Tottenham's £320m Reboot Faces Scrutiny After Defeats
Tottenham’s £320m reboot is already under scrutiny. Two games, two defeats, no goals – and this time they were turned over 2-0 at home by a Newcastle side transformed under Matthias Jaissle and inspired by the rejuvenated Anthony Elanga and Yoane Wissa.
The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium did not take it well. By full-time, large pockets of seats were empty and those who stayed made their feelings clear as Roberto De Zerbi’s players trudged off, a week on from being dismantled 3-0 at Brentford.
Big spend, small return
Spurs’ summer was supposed to change everything. Eight new signings, £320m spent, a statement of intent. On this evidence, the statement is still in draft.
Omar Marmoush was handed his first Premier League start and worked tirelessly, but the cutting edge De Zerbi craves never arrived. His other headline recruit, £75m winger Savio, was absent with what the club described as “muscle fatigue” – hardly the launch Spurs had in mind for their marquee wide man.
In midfield, Sandro Tonali faced his old club for the first time since his £100m switch from Newcastle. He was loudly mocked by the travelling fans, who enjoyed every misstep on an afternoon when their own new era finally caught light.
De Zerbi insisted afterwards that Spurs are “not a team yet”, and the performance backed him up. The structure was there for an hour. The conviction in both boxes was not.
Spurs start well, Hornicek stands tall
For 45 minutes, Tottenham did most of the running.
On 15 minutes, Mathys Tel cut inside and whipped a curling effort towards the far corner, only for Lucas Hornicek to spring to his left and claw it away. Two minutes later, Pedro Porro looked certain to score from close range, but Lewis Hall flung himself in front of the shot with a superb block.
Spurs kept coming. From a 38th-minute corner, Jan Paul van Hecke climbed highest to meet Bruno Fernandes’ in-swinger, forcing Hornicek into another sharp save. Newcastle were under pressure, their goalkeeper keeping them level almost single-handedly.
Right after the break, the game flashed its first real controversy. Marmoush nipped in front of Malick Thiaw in the box and went down under contact. The home crowd roared for a penalty. Referee Peter Bankes waved play on, VAR backed him, and the boos rolled around the stadium. Had that gone Spurs’ way, this might have been a very different afternoon.
Instead, the moment passed – and so did Spurs’ grip on the contest.
Elanga strikes as Newcastle flip the script
The pressure finally told. Not from Tottenham, but from Newcastle.
On 62 minutes, Nico Gonzalez, making his debut, picked his head up and swept a long diagonal forward. Right-back Amar Dedic rose to nod it down into the area, where Elanga had peeled into space. One touch to set himself, a swivel, and a crisp shot that kissed the inside of the left post before bouncing in.
It was a ruthless finish from a player who looked lost last season but has now scored in back-to-back games, having struck against Liverpool the previous weekend. From being on the fringes under Eddie Howe, Elanga suddenly looks central to Jaissle’s plans.
De Zerbi responded with a triple substitution, trying to jolt his team back to life. The changes brought fresh legs but not fresh ideas. Newcastle, for the first time all afternoon, looked comfortable.
Wissa’s acrobatics seal it
If Elanga’s goal stunned Spurs, Wissa’s killed them.
On 72 minutes, a Newcastle corner was swung into the box and substitute Nick Woltemade rose to win the initial header, steering it into the six-yard area. The ball dropped with Wissa facing away from goal. No matter. The forward, another big-money signing who had laboured under Howe, improvised brilliantly, hooking the ball over his head and beyond the stranded goalkeeper.
2-0. The away end erupted. The home fans headed for the exits.
From there, Newcastle managed the game with a maturity that will please Jaissle as much as the goals. Spurs huffed, Spurs puffed, but never really threatened to drag themselves back into it. The earlier verve had drained away, replaced by sideways passes and frustration.
“We are not a team yet”
De Zerbi cut a calm but pointed figure afterwards.
“For 60-65 minutes we played better than Newcastle. We had a chance to score but we didn’t. After they scored, we lost distances,” he told Sky Sports.
“We had more chances and shot more on goal. We are not a team yet. We have to improve a few things.
“Forget the result, but I’m not angry. We are working well. We were unlucky today, especially with the result.”
Luck felt like only part of the story. Jamie Redknapp, analysing on Saturday Night Football, homed in on leadership and structure.
“There’s a lot of new players at Spurs and it’s going to take time,” he said. “The manager has got a jigsaw puzzle and he’s got to figure out how to fit the players in, what system to use, who the best three players are in midfield.
“There are going to be teething problems.
“I also look at the senior players and players like Van de Ven didn’t do enough to lead today and certainly with the goals. Players who have been there for a long time can do better.”
The boos at full-time suggested the fans agree.
Jaissle’s Newcastle find their voice
On the other side, Newcastle finally have lift-off under Jaissle.
“It was incredible and I’m really proud,” the head coach told Sky Sports. “We are really proud as a club, as a coaching staff to see a team on the pitch delivering the match plan at a high level already, but also seeing players fully committed to what we’re doing.
“This is a good start and a moment to enjoy.”
Enjoy it they did. In the away end, the songs about Europe rang out. Tongue in cheek, perhaps, but there was genuine optimism behind them.
Sky Sports’ David Richardson summed up the shift: Elanga and Wissa, signed for £110m last summer, suddenly look like different players. Under Jaissle, they are playing with freedom, aggression, and clarity. Gonzalez’s debut brought another layer of quality, his assist for Elanga’s opener a glimpse of what he can add.
For a club that spent much of the summer fielding questions about regression and a rocky window, this performance felt like a statement of intent. Not a title charge, not yet, but a side with enough cohesion and belief to eye the European places again.
Spurs, by contrast, are still trying to work out what they are. The money has been spent. The ideas are clear in De Zerbi’s head. The execution, though, is miles off.
Two games in, no goals, and already the home crowd is restless. How long will their patience last if this expensively assembled team keeps walking off to the sound of boos?
