Newcastle returned to host a Premier League match for the first time in over a year on Sunday, and they proceeded to shoot (or stamp) themselves in the foot against a very strong Tottenham side. They ended up losing by a score of 0-2. Here are three thoughts:
Defenders lost
There will be a lot of worry from both Rafa Benitez and supporters alike about the status of his defence. Paul Dummett was the first to go down after just a handful of minutes had gone. Dummett is a very solid player at left back, and will certainly be missed.
The big hit, though, is the injury to Florian Lejuene. The man bought from Eibar was clattered into by Harry Kane, and he had to be taken off. The Magpies are already short on the depth chart as it is, and now Rafa will have more to worry about.
In addition to that, they now will have to deal with their preferred Championship pairing in the middle, which will be a real problem after they switched off and allowed Alli to ghost in and score Spurs’ first.
Shelvey a poor captain
To make Jonjo Shelvey a captain is probably the worst mistake that could be made. The Englishman simply isn’t cut out to lead much of anything, other than the line to the showers. In a truly stupid act, the midfielder decided to step on Dele Alli with the referee a matter of feet away.
This display, unsurprisingly, earned him a red card and it cost his team a real chance to grab a point or possibly three. The game was far from over at that point, and they were frustrating Spurs. But Shelvey let it all go up in smoke by being selfish and refusing to put his team first.
This is the reason why he was in the Championship to begin with, and it’s why he’ll probably be back in it sooner than later.
Intimidation factor possible
As soon as the players came out of the tunnel at St James’ Park on Sunday, the crowd erupted. This is a town meant for Premier League football, and they proved that with their display.
If Newcastle can reestablish themselves in the league, get players to remain on the pitch, and keep a good manager at the helm, they can always be a force in the league due to the fortress that this stadium can be.
For a half, Spurs found it very difficult to cut through them, and only broke away as they did due to petulance.
