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Here is Brian Judson's preview of the gamePlease note, I do not share Brian's pessimism about this game. It will be tough, but we won there last year, and we can do it again! Spurs actually have one of the best away records of any side at St. James' Park.
Full Record of Spurs -v- Newcastle United
Prem Pl W D L For-Ag Pts
Home 9 5 1 3 19 -13 16
Away 9 2 3 4 10 -17 9
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Total(Prem) 18 7 4 7 29 -30 25
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Lge Div 1
Home 43 24 7 12 87 -48 59
Away 43 15 14 14 70 -76 45
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Total(Div 1) 86 39 21 26 157 -124 109
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Lge Div 2
Home 6 1 3 2 6 - 7 5
Away 6 3 0 3 6 - 4 6
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Total(Div 2) 12 4 3 5 12 -11 11
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Total(Prem) 18 7 4 7 29 -30 25
Total(Div 1) 86 39 21 26 157 -124 109
Total(Div 2) 12 4 3 5 12 -11 11
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Grand Total 116 50 28 38 198 -165 145
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Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur were the only teams who
successfully defended the FA Cup during the 20th Century. The Magpies did
so in season 1951-52 after winning it the previous season whilst Spurs did
so on two occasions : in seasons 1961-62, having won the Double the
previous season, and season 1981-82, having won the Centenary Cup Final.
But Newcastle have, of course, won the League more than Tottenham have,
although Newcastle's triumphs were mostly in the long Edwardian summer
before World War 1 broke out. They have not won the League since doing so
last in 1926-27.
Over the years, Newcastle have been blessed with many good players. One of
their greatest players before World War One was Peter McWilliam, who later
managed Tottenham. Between the wars, they had Hughie Gallacher, who so
tragically fell on hard times after he retired and committed suicide by
throwing himself under a train. In the 1940s and 1950s, there was Jimmy
Scoular, Len Shackleton, Jackie Milburn and the Robledo brothers. In the
1960s, there was Bobby Moncur. In the 1970s, there was Malcolm Macdonald,
whose exploits there persuaded Arsenal to sign him. In the 1980s,
Newcastle persuaded Kevin Keegan to sign for them and revive them after
they looked like sinking to the lower regions of the Football League. Two
of the young players they discovered - Chris Waddle and Paul Gascoigne,
later left for Tottenham. In the 1990s, they persuaded Alan Shearer to
return home to Tyneside after years playing for other clubs. They
currently boast the distinction of being managed by the oldest Football
Manager in the shape of Sir Bobby Robson, now 70, but who still looks like
the player who elegantly strode the pitch for Fulham and West Bromwich
Albion in the 1950s and 1960s.
I have been to St James' Park once. I was staying with friends of my
ex-wife and I went to see Newcastle play Grimsby Town in revamped First
Division match in season 1992-93. Newcastle were on their way back to the
top whilst Grimsby Town were struggling near the bottom. The din that day
was deafening yet Grimsby snatched the points with a very late goal. As I
recall, Dave Beasant was in goal for Grimsby as he was making his debut on
loan and defied everything that Newcastle threw at them.
There is no doubt that Newcastle have a sleeping giant that could stride
to great things if only they had a bigger squad. They do have a nice team
coming along but too much depends on Shearer. Bellamy is till rather
hot-headed - witness the fact he has been dismissed twice in the Champions
League to sly underhand tricks that have made him lash out at the
opposition. I could visualise Newcastle reaching the heights that
Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool have attained in the past BUT so
much depends on who ultimately succeeds Bobby Robson. At 70, whether he
likes it or not, the Grim Reaper cannot be far away now so they do need to
address that problem soon and groom his successor. Whether Shearer could
do the job is a moot point ......
Tottenham have different problems! They need to strengthen their squad.
Anderton is now clearly past his better days and I would prefer to see
Simon Davies in the role of creative midfielder. There is also the
question of Ziege's flawed temperament to be addressed. Dismissed in
successive games, Tottenham are likely to be deprived of his services for
at least three, if not more, games. They have also to sort out the
problems of who replaces Sheringham, Ferdinand and Iversen. The latter
player has not been the success we all once hoped for. Sheringham and
Ferdinand are clearly past their 'sell-by' date and Rebrov clearly does
not have a future at Tottenham. So who is going to score the goals?
Tomorrow's match should see a clear-cut result in favour of Newcastle. We
have only won 28 matches out of the 58 that have been played at St James'
Park. We do not usually win up there. But if we can survive the first 20
minutes or so without conceding a goal, the crowd might begin to feel
frustrated by Newcastle's inability to score. But given Tottenham's
inability to concentrate for more than an hour, I can't see us even
snatching a point. If we concede an early goal, I can visualise the Toon
winning 4-0.
COME ON YOU SPURS!
Cheers, Brian
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