Newcastle 2-3 Tottenham: New era at St James’ Park begins with loss

Newcastle manager Steve Bruce said he will “carry on as best I can” after the club’s new era under its Saudi Arabian owners got off to a losing start at home to Tottenham.

The home fans went wild with delight, a continuation of carnival-esque scenes before the match.

Bruce, marking his 1,000th game in management, might have felt a sense of optimism while clinging to hope he may continue in the job.

But then reality struck for a team yet to win in eight Premier League games this season as Spurs scored twice in five minutes.

First, Tanguy Ndombele fired in a right-footed drive, before Harry Kane scored his first league goal of the season when he beat the Newcastle offside trap to dink in, the goal awarded by the video assistant referee after initially being ruled out.

The game was then halted when a fan suffered a medical emergency in the stands.

Supporters and players – including Eric Dier – played their part in alerting medics to the seriousness of the situation before the game was suspended.

Play resumed with seven minutes of the first half remaining, and Tottenham extended their lead when Son Heung-min slid in at the back post for his fourth of the season.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s side, who moved up to fifth in the table, looked comfortable in the second half as the mood turned sour towards Bruce, with home fans calling for him to be sacked.

A poor audition to stay in the job was made worse when substitute Jonjo Shelvey received a second yellow card for a rash challenge on Sergio Reguilon after 83 minutes.

And despite a brief response when Dier’s own goal made it 3-2, the result left Newcastle next-to-bottom of the table with a huge transformation needed to turn the club into the superpower that the new owners want them to be.

Asked if he will remain in the job, Bruce said: “That is for other people to decide. Ever since I have walked into this club, it is difficult. I knew how difficult it was going to be with the frustrations.

“I will carry on as best I can until I hear otherwise. The owners have conducted themselves respectfully since they came in. As long as I don’t hear otherwise, I will go into work tomorrow.”

Carnival atmosphere disappears as fans turn on Bruce

Prior to kick-off, there was a unique atmosphere outside St James’ Park and around the city.

There were some fans who celebrated the Saudi Arabian-backed takeover by wearing headdresses and draping themselves in Saudi flags, but the overwhelming majority answered the call to wear black and white as they celebrated a new era after Mike Ashley’s 14-year reign came to an end.

Inside the stadium, the Gallowgate End was a sea of black and white as supporters waved flags and unveiled a banner quoting lyrics from Newcastle-born performer Jimmy Nail’s 1995 song Big River, about the city and rebuilding hope for the future.

It must have been an uplifting sight for Al-Rumayyan, who was attending his first game in his capacity as the governor of the Saudi Public Investment Fund, which now owns 80% of the club.

He broke out into a huge grin as Wilson scored early on from Allan Saint-Maximin’s cross, while Staveley hugged her husband Mehrdad Ghodoussi.

But the way Tottenham opened up the Newcastle defence showed how much work is needed to take the club to the top end of the Premier League, let alone into contention to win the title. The priority this season is to avoid relegation.

And the result will not have given Bruce any further security about his job.

After reports last week that he would be sacked, with the club then saying he would remain in charge for this game 45 minutes before his pre-match press conference on Friday, his future remains unclear.

But this was a demonstration of a team struggling for form, and with little chance of the game turning Newcastle’s way, chants of “We want Brucey out” came from the Gallowgate End after 74 minutes and continued until the end, when the final whistle was met with boos.

It was a message that would have been heard loud and clear by the new owners.

Tottenham keep composure on dramatic day

On a day when the visitors might have been distracted by the atmosphere, this was a welcome boost to Spurs boss Nuno, whose side have earned successive wins after a derby defeat by Arsenal that led to many questions about the club’s direction.

Tottenham’s front four of Ndombele, Son, Lucas Moura and Kane were a menace to the hosts, who need to prioritise a defensive midfielder among their spending plans.

Prior to the game being stopped and with Spurs already leading 2-1, Moura headed on to the bar, and they looked far more likely to score in the second half than their opponents before Dier’s late own goal.

“We knew we had to ignore the noise and do our job,” said Nuno. “We did not start well but did an amazing job after. I’m really proud of them.

“I would like to score more, the boys would also, but Newcastle are a good team with good defenders.”

Credit must also go to Reguilon and Dier for the part they played in alerting medics to the stricken supporter and to midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, who continued after the incident, having also played when Denmark team-mate Christian Eriksen had a cardiac arrest during their Euro 2020 match against Finland in June.

On a day when there were conflicting emotions and no end of drama, it put the result into perspective.

Player of the match

Son Heung-MinSon Heung-Min

with an average of 7.56

Newcastle United

1. Squad number10Player nameSaint-Maximin

   Average rating

   6.13

2. Squad number9Player nameWilson

   Average rating

   5.72

3. Squad number28Player nameWillock

   Average rating

   5.11

4. Squad number26Player nameDarlow

   Average rating

   5.03

5. Squad number11Player nameRitchie

   Average rating

   4.89

6. Squad number14Player nameHayden

   Average rating

   4.85

7. Squad number19Player nameManquillo

   Average rating

   4.84

8. Squad number36Player nameS Longstaff

   Average rating

   4.72

9. Squad number6Player nameLascelles

   Average rating

   4.70

10. Squad number2Player nameClark

    Average rating

    4.64

11. Squad number7Player nameJoelinton

    Average rating

    4.55

12. Squad number23Player nameMurphy

    Average rating

    4.30

13. Squad number21Player nameFraser

    Average rating

    4.06

14. Squad number8Player nameShelvey

    Average rating

    2.70

Tottenham Hotspur

1. Squad number7Player nameSon Heung-Min

   Average rating

   7.56

2. Squad number3Player nameReguilón

   Average rating

   7.24

3. Squad number28Player nameNdombele

   Average rating

   7.20

4. Squad number27Player nameLucas Moura

   Average rating

   6.97

5. Squad number5Player nameHøjbjerg

   Average rating

   6.81

6. Squad number10Player nameKane

   Average rating

   6.78

7. Squad number29Player nameSkipp

   Average rating

   6.72

8. Squad number4Player nameRomero

   Average rating

   6.47

9. Squad number1Player nameLloris

   Average rating

   6.37

10. Squad number12Player nameEmerson Royal

    Average rating

    6.18

11. Squad number15Player nameDier

    Average rating

    5.89