Keegan turns back the clock as Newcastle tick
David Hytner at White Hart Lane
Kevin Keegan noted last week that it did not take much to set Geordie pulses racing. A couple of wins at the beginning of a season and the team are going to win the Premier League, he said with a smile. Newcastle is that kind of town. Back-to-back victories have been a rarity this season, which has been one to test sorely the patience of the club’s fans but joy surged for them here, as Keegan’s team built on the previous weekend’s 2-0 success over Fulham to put Tottenham to the sword.
Lingering fears of relegation were all but eradicated yet it was the manner of the win that warmed the black and white faithful. The sight of Newcastle pressing for and ultimately scoring a fourth goal away from home triggered memories of the glory years under Keegan. And as the team poured forward, only the hardest of Spurs hearts would have failed to take pleasure in seeing Keegan do what Keegan does so contagiously - enjoy himself.
The manager nipped about his technical area, to and from the bench, living every moment, every missed chance. He erupted in delight, along with the rest of his staff, when Michael Owen chipped in the third, which effectively sealed the contest, and, thereafter, the pressure finally seemed to lift from those shoulders.
This was riotous fare and Keegan could acknowledge requests from the delirious away enclosure for a wave. The three players he withdrew, Mark Viduka, Owen and Geremi, got the full treatment from him, hands clasped to their faces, sweet nothings whispered into ears and, at full-time, Keegan revelled in pointing his team towards their supporters.
What a difference a week and two matches makes. “I feel the same but I know what you mean,” said Keegan, when it was put to him that he looked a different man. He went on to insist that Premier League safety was not guaranteed but then the old excitement bubbled to the surface and he could not help but suggest that a few big signings would “set us alight”.
He joked that he might “put a couple more forwards in next time” but the ones on the pitch had served him well. Viduka’s strength and mercurial skill were at the heart of the second-half effort, together with Obafemi Martins’ boldness and direct running, while Owen put his England disappointments behind him to shine in his attacking midfield role.
The clocks sprang forward yesterday but in a sense Keegan turned them back. Attack has long been his best form of defence and when it comes together as it did so gloriously against a Tottenham team lacking motivation, the fireworks can be compelling.
“You’ve only got to look at our defensive record and not just since I came back in. When you just try to defend and hang on to something, it puts as much pressure on your defenders,” said Keegan. “I think our defenders know now when I put this team out that maybe they can concede a goal and still have enough to win, whereas in the past maybe a goal goes in against us and ‘that’s it, we’re going to get beat’.”
Newcastle did not allow their heads to drop after Darren Bent glanced in Steed Malbranque’s cross from the left. They had already struck the bar through Habib Beye and gone close through Joey Barton.
It was Nicky Butt who restored parity just before the interval, sweeping in a low first-time shot beyond the unsighted Paul Robinson after Geremi had seized on Jonathan Woodgate’s poor clearance.
The second-half was a golden period for Keegan. After Barton had hit the outside of the post, Geremi’s free-kick deceived Robinson to give Newcastle the lead and, having just forced Robinson into a smart save, Viduka ushered in Owen for the third. There were further chances, notably for Owen, before Barton sent Martins galloping clear to apply the coup de grâce.
Keegan cannot understand why Fabio Capello omitted Owen from the England team against France last Wednesday - “When the big games come, Michael will play,” he ventured - and there was an element of disbelief about what unfolded before his eyes yesterday.
“You dream about playing like that and being 4-1 up away from home with 10 minutes to play but the reality is that it’s difficult to get into those situations,” said Keegan. Best simply to enjoy them when you can.
Man of the match Abdoulaye Faye
He might have been beaten by Bent for the Tottenham goal but the central defender grew in assurance and was the foundation for the Newcastle victory
Best Moment Any one of a number of towering defensive headers which stifled Tottenham’s attacks
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