If ever you wanted to understand the distinction between “winning the transfer market” and winning an actual football match, then this was the game for you. Tottenham’s first home fixture of the Premier League season began with adulatory focus on all their new players. It ended in decisive defeat to Newcastle as recruit after recruit failed to make their presence pay, while Newcastle’s forgotten forwards made hay.
Tottenham should have taken the lead in a first half they had the better of, but they had no response to impressive second-half strikes by Anthony Elanga and Yoanne Wissa. What had looked like green shoots of positivity withered to nothing. For a Newcastle team themselves a work in progress under Matthias Jaissle, this was a heartening victory achieved with many of their own additions to come in.
Rarely can there have been a club so desperate to show their fans that they have flashed the cash as Spurs this summer. Vinai Venkatesham, the Tottenham chief executive, wrote a two-page letter in the programme that led on the spending and proclaimed: “We have attracted the names we wanted to attract.” Before kick-off there was a brief ceremony to welcome all eight signings to the club. Time will tell on the latter point, but there was no arguing over the former.
The £116m purchase Sandro Tonali started in midfield and was booed on his every touch by the Newcastle fans in a performance that only spluttered. The Italian was not the only player finding his feet either, with four other summer recruits in Roberto De Zerbi’s XI and £60m Omar Marmoush starting 24 hours after signing for the club. For Jaissle’s Newcastle, there was a debut for Nico González, signed this week for £50m from Manchester City, and another showing for new goalkeeper Lukas Hornicek and right-back Amar Dedic.
Newcastle started the brighter, with Wissa full of energy at the tip of the visitors’ attack. Spurs were sloppy and looked porous, but they did not give up a true opportunity and – as the half wore on – they took control of proceedings. On the left-hand side Mathys Tel began to combine with Andy Robertson.
The midfield three of Tonali, £85m Mateus Fernandes and Rodrigo Bentancur began to interchange positions. Even the wildcard selection of Pedro Porro at right wing showed flashes of success with the Spaniard seeing his close-range shot well blocked in the 17th minute. Spurs had decent chances for both Tel and Jan Paul van Hecke too, but Hornicek did well to save both efforts.
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