The Magpies head coach couldn't resist celebrating the 2-1 win at Tottenham in style
Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe celebrates the 2-1 win at Tottenham
Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe celebrates the 2-1 win at Tottenham(Image: CameraSport via Getty Images)
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Frankly when you are in the clarts your Spur cannot be better than a Doubting Thomas and his Tottenham totterers.
With only two victories in a dozen PL fixtures at home stripping their support of all hope they were the perfect opposition, as resilient as a chocolate fireguard but, hey, who cares. We needed it. Eddie needed it. What Geordie relief in our hour of greatest concern.
Eddie Howe had bared his soul after a shattering home defeat by Brentford taking the blows on behalf of his porous team but in the lashing rain of north London a combination of honest endeavour and a Spurs side as poor as they have had down the years combined to produce the perfect response.
Howe is normally a measured individual, never too high or too low, always willing for his players to take the bows, but looking drained at the end he was pushed forward by those in United colours to take the applause of the grateful Geordie fans packed in the away end.
For a fleeting second he lost his reserve and fist clenched repeatedly pumped the air before, realising what he was doing, he faded back into the throng.
After what he has gone through and what he has done for the club Howe had every right to fleetingly lose it, taking his place in the sun. However by the time he faced the live TV cameras he was back to his political reserve. His world doesn't change for long.
Eddie is as clean cut and reserved as a choir boy who hardly ever gets carried away by the service from the pulpit, but here we had a rare glimpse of what lies beneath a controlled exterior.
Pep may throw his arms in the air, Arteta may gesticulate and delve into the dark arts, Emery launch a squeaky tantrum on the Villa sidelines, but Howe leaves that to his Mad Dog Jason Tindale, who inevitably got booked as the heat was turned up.
However for a fleeting second Eddie's mask slipped to reveal a human being.
United's boss knows that only the third away PL victory of the season is not going to hold back the waves on its own, and further positive results are required before his boat can enter calm waters but it is the start he so desperately needed.
While Spurs were genuinely as limp as a wet rag let us give credit to United. They dominated the first half having nine corners against none despite being the away team, 56 per cent possession, and 11 shots vs four, four on target while the home side had none.
Crucially they also had a goal lead fashioned right at the death, given to them by Malick Thiaw and so utterly deserved after Joe Willock had seen a great finish from a sublime Jacob Ramsey pass ruled out by VAR for offside. I swear if Joe had visited the barbers before he hit the capital it would have counted. That's how close it was. A hair's breadth.
When Tottenham equalised from their first corner after more than an hour all the doubts came flooding back - 19 points sacrificed from winning positions, 14 goals conceded in the last quarter of an hour of matches, 11 after the 90th minute mark.
However a winner of sheer quality came for us not them and killed tame Tottenham. Wonderful feet by Anthony Gordon played in Ramsey who finished instinctively sweeping the ball home for his first Newcastle goal.
After poor individual performances across the board in recent matches there was much more to admire here - United's two No 8s Ramsey and Willock were terrific and Anthony Elanga was a breath of fresh air at last showing us some promise.
Howe had gambled and shown bravery by benching Sandro Tonali alongside Yoane Wissa and Nick Woltemade but going with Ramsey and Willock and using Gordon as a false No 9 ahead of his expensive twin strikers bought in the summer proved the right call.
Tonali's mind is scrambled, his form has deserted him, while Woltemade and Wissa are in dire need of a corpse reviver. All three owe their manager and the Geordie public big time.
If there was a worry for United in victory - and there always seems to be - then it was the sight of their talisman skipper (and lucky mascot) Bruno limping off at the end.
When we look back to United dominating matches last season on the platform of their midfield three Bruno, Tonali and Joelinton we realise we now face a vastly different proposition. Big Joe is already out, Guimaraes looks certain to be at Aston Villa in the FA Cup on Saturday, and Tonali is shot for one reason or another. Oh, and Lewis Miley is injured.
Tonali is altogether another matter. I cannot help but fear that he is going down the same path as Alexander Isak did late last season. Without the bitter confrontation I hasten to add but with the same end product. I don't like it, but I see it.
I must stress that defeating Spurs doesn't sweep away the dark clouds of depression and hail another bright dawn. Not with Villa away in the Cup, Qarabag away in the Champions League, and Manchester City away in the PL as the next three matches. Let us be honest and not veer from one mood swing to the other. Life is still precarious. We wish it to be different, my do we, but we await confirmation.
The pressure remains firmly upon Eddie Howe, upon his under achieving players, and upon those above them. This season is still on the debit side not the credit side. It's just that the pressure valve has been eased somewhat for which we are extremely grateful.
What awaits us? Let us see.
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