There’s a new player on the Top-6 block, and its name is Newcastle United. Newcastle United proved their place within the Top-4 has not been undeserved as they DESTROYED Tottenham 6-1 to push their lead over 5th place to six points.
As I said in the intro, Newcastle United just showed they’re coming for a permeant place within the Top-6.
Newcastle United put on one of the most ruthless, cold-blooded, and impressive performances of the Premier League season thus far as they fired five past Tottenham within the first 20 minutes of the game and six goals overall to win 6-1, go back into 3rd place, and push the deficit between 5th place Spurs and themselves to 6 points with the Geordies having played a game less.
WOW! That’s all I can really say after this game.
Newcastle were utterly ruthless as they pretty much scored on each and every single shot. I don’t know how the Tottenham backline of Eric Dier, Christian Romero, Pedro Porro, Ivan Perisic, Hugo Lloris ever gets assembled again as they were losing their markers, getting beat to the loss balls, getting outjumped and outmuscled, and flat out embarrassed for fun.
They all should loss three weeks’ worth of wages for the performance they put on today as it was unbecoming of a Championship players, let alone ones fighting for a Champions League place.
As for the Newcastle front line, that was a magical effort as Alexander Isak, Joelinton, and Jacob Murphy all scored at least once, while the midfield of Joe Willock, Sean Longstaff, and Bruno Guimarães were ruthless and causing turnovers and keeping possession.
Seriously, not only did Newcastle’s midfield maintain 57% possession, 516 passes, and an 87% passing accuracy, but they also were directly instrumental in three of Newcastle’s goals (1st, 3rd, and 4th).
It was truly and inspirational performance for every Geordie involved…which might have been the performance that sends them to the next level.
Not only have Newcastle all-but secured their place within the Champions League next season (they have won match against the Top-6 left to play in their final 7 games) with the most convincing win they’ve had in the 2020 decade, but they also pretty much dethroned Spurs from their “guaranteed” Top-6 status in the process.
Okay, it might be an overexaggerating to say that Spurs will never get into the Top-6 and/or the Top-4 ever again, but it’s certainly not an overexaggerating to say it’ll be extremely difficult to have the sustained Champions League qualification success the club has had in the last 10ish years under the current circumstances.
With a pocketless and ambitious Newcastle now firmly on the Champions League center stage, Spurs will now have to contend with Manchester United (currently 3rd, won 2023 Carabao Cup, reached 2023 FA Cup Final today), Manchester City (currently 2nd, 2X defending Premier League champions, also reached 2023 Fa Cup final), Arsenal (currently 1st, resurgent under young, exciting squad), Liverpool (currently 7th, 2022 Carabao Cup and FA Cup winners, 2022 Champions League finalists), and Chelsea (currently 11th, 2021 Champions League winners, limitless pockets) to just get a Europa League spot.
A Europa League spot!
Now, that’d be difficult task for even the most historic, prestigious, and wealthy clubs in European football, but it’s going to be almost impossible for a club like Spurs.
Not only does the hierarchy value revenues and financial success as paramount to winning (i.e.: they make decisions based on how much money the club will spend/earn over if it will help the team win trophies), but the team is timid and in rapid decline.
As this game showed, why the spotlight is brightest and shinning directly on these Spurs players, they always (and I mean ALWAYS) come up short.
In the 10 or so years this core (Harry Kane, Heung-Min Son, Eric Dier, Hugo Lloris, Ben Davies, etc.) has been together, Spurs have choked a Premier League title race against newly-promoted Leicester City (2014/15), lost two EFL Cup Finals (2015, 2021), lost a Champions League Final (2019), and haven’t finished higher than 4th in any of the last 5 seasons after three years (2015/16-2017/18) of Top-3 finishes.
Do I need to say more?
Kane is now 29, Son is 30, Dier is 29, Pierre-Emilie Højbjerg is 27, Hugo Lloris (the club captain) is 36, and Ben Davies is 29. How much more can you get out of a core group of players that not only are coming up on the twilights of their career, but have also made their names for being choke artists and capitulators?
If you give them a team-building manager (Mauricio Pochettino), they’ll break after 4-5 seasons without winning. If you give them a serial cup-competition winning manager (Jose Mourinho), they’ll imploded in every single cup competition. And, if you give them a proven Premier League and FA Cup winning disciplinarian (Antonio Conte), they’ll cower and rebel whenever the spotlight shines brightest upon them.
Spurs need a rebuild or else this club will be facing midtable result for the next 5-7 years…which is something Newcastle seems to have finally put past them.
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