Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou has now suffered back-to-back defeats against Newcastle United at St James’ Park.
Spurs were blown away by Newcastle United last season, with the Magpies winning 4-0 at St James’ Park. Alexander Isak, Bruno Guimaraes and Anthony Gordon ran riot that day, as Newcastle put Tottenham to the sword.
There were cries of ‘Tottenham Hotspur, it’s happened again’ from the St James’ Park crowd, who had seen Newcastle blow Spurs away 6-1 the season before.
This year’s clash at St James’ Park was much closer, but it had the same result. Newcastle won 2-1 despite not playing their best, with Eddie Howe setting his team up to be more defensive.
Eddie Howe got the better of Ange Postecoglou again, and the Tottenham manager is frustrated to see his side play so well yet head home with nothing.
Ange Postecoglou hails St James’ Park crowd
Following the game between Newcastle and Tottenham, Postecoglou spoke to Football London.
The Spurs boss admitted that it is always ‘difficult’ to play Newcastle United at St James’ Park, praising the Toon fans for the atmosphere that they create when their team is playing.
“Very similar, I guess to our first away game when we controlled it for the most part, nullified most of the threats that Newcastle have,” he said.
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“It’s obviously a difficult opponent here at home. The crowd create a pretty strong atmosphere for the home side, little things go their way but I thought for the most part we handled that really well.
“Then we gained the ascendancy in the game and we just needed to kill it off and we didn’t and a disappointing second goal. I thought we switched off a little bit but the game should have been well over by then.
“So, another sore one unfortunately where we haven’t got the rewards for our play, but ultimately it’s three strong performances from the first three games. The results don’t reflect it in that way.”
It is away from home that Newcastle United must improve
As Postecoglou says, Newcastle are always difficult to play against at St James’ Park. Eddie Howe has turned it back into a fortress, which has been a key reason for the success he has enjoyed during his time as manager.
But the big problem Newcastle have is their away form. It was a major issue last season, and it is something that the Magpies must rectify for the 2024/25 campaign.
Newcastle have played away twice this season, drawing both games 1-1. The most recent one was the Carabao Cup clash with Nottingham Forest, which ended with the Magpies winning on penalties.
But in both games, Newcastle struggled. The performances have not been great, and there needs to be an improvement after the international break. However, the saving grace is that Newcastle have not been playing well yet have managed to avoid defeat.
Newcastle’s next three fixtures
When domestic football returns, Newcastle face Wolves away from home. That will be a tough game, as it always is at Molineux. Then it is Fulham away, with Craven Cottage proving to be a ground that Newcastle do well at in recent years.
After those away fixtures, Newcastle return to St James’ Park on September 28th to face Manchester City. They will need the atmosphere to be electric that day, otherwise it will be extremely hard to get anything out of the game.