Home is where the hurt is

Newcastle Utd 0 - 4 Spurs

It's saying something when we're not even good enough to record a third successive 3-0 defeat. The stats have been widely reported but bear repeating, as painful as they are: we've now lost five games in a row at home in all competitions, and we've managed four consecutive home league defeats for the first time since 1987, and this time all without scoring. Typical, isn't it, that just as the much of the rest of the country is experiencing flooding we're suffering from a drought...

Of course, it didn't help that our visitors were an in-form side with an excellent away record who have been invigorated by the appointment of a new manager since our last meeting and who are engaged in determined pursuit of Champions League qualification.

The Silver Fox decided to take a gamble, throwing fit-again Papiss Cisse and Goofy straight back into the side at the expense of HBA and Paul Dummett, with Davide Santon switching back from midfield to his familiar left-back role.

I say "familiar", but it didn't look that way when he sloppily gifted the ball back to Spurs on our byline, allowing Emmanuel Adebayor, the striker frozen out under Andre Villas-Boas, to skim a shot wide of Tim Krul's far post. Shortly afterwards, Paulinho forced Krul into a save with a venomous shot from a tight angle.

The best early chance, though, fell to us. We're pinning our hopes on loan signing Luuk de Jong striking up a partnership with someone, and when he headed a long free-kick down and square into Cisse's path on the edge of the six-yard box, the evening's opening goal looked to be the only possible outcome. That, though, was to reckon without either our number nine's appalling lack of form and confidence or the quick reactions of Spurs' French 'keeper Hugo Lloris, who kept the weak effort out.

Naturally, it was the visitors who then took the lead. Nabil Bentaleb should have been tackled more forcefully out on the right, but even when he wriggled free of a challenge to play in a teasing cross there didn't look to be much danger. However, Krul flapped the ball pointlessly straight to the feet of the grateful Adebayor and he finished into the empty net. The Dutchman was the hero of the victory at White Hart Lane in November, when we were besieged but kept our goal intact; now, at a time when we're desperately struggling to score goals ourselves, the last thing we needed was our 'keeper to start gifting them to the opposition.

It could have been worse before the break had Aaron Lennon's scuffed shot trickled in rather than bounced off the post. Presented with another chance to score by Little Big Lad's pass, Cisse beat the onrushing Lloris to the ball but, perhaps fearful of being clattered, lobbed the ball harmlessly wide.

Dummett replaced Santon at the interval - presumably a tactical change (if indeed it required any tactical nous to identify the fact that the Italian was having a stinker) - but he'd hardly got his boots dirty before we were two goals down. Paulinho's neat flick set Adebayor up for a drive from outside the area, and when Krul parried straight to the Brazilian, he followed up mercilessly.

That was the cue for us to (belatedly) raise our game and enjoy our best spell. Little Big Lad and De Jong departed for HBA and Sylvain Marveaux, and Lloris had to make saves from Dummett, Cisse, Goofy and Mathieu Debuchy - the latter in particular was superb.

A foothold back in the game would have been scarcely deserved, though, and Spurs' superiority was underlined in the last ten minutes. Krul contributed his third error of the day for the third goal, palming Andros Townsend's piledriver up into the air for Adebayor to mis-hit it slightly fortuitously into the ground and over his despairing dive, but was powerless to prevent substitute Nacer Chadli from recording his first Premier League goal with a curler into the top corner. Quicker and more effective closing-down of Chadli would have been demanded by the home supporters, I'm sure, if there had been many left still inside the ground.

This was most certainly not the way in which the Silver Fox will have hoped to celebrate his 150th match in charge. Before the game he had declared: "Part of my job is to try and motivate the side with any incentive I can find" - presumably no incentive could be located on this occasion (and how exactly the players lacked motivational incentives for the derby is beyond me). He had also taken pains to thank fans for their patience - a fair few more will have lost it after this latest abject display. In his post-match interview he came across as a broken man, as downbeat and angry as I can remember, confirming that there had been some harsh words spoken in the dressing room.

It's a sorry state of affairs that a season that still looked highly promising as recently as Boxing Day now appears to be all but over, and that rather than speculate about the possibility of European qualification (which the Silver Fox insisted has been a curse rather than a blessing for Spurs) we're now inclined to be thankful for the fact that we've already amassed sufficient points to insulate us from the relegation dogfight, at least for the time being.

The break might do us some good - certainly there's plenty of work to be done - and we'll have Loic Remy back available for our next fixture, the visit of Villa on Sunday 23rd, but I do wonder what odds the bookies are offering on a 5-0 away win to keep the sequence going...

A Spurs' fan's perspective: Tottenham Hotspur Blog

Other reports: BBC, Guardian

Unbeatable

Spurs 0 - 1 Newcastle Utd

The back four's group hug with Tim Krul at the end said it all. The Dutchman was our saviour on his debut away at Palermo just over seven years ago and has reprised that role several times since, but he described Sunday's stunning performance at White Hart Lane as "the highlight of my career", having pulled off the most saves in a Premier League match since records began in 2006.

The Silver Fox sent out an unchanged side, keeping faith with those who performed so well in the defeat of Chelsea the previous weekend. That not only meant that Big Lad kept his place in a 4-4-2 formation with HBA and Papiss Cisse substitutes, but also that fit-again skipper Sideshow Bob was only watching on from the bench, Mike Williamson and MYM once again paired in central defence.

While we were wearing yellow shirts and blue shorts, it wasn't really much like watching Brazil for the most part - though we certainly started the better of the two sides. Loic Remy had an early shot deflected behind by a challenge from Vlad Chiriches, having been set free by a sublime Dreamboat pass, but wasn't to be denied a second time. The tireless Goofy won the ball to play him in, and Remy rounded Krul's opposite number Brad Friedel to score.

The American 'keeper was playing as a result of Hugo Lloris' concussion sustained against Everton, but it was Lloris' on-field colleagues who were looking concussed. By contrast, we were sharp, aggressive and committed, and could have extended our lead had Big Lad not been marginally offside.

Gradually, though, Spurs came to, and Krul's afternoon started to get busier. His first real save of the day was arguably his best, an incredible dive to claw away Roberto Soldado's clever flicked header, and he was called upon again soon afterwards when Paulinho tried to make amends for being dispossessed by Goofy for the goal.

At the break, a clearly rattled Andre Villas-Boas made two changes in recognition of the ease with which we'd sliced them open, Younes Kaboul and Sandro taking over from Chiriches and Moussa Dembele. We weren't seen as an attacking force much at all in the second period, other than a lungbursting run from Moussa Sissoko in which he outmuscled Jan Vertonghen and forced Friedel into a near-post save and what would have been a spectacular volley from substitute Cisse. However, this was due less to their reinforced defence than to the way they pushed us very much onto the back foot.

The prodigiously talented Dane Christian Eriksen, handicapped by Mr T's close attentions, should have drawn our hosts level, only for Krul to save with his feet. Even better was to come, our 'keeper repelling Gylfi Sigurdsson's wickedly deflected free-kick and  two follow-ups from Kaboul before MYM somehow managed to hook the ball away a yard out.

That was the Silver Fox's cue to try tightening things up by withdrawing Big Lad for an additional midfielder, Vurnon Anita, and while that made us more solid, it also invited more pressure. Like Eriksen, new England hero Andros Townsend was enduring a relatively poor game, but he nevertheless came close to equalising only for Krul to make the sprawling save.

Even when Krul was less than convincing, he got the luck we needed. Having palmed one shot up into the air, he was relieved when Soldado headed straight into his hands - as he was when Vertonghen beat him but not the crossbar with a late header.

Spurs' total of 31 efforts on goal indicates their dominance, particularly in the second half, and on another day, when Krul hadn't had his pre-match Weetabix, this might have been more like the 5-0 drubbing 'Appy 'Arry's side dished out in February last year. But we defended stoutly nevertheless, and the fact that Spurs deserved a draw is of no concern to us. We're quite rightly too busy celebrating back-to-back wins (with clean sheets) against much-fancied London sides - wins which are especially welcome after the defeat at the Stadium of Shite.

It's a shame, then, that the international break has interrupted our league campaign just as we seem to be gathering some forward momentum. Our next match sees Norwich visit St James' Park, the Canaries having lost 7-0 on their last away trip. West Brom after that promise to be tougher opposition, having beaten Man Utd and very nearly Chelsea too, but if we perform as we did against Chelsea and Spurs then there's no reason why we can't bag another brace of victories.

A Spurs fan's perspective: Dear Mr Levy

Other reports: BBC, Guardian (who also published a photo gallery of Krul's saves)

Know Your Enemies 2013/4: Part 2

And so to the second part of my assessment of our Premier League opponents (first part here), kicking off with the reigning champions...

Man Utd

He's gone - at last. While Taggart will no doubt find a use for his famous watch-tapping gesture when impatiently waiting at bus stops, free pass in hand, his successor has the unenviable task of carrying on where he left off. In some ways David Moyes made for a bold choice - someone unused to wielding a huge budget or, indeed, winning anything - but it was heartening to see an astute, hard-working manager who has paid his dues and whose side has consistently overachieved get the gig ahead of any of the more celebrated continental alternatives. It's not an appointment Chelsea would ever have made, frankly.

As if Moyes' task wasn't hard enough already, two factors have plagued him this summer. Firstly, there are the ongoing reports of Shrek being unsettled - not helped by the pair's falling out while at Everton or the Scot's public pronouncement that Robin van Persie is his automatic first choice. Secondly, there has been no flagship signing that would be a significant show of faith from the board. Moyes has rightly identified central midfield as an area of relative weakness, despite the availability of England regulars Michael Carrick and Tom Cleverley, but his dogged pursuit of first-choice target Cesc Fabregas looks to have been futile. Wilfried Zaha, signed from Crystal Palace in January but only now linking up with his parent club, looks an exciting prospect, but it's debatable whether he's the sort of player needed when Antonio Valencia, Ashley Young, Danny Welbeck and Nani are all still on the books. Third place looks a distinct possibility.

Norwich

Taking into account the stature of Premier League clubs relative to the calibre of players they've recruited, Norwich have arguably had the best summer of any club in the division. In particular, an all-new front line has been procured - skillful Dutchman Ricky van Wolfswinkel and free-scoring Celtic man Gary Hooper, at a combined cost of £13.5m, replacing outgoing Canaries legend Grant Holt, with Chris Martin and Simeon Jackson also departing. The midfield has been bolstered too, with the addition of Leroy Fer, a player nicknamed the Bouncer whom we were sniffing around three years ago.

Anyone fearing that the Canaries had abandoned their policy of cherry-picking the crop of Championship stars needn't have worried, though, with Nathan Redmond and Martin Olsson snapped up from Birmingham and Blackburn respectively. Chris Hughton's job now is to integrate the new players successfully into a team that has survived two seasons in the top flight on account of its hardworking, egalitarian ethic - no easy task. Van Wolfswinkel sounds like a character from a Brothers Grimm fairytale - time will tell if Norwich's season is a fairytale or just plain grim.

Southampton

At the time, the sacking of Nigel Adkins in January seemed to sum up everything that's wrong with the modern game. Here was an honest, decent manager given the boot by a short-sighted, over-ambitious chairman, despite having led the club to two successive promotions. Now, seven months on, you perhaps grudgingly have to admit that Nicola Cortese was right - the Saints looked better under the stewardship of Mauricio Pochettino and survived with relative ease.

Southampton could have a tough second season in store, but the Argentine has struck a couple of eyecatching deals over the summer, bringing in midfield enforcer Victor Wanyama and Croatian defender Dejen Lovren, and already has the likes of Gaston Ramirez and highly-rated youngster Luke Shaw to work with. The Saints can also boast a striker who has just scored a Wembley winner against Scotland with his very first touch in international football - a perfect pick-me-up just as the season is about to get underway.

Spurs

And so to the third major, protracted and thus far uneventful transfer saga of the summer, after Luis Suarez and Shrek. There would have been no prizes for guessing which Spurs player it would involve - scintillating form and spectacular goals (including no fewer than nine winners) meant that Gareth Bale very nearly secured the final Champions League spot for his side single-handedly. If Spurs are able to fend off Real Madrid's advances (and turn a blind eye to the offer of a world-record fee), then fourth is within their grasp courtesy of a trio of excellent acquisitions.

It was baffling that there seemed to be no competition for the signature of Paulinho, a fixture in the Brazilian midfield and substantially cheaper than Man City's Fernandinho, while Spanish striker Roberto Soldado (rumoured to have cost a hefty £26m) and Belgian winger Nacer Chadli also arrived. Clint Dempsey's decision to return to his native USA (and pick up a huge salary) after one solitary season at White Hart Lane surprised few people - likewise Tom Huddlestone's departure for new boys Hull, squeezed out by the likes of Paulinho and Sandro. However, the one major blot on their copybook was the sale of England international central defender Steven Caulker to Cardiff - utterly inexplicable, in light of William Gallas' release. Will it come back to bite them firmly on the derriere, just like the continued failure to identify Benoit Assou-Ekotto as a weak link in need of replacement?

Stoke

Ever since reaching the Premier League in 2008, Stoke have been much maligned (occasionally unfairly) for their style of play - but only last season did it become genuinely prosaic. Mark Hughes is as good a fit as any for Tony Pulis' replacement, but you do wonder whether this might turn out to be a case comparable to that of Alan Curbishley and Charlton in 2006 - the Potters board and fans felt they were stagnating and were happy for the manager to walk away, but it may be that what has seemed like a plateau is in fact a peak and that the only way is downhill.

Hughes has drafted in some intriguing buys, admittedly - Marc Muniesa from Barcelona (clearly in for quite a culture shock), one-time Newcastle target Erik Pieters and raw young American forward Juan Agudelo - but his side will be overly reliant on the ageing strike partnership of Peter Crouch and Jonathan Walters for goals. If they get off to a sticky start, then the three promoted clubs will find themselves with competition for the three relegation positions.

Sunderland

As Newcastle fans, it's tempting to caricature the Mackems' transfer policy as, in essence, throw enough shit at the wall and hope that some of it sticks. However, let's be honest and admit that, in light of our own club's extraordinary inactivity, we're just a teeny bit envious of the Dark Place's crowded arrivals lounge. As with Villa, it appears that a list of targets was compiled from scouting reports and that the board then set about swiftly and determinedly getting their men. Emanuele Giaccherini and Cabral in particular look like very useful additions to the side.

Aside from the numerous purchases, Paulo Di Canio's resolve to stamp his authority on the squad has also been demonstrated by the systematic dismantling of his predecessor's legacy. Martin O'Neill's two January signings, Danny Graham and Alfred N'Diaye, have both been deemed surplus to requirements and shipped out on loan, while James McClean, who initially flourished under the Northern Irishman's guidance, has been flogged off to Wigan. Here's hoping that none of the new signings acclimatise to the rigours of the Premier League, and that Di Canio has a complete meltdown at an inopportune moment - preferably in the aftermath of us exacting sweet revenge for that 3-0 defeat last season...

Swansea

The easiest-on-the-eye side in the top flight, guided to the first major trophy in their 100-year history and a place in Europe by someone who, as a player, won league titles with Ajax, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Juventus and has been named as his country's greatest ever. Yes, Swansea fans could be forgiven for pinching themselves. Not that the Swans' summer got off to a great start, though. Tensions between Michael Laudrup and chairman Huw Jenkins led to the club severing all ties with the Dane's agent, with the manager implying he might walk out, but somehow it never came to that.

Whether you regard Laudrup's agitating for significant expenditure on new recruits as thoroughly justified in view of his achievements last season and of their forthcoming European campaign (after all, we serve as a useful cautionary tale) or simply as a childish and petulant tantrum, he certainly got his way. A club record £12m was lavished on Mr T's Ivory Coast colleague Wilfried Bony, who will spearhead the attack. This will mean undisputed bargain of the last season Michu will play a little deeper, and while the Spaniard excelled at bursting into the box late to snap up crosses, you do wonder whether Bony's arrival might be to his detriment. Getting Jonathan de Guzman back on loan was a no-brainer, while La Liga was tapped for a further three new additions and no first-teamers have been spirited away. Penny for Scott Sinclair's thoughts...

West Brom

Of all the non-moves this summer, perhaps Peter Odemwingie's has been the most noteworthy. Who knows - he may have been busy frequenting the car parks of rival clubs in the hope of being offered a contract, but at the present moment he remains, most improbably, a West Brom employee. Steve Clarke's biggest headache, though, is how to fill the boots of Romelu Lukaku. The fact that he's signed two strikers - Nicolas Anelka, who has vowed to make the Baggies his sixth and final Premier League club, and Matej Vydra, last season's Championship Player of the Year while on loan at Watford - who are each in a very different mould suggests that he's not even going to try.

Uncompromising veteran centre-back Diego Lugano, Luis Suarez's captain at international level, will shore up a defence in which Jonas Olsson and Gareth McAuley looked increasingly fallible last year - a key reason why, despite Lukaku's heroics up front, West Brom slumped after a very promising start. If the same happens this year, and the Belgian does indeed prove irreplaceable, then at least Anelka, nicknamed the Incredible Sulk, will have Odemwhingy for company.

West Ham

If one thing's clear from West Ham's summer spending, it's that Fat Sam hasn't had some kind of Damascene conversion and embraced tiki-taka. After some suggestion that he'd be amenable to a return to his hometown club, Rocky signed for the Hammers, followed shortly afterwards by Stewart Downing, another player who had been linked with a move to St James' Park and the man to supply the ammunition. There's no doubt who were the prime beneficiaries of Brendan Rodgers' surplus-to-requirements firesale.

Even with Rocky, they look somewhat short up front, one-time Toon target Modibo Maiga having failed to live up to expectations. In midfield, Mohamed Diame can be an all-action powerhouse, but surely our former captain Kevin Nolan's ageing legs will prevent him from being so deadly in the box this time around? Meanwhile, the arrival of Romanian captain Razvan Rat from Shakhtar Donetsk will have the tabloid hacks rubbing their hands with glee - even if the prospect of watching hoofball at a freezing Upton Park in January doesn't.

Beaten by Bale brace

Spurs 2 - 1 Newcastle Utd

Two goals by Gareth Bale were enough to put the brakes on our recent league resurgence at White Hart Lane on Saturday.

With the Silver Fox sticking with the same starting XI for the third game in a row, there was no place for the newly returned Mr T, who had to content himself with a place on the strongest bench we've probably had all season, sitting alongside Steve Harper, Vurnon Anita, Big Lad, Obertan Kenobi, MYM and Sylvain Marveaux.

On the pitch, with the hosts running decidedly short of strikers, their principal threat was presented by Gareth Bale, and it was the Welsh wonder who gave Spurs an early lead, firing home a dipping free kick within ten minutes of kick-off. While Sideshow Bob should perhaps have done better in not conceding the foul which led to the free-kick in the first place, if we're looking to apportion blame anywhere then Perchinho's decision to remain rooted to the ground as part of the defensive wall as the ball travelled within a whisker of his head was a curious one. If the team mantra was not to jump, and thereby prevent the ball going underneath them, why did Spidermag (immediately to Perchinho's right) jump?

At the other end, we finally managed to get ourselves into the game, with Papiss Cisse heading wide after a fine diagonal cross from Sideshow Bob. However, it was our new French connection which, after the heroics against Chelski, again proved our route back into the game. This time it was Sissoko's turn to play provider, with his pull back finding Goofy who hammered the ball home via Michael Dawson's shoulder.

As both sides continued to joust for the game it was Spurs full-back Kyle Walker who was next to make his mark, albeit this time on Goofy's leg after a nasty-looking challenge which saw our man depart on a stretcher sucking on oxygen. Thankfully, post-match reports confirm no broken bones, and with a fortnight until he can next be called into action there's plenty of time for Goofy to recover.

Ultimately, though, it was Bale again who was to land the decisive blow, as he raced onto a through-ball and capitalised on a moment of hesitation between Saylor and Sideshow Bob (quite which language Saylor used to communicate with his captain is anyone's guess). Bale took the ball away from our defenders before firing low past Tim Krul (who perhaps could have done better).

If the Dutchman was perhaps slightly culpable for Bale's second, he redeemed himself with a string of further saves to deny the Welshman his hat-trick and, with frustration starting to seep into our performance, it was something of a relief that Dreamboat only saw yellow after an ugly tackle on Moussa Dembele. Our only real sniff of an equaliser came when the ball broke kindly for substitute Big Lad, but his prod was smothered by Hugo Lloris.

Wigan, Reading and QPR may all have lost but, with Southampton picking up points at home to Man City, the defeat saw us drop back one place to 16th. However, we more than matched Spurs for the majority of this game and only lost out to one of the players of the season producing two moments of real class. A few more performances like this and we'll be safe sooner rather than later.

Other reports: BBC, Guardian 

Under scrutiny

Here's some interesting (if a little outdated) reading: a scouting report on us, prepared in November 2005 by Andre Villas-Boas when the current Spurs manager was working under Jose Mourinho at Chelsea. It's a rare insight into the extent to which teams do their homework. Little wonder that Celestine Babayaro is identified as a weak link in defence, though you have to question the fact that Albert Luque is flagged up as a potential threat...

Still, all that research and analysis paid off for Villas-Boas and his employers - Chelsea won the match 3-0. I'd suggest his preparation wasn't quite so thorough when his Spurs side visited St James' in the first game of this season, but that 2-1 defeat came courtesy of a Ba wonder-goal and an HBA penalty rather than any tactical naivety.

Friends reunited

Today saw a reunion of two familiar faces, as Sebastien Bassong left Spurs for Chris Hughton's Norwich. It didn't really work out at White Hart Lane for the Cameroon international defender, and he's cited the Canaries' new manager as a critical factor in his decision to make the move: "He was the first man to give me a training session in England when I came from France. He knows me really well and so I am very happy to work for him again".

Bassong was flogged off for £8m in our post-relegation firesale in 2009, and I did wonder whether his availability and our failure to sign an experienced centre-back (Curtis Good being one for the future) might mean we showed an interest - but it wasn't to be. Despite suffering defeat on Tyneside at the weekend, Spurs seem content to continue haemorrhaging central defenders - Ledley King has retired, Ryan Nelsen's short-term deal expired and acceptance of a £7.5m bid for Michael Dawson means he's soon likely to be joining up with Nelsen across the capital at QPR.

Spurs have also confirmed today that the painfully drawn-out deal for Man City striker Emmanuel Adebayor has finally been concluded - we should probably be grateful that it wasn't wrapped up in time for Saturday's game.

Ba and HBA sink Spurs

Newcastle Utd 2 - 1 Spurs

The 2012-13 season began with a bang on Saturday at St James’ Park, with two goals from Demba Ba and HBA enough to see off last season’s fourth-place finishers Spurs.

Opting for a 4-4-2 formation, the Silver Fox welcomed back Saylor for his first competitive start since he hobbled off the pitch last January, partnering him with Perchinho (in the absence of the recovering Sideshow Bob, and leaving Mike Williamson on the bench) at the heart of our defence. Otherwise, the team sheet looked very similar to much of last season, with Ba and Papiss Cisse up front and Dreamboat and Mr T anchoring the midfield with Spidermag and HBA down the flanks.

With AVB currently seeking to impose his philosophy on Droopy’s old Spurs, and currently with only one recognised striker and a want-away midfielder on the books, if not the pitch, this looked a pretty good time to play a team who haven’t won at St James’ Park for eight years.

We started sluggishly, struggling to find fluidity in midfield and create any meaningful supply for our Senagalese strike force. At the other end, Gylfi Sigurdson had a shot well saved by Tim Krul (although a goal wouldn’t have stood as the new fulcrum of the Spurs midfield was wrongly flagged offside) and both Jermain Defoe and Gareth Bale hit the woodwork.

Half-time arrived with the match still goalless and we opted to reorientate ourselves, ditching 4-4-2 in favour of last season’s 4-3-3 formation, which pushed HBA into a more advanced role. The change paid off, with slick passing between Dreamboat and HBA seeing the ball find Danny Simpson (now apparently here for the remainder of the season at least) whose deep cross was only headed up by Kyle Walker. The ball fell to Ba on the left of the Spurs box and he stroked the ball past the despairing dive of Brad Friedel to give us the lead. Ba then promptly headed for the Strawberry Corner to pray (not “rub his face in the mud” as the idiot on Channel 5 News commented later in the evening).

With the midfield starting to tick and HBA looking increasingly threatening, we started to look a more composed side – composure clearly evidenced by Saylor, who stopped the ball going out for a corner, before dropping on his front to head the ball back along the ground to Krul to allow the keeper to pick up the ball.

By that stage, the Silver Fox had been sent to the stand, having pushed the linesman after he failed to award a throw-in when the ball looked to have gone out off a Spurs player. With his walkie-talkie seemingly not working, reserve coach Willie Donachie was left doing shuttle runs up and down the stairs to relay messages to John Carver on the bench.

Presumably one of those messages was to give new boy Vurnon Anita some game time, so he came on to replace Dreamboat, and looked solid, showing some good touches.

Defensively, it was a shame that we weren’t able to keep a clean sheet, with Defoe popping up at the back post to knock home a rebound after Krul had saved his initial effort from a Spurs corner.

Thankfully though, that wasn’t to be the last word, and HBA took a short corner, before receiving the ball back and bursting into the box between Aaron Lennon and Rafael van der Vaart, both of whom stuck out legs to clip the Frenchman and concede a penalty. With Ba the appointed penalty taker, and John Carver getting quite exasperated on the touchline, it was HBA who managed to wrestle control of the ball before calmly slotting home having sent Friedel the wrong way.

That goal took the wind out of Spurs' sails, and with Defoe their only recognised striker, they couldn’t create any further chances to threaten Krul’s goal.

Aside from a good start against a team who look likely to be one of the sides with whom we’re battling if we want to qualify for Europe in some form next season, it was a good win. Undoubtedly we’ll play with more fluency this season, but a win should never be sniffed at, and with HBA picking up where he left off last season, we could be in for some very special performances over the coming weeks and months.

The only negative is the prospect of an FA punishment for the Silver Fox, who accepted after the match that he shouldn’t have pushed the linesman and could well face further sanction as a consequence.

Spurs fans' perspectives: Dear Mr Levy, TottenhamBlog, Triffic Tottenham

Other reports: BBC, Guardian

Know Your Enemies 2012/3: Part 2

Time for the second instalment of our look at the teams we'll be facing this coming season...

QPR

"There is no way we will be in this situation again in my time here". So said Mark Hughes in the wake of QPR's final-day escape from relegation, and their feverish transfer activity over the summer certainly bears out that determination. No doubt nettled by the fact that they had been promoted as champions and yet saw their Championship inferiors Norwich and Swansea both survive in comfort and no little style, the West Londoners have gone into recruitment overdrive. Astute acquisitions are everywhere. Mark Hughes returned to his old stomping ground Old Trafford to pick up the crumbs from Taggart's table (the ever-reliable and hard-working Ji-Sung Park and loanee Fabio) and was a key factor in persuading Blackburn's much sought-after out-of-contract Junior Hoilett to sign. Samba Diakite is a significant upgrade on Shaun Derry, while in Djibril Cisse, Bobby Zamora and Andrew Johnson they've assembled a trio of strikers who, though all the wrong side of thirty, certainly know how to find the net in the top flight.

This coming season Hughes has every right to expect much more from two of his flair players, Adel Taarabt and Shaun Wright-Phillips, but also has the managerial migraine that is ASBO to contend with, our old boy beginning the campaign banned, fined and stripped of the captaincy for his misdemeanours in that sensational game at the Etihad. If there's a worry for the club as a whole, it's hubris - they may be in danger of overreaching and overstretching themselves in pursuit of success. Just ask Portsmouth how that can pan out.

Reading

I'd imagine it feels pretty good to be a Reading fan right now. Having hit form at exactly the right time and surfed the wave to secure the Championship title, the Royals are now returning to the Premier League under new ownership, with the promise of significant investment that that entails, albeit in a stadium still bearing the former owner's name. The team's achievements have been accomplished under the calm, methodical stewardship of Brian McDermott, an excellent example of the value of old Liverpool strategy of promoting from within.

McDermott's greatest transfer coup has been to persuade Pavel Pogrebnyak that, despite a fruitful loan spell with Fulham, his future lies in Berkshire. His was the marquee signing that served as a statement of intent, but Reading have also been canny in recruiting less flashy reinforcements across the back line in the form of Chris Gunter, Adrian Mariappa and former Royal Nicky Shorey, while Danny Guthrie will add experience (if not class and dining etiquette) to the midfield. However, it's doubtful that some of their most impressive Championship performers will be as effective at the higher level. Jimmy Kebe, for instance, will find life much tougher faced with Premier League full-backs. Adam Le Fondre, meanwhile, is a throwback to the days of predatory fox-in-the-box poachers, when the modern Premier League striker needs to be a much more complete footballer.

Southampton

How things change. In autumn 2008 Portsmouth were taking on and nearly beating AC Milan in Europe, while south coast rivals Southampton ended the season in administration and relegated to League One. Fast forward three years and, while Pompey are in League One without a single senior player on their books and the threat of liquidation hanging over them, the Saints are back in the big time. If they can get beyond the Schadenfreude and start looking for inspiration, then Norwich are proof positive that survival after two consecutive promotions is possible. Star striker Rickie Lambert will no doubt have noted Grant Holt's success at bullying and breaching Premier League defences while the more celebrated likes of Rocky floundered.

Lambert's strike partner is likely to be former Burnley man Jay Rodriguez, for whom Southampton perhaps unwisely smashed their record transfer fee. Throw Billy Sharp, another Championship stalwart, into the mix and it's clear that the Saints are taking a considerable gamble on goalscorers unproven in the Premier League. They've done well to snap up highly-rated Palace youngster Nathaniel Clyne, and already boast the talented Adam Lallana and Team GB representative Jack Cork in midfield, but question marks hang over their strength in depth. It'll be interesting to see whether manager Nigel Adkins can keep up his Mr Nice Guy persona in the face of the stresses, strains and psychological mind games he'll endure in the top flight. It might not be long before he's missing his Football League Show banter with Mark "Clem" Clemmit - and there's a chance they might get to resume their pally encounters in a year's time.

Stoke

If you're looking for subtlety, finesse and grace and find yourself at the Britannia Stadium, then either you need to invest in a new satnav or you've arrived on false pretences - Jonathan Woodgate was let go earlier this summer. Even when Stoke scored a contender for goal of the season (as Peter Crouch's effort against Man City was, until Papiss Cisse took aim against Chelsea), it's notable that the ball never touched the ground from the 'keeper's kick to hitting the back of the net. Yes, the Potters have a system and they're sticking to it - unsurprisingly, given that it's proven brutally effective for four successive seasons now and enabled them to survive and flourish despite minimal financial outlay. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" seems to be the club's motto - though things do often break when they're around, namely noses...

Last summer Crouch replaced Kenwyne Jones as the large of Stoke's little-and-large strike partnership, and Tony Pulis is now looking to upgrade on the little, eager to land Little Saint Mick as an improvement on Jonathan Walters. The baseball-capped Welshman is nothing if not pragmatic, having responded to the hefty price tag Wolves hung around Matt Jarvis' neck by promptly signing fellow winger Michael Kightly instead. The good news for Stoke's opponents is that bogeyman Rory Delap is nearing the end of his career; the bad news is that his protege Ryan Shotton is developing his own version of the Irishman's fabled throw-in, capable of causing as much panic in defences as the sight of salad in a kebab does in Sunderland.

Sunderland

Speak of the devils. The Mackems seem to have been having great trouble attracting players to the Dark Place. Funny, that. Most pressing was a new striker - Niklas Bendtner has returned to Arsenal and Asamoah Gyan has sealed his escape, while of those left Stephane Sessegnon couldn't make it into double figures last season, Connor Wickham has failed to live up to even the most modest expectations and Fraizer Campbell is far more familiar with the physio than he is with his teammates. Little wonder, then, that they were so desperate to sweet-talk free agent Louis Saha into joining and remain keen on snaring Wolves' Steven Fletcher. To date, their only other new signing has been Carlos Cuellar, another past-his-best defender to keep Wes Brown and John O'Shea company.

Nevertheless, there remains some hope even for these most hopeless of wretches. Sunderland are strongest on the flanks, where Sebastian Larsson provides Beckham-esque delivery and recently unearthed talent James McClean offers energy and penetration, and in Martin O'Neill they're undeservedly blessed with a potential saviour. How long before he acknowledges that having Lee Cattermole - a player who makes ASBO look like a tranquillised Buddhist - as captain is a car crash just waiting to happen?

Swansea

Through the tenures of Roberto Martinez, Paulo Sousa and Brendan Rodgers, Swansea have developed a footballing philosophy that is the complete antithesis of Stoke's, and the new man charged with its exposition is Michael Laudrup. The Dane has called upon his connections in pursuing a transfer policy that has seemed largely focused on players with single names who either sound like Pokemon characters (Michu) or conjure up deeply unpleasant repressed memories of X Factor contestants (Chico). One exception is Dutch midfielder Jonathan De Guzman, borrowed from Villareal and set to make a big impression at the Liberty Stadium.

As a former winger himself, Laudrup will presumably be keen to ensure the Swans continue to use pacy wide men Scott Sinclair, Nathan Dyer and Wayne Routledge to their best advantage. He's no doubt less than enamoured of his predecessor's attempts to lure his best players to Liverpool - Joe Allen has already left, and Rodgers is rumoured to be lining up a bid to take Ashley Williams to Anfield too. Together with Angel Rangel, Neil Taylor and Spurs loanee Steven Caulker, Williams was critical in creating the circumstances in which Swansea's rightly lauded total football could thrive last season - if Laudrup and chairman Huw Jenkins allow that supporting wall to be removed, the whole edifice might collapse.

Spurs

How very typical that Spurs should trounce us 5-0 immediately before embarking on a catastrophic run of form that ultimately deprived them of Champions League qualification and cost 'Appy 'Arry his job. That resulted in Andre Villas-Boas being granted a second crack of the Premier League whip, and he was soon at loggerheads with Luka Modric, the Croatian the subject of intense transfer speculation for the second successive summer and someone who Chelsea, under the Portuguese, were eager to recruit. Thus far Spurs have just about won the battle, as they have with Gareth Bale, but Modric now looks increasingly likely to be lining up for Jose Mourinho's Real Madrid.

In between trying to fight off unwanted attention for the pair, Daniel Levy has spent much of the summer wrangling with Emmanuel Adebayor and his representatives, still unable to agree personal terms on a deal for the man who spearheaded the attack last term. Jermain Defoe might be itching for more regular first-team football, but without Adebayor (or a suitable alternative) Spurs look woefully short-staffed up front. On a more positive note, Belgian centre-back Jan Vertonghen is an excellent addition, especially in light of Ledley King's retirement, and may perhaps be partnered by Steven Caulker, who's on the cusp of a major breakthrough. Gylfi Sigurdsson, fresh from making a huge impact on loan at Swansea, has chosen Spurs over Liverpool and bolsters an already impressive midfield in which Sandro continues to look more assured. Factor in Kyle Walker, arguably the best right-back in the division at present, and Rafael van der Vaart, desperate to put the Netherlands' dismal performance at Euro 2012 behind him, and Spurs have the potential to mount a reasonable title challenge - assuming they aren't fed any dodgy lasagne, that is.

West Brom

Though 'Arry had looked odds-on to land the England job, it eventually went to Roy Hodgson, leaving West Brom seeking a replacement. They found one in the form of Steve Clarke, once of this parish and until recently Kenny Dalglish's number two, who followed Hodgson's footsteps from Anfield to the Hawthorns via a brief period of unemployment. Whether he is able to make himself comfortable or barely has time to singe his buttocks on the managerial hotseat depends partly on the success of his signings.

A primary objective appears to have been to beef up the front line, with disgruntled Chelsea youth Romelu Lukaku and experienced Swedish marksman Markus Rosenberg set to give the likes of Peter Odemwingie and Shane Long serious competition. Midfield recruits Claudio Yacob and Yassine El Ghanassy are a more unknown quantity, while Ben Foster has now swapped Birmingham for the Black Country on a permanent basis. However, it's largely players like Chris Brunt and Jonas Olsson, unheralded by many other than Baggies supporters, who have been instrumental in the club's survival - and may well be again.

West Ham

When West Ham clinched an immediate return to the top tier through the play-offs, the overriding emotion was probably one of relief. Had the Hammers not squeaked through against Blackpool, their retention of players on Premier League wages and riskily substantial January expenditure might well have resulted in financial meltdown. The crucial goal that day was scored by Ricardo Vaz Te, a mid-season recruit finally coming good on the early promise he showed at Bolton. Fat Sam doesn't seem to have much faith in his other strikers Carlton Cole, Nicky Maynard and Sam Baldock, having taken the gamble we weren't prepared to take on Modibo Maiga and expressing unrequited love for Rocky.

QPR's acquisition of Robert Green led to the purchase of not one but two new 'keepers, veteran Jussi Jaaskelainen and Stephen Henderson both happy to be offered escape routes from relegated Bolton and Portsmouth respectively. Fat Sam's sides are rarely a soft touch - usually quite the opposite - and the addition of Mohamed Diame and Alou Diarra to the midfield should ensure that the Hammers are combative where it matters most. Mark Noble and James Tomkins are both a year older and wiser, and, with our former skipper Kevin Nolan adept at the art of popping up unexpectedly in the six-yard area like a mole with an unerring sense of timing, Upton Park probably won't be playing host to Championship football for at least another year.

Wigan

Just what is it that's keeping Roberto Martinez at Wigan? Surely it can't be the prospect of yet another season of struggle, working alchemical magic to turn base metals like Franco di Santo into something with at least the occasional lustre of gold? Maybe Dave Whelan shackles the Spaniard in his cellar every May. With attractive vacancies aplenty in the Premier League this summer (Liverpool, Spurs, Villa), it's remarkable that one of the division's shrewdest and most likeable managers will once again begin the season in the DW dugout.

Survival last season was secured without the assistance of Hugo Rodallega, the contract rebel frozen out of the first team (potentially a classic case of cutting off your nose to spite your face) and now at Fulham. His replacement is Arouna Kone, fresh from a productive loan spell at Levante. The Ivorian striker might not be the most loyal of players, though - he'd only inked a permanent deal with the Spaniish outfit in May... Martinez has also looked to La Liga to stiffen up his defence, stealing Real Mallorca's Ivan Ramis from under Fat Sam's snout, while (thus far successfully) fending off Chelsea's menacing approach for midfield gem Victor Moses. Given the Latics' extraordinary ability to scrape to safety against all the odds, only a fool would predict relegation - so allow me to do the honours.

Droopy for England!

A fascinating revelation from Taggart today that he and other managers have been sent letters by the Premier League forbidding them from discussing the England vacancy. The missive has come too late for the Silver Fox, who hasn't been alone in endorsing Droopy's credentials for the job. I'm sure his sentiments are on the whole heartfelt, but it's nice to imagine that a small part of him might have slyly enjoyed the opportunity to unsettle 'Appy 'Arry as revenge for the Spurs boss trying to unsettle Demba Ba back in January...

Tottenhammered

Spurs 5 - 0 Newcastle Utd

If this was Droopy's audition for the England job, then he's a shoo-in. By contrast, if this was the Silver Fox's audition to be his replacement in the Spurs dug-out, then we can probably rest assured that our manager won't be leaving for London any time soon - not least because he conceded his tactics were partly to blame for the thumping we suffered.

It was a perfect storm: effervescent, high-flying opposition playing on home turf; an old boy hungry to impress on his first start for his new club; a bullish manager, relieved at the conclusion of his court case; boisterous support from the stands; the absence of Dreamboat and particularly Mr T from our engine room; unforgivable sloppiness from our players, both with and without the ball; an offensive 4-4-2 formation which a rueful Silver Fox, with hindsight, declared a mistake.

By the sixth minute we were two down, first Benoit Assou-Ekotto and his enormous afro somehow sneaking in unmarked for a far-post tap-in, and then Louis Saha opening his account for Spurs. By the twentieth minute it had got even worse, Saha - who appeared to have rediscovered his sharpness just in time for our visit - finishing off a flowing move. Both full-backs looked completely overawed and overrun, while James Perch's limitations were cruelly exposed by Luka Modric.

In amongst it all we could possibly have had a penalty, when Emmanuel Adebayor - who had set up all three Spurs goals - handled in the area. Referee Andre Marriner suffered temporary blindness again when a curling Demba Ba free-kick was tipped behind by Brad Friedel but a corner not forthcoming. And, as if to prove everything was conspiring against us, Tim Krul made a decent save from Adebayor only for Niko Kranjcar to fire home the rebound.

We'd been 4-0 down at half-time to a team from North London before, of course, but this time the emphasis was very much on damage limitation. Obertan Kenobi was punished for a pathetic performance by being withdrawn for Shane Ferguson with Spidermag switching to the right wing.

In fairness to the players, the second period was much more palatable, helping us to claw back some pride and dignity. We even came close to scoring, when Ba's header was saved by Friedel and substitute Dan Gosling ballooned the follow-up into the stand. But by that point we'd fallen even further behind, Mike Williamson powerless to prevent Adebayor from adding his name to the scoresheet, and the sight of both Jermain Defoe and Aaron Lennon coming on was hardly comforting.

So Papisse Cisse's first full appearance was as awful as his debut was memorable, and the fans - whose splendid vocal support bore no relation to the team's display on the pitch - were left to rue the fact that the game survived the weather.

A temporary aberration? That's what we said about the defeat at Fulham. Still, losses for Chelsea and Liverpool meant we only slipped back one place (albeit with our goal difference completely wiped out), Arsenal climbing above us courtesy of a last-minute Thierry Henry winner at the Dark Place.

With next weekend off, thanks to Gus Poyet's Brighton, we've got a fortnight to pick ourselves up and rally for the visit of Wolves. The result in today's Black Country derby suggests that Mick McCarthy's men will be ideal opposition - though, of course, they too will be keen to right wrongs and banish the memory of a humiliating and painful defeat.

Other reports: BBC, Observer

Ba's French fancy

What with the transfer window being open, it was never going to be long before we had our first case of verbal diarrhoea. "I have always supported PSG and it's a club that is enticing but it will be difficult to do that in January", Demba Ba has been quoted as saying. The player's denial - or at least the claim that the comments were taken out of context - followed swiftly afterwards.

Ba's hometown club wouldn't be alone in taking an interest in our striker, with pretty much all six clubs currently above us in the table reportedly keen. As yet, though, no offers have been forthcoming - and that despite Droopy's attempts to flog him for us. Ever the wheeler-dealer, eh, 'Arry? Keep your fleshy beak and the rest of your flabby face out of our business.

If, hypothetically speaking, Ba was to be sold, then speculation's been rife that his replacement could be the man he himself replaced - rumours rubbished by Rocky's agent as well as his manager Kenny Dalglish. While the prospect of re-signing the striker for £25m less than we sold him would clearly be appealing, it's a moot point, really: we play a different style of football now without a bullying presence up front, and Jabba would be very unlikely to sanction a transfer fee or wages that hefty. Still, stranger things have happened on Tyneside.

Might we soon find ourselves linked with another old boy, though? It seems Sebastien Bassong is getting frustrated at warming Droopy's bench, we're in the market for a central defender, and a left-footer would complement Sideshow Bob nicely. Incidentally, that particular hole definitely won't be plugged by former triallist Darnel Situ, who has now finally signed for Swansea.

The only way is up neither up nor down

Could talk of the all-important 40-point mark, "relegation six-pointers" and "squeaky bum time" become a thing of the past? It might if certain unnamed foreign owners of Premier League clubs have their way.

Without the possibility of promotion or the threat of relegation, the game would be immeasurably poorer - no excitement, no sense of uncertainty, no point. But, as ludicrous as the idea of doing away with them might sound, that's already the situation in Scotland, where there's no straightforward route from the regional leagues up into the national leagues and vice versa. A friend of mine supports Forres Mechanics, who were founder members of the Highland Football League in 1893 and have been stuck there ever since, managing to win the title just once in all that time. How the fans are able to sum up any interest or enthusiasm is completely beyond me.

Even those for whom we have precious little time have been voicing their opposition to the potential proposal. Taggart lambasted it as "suicide" and 'Appy 'Arry labelled it "scandalous". Grudging credit where it's due, but even Deluded Dave has branded it as "the most stupid suggestion I've ever heard in my life" - a more significant stance than those of Taggart and 'Appy 'Arry simply because the Premier League becoming a closed shop would be to Wigan's benefit. (The Latics owner actually threatened to withdraw his club from the league if the idea became reality - as things stand, Saturday's visitors to St James' Park could be waving the Premier League farewell regardless...)

Of course, it's tempting to speculate who might be behind the suggestion. Not hard to imagine that Blackburn owners Venkys might be guilty of fowl play, given that it would keep their dead men walking in the division. I wouldn't put it past Liverpool either, American owner John Henry being used to the franchise system in the US and managing director Ian Ayre having voiced a much-publicised disregard for what's fair in pursuit of narrow self-interest.*

Thankfully, even if there was some momentum behind the proposal, the FA would apparently retain the right to veto it. So they might yet prove their worth after all...

(* Incidentally, here's True Faith's eloquent commentary on Ayre's remarks.)

Update

Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore has dismissed the suggestion as "ridiculous", claiming that no owners have actually declared their support for it - and indeed Blackburn and Liverpool are among those who've come out to announce they're satisfied with the current system. A storm in a teacup, then, it seems, and one that leaves League Managers' Association chief Richard Bevan (who made the initial comments) looking a little bit foolish.

Still, it's interesting that Man City and the Mackems refused to comment on the issue, and Arsenal actually announced they "did not have a stance". Surely you're either for the status quo or you want change?

Thirty-something coming of age at last?

Newcastle Utd 2 - 2 Spurs

Might it be that Big Lad's been the wrong side of 30 all along, and now finally finds himself the right side? Having celebrated the milestone birthday in the week, our infuriatingly inconsistent striker, on as a substitute, belted in a sweet left-footed equaliser with four minutes of normal time remaining, setting up a frantic finish and ultimately ensuring that Spurs had to share the spoils.

That he had to wait until the 71st minute to be introduced to the action was down to Alan Pardew's understandable reluctance to tinker with a winning formula. The starting XI was very familiar, featuring no fewer than eight ever-presents (including the entire back five). Demba Ba was passed fit to partner Leon O'Best, while Yohan Cabaye was also given the all-clear after his recent exertions with France.

The first period was characterised by a lot of neat passing from both sides, but precious little in the way of goalmouth action. Wary of the threat posed by a visiting side who'd romped to four successive league wins, we were relatively cautious in our approach. A tame Ba header and a whipped Ryan Taylor free-kick claimed by Brad Friedel from the tip of O'Best's outstretched toe (remarkably quick reactions for an octagenarian) was pretty much all we had to show for our general control of the game. Mr T was excelling himself, tackling and intercepting like a man possessed to foil Spurs' advances, while Sideshow Bob was once again marshalling his defence superbly.

So it was something of a shock when our captain was partly culpable for our opponents taking the lead on 40 minutes. His risky ball into Cabaye saw the Frenchman ruthlessly mugged by Jake Livermore. Emmanuel Adebayor burst into the box and tumbled over Steven Taylor's left leg, our man dismayed to discover that there was to be no repeat of his let-off at Wolves and that Lee Probert had pointed to the spot. Rafael van der Vaart blasted the penalty goalwards and Tim Krul didn't stand a chance.

If there was a sense of injustice about the half-time scoreline, we didn't allow ourselves to dwell on it, instead fighting back within three minutes of the restart. Spidermag took the plaudits for a darting run beyond two players and a perfectly floated cross that the onrushing Ba met awkwardly six yards out. Friedel trapped the ball between his knees but his momentum took him over the line and into the back of the net. That's now five goals in three games for the Senegalese striker - surely a good enough reason to crack a smile, eh, Demba?

With both sides now playing a significantly higher line, chances began to come with greater frequency. Mr T was running out of a bit of steam (before picking up his customary booking), which enabled Luka Modric to attack us more effectively from deep. From one such foray he set up Adebayor to flash a shot just wide of the far post, while Obertan Kenobe - otherwise a waste of space on our right - did likewise at the opposite end.

'Appy 'Arry demonstrated the riches at his disposal by bringing on Jermain Defoe for van der Vaart, and the arch poacher took just five minutes to wound us. Controlling Scott Parker's pass, he turned inside Ryan Taylor before promptly dispatching a clinical shot into the bottom left-hand corner of Krul's net.

Pardew's response was to freshen up our strikeforce, replacing Ba and the commendably hard-working O'Best with HBA and Big Lad. While the former looked a little short of match fitness, regularly dribbling into crunching challenges and squandering possession, the latter made an immediate impression, discomforting centre-back pairing Younes Kaboul and Toon old boy Sebastien Bassong.

A curling long-ranger from Mr T - trying to reprise his spectacular strike, and only Toon goal to date, against Spurs' North London rivals - and a Ryan Taylor free-kick served notice of the fact that we weren't beaten yet. And, sure enough, when Spurs failed to clear their lines, a neat touch from Cabaye sent Big Lad in wide on the left and he hammered the ball home with a Rocky-esque thump.

We could have fallen behind again if it hadn't have been for a desperate Steven Taylor block and a smart Krul save, both to deny Defoe. But in a frenetic five minutes of stoppage time, during which we laid siege to the visitors' goal, we came tantalisingly close to taking all three points. Sideshow Bob, absolutely magnificent in the second half and surely a contender for the league's most in-form defender, had two opportunities to repeat last season's trick of scoring against Spurs but couldn't take either, and Spidermag jinked his way into a shooting position only to skim his drive straight at Friedel, so a point apiece and consolidating fourth place it was.

In amongst all of the late drama, Davide Santon made his long-awaited first-team debut, coming on for Danny Simpson - perhaps it's his place that's under threat from the Italian, not Ryan Taylor's. Pardew will also have a selection dilemma as regards picking two from Ba, O'Best and Big Lad for next weekend's visit of Wigan, and I'd hope he sees sense, drops Obertan Kenobe and hands HBA a free role behind the strikers. But that's for another day - we should be relatively contented with a sound performance and result against a side of superstars.

A Spurs fan's perspective: Dear Mr Levy

Other reports: BBC, Guardian

Spurned opportunity

Newcastle Utd 1 - 1 Spurs

For the second successive game, Newcastle were caught with a sucker punch at the death to leave us rueing two points lost rather than a point gained.

This week, for 5under1and read Spurs, as Droopy's team of dwarves managed to pinch a point on the break thanks to Aaron Lennon's quick feet and smart finish. However, as Alan Shearer was keen to point out on Match Of The Day, the reality is that Danny Simpson shouldn't have allowed Lennon to cut inside onto his stronger right foot, and instead should have forced the player down the line.

The fact that we were even in a position to rue the points dropped is credit to the team, who struggled to get hold of the ball thanks to Spurs' slicker passing, but who looked the more threatening in front of goal, with Leon Best, Peter Lovenkrands and Nile Ranger all guilty at points of failing to score when gilt-edged opportunities came their way.

It was heartening to see Danny Guthrie enjoying a decent game in the middle of the park (at least until he hobbled off towards the end) and it was his pass which was pinged out to the left-hand side for Sideshow Bob to chest the ball down expertly before firing an exquisite shot inside Carlo Cudicini's far post.

(At that point, presumably somewhere in the Sky a hairy man and his Scottish sidekick were heard to grumble: "That goalscorer looks like a girl." "Girls shouldn't be playing football - they should be in the kitchen cooking ma tea...")

Having taken the lead, it was again frustrating that we couldn't add the second to finish off the match, and equally that we again just wilted at the last - which to my mind at least suggests that the players simply aren't quite fit enough compared to the teams they're coming up against.

On the plus side, Sideshow Bob was excellent, his goal the icing on the cake. Equally impressive was the return of Danny Guthrie, who demonstrated that he has the skills to do well in central midfield, if only he could perform week in week out.

Still, for the second week in a row we can count ourselves unlucky not to have beaten a top six team.

A Spurs' fans view: Dear Mr Levy

Other reports: BBC, Guardian

Arfa deal done

Newcastle confirmed today that Hatem Ben Arfa's loan move from Marseille has become a permanent signing, with the injured winger signing a four-and-a-half-year deal.

In the short term nothing changes, with the player still seeking to recover from the broken leg he picked up at Eastlands earlier in the season. What it does suggest is that his rehab is going very well for the club to risk signing a player suffering from such an injury. Similarly, it represents something of a statement of intent from the club, with a figure of around £5 million being mentioned on nufc.com.

Whether that means Jabba has again put his hand in his pocket is uncertain, and similarly whether that means there is any further cash available for recruitment without sales remains to be seen.

In other transfer news, the Evening Standard is suggesting that Rocky might be on his way to Spurs in exchange for Robbie Keane, David Bentley and a suitcase of money. Hopefully there's nothing in this - as much as Robbie Keane would probably slot in to our side quite well, I think he'd be better alongside Rocky than trying to fill his boots. Aside from anything else, flogging a young striker with huge talent and potential in exchange for an older player past his prime doesn't seem the wisest bit of business we could do. The fact that the usually reliable .com are carrying the story suggests it's more than idle paper talk and is something we'll need to watch as the month progresses.

As I mentioned a few days ago, keeping Rocky has got to be a priority for Pardew and the offer of Keane, Bentley or whoever does nothing to change my view.

The Becks factor

Following his intimation that we were interested in the loan signing of one David Beckham in the Wigan post-match interview, it seems Alan Pardew has come up against a brick wall. Asked about the potential signing yesterday, he commented: "I think it is unlikely. We have targets elsewhere which give probably more chance of fruition than that one." That brick wall has in all likelihood been erected by 'Appy 'Arry, who appears to have muscled himself into pole position.

To be honest, I won't be too disappointed if we miss out. Don't get me wrong - I'm a huge fan of Beckham who feels his qualities have often been understated and undervalued. But even if he'd add something to the playing squad and be a positive and vastly experienced presence in the dressing room, I'm not sure marquee signings of past-their-prime players are really what we need (or what the parsimonious Jabba would permit). We'd presumably have to pay a substantial proportion of his wage, if not all of it, and with a tight budget we'd probably be better served investing the money in more than one player, and with an eye to the future rather than the past. The recruitment of Sol Campbell - not currently looking like it's paying dividends - should perhaps be a cautionary tale...

Of those "targets elsewhere" mentioned by Pardew, one or more may well be sold to us by 'Arry 'imself - Robbie Keane, as previously reported, but perhaps also David Bentley and/or Jamie O'Hara. Pardew admitted: "I can't say we haven't spoken to Spurs, because I was speaking to them last week, and we talked about players. I think they want some movement, and we want some movement. Whether we take a player from Spurs is a question I can't answer, but we're looking at the market, and we want to bring an offensive player in."

According to the Daily Heil, another attacking player on our radar is PSG's Benin international right winger Stephane Sessegnon. The reported interest in Beckham, Bentley and Sessegnon certainly doesn't bode well for Wayne Routledge and also perhaps suggests that Pardew would like to see ASBO operating more centrally rather than out on the flank, as part of a five-man midfield. That's his natural position, but we wouldn't reap the full benefit of his crossing ability.

I also think that, in general, we look better with a fairly traditional 4-4-2 set-up rather than 4-5-1, regardless of whether the latter is supposedly fluid so it can swiftly tranform into a 4-3-3 when we're on the attack. That said, we do need reinforcements and Pardew also needs quality personnel to be able to be flexible with his line-ups - sticking too rigidly to a preferred formation can be as costly as switching it for each game.

Singed by Spurs' wingers

Spurs 2 - 0 Newcastle Utd

Two goals courtesy of Spurs' flying wingers saw us finish the year with a defeat, and casting nervous glances over our shoulder at the relegation battle which is beginning behind us.

With Jose Enrique announcing to the world via Twitter that he wouldn't be playing thanks to a stiff hamstring, and Kevin Nolan suspended, Alan Pardew was forced to shuffle his pack and bring in James Perch at left back and Alan Smith into a five-man midfield.

In the first half, we coped relatively well, Perch doing a decent job on his "wrong" side and but for one moment - when Tim Krul pushed a Roman Pavlyuchenko header onto the post and then watched as it bounded along the goal line before clipping the other post and bouncing out - we looked reasonably secure at the back.

However, going forward neither Spidermag nor Spurs old boy Wayne Routledge were able to send anything decent in Rocky's direction, and our lone striker struggled to fashion a decent chance as a result.

The second half, unfortunately, demonstrated why Spurs' attacking play has seen them upwardly mobile in recent weeks, firstly when Aaron Lennon was given too much space by Perch and the winger was able to fire past Krul to give the home team the lead, and then when Gareth Bale was released on the counter-attack and he charged up field before eventually cutting inside Steven Taylor and hammering in the goal which killed off the match.

At that point, we'd been on the attack, with Rocky dispossessed on the edge of the Spurs box seconds before Bale scored at the other end, and with the home team down to ten men after Younes Kaboul had headutted Cheik Tiote (an altercation which had prompted a full and frank exchange of views between the two dug-outs).

Sadly for us, Bale's goal knocked the wind from our sails and even though we continued to plug away Spurs were able to see off the remainder of the game without too much to worry about.

Reflecting on the match, I suspect it's the last time Jose Enrique will be tweeting about his availability to play matches, and as the January transfer window beckons it served as a pointer to both new manager and Jabba as to the squad's shortcomings.  Whether that warning is heeded remains to be seen, but we're now in the bottom half and our next two games against Wigan and West Ham look to be very big ones indeed.

A Spurs fan's view: Dear Mr Levy

Other reports: BBC, Guardian