Six things we learned from Tottenham’s awful 4-0 loss at Newcastle

Tottenham’s hopes of a top four finish took a massive blow this afternoon with yet another toothless performance at Newcastle United.

A 4-0 defeat saw Tottenham drop out of the top four despite Aston Villa not in action until tomorrow due to their goal difference. Ange Postecoglou has a lot of work on his hands…

Let’s take a look at five, no – actually, six things we learned following the match

Possession doesn’t win football matches

Tottenham knock the ball around from player to player, but it isn’t enough. There are big problems which are coming to the surface in recent weeks. The players are absolutely clueless when it comes to trying to create attacking phases and seem obsessed with trying to play the ball into the net.

Defensively, there are huge gaps between the central defenders and our full-backs continue to also make costly errors. When sides counter attack us, we have absolutely no idea what we are doing.

Set pieces are a huge issue

Tottenham are a liability from defensive set pieces, there is no structure or any player looking to take charge of ensuring everyone is marking the right players. This needs to be urgently addressed by Ryan Mason, Jedinak and co at Hotspur Way.

A shocker from Micky van de Ven

The two goals in the first half were a disaster for the Dutchman who ended up on his arse to watch the ball go beyond Vicario.

The third goal was the most frustrating, how on earth he failed to notice that Isak was in his own half and allowed him to race through was baffling.  Hopefully, he can bounce back from this.

Tottenham need a finisher

Timo Werner had an early chance to score and once again it highlighted the German’s lack of ability to be a goalscorer.  It was clear that he should have led with a header for Johnson’s cross for what was a very good opportunity.

Son was nowhere to be seen to impact the game which led to him being hauled off embarrassingly early in the second half. The absence of Harry Kane still continues to be absolutely massive.

Pedro Porro’s defensive decisions

Porro has been continually given his flowers for his contribution in the attacking half of the pitch, but he continues to make head-scratching decisions when it comes to defending.

Last week against Forest he did something similar and it proved costly today for Newcastle’s second when he played the ball blindly back to Vicario. Yes, it might be harsh to single out Porro, when Udogie was also at fault for the first but how many times can we allow these errors to consistently happen?

The Number Six issue

Yves Bissouma continues to be picked as Tottenham’s holding midfielder, but it’s clear to see that he is not a number six.

Despite not being a clear fan favourite, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg is much more suited to the role and must be asking himself what he has to do to get a start with the Malian continuing to struggle.

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