Half time:  Newcastle 0 Spurs 0

52 mins There seemed no danger as Jamie Redknapp motored over the halfway line and sprayed the ball out to Thimothee Atouba on the Spurs left. Shown inside by Stephen Carr, the Cameroonian then promptly curled a right foot effort beyond Shay Given and into the right hand side of the Leazes end net. Jermaine Jenas conveniently got out of the way the shot before watching it hit home 1-0

Full time: Newcastle 0 Spurs 1

Unlike his side in the second half, an undaunted Sir Bobby Robson came out fighting in his post-match press conference

"We've lost a match that we should have had won at halftime - and we've lost the match in the second half from not being able to turn their defence.

"They defended very well, and for that I have to give them credit. They mugged us in that sense.

"I have to think clearly and as positively as I can after a home defeat again, but I didn't have any argument with my team in the first half.

"I thought they played very well, to be honest, played some nice football, made chances.

"The trick in football is, when those chances have been made you have to take one of them or two of them. Then you would go on and win the game. We were clearly the better side.

"It's an incredible goal by Atouba. We always said to Steve Carr 'Push him up the inside on his right foot - he'll fall over'.

"As it happens, he didn't because he took it with his right foot - I bet it's the only goal he's ever scored in his career like that.

"He bent it so far. He put it outside the far post, and it actually came back inside - giving Shay Given not much of a chance.

"But there are two sides of the story, and the second one was that in the last 20 minutes we dropped a bit."

Moving on to the Dyer situation:

"I trusted my public, and the public didn't let me down. 

"He wants to build a relationship with the club and the fans, and that's why he wore a black-and-white shirt and played for Newcastle United today.

"The fans were great to him. Over all, the response by the fans was superb for the boy. He wondered how it was going to be; he had the courage to say 'I'll go on and I'll try and do my best' - and he got a great response from the public. I thank them for that. Let's hope that settles down now, and we can get moving."

Spurs boss Jacques Santini  bubbled:

"A win against a big and good team, Newcastle, and away is a good performance for my young team. Today I'm very happy for my players because my team has had a good performance.

"When you play a good team away in a magnificent stadium like St James' Park it's very difficult - and when you play against Shearer, Bellamy, Robert, Jenas and the whole Newcastle team you know you have to defend from the first minute.

"You know when you score a goal it's one player. But before the goal, we had a good recovery defensively - and it was a good pass from Jamie Redknapp to Atouba.

"Thimothee had missed two good chances in the first half, and for him and for the team I'm happy with the goal."

This was a fitting end to an awful week, as United's 2004 unbeaten home record was surrendered to a side that were thumped 4-0 at SJP last December.

Things had looked bright for Bobby's boys in the opening stages of the game, with 'keeper Paul Robinson called into action to foil Bellamy early on.

And with Jenas occupying the free role in midfield that Dyer covets, the former Forest man unfortunately demonstrated similar failings in front of goal - managing to direct only one of his four first-half chances on target.

No such problems for Milner though, whose well-struck volley from a Shearer knock down brought a fingertip stop in the Leazes goal from Robinson, looking in the mood to register his first clean sheet of 2004.

So, goalless at the break and with Given not having been called into action - although Spurs had made their way to the edge of our box on a number of occasions before blasting shots high and wide.

But if the first half was tolerable, one word summed up the second half: inept.

Barely six minutes into the second half we fell behind to a long-range curler from Timothee Atouba Essama - the Cameroon international who featured for previous club FC Basel last season in both home and away legs of our UEFA Cup tie.

That should have been the signal for an onslaught on the Gallowgate goal as we sought to get back on level terms - but we looked incapable of stepping up a gear and particularly failed in trying to get behind Spurs via the flanks.

Most frustratingly though, we struggled to create anything from a series of corners and free-kicks, mainly because we either couldn't keep the ball in play or direct it to within yards of a team mate.

While Milner didn't look 100% fit going down the right, Robert chose to mark a century of Newcastle appearances with something of a no-show, his major contribution being a rare effort on target that Robinson was equal to.

Robert also reprised the idiotic gesture of kicking the ball against an opponent, when tussling with Jamie Redknapp in what was barely even a "handbags" exchange.

As Neale Barry had on virtually the same spot in February 2003 against Arsenal, referee Mike Dean reached for his pocket and produced a yellow - although this time it was Robert's first of the game and he didn't get an early bath.

Redknapp - who hadn't endeared himself to the home fans in the East Stand with a number of hand signals of his own - was also booked and then subbed within minutes, to his annoyance.

And speaking of gestures, the one-handed shuffle directed at the Spurs fans who had booed him by Stephen Carr as he left the pitch told its own story.

There had been loud appeals for a penalty (backed up by Sky game-watcher Charlie Nicholas) on 58 minutes but referee Mike Dean waved away vehement claims by Alan Shearer that he'd been blocked by Atouba as a Robert corner came over.

And what of Kieron Dyer's reception? 

Warming up together with Kluivert had ensured a mixed reception but his 77th minute substitute appearance was greeted with about 70% applause and 30% booing.

Dyer made it on to the park as the last of a triple change by Sir Bobby after 25 minutes of utter mundanity, following the Spurs goal. 

By then though, the focus of the home fans was more on the failures of their team as a whole, rather than misgivings over one individual.

Bellamy, the only player who had looked like unsettling Spurs in the final third of the field was withdrawn into a deep midfield role, while Shearer, Dyer, Kluivert and Ameobi all contributed to a muddled final thirteen minutes as we lost all pretence at any sort of shape and vainly pressed forward to try and salvage a point.

For once, had Robson replaced Shearer with Kluivert then the number nine couldn't have complained. Having said that though, for all we've seen so far of our Dutch destroyer, we could have signed his next door neighbour.....

Meanwhile, Spurs continued to look very average but held us at bay without too much bother and came close to extending their lead through King and Defoe, the latter leading both Hughes and O'Brien a merry dance.  

So, a torrid seven days ended with Robson's players trooping dejectedly from the field amid mild booing (not of Dyer, of the whole lot) and a return of one Premiership points from two fixtures that brought us six last season.

Already Wednesday's home game against Norwich takes on an added significance, with the Canaries showing enough in their 2-1 defeat at Old Trafford on Saturday night to suggest that it could be another anxious ninety minutes for Bobby and the fans.

PS - We were asked a couple of weeks ago to write a season preview for the ESPN Soccernet site - since then our peepers are improved and Carr has arrived, but our views remain unaltered:

As ever in the world of Newcastle United, there's more going on than meets the eye. And that aphorism is especially apt this pre-season, with the club's training ground out of bounds 10 days away from the season after the outbreak of conjunctivitis.

Anything could happen this season and probably will - but with a host of clubs now looking better equipped to join us in the pack behind the big three, a good start is essential given the comparatively easy early set of fixtures we've been handed. 

Regardless of that though, the chances of a smiling Shearer and Sir Bobby taking their final bows together though at a packed St.James' next May remain remote. We don't seem to do happy endings....

As Bette Davis once said: 'Fasten your seatbelts - it's going to be a bumpy ride.'

Biffa

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