For the first time since Mike Ashley became the owner of our club, Wednesday will be seeing Newcastle’s first trip to Wembley since its renovation. Quelle-f***ing-surprise that silverware is not at stake which is something often associated with matches at Wembley. The last trip to Wembley for the Toon came back 2000 as we were beaten by Chelsea in the FA Cup Semi-Final.
Away from the emphasis of visiting Wembley, the last draw in our history against Tottenham came back in October 2011 with Shola Ameobi scoring a late equaliser on what is now the twelfth last meeting with Tottenham. The last time we drew away at Tottenham came in December 1999 in the third round of the FA Cup but it is nice to mention that we won 6-1 in the replay ten days later.
One interesting fact in our favour is that we were the last opposing team to beat Tottenham (in December 2015) before they left White Hart Lane last season. A win that was also our third consecutive win away at Tottenham after Mitro came off the bench to equalise and Ayoze scored past Lloris in the last minute. Tottenham have not beaten us in the capital since Gareth Bale scored twice in a 2-1 defeat in February 2013.
Facts and Figures
All Competitions
Tottenham wins: 67
Newcastle wins: 58
Draws: 32
Premier League
Newcastle wins: 21
Tottenham: 18
Draws: 6
Premier League at Tottenham
Tottenham wins: 12
Newcastle wins: 9
Draws: 1
Previous ten (all competitions)
Tottenham wins: 5 (19 goals)
Newcastle wins: 5 (14 goals)
Biggest win
Tottenham 0 - 4 Newcastle United (19/03/1910)
Goals from James Howie, Jock Rutherford and an additional two from James Stewart gave Newcastle their current biggest win away at Tottenham in what was the club’s fourth meeting with Spurs - there have been a further 153 meetings (both home and away) since then.
It became a successful season for the Toon. After having won the first division the previous season, the won the Charity Shield and the success did not end there following an FA Cup win later in the season.
Biggest defeat
Tottenham 7 - 0 Newcastle United (18/11/1950)
Following the three consecutive defeats after achieving safety from beating Arsenal three weeks ago, the players have been looking as if they are now on their holidays. One valid exception could be for Martin Dubravka who was the main reason we remained in the game until the final whistle against Watford at Vicarage Road. With £4million looking like the figure we will need to pay to enforce the Sparta Prague keeper to stay on Tyneside, this time on a permanent basis, it surely is a no-brainer to make him a key member of the squad and give him that all important no.1 shirt assuming he would like that. Also on the topic of loan players, Wednesday’s fixture will be the final match Kenedy’s will be eligible for before the conclusion of his loan spell considering he cannot play against his parent club Chelsea on Sunday. A permanent move for Kenedy in the summer will be an ambitious but likely to also be an expensive move considering that will be facing competition to land his signature on the dotted line. The decision to allow the Brazilian to leave Chelsea will depend upon whether Antonio Conte, or, more likely, his successor at Stamford Bridge, has plans to make him part of the Chelsea team.
With this being the penultimate fixture of the season, we have the possibility to have a firm grasp upon a top half finish. Brighton and West Ham will overtake us in the table if we fail to beat Tottenham and Brighton and West Ham win their respective fixtures against Man City away and Man United at home. Instead of looking below us, Leicester, who are currently three points above us in ninth place, are up against Arsenal at home. A lot can happen with regards to positions in the table over the course of the six matches occurring from Tuesday-Thursday so I hope the lads won’t go on their holidays once again as a top half finish is still up for grabs – something that would be a great achievement for us following our immediate return from the Championship. I wonder who else spent one season in the Championship?