Opinion: Five things we learned from Tottenham’s 6-1 defeat to Newcastle

Tottenham Hotspur fell to their most humiliating defeat of the season this afternoon as Newcastle ran away 6-1 winners at St James’ Park.

Let’s try to find five things we learned about the game:

Conte was right – 

Despite constant requests from the Spurs fans, Conte always refused to play a back four. Now we know why, although we probably knew already. One, the players are not good enough for it. And two, changing formation mid-season always leads to shocking results. Spurs looked like headless chickens for that first 20 minutes and it was just embarrassing to be associated with.

System change – 

On a similar topic, what happens if the next manager wants to play with a back four? That has been Tottenham’s biggest problem in recent years. We hire a manager, sign players to fit their system, sack them, and then hire a new manager with a different system. The likes of Pedro Porro and Ivan Perisic become useless if the next boss does not want to use wing-backs, for example.

Harry Kane reminder – 

As if we needed reminding, that solo Harry Kane goal was a perfect summary of Tottenham’s season. Spurs putting in a woeful performance, and Kane somehow still creating a goal out of nothing. For a long time, he has been out of our league, but now more so than ever. Either match him, or lose him. Although, I worry it may already be too late.

Stellini at risk? 

Plenty of fans will be calling for Cristian Stellini’s head after that result. I guess Daniel Levy has to weigh up what would be more embarrassing – to carry on like this or to sack the man you just replaced Conte with? I think the only way Stellini gets the elbow is if Levy’s next manager choice is actually willing to start now. But I don’t think any big-name manager in their right mind would do that.

Europe or no Europe – 

While the hunt for top four is well and truly over, as if it wasn’t already, the hunt for European football is not even done for Spurs. With Aston Villa, Liverpool, and Brighton all climbing up the table, Spurs may find themselves without Europe next year. And while concentrating on domestic football alone could be good, it also comes with less money to use in the transfer window.

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