Davey Newlove Sports Blog

Went to Target with my wife today and saw a kid wearing an Arsenal jersey. I just turned to her and said two words: Child abuse 😂🤣

Tottenham Hotspur went to Nottingham Forest and picked up their first point of the season. It wasn’t a pretty match, but the squad showed continued improvement under Roberto De Zerbi. Here are my thoughts on the match.

1. The defense was much improved this week as they kept their first clean sheet of the season. The back line as a whole unit defended very well minus a few small mistakes here and there. Van Hecke got caught flat footed and switched off at one point and the Forest attacker flew past him, but Kinsky made a good save to keep Forest off the score sheet. That would later be ruled offside, but that was probably the worst of the defending.

2. Talking about the good defense, Micky Van De Ven was and absolute beast today. He was all over the place on the back line making crucial tackles. I’m very happy Tottenham gave him an extension this summer as he definitely deserved it. He’s growing into one of the best defenders in the Prem.

3. Sandro Tonali put in a pretty strong shift. He did a lot of good work coming back to help defend. Tonali really uses his physicality to not get bullied off the ball. We used to get pushed around in the midfield. Tonali is now our answer to fight back. He’s not fully 100% at the moment and I look forward to seeing what he can do when he’s 100% fit.

4. That being said, Tonali had a super nervy moment at the back and missed on a goal line clearance that appeared to allow Forest to score. Thankfully VAR somehow found a hand ball to disallow the goal, a decision I’m still a bit baffled by, but will gladly accept. Tonali and Van Hecke needed better communication to escape that disaster. That is something that will improve as the squad continues to gel together.

5. Tottenham will be disappointed by missed opportunities in this one. In the first half Marmoush made a great strong run down the middle to break free for an opportunity only to drag it just wide of the goal. Later in the second half he led another great attacking chance and took the shot that went high over the bar. In this instance he should have laid the ball off to Kudus who was making a great run down the right. Better decision making will come. We just have to be patient.

6. Tel had some good moments in this one, but had hesitation to shoot. He would keep trying to find better windows to shoot when he should have just taking the shot instead of looking for a better spot. I wonder if he is lacking a little confidence after struggling to get shots on target early in this campaign.

7. Kudus was quite impressive when he got on the pitch. Getting 30 minutes today was really good for him to get some more minutes in his legs. I understand why De Zerbi took Savio off as he is working on his fitness, but I really look forward to the day where we have Savio on the left and Kudus on the right. That will be an exciting attack. Hopefully we see it soon.

8. Bentancur was great today. He did a lot to help control the midfield today. There was one play in particular where he lost the ball and then did a great job at tracking back to win the ball back. That type of desire is needed from every player on this squad if we want to have a successful campaign.

9. All in all 1 point and no goals in our first 3 matches is not what we were hoping for, but there are definitely signs of life. I feel like we are getting closer to really getting going every week. Thankfully we have a favorable fixture next week.

Next up: Home match against Everton next Saturday. We beat them on the last day of the season to secure Prem survival, so hopefully we can find our form against them and get our first goal and win of the season. COYS!!!

Already much better from Tottenham than last week. Had some good chances. Just need to be a bit more clinical in front of goal. COYS!!!

Tottenham have really boosted their front line the last couple of days. Savio officially signs and gets a goal and an assist on his debut in the Carabao Cup. Get Marmoush on a 5 year deal with this first year on loan to be able to bring in another attacker and hopefully another 10 to give depth with Maddison not being able to stay fit.

Tottenham are definitely cooking something. The next week before the transfer window closes is going to be interesting.

Just saw Erling Haaland’s new haircut. It’s…something?

Tottenham Hotspur started their 26/27 campaign with a 3-0 loss on the road to Brentford. Not the start they were hoping for. Here are my thoughts on the match.

1. It was painfully obvious that this squad is going to need some time to gel together. To me it looked like they didn’t fully trust each other and played more as individuals as opposed to a team. That will change as they get more time on the pitch together. I’m more interested to see how they look in about a month or two.

2. Tottenham really need to sign Marmoush and sell Richarlison. Richy was quite poor today. The only thing he did was back into defenders and then fall down. His hold up play was nonexistent. Solanke significantly improved the striker position when he got on the pitch.

3. Bergvall played like a player who wanted a transfer this summer but didn’t get it. He was quite lackluster and made a couple of mistakes that led to the first two Brentford goals. I like Bergvall, but if he’s going to play like this then I have no problem selling him.

4. I loved seeing Archie Gray get the captain’s armband today. He played out of his normal position covering at right back as Porro was unable to go today. I thought Archie played quite well. Good movement forward and made some nice runs into space, but the other Spurs players just couldn’t link up with Archie. This kid has a very high ceiling.

5. Mikey Moore started a little slow but really grew into the game in the second half. He got himself into good positions to create chances, but just needed some better quality on his finishing. With Savinho coming in I can see Moore going on loan this season in the Bundesliga. I think that would be a good move for him as he definitely has the potential to be a good winger, but he’s just not quite ready yet. He’s another young talent that Tottenham has that has a very high ceiling.

6. Mathys Tel continues his strong form from preseason. Good powerful running and had the confidence to take on his man. There was a couple of times where he even beat two defenders. He just couldn’t quite find the window to shoot. Better talent around him will help him hit the next level.

7. Mateus Fernandes made a big difference in the midfield when he came on. Tonali was doing all he could to hold down the midfield pretty much by himself as Bergvall and Gallagher were off their game today. Fernandes came on and immediately offered help for Tonali. It will be fun to watch Fernandes and Tonali together more this season.

8. Yes, today was a poor match from Tottenham, but I don’t think we should panic at all. As I mentioned before this squad needs time to gel together. Also, they are working on implementing RDZ’s ideas and tactics unlike last season with him when they were just trying to survive. We will see how the squad looks in a couple of months.

Up Next: Home opener against Newcastle next Saturday. Newcastle is normally a tough side for us to beat, but with how they’ve sold so many key players (Tonali to Spurs for example) I think they are going to take time to find their footing. Savinho and hopefully Marmoush will be available next week, so we will see what happens. COYS!!!

It’s funny watching opposing fans melt down about the money Tottenham are spending this summer. If they want to spend like Tottenham is right now then they should build themselves a multibillion pound stadium too.

As much as I hate Levy, he did good setting us up to do this. When they built the new stadium they said it was to help us be able to spend like Liverpool and City. Now we are doing it.

We are also raising good funds through sales too. As long as we stay compliant with FFP I’m all for it. The squad needed a massive overhaul

I’m very excited for where the San Francisco Giants will be in 5 years. They have a lot of good young talent. Especially the pitching. The pitchers are going through growing pains and I’ve noticed something with these young pitchers. These kids need to trust that their stuff is good enough to throw strikes instead of nibbling at the strike zone. Once they learn to attack the zone relentlessly then they really begin to learn to pitch in the bigs.

This isn’t just a problem I see with the Giants. This is a league wide problem. It will be interesting to see which pitchers have the most mental fortitude to succeed in the Bigs.

I’m thrilled Temwa Chawinga led Malawi to the WAFCON final. Temwa is an amazing player. I’m so thankful the world gets to see the player us Current fans have the privilege of watching week in and week out. TEMVP!!!