Another grim night for Spurs on home soil ushers beleaguered Frank nearer the exit

Glory hunters on the High Road : Picture by Patrick van Ijzendoorn

Premier League

Tottenham Hotspur (0) 1 Gray 64

Newcastle United (1) 2 Thiaw 45+5, Ramsey 68

Are Tottenham ready for a relegation battle? That's a serious question after another miserable night in N17.

A 1-2 defeat against fellow-strugglers Newcastle United meant that Spurs dropped to the 16th place in the Premier League. More bad news arrived from five miles down the River Lee Navigation, where bitter rivals West Ham United won a point against Manchester United, narrowing the gap with Spurs to only five points.

‘You're getting sacked in the morning,’ the South Stand sang towards the end, a song that has become as familiar as Come On You Spurs. The Toon Army soon joined the chorus, directed toward the rain-soaked Thomas Frank.

The end is surely near for the 52-year old Dane. Will he be in his job for the North-London derby in 12 days’ time, or will the Tottenham-board use the FA Cup-break to look for a successor? 

‘In life and football there are tough times,’ Frank had philosophically remarked in the match program. And tough this Tuesday night was, for him and for the home fans.

The Lilywhites vs the Magpies is the most played Premier League fixture never to finish goalless, with the 61 meetings producing 196 goals at an average of 3.2 per game. And from the very start everyone in the stadium must have felt that Newcastle United was going to score first in this encounter.

Apart from a couple of small chances early on for Spurs, both involving the industrious Xavi Simons, the visitors were the superior side. In the first 28 minutes the visitors already had nine corner kicks, often leading to mayhem in front of Guglielmo Vicario.

The home side played ponderously, with players seemingly not knowing what to do with this round object on the pich. Often the ball was played backward, provoking boos and sighs from an agitated crowd.

In this hostile environment Newcastle United broke the deadlock a couple of minutes before the break, when Jacob Ramsey found Joe Willock with a lovely pass. The forward, beating Micky van de Ven in the process, curled the ball into the corner. But the VAR decided to have a lengthy check at a possible off-side. Had the Dutch captain’s elbow played him on? The advantage of the doubt went to a relieved Tottenham. 

The relief, and sounds of hope on the stands, only lasted five minutes. Deep in extra time of the first half Anthony Elanga crossed the ball to the back post where Malick Thiaw was waiting. The German defender headed it down. Vicario made a fine save but Thiaw was quick to convert the rebound.

This was the end of arguably the worst first half Tottenham had played this season. They didn’t dare, they didn’t do.

And as it never rains but pours, Wilson Odobert was added to an endless injury list when he went down with pain during an innocent duel with Harvey Barnes.

In the second half Spurs started to play, just as they recently had done against Manchester City. On the hour Pape Matar Sarr was the first player to test Nick Pope, shooting from 25 yards. This was the.prelude for the equaliser, a shot from young Archie Gray from Sarr’s cross.

Again the joy of Spurs didn’t last long. Newcastle quickly recovered from the set-back. From the edge of the box the lively Anthony Gordon found Ramsey, who restored Toon’s lead.

Spurs never looked like equalizing for the second time and preventing a seventh home defeat this season, although Van de Ven had a good shooting chance in extra time. His effort however found the stand where disappointed fans were already heading for the exit. 

After the final whistle the Spurs-players looked utterly defeated, lying on the ground, hiding their faces in their drenched jerseys and uncertain where to go. While Eddie Howe was celebrating a much-needed victory, his Danish counterpart was slowly heading towards the tunnel. It might be his last walk on this pitch.

Spurs: (4-2-3-1): Vicario; Gray, Dragusin, Van de Ven, Spence; Bissouma (Palinha 46), Sarr, Gallagher (Kolo Muani 69); Simons, Solanke, Odobert (Tel 34)

Toon (4-3-3): Pope; Trippier, Botman, Thiaw, Burn; Guimaraes (Hall 90), Willock (Woltemade 87), Ramsey (Tonali 74); Elanga (Murphy 74), Gordon (Osula 87), Barnes.

Attendance: 59.773