidibe, though, was poor.

The fan's player ratings Sorensen 6; Huth 6, Faye 7, Higginbotham 7, Collins 6; Delap 8, Whelan 6, Whitehead 6, Etherington 7; Sidibe 5 (Kitson 54 7), Tuncay 6 (Fuller 53 8)

JONATHAN FEAR, AstonVilla.VitalFootball.co.uk Some Villa fans were spitting feathers at dropping two points, but I never expected it to be anything other than a grind. We matched them in the first half, but then didn't turn up for the second in terms of going forward. If you don't shoot, you don't score. I could understand not starting Agbonlahor – he runs his legs off and you have got to start using your squad at some point. What was baffling was taking off Carew and not Heskey. It provoked quite a bit of booing. A lot of managers say Heskey has something other strikers don't have, but we are scratching our heads as to what that is. Why he doesn't shoot is a mystery.

The fan's player ratings Friedel 8; Cuéllar 6, Dunne 8, Collins 8, Warnock 7; A Young 6, Milner 6, Petrov 6, Downing 5; Heskey 5, Carew 6 (Agbonlahor 77 5)

TO TAKE PART IN THE FANS' VERDICT, SPORT@OBSERVER.CO.UK