Kieron Dyer has hit out at Tottenham’s players after they went 5-0 down after just 21 minutes against Newcastle, saying Antonio Conte was right to lash out at them. The lacklustre visitors went behind in the second minute at St James’ Park on Sunday after Joelinton was allowed to dribble towards goal before his shot was parried straight into the path of Jacob Murphy. Moments later, the Brazilian then rounded the woeful Hugo Lloris after some non-existent Spurs defending before a powerful long-range effort from Murphy deceived the static Tottenham keeper and found the far corner. A stunning pass from Joe Willock then released Alexander Isak, who calmly slotted the ball under Lloris, before a jinking run and finish two minutes later saw him complete a quick-fire brace – all inside the first 21 minutes of a scarcely believable opening period. Astonishingly, it is the second quickest any team has ever taken a 5-0 lead in the Premier League, with only Manchester City’s demolition of Watford in 2019 – when they had netted five times after 19 minutes – bettering it.
Spurs were fortunate to survive until half-time without conceding again and their players looked absolutely dumbstruck as they headed down the tunnel following one of the worst halves of football in their recent history. Conte was sacked as Tottenham manager last month after hitting out at his players following a collapse at Southampton, branding his players ‘selfish’, and former Newcastle star Dyer feels the Italian was justified in his comments after Sunday’s horror show. Dyer said on Sky Sports at half-time: ‘There was a lot made about Conte when he came out with his outburst about the Spurs players, but this is why he gave the outburst. Everything that he said in that press conference has come true. The Spurs players cost the manager his job, they’re that bad. We said the full-backs would be a problem, the centre-halves have been poor, the midfielders have been poor and they’ve been put to the sword. It could be 7-0 or 8-0, they’ve [Newcastle] been that at it. It’s just a shame that Spurs have been so poor. They’ve let the fans down, they’ve let everyone associated with the club down.’ Former Spurs full-back Danny Rose was also extremely critical: ‘There’s been so many mistakes. All I’ve been thinking all the way through the half is, “How am I unemployed?” To be 5-0 down after 21 minutes is unheard of for a club that are supposedly a massive club.’