Five Things We Learnt From the Tottenham Game
Five Things We Can Take Away from the Win
1) Ba Is Back
Having not scored in the Barclays Premiership since February the 5th, and finding himself out of the spotlight since the goal scoring exploits of compatriot Papiss Cisse, Demba Ba announced himself back on the goal trail with a great strike here.
Picking the ball up on the left hand side of the box after Kyle Walker misjudged a deep cross, the Senegalese international beautifully curled it into the far corner past the despairing dive of Brad Freidel.
This just emphasized the magnitude of Ba’s quality, and also that despite Cisse’s form at the back end of last season, he’s still equally as important. Whether that be on the right hand side of a 4-3-3, or in tandem with Cisse in a 4-4-2, it’s clear that Ba has a major role to play this season.
2) The Importance Of A Good Start
We’ve seen so many sides in previous years come a cropper in the early weeks, and with Newcastle’s hard two opening fixtures, at least a good performance was needed here.
Using the example of Liverpool yesterday, who crashed to a humiliating 3-0 defeat at the hands of West Brom, they will find themselves under scrutiny and their manager will know the jury remains well and truly out. With Newcastle gaining this impressive three points, they can look to build on their good start, with confidence and knowledge that they could just slip under the radar into the European places yet again. Chelsea up next, however, provides an even sterner test.
3) Keeping Calm
There is also the importance of not getting carried away, as it’s obvious that there is such a long time to go in the season! Therefore, it is imperative that the clubs as a whole, including the fans, don’t get ahead of themselves.
This, making no mistake, was a fantastic result. But it could all be un-done with a few sloppy games directly after it, so everybody needs to keep their feet grounded. A further point on this would be Alan Pardew’s ridiculous push on linesman Peter Kirkup whilst disputing a throw-in.
It was clear no malice was meant, and Pardew might have just got himself a little too worked up, but it was unnecessary and will rightly result in some form of ban. Keeping a cool head is crucial to success.
4) Steven Taylor’s Return
Having missed much of last season with an Achilles problem, it was great to see local lad Taylor back in action. There is hope that he can form a formidable partnership with captain Coloccini, who missed yesterday’s win, as he now targets a return to the first team permanently.
The Toon can also reflect on another good defensive performance as a whole, despite the static slip-up for the Spurs’ goal. Having got the late penalty to take the lead once more, they didn’t concede any chances in the final ten minutes and managed to shut the game down effectively. Room for improvement, undoubtedly as there always is, but this was another great defensive performance.
5) Any More Signings Needed?
A squad can always be improved, make no mistake. Yet, Newcastle are well aware that success is rarely achieved through panic buying, so is there any need to add to the squad for what will be a long season? Perhaps a full back could be added, and maybe an extra body in midfield, but only if the price is right.
What is for sure is that if adding a player, Newcastle should continue their trait of recently looking at younger talent, with resale value and potential to work with.
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