Preview Panel - Newcastle

Welcome back to the Preview Panel, where we tap into the opinions of legends, fans and the media ahead of our matches this season. Next up, after three away games, we're back at home with Newcastle United the visitors to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the Premier League on Sunday (2pm).

Introducing the panel...

Micky Hazard - Born and bred in the north east, Micky travelled down from Sunderland to join us on schoolboy forms back in 1976. He progressed through the youth system to enjoy two spells at the Club, lifted the FA Cup in 1982 and starred in our UEFA Cup triumph of 1984. A silky midfielder with an eye for a pass and a goal, Micky played 170 times for us, scoring 25 goals, between 1979-85 and 1993-95. As popular as ever with fans, he's part of our legends' matchday hospitality team.

Paul Pavlou - Enfield-born, Paul went to his first Spurs game aged 10 in 1988, moved up to Yorkshire for university studies - and is still there 20 years later! He's still a regular and chairman of Yorkshire Spurs, one of our blooming Official Supporters' Clubs, now with 250 members and thousands more interacting online.

Chris Waugh - In the away corner, and Newcastle United correspondent for The Athletic, Chris has previously worked for Mail Online, and then reported on NUFC for The Chronicle, The Journal and The Sunday Sun. He has covered NUFC home and away since 2015.

What is key for us on Sunday?

Micky: “Playing at pace, tempo, movement - all the qualities we showed in the second half at Southampton. We look a good side, goals for fun. The forward runs were incredible, and Harry’s passes were amazing. For me, when we play with that tempo, we look a fantastic team.”

Paul: “The bottom line is to get the three points. We have to put that Everton game behind us and build on that performance at Southampton, keep going forward, keep building momentum. Hopefully that Everton game was only a blip. The first goal is always important as well, start on the front foot, get that early goal. That will really open the game up.”

What are you expecting from Newcastle?

Micky: “I’m expecting a very difficult game. They’ve given us some tough tests over the last few years, won here last season, so don’t underestimate them even though they weren’t great against Brighton last week. They won 3-0 at West Ham on the opening day, but lost 3-0 at home, so I expect a response. It won’t be easy, they have some good players, but if we play how we did at Southampton, not many teams can live with that.”

Paul: “The 3-1 win at St James’ Park seems such a short time ago (15 July), so I’m sure that will be in the back of their minds. We scored five last weekend, they conceded three and lost at home to Brighton, so no doubt they’ll want to keep it tight, keep men behind the ball and try and hit us on the break with Callum Wilson up there. They will be hard to play against and we’ll have to break them down.”

Any Newcastle memories?

Micky: “I’ve one incredibly bad memory, one of the worst days of my life. We played them at White Hart Lane, won 5-1 (7 September, 1985), I played, I scored, and after the game we were all in the players’ lounge celebrating, Peter Shreeves, the manager, called me over and told me the club had sold me to Chelsea. So that’s a bad memory of a Newcastle game, even though it was a great win! It was the day my first stint at Spurs came to an end. I remember driving home, fuming. At that stage, I’d only known Spurs. I joined as a schoolboy. That was a sad day for me.”

Paul: “The worst one was the 5-1 at the end of the 2015/16 season. We went up on the day on a hospitality trip with the Club. We flew up with Ledley King and David Howells, lunch and then went to the game. That wasn’t the best day! The best was probably when Thimothee Atouba scored that winner at St James’ the start of the 2004/05 season. I thought he was going to be one of the best after he scored that goal! That’s probably my favourite Newcastle memory.”

A couple for Micky...

First of all, how are you?
Micky: “I feel great. I’ve had four operations from December through to June. My kidneys had stopped working, for whatever reason. That snowballed into something more serious. The fourth operation was complex, but a great success. I had no pain, nothing, incredible. The surgeon was brilliant, I called him a genius. Since then, no problems, and everything is functioning properly.”

You are a Sunderland lad, tell us about the important of football in the north east...
Micky: “It’s a hotbed of football, and producing footballers, just look at Spurs and the likes of Paul Gascoigne and Chrissie Waddle. But, for whatever reason, it’s been in the doldrums for some time, Sunderland are in League One, Middlesbrough struggling, Newcastle looking to survive in the Premier League. These are big, big football clubs who really shouldn’t be struggling, coming from an area that produces top footballers. The supporters, they are fanatical. You almost wish you could wave a magic wand and bring success to these teams in the north east, the area needs that, it really does.”

View from the Toon...

Newcastle were excellent in beating West Ham on the opening weekend, but then lost 3-0 at home to Brighton - what's been the reaction on Tyneside?
Chris: “As most things are up here, it’s been pretty hyped. It’s caused a lot of concern and frustration and worry. As you often do with Newcastle, you go from an extreme high to an extreme low. More than anything, it was the manner of the defeat, it could have been a lot worse. Given the fact that they had looked good the week before against West Ham, now people are questioning if it was down to West Ham being so bad, or Newcastle quite good. It’s gone from a very positive week to quite a negative week.”

What Newcastle are you expecting here on Sunday?
Chris: “It’s one of the few away trips where they’ve got quite a decent record. I think it will be more of a defensive approach, it wouldn’t surprise me if they went to a three-man central defence and they will look to hit Spurs on the counter. I don’t think Andy Carroll will start, so we’re looking at Callum Wilson through the middle, Almiron, Saint-Maximin, Ryan Fraser, those types of player to try and contain and then hit Spurs on the counter. They will concede a lot of possession and try to do that.”

Give us a player to look out for…
Chris: “He’s not a glamour player, but I would say Isaac Hayden is one of the most important players in the Newcastle team because, alongside Jo Jo Shelvey, he has to do a lot of work. If he’s on song as he has been recently - although he wasn’t great against Brighton - he gets through so much work, wins the ball and gives it to the attacking players. He’s the key. He might not get the headlines or score the goals, but if the likes of Fraser and Saint-Maximin are able to capitalise, it will be down to Isaac Hayden being excellent in midfield. He’d be a player that, if I was Spurs, I’d try to disrupt him, because that would really affect Newcastle."