Tottenham Hotspur v Newcastle United (FA Premier League - 30 March 2008)
Expected line-ups
Tottenham: Robinson, Chimbonda, Hutton, Dawson, Woodgate, Zokora, Jenas, Malbranque, Lennon, Berbatov, Keane.
Newcastle: Harper, Beye, Taylor, Faye, Jose Enrique, Geremi, Butt, Barton, N'Zogbia, Owen, Viduka.
Head-to-head record
Tottenham wins: 58
Draws: 30
Newcastle wins: 51
Preview
When Tottenham met Newcastle back in October the world was quite a different place for the supporters of these two sides. What has happened since only goes to prove that form is temporary and class is permanent.
Spurs turned up at St James’ Park low on confidence, high in the error-making department and with a manager teetering on the brink of the sack. Newcastle were beginning to make an impression under their new boss and showing signs that their decades of underachievement may be about to be a thing of the past. Such was the contrast in the way things were going for the two sides that TPC predicted a comfortable home win and we were proved sadly right.
Yet in the space of four months everything has turned full circle and the balance of power between one truly big club and one wannabe who is really nothing more than a clown academy for supporters and players alike has been restored. Spurs go into this game brimming with confidence and playing with a touch of the old swagger, topped up with a glistening trophy safe on the mantelpiece with a head coach who is proving to be even better than the brochure suggested.
Newcastle are the Premier League’s laughing stock once again. Bereft of any belief despite a scrappy win against an awful Fulham side, seemingly unable to create anything in the new era under a manager who promised so much free-flowing entertaining football but has instead been unmasked as a soundbyte-tossing has-been with as about as much clue of modern football as the black and white sheep that follow their ridiculous club.
Keegan was recently promoting his new business venture, ‘Soccer Circus’. Why he bothered is anyone’s guess as he already has his own one at St James’ Park. His belittling of southern football fans by calling them theatre-going luvvies has backfired spectacularly after Dennis Wise chose to take his family to watch ‘The Lion King’ in the west end rather than watch his bunch of wasters in their relegation scrap. So ironic that you couldn’t even dream about making it up.
But that sums up Newcastle and if there is any justice then Spurs will put them in their place on Sunday. It is certainly overdue. Despite Tottenham’s good performances in the league over the past few seasons, Spurs have lost the last four meetings between the sides although only lady luck will know how a battered Newcastle escaped from White Hart Lane with a 3-2 win last term.
Juande Ramos seems intent on picking his best XI for the rest of the season with the remainder having to fight for their places when they get the chance to impress and if that policy continues then Spurs should have enough going forwards to breach the Geordie’s creaking defence. Another three points would put Spurs even closer to a top-half finish – how far away that seemed when we pitched up at St James’ Park just a few months back.
Prediction
Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 Newcastle United
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