The Mag
·29 November 2024
The Mag
·29 November 2024
I have been thinking about Spurs fans.
Wondering how they are feeling this season.
How they are reacting.
This was sparked by Newcastle United recently.
Eddie Howe’s side with great wins over Chelsea, Arsenal and Nottingham Forest.
Three victories, with six goals scored and only one conceded.
However, followed by that 2-0 home defeat by West Ham on Monday.
Which then saw a lot of Newcastle United supporters in meltdown.
Unable to handle losing that match and kicking off big style in many cases, despite those three very positive performances and results that preceded that loss to the Hammers.
Just as well we (they!) aren’t Spurs fans then, have a look at this.
The results Spurs fans have seen play out in this 2024/25 Premier League season so far:
Leicester 1 Spurs 1
Spurs 4 Everton 0
Newcastle 2 Spurs 1
Spurs 0 Arsenal 1
Spurs 3 Brentford 1
Man U 0 Spurs 3
Brighton 3 Spurs 2
Spurs 4 West Ham 1
Crystal Palace 1 Spurs 0
Spurs 4 Villa 1
Spurs 1 Ipswich 2
Man City 0 Spurs 4
I know they have taken it to ridiculous lengths BUT these results witnessed by Spurs fans this season, do sum up how nothing can be taken for granted, especially this season in the Premier League.
It is possible to win one week and then lose the next, without it being seen as something so outlandish that it is impossible for the human brain to process.
Look especially at these last seven Spurs matches.
They go to Old Trafford and hand Man U their biggest home defeat of the season so far BUT the next game they are 2-0 up and cruising at Brighton, only to totally collapse in the second half and lose 3-2.
Next up, hammer West Ham 4-1 BUT then somehow lose to Crystal Palace, who have now won just that one game in 12 Premier League matches this season.
Following that it is another 4-1 hammering, this time handed out to top four/six rivals Villa, only to then lose at home to Ipswich, the only game in 12 Premier League matches that the promoted side have won so far.
Then just to take the bizarre to a whole new level, last time out they go and smash Man City 4-0 at the Etihad! When was the last time Man City had such a devastating home loss?
Spurs fans wanting Ange Postecoglou sacked one week and then the next they are back to top four challengers, then repeat, then repeat again.
Looking at the underlying stats in so many of these Spurs matches, in numerous cases there was often little difference, in both the wins and the losses. So often these results came down to simply a case of taking some of their chances, or not, whilst similarly, whether or not getting punished when the opposition got opportunities at the other end.
Which brings me back to Newcastle United fans and what we have been watching in recent times.
It is of course frustrating when Newcastle missed the chance on Monday night to close within two points of second top.
At the same time though, Newcastle’s general play wasn’t massively different to that shown in those wins over Chelsea, Arsenal and Forest.
If you don’t take your chances and then the opposition takes the first one they get, it is just something that can happen. Newcastle came right back at West Ham and for the next 45 minutes or so after conceding, they played well and created plenty of good chances and/or good situations, they didn’t take advantage and then were punished again when Wan-Bissaka’s effort crept in off the far post.
It is crazy as well when people go on about ‘the money that Newcastle have spent’ in recent seasons.
For example, Spurs fans have seen their club spend £500m on new signings (all figures via Transfermarkt) these past three seasons (2022/23, 2023/24, 2024/25), compared to £333m spent by Newcastle United.
This is the same for all the usual suspects. Newcastle United ARE now spending money BUT still not as much as the likes of Chelsea, Spurs, Man U, Arsenal and so on.
The financial gap, the cost of the respective squads and the wage bills, these other clubs have an ever bigger advantage over Newcastle United in terms of their ability to spend.
When you consider this is on top of Mike Ashley dragging Newcastle United down for a decade and a half, whilst these rival clubs have done as much as possible to put building blocks in place for the future, is it any wonder that Newcastle don’t have perfect consistency at times?
All of these other clubs have been putting serious investment into their youth structures over many years, including spending fortunes on promising young players they take at a very early age from other clubs. Newcastle United only now trying to do the same, these new/current owners and Eddie Howe.
West Ham are another club who have spent a lot more on new signings than Newcastle these last three seasons. As well as not having had a Mike Ashley.
I think for many Newcastle United fans, their expectations and in some cases sense of entitlement, simply do not correspond with the reality.
Eddie Howe is fighting against the odds time after time, in terms of what the financials mean for Newcastle United compared to their rivals towards the top end.