Stan Collymore points out why Spurs and Newcastle are similar clubs

Former Liverpool and England striker Stan Collymore believes there are similarities between Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side were recently condemned to their first Premier League defeat of the new season when the Magpies ran out 1-0 winners in North London.

Collymore compared the fact that both sides have big stadiums, but believes that Spurs have a solid foundation with a state of the art training ground and a particular focus on developing players from the club’s academy.

The ex-forward believes that Newcastle owner Mike Ashley must decide whether to stay or sell the club.

Newcastle have seen themselves relegated from the Premier League on two occasions in recent years while Spurs have cemented their place as Champions League regulars.

Tottenham kick off their Champions League campaign a week on Wednesday with a trip to Greece to take on Olympiacos where they will be looking to come away with a win ahead of matches against Bayern Munich and Red Star Belgrade.

He told The Mirror: “Newcastle seem to lurch from one argument to the next and sadly they just haven’t been able to build on the days of Asprilla banging in a hat-trick against Barcelona.

“I see similarities between Newcastle then and Tottenham now – big clubs with great stadiums that house 50,000-60,000 supporters and lots of upwards mobility. But Spurs, with their new training ground and stadium, and a very good youth strategy, look to be building on rock, which isn’t what Newcastle did.

“Now the Magpies must decide what they want to be and owner Mike Ashley will be key to that, whether he sells up or stays put.

“Do they want to be a club which stays in the Premier League and cashes the cheques?

“Or do they want to be a club which stares eye-to-eye with Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea as equals?

“The answer seems to be the former and that, sadly, is why this is a fixture for the history books rather than a game for the here and now.”