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Football Dec 07, 2025

Same problems remain for Tottenham Hotspur despite Newcastle draw, Man City need to toughen up after leaky defending - PL Hits and Misses

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By Admin
Sports Journalist
Same problems remain for Tottenham Hotspur despite Newcastle draw, Man City need to toughen up after leaky defending - PL Hits and Misses

Tottenham showed character to twice come from behind against Newcastle, but the same problems remain for Thomas Frank's struggling side.

They've won just three of their last 14 games and had it not been for Cristian Romero's heroics, the pressure would have been ramped up ahead of Saturday's important home game against Brentford.

Frank made a bold call by benching centre-back Micky van de Ven, although it's at the other end of the pitch where the issues lie without Dominic Solanke, James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski.

Romero's double were the only shots on target Spurs had at St James' Park, as they failed to register one in the first half for a fourth consecutive league game.

Spurs have scored 23 goals from 132 shots and 12.8 expected goals in the Premier League this season - the best shot conversion rate (17.4 per cent) and xG overperformance (+10.2) of any side - but it's unsustainable.

Frank badly needs a victory against his former club Brentford this weekend to ease the pressure and help win over some supporters at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
David Richardson

Frustration was the buzz word for Newcastle after they twice lost the lead against Spurs at St James' Park.

Both Eddie Howe and Bruno Guimaraes could not hide their disappointment as Newcastle threw away the chance to secure a third straight win in the Premier League and continue the momentum that was building.

Newcastle battled hard to get themsleves into a winning position, despite being far from their best against Spurs. However, slipping up when hitting the front has been a regular problem for Howe and his side so far this season.

No side has dropped more points from winning positions in the Premier League this season than Newcastle (11, level with Brentford), and it is proving costly.

Newcastle remain in the bottom half of the table down in 13th, but had they held on for victory, they could have moved as high as seventh.

It's something Howe is going to have to fix if Newcastle want to qualify for Europe again this season.
Oliver Yew

Jack Grealish's goal and Everton securing a third win in their last four games should rightly grab the headlines - but if they want to push on, they need to solve a glaring issue in the squad.

Thierno Barry had two big chances to score on Tuesday night from inside the box but squandered both of them. In a game as tight as this was, at least one of those chances has to be taken.

"He is improving but as a No 9 you will be judged on goals, you have to score goals," said Toffees boss David Moyes after the game. He is aware of the problem.

As things stand, Everton are winning games without the focal point of their attack contributing - but a deflected shot won't always curl in to secure the win.

A striker with experience in the Premier League should be the target in January.
Patrick Rowe

Andoni Iraola is right to be concerned about the form of his Bournemouth side.

The winless run has now been extended and within a blink of an eye, it could stretch to seven.

The Cherries host Chelsea in their next fixture before travelling to Old Trafford to face Manchester United after that.

After suffering defeat to Everton, Sunderland, Aston Villa and Man City - as well as failing to beat 17th-placed West Ham, both confidence and belief are low.

Iraola criticised the lack of quality and bravery from his players on the ball during this fixture. If they don't address those fundamentals in their game before 3pm on Saturday, this slump could quickly spiral out of control.
Patrick Rowe

Man City swung from one extreme to the other as they ended a run of scoring no more than a single goal in five consecutive away games to plundering five past Fulham in 90 minutes.

That wasn't the only contrast at Craven Cottage. City's form for the first 60 minutes was superb, enough for Pep Guardiola to joke journalists had already prepared their "City are back!" headlines ahead of their near-collapse in the last half hour.

It was as much a mentality issue as a personnel one. City remain easier to play through without Rodri but that did not force them to sit so deep as to invite Alex Iwobi's strike for 5-2, and then twice fail to pick up Samuel Chukwueze at loose balls.

The mentality Josko Gvardiol showed to clear what was inches away from a Josh King equaliser off his own line could've come in useful for Pep and his side much earlier on.

Guardiola said his side will learn from this result and they have to. It's unlikely they will be involved in another frantic nine-goal game any time soon, but their clearly fragile confidence after blowing a two-goal lead against Leeds and now almost a four-goal advantage looks a world away from the predictably watertight City of even two years ago.

This is not the same team but the mentality must get somewhere closer to it, or their hopes of chasing down an Arsenal side displaying the characteristics City need will prove uncatchable.
Ron Walker

Samuel Chukwueze's form means he must start for Fulham. The winger, on loan from AC Milan, will be away at the African Cup of Nations this month but his importance has grown in Marco Silva's side.

With two goals and three assists in three games, all in just one start across 153 minutes of Premier League football, Chukwueze is a force waiting to be fully unleashed at Craven Cottage.

"He's already making it," Marco Silva said of his impact after the game.

"He is showing his quality, he has quality on the right and the left. He has the ability to make the right decisions as well, he's getting better and better.

"He's getting better and better. He makes the right decisions, but we have to manage him.

"Unfortunately, we're losing him in another 15 days. It is what it is. Until then, we'll take the best from him and we can do it from Sunday again."
William Bitibiri

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