Tottenham's £320m Revolution Fails to Ignite

Tottenham’s £320m revolution is yet to spark. Their season, though, has already caught fire in the worst possible way.

Two games. Two defeats. No goals.

At a restless Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Newcastle – under new head coach Matthias Jaissle – walked away with a sharp, efficient 2-0 win built on the rejuvenated boots of Anthony Elanga and Yoane Wissa, while Spurs were booed off for the second weekend running.

Big spend, blunt edge

Tottenham’s summer outlay, eight new signings and £320m later, was supposed to drag Roberto De Zerbi’s side into a new era. Right now, it has only heightened the scrutiny.

They were thrashed 3-0 at Brentford on the opening weekend. Here, back home in the league for the first time this season, they again lacked a cutting edge despite a debut for forward Omar Marmoush. The mood turned quickly. The home crowd needed a spark; they never got one.

De Zerbi’s marquee winger, £75m signing Savio, didn’t even make it to the start line, ruled out with what the club called “muscle fatigue”. Sandro Tonali, the £100m midfielder signed from Newcastle, endured a rougher afternoon. He was mocked by the travelling supporters who once adored him, as they watched their team collect a first league win under Jaissle.

Spurs start fast, Hornicek stands tall

For an hour, this did not look like a game Tottenham would lose.

They were sharper early on, quicker to second balls, more assertive in possession. Newcastle were penned back, and their young goalkeeper Lucas Hornicek was busy.

On 15 minutes, Mathys Tel curled a lovely effort towards the top corner. Hornicek flew high to his left and clawed it away. Two minutes later, Pedro Porro seemed certain to score from close range, only for Lewis Hall to hurl himself in front of the shot, a desperate block that felt every bit as valuable as a goal.

Spurs kept pushing. From a 38th-minute corner swung in by Fernandes, Jan Paul van Hecke rose well and directed a firm header towards the far post. Again, Hornicek read it, springing across to save. Each stop strengthened Newcastle’s belief and chipped away at Tottenham’s.

The flashpoint came just after the break. On 48 minutes, Marmoush nipped in ahead of Malick Thiaw in the box and was caught. The Tottenham players turned instantly to referee Peter Bankes, appeals ringing around the stadium. Bankes waved them away. VAR stayed with the on-field decision. The noise turned from hopeful to hostile.

Elanga strikes as Newcastle flip the script

The pressure finally told – but at the wrong end for Spurs.

On 62 minutes, Nico Gonzalez, making his own debut, looked up and swept a long diagonal ball forward. Right-back Amar Dedic met it and intelligently cushioned his header into the area. Elanga, who had struggled last season but had already found the net against Liverpool the previous weekend, spun sharply in the box and drilled a shot on the turn. It kissed the inside of the left post and bounced in.

Newcastle’s bench erupted. Tottenham’s shoulders dropped.

De Zerbi reacted immediately, rolling the dice with three substitutions. Fresh legs, fresh ideas – on paper. On the pitch, Spurs never really looked like finding an equaliser. The tempo sagged, the passing became predictable, and the crowd’s anxiety seeped into the players.

Newcastle sensed it.

Wissa’s flourish seals it

On 72 minutes, the game was gone.

From a Newcastle corner, substitute Nick Woltemade rose and nodded the ball into the six-yard box. It dropped to Wissa, back to goal, surrounded by white shirts. No panic. With one instinctive movement, he hooked the ball over his head and into the net.

A clever, improvised finish. A 2-0 lead. A long, angry walk for some Spurs fans towards the exits.

Wissa, like Elanga, had disappointed under former boss Eddie Howe after his big-money move. Under Jaissle, he suddenly looks alive again. So does Elanga. Two players who cost a combined £110m last summer now look like new signings without a fee attached.

As Sky Sports’ Jamie Carragher put it from the gantry: “In Elanga and Wissa, it’s like two new players!” The pair are finally showing their quality.

“We are not a team yet”

By full-time, pockets of the stadium were already empty. Those who stayed made their feelings clear as the whistle went. Spurs were booed off.

De Zerbi cut a calm but pointed figure in his post-match interview with Sky Sports.

“For 60-65 minutes we played better than Newcastle,” he said. “We had a chance to score but we didn’t. After they scored, we lost distances.

“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.”

The numbers might offer some comfort to the Italian. The scoreboard does not.

Leadership questions and a new Newcastle tune

Jamie Redknapp, watching on for Saturday Night Football, saw a different problem.

“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.”

On the opposite bench, Jaissle had no such complaints.

“It was incredible and I’m really proud,” the Newcastle boss 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.”

His side played with a freedom and togetherness that had been missing last season. Gonzalez slotted in smoothly on debut, his long pass creating the opener. Elanga and Wissa looked liberated, aggressive, dangerous.

For all the pre-season talk of a campaign of struggle under their new coach after another awkward transfer window, Newcastle’s travelling supporters left north London singing about Europe. The chants were delivered with a smile, but the optimism behind them was real.

Spurs, meanwhile, walked off to boos and questions. Two games into a long season, De Zerbi insists his side “are not a team yet”. The real issue is simple: how long will a fanbase that has already seen £320m spent be willing to wait?