The home defeat to Newcastle was one of the poorest displays from Tottenham this season. Newcastle weren’t anything special, but managed to find a spark from good second half performances from Sissoko and Ameobi. This result will ease the pressure on Newcastle and shift a lot of the media attention on Pochettino’s stuttering Spurs.

Here are the player ratings from this match:

Tottenham Hotspur:

Lloris, 5: Didn’t have much to do all game. Wasn’t at fault for either of the goals.

Rose, 7: Rose had a solid game bombing down the left side. His one moment of madness was his appalling dive in the first half. His effort was there, but his final ball wasn’t.

Kaboul, 5: He is prone to one calamitous error per game, but thankfully it wasn’t taken today. He covered Dier fairly well and tried to push for an equalizer.

Vertonghen, 4: For the second goal he was caught under the ball, which allowed Perez to come in with the header. Didn’t look to break forward at all and seem fairly disinterested.

Dier, 3: This was his worst performance in a Spurs shirt. At kick off for the second half, he was caught sleeping and was punished by Ameobi. He seemed tired from the midweek game and was continuously caught out of position in the second half.

Mason, 7: He had a fantastic first half providing a sumptuous cross for Adebayor. He always turned and look to play the ball forward to the likes of Eriksen and Lamela. In the second half, he was limited as Sissoko focused his attention on him.

Capoue, 6: What you see is what you get from Capoue. He will never win you a game with his creativity and he certainly didn’t do that today. He did break up Newcastle’s weak attack in the first half without any problems.

Lamela, 4: With confidence at an all-time high he failed to live up to the expectation. He lost possession too many times and never made a run down the right. This was a poor performance compared to the display in the Europa League.

Eriksen, 5: Eriksen had all the space and opportunities he could ask for and yet failed to produce. His final ball was poor. He had one major opportunity to pull Spurs back into the contest, but saw the shot blocked wide by Coloccini.

Chadli, 5: Much like Lamela, he was consistently looking to come inside, which made Spurs very easy to defend against. He had one breakaway that required him to get past Coloccini, but he failed to cut inside and test Krul.

Adebayor, 6: A surprise pick for the game, he grabbed an early goal from Mason’s cross. Throughout the game, he was seen trying to press the ball. After Spurs went behind, he failed to make an impact up front.

Substitutes:

Kane, 6: Came on with real purpose and a point to prove. He only had a couple of touches and was only able to produce one great cross, which fizzed across goal.

Lennon, N/A: Maybe touched the ball two or three times. He didn’t really get a chance to run at Dummet.

Soldado, 4: He gets a rating simply because he missed a great chance to equalize. His shinned effort summed up his time at Spurs.

Newcastle United

Krul, 6: Made a couple decent saves, but really there was nothing to test him.

Janmaat, 4: He got dominated by Rose all game because he got no help from Gouffran. He also made no effort to get forward in the first half.

Taylor, 7: Was solid in defense as Tottenham looked to attack through the middle. He got several crucial blocks which saw them hold onto their lead.

Coloccini, 7: Like his center back partner, he did a fantastic job blocking shots. He also had the strength required to keep Adebayor quiet and force him deeper.

Dummet, 5: He got caught ball watching for Tottenham’s first goal as Adebayor slipped in behind him. After that, he wasn’t tested by Dier or Lamela at all.

Colback, 6: A solid game in the center of the park. He made solid tackles in the second half that allowed the likes of Sissoko and Cabella to get forward.

Anita, 4: He failed to track Eriksen or Mason and allowed them to have a large amount of space in front of the back four.

Sissoko, 9: In the first half, he was the only Newcastle player that wanted to press and take on Tottenham players. In the second half, he came alive as he sat a little deeper to provide balls in behind to Ameobi and Perez.

Obertan, 4: Completely non existent in the first half as he was marked by Capoue. Pardew was right to substitute him at the half.

Gouffran, 4: He failed to track back in the first half, which left Janmaat exposed by the overlapping run from Rose. Going forward, he had limited success and eventually was sacrificed for Haidara to shore up the Newcastle defense.

Perez, 7: He had a poor showing in the first half as he was bullied off the ball by the much stronger Kaboul. Once the second half began, he got more support from Gouffran which allowed him to grow in confidence. He grabbed the winning goal with a great glancing header that left Lloris with no chance.

Substitutes:

Ameobi, 8: Truly a super sub as he inspired Newcastle to a win. He scored the equalizer seven seconds after the second half kickoff. After the goal, he ran at Dier as many times as possible to relieve the pressure for Newcastle. He was the danger man and most Newcastle players looked to him on the break.

Cabella, 6: A good performance for him, which will see him grow in confidence. He held the ball well and found Ameobi on several occasions. With time running out he made smart decisions with the ball to kill off the Tottenham attack.

Haidara, N/A: Came on to solidify the left side of Newcastle’s defense. Wasn’t tested by Lennon at all.

Luka Modrić left Tottenham last summer for £33 million to Real Madrid. During the 2011/12 season, most avid Premier League watchers would agree that Modrić was one of the best, if not the best, passers in the game. His ability to spread the ball not only allowed him to pass the ball a total of 2,534 times, which is impressive enough, but also the fact that his completion rate was an astounding 87%. He mostly operated in a deep lying midfielder role and didn’t bag very many goals.

Moussa Dembélé was brought in to be the replacement for Modrić. His move from Fulham cost Tottenham £15 million. Dembélé was bought by Fulham as an attacking midfielder, but later in his Fulham career became a deep-lying midfielder like Modrić.

This switch of personnel seems to have changed Tottenham’s style of play. Unlike Modrić who liked to press tight to the box, Dembélé prefers to linger back and orchestrate from a distance. His languid style is a stark contrast from Modrić who seemed frantic in his pursuit of the ball. Modrić’s habit of pressuring a team outside their box meant that for the other attackers it was hard to find space to burst into and get a shot away. However, Dembélé has a habit of being slightly behind play so that there is room for teammates to run into when they receive the ball.

Sandro, Dembélé’s midfield partner, compliments Dembélé’s style perfectly as he looks to get forward and strike from long range. Sandro’s bursts forward draws defenders and allows Dembélé to drop into a pocket of space right on the edge of the box. This interchanging of the midfielders allows Tottenham to switch the focal point of the attack quickly and distribute the ball to Bale and Lennon.

Though, Dembélé sits back at times, that doesn’t mean he lacks the creativity to go forward. With one simple drop of the shoulder he can shrug off most defenders. This forward run is complimented nicely by his ability to retain possession in tight spaces. Most Tottenham fans would agree that he seems apprehensive to shoot and instead passes the ball off to a teammate. Nevertheless, like Modrić, he is graced with moments of brilliance in front of goal. This was demonstrated in his first game for Tottenham against Norwich when he slotted home a wonderful strike passed John Ruddy into the bottom right hand corner. Unlike Modrić, he started as a striker for AZ Alkmaar which means that he has a potential to become a major contributor to the goal tally.

Possibly the most notable change Dembélé brings with him is that fact that his defensive work rate is just as high as his attacking work rate. His ability to make a tackle has created a strong spine for the Tottenham midfield. His positional awareness is impressive as he is able to intercept balls and break up attacks. This also allows him to start counter attacks quickly and with the pace Tottenham possess on their wings, this can be devastating for opposing teams.

Though, Dembélé and Modrić have different qualities they both have had major effects on Tottenham. Like Modrić when Dembélé was absent from the side Tottenham look short of ideas and relied on individual brilliance rather than teamwork. One thing Tottenham fans learned with Modrić is that these midfield talents are hard to come by and selling them has drastic effects on the team.

If Tottenham want to continue their push to permanently establish themselves in top four they must not let Dembélé go.

André Villas-Boas has promised a quiet transfer window for Tottenham this January. Daniel Levy took charge of the transfer dealings during the summer rather than handing over the reins to the 35-year-old Villas-Boas. At Chelsea last year, Villas-Boas showed his understanding of the transfer market by bringing in talents such as Juan Mata and Romelu Lukaku; these signings parallel Villas-Boas’ philosophy of free flowing football.

Tottenham’s major problems come in the striker department. The misfiring Adebayor is experiencing second season syndrome, which seems to haunt him wherever he goes. Gylfi Sigurdsson hasn’t found his feet in the Tottenham line-up either. He has only been brought on for small cameo appearances when Clint Dempsey needed a rest.

The January transfer market is one that needs to be treated with care; but there are gems out there. One that has been tossed around lately is Wesley Sneijder. The problem with this move is that Sneijder’s wage demands may be too much for Levy to afford. He would also face strong competition from the likes of Manchester United and PSG. Sneijder would be able to slot in behind Jermain Defoe in Villas-Boas’ 4-2-3-1 system. Sneijder would bring more attacking prowess to the middle of the pitch.  His ability to spread the ball would allow him to link up with Moussa Dembélé and keep Tottenham from becoming one-dimensional.

Another name which has been strongly linked with a move away from his club is Fernando Llorente.  Llorente‘s ability to head the ball and draw defenders would be a great foil to Defoe’s clinical finishing.  The build of Llorente will cause Spurs fans to remember the lethal strike partnership of Defoe and Peter Crouch. Llorente’s contract is running out in the Basque country and Bilbao will look to incite a bidding war for his services. Juventus has shown their interest in signing the striker as well as Arsenal.

One option that hasn’t been explored but may have some potential is buying Alexandre Pato. Though Tottenham haven’t been linked with him, there has been speculation that AC Milan are willing to part with him and Robinho in order to bring in Manchester City’s Mario Balotelli. Pato could play as a lone striker or be deployed behind Defoe where he could link up with other world-class players such as Gareth Bale and Moussa Dembélé. One issue may be his wage demands, which are reported to be around the €4 million mark. Pato has been linked with a move to Brazil but I’m sure his head would turn if Tottenham made a bid. He can also link up with his Brazilian national teammate Sandro.

Demba Ba may be the hottest prospect in the January transfer market. His £7 million buyout clause is a source of major speculation. Tottenham may tempt Demba Ba to move to North London with the promise of a starting place in the lineup and a strong potential of Champions League football. He would take the place of Adebayor in the 4-4-2 system. Tottenham would have to manage his pre-existing knee problem but with Adebayor on the bench that wouldn’t be much of a problem.

If Tottenham want to cement their place in the Champions League, they may seriously have to consider dipping into the January transfer market. As Levy has shown in the past he likes to hold dealings off until the last possible minute so expect late bids for the players mentioned above.  All in all, the January transfer market has several gems and for the right price they can have a tremendous impact on Tottenham Hotspur.