It wasn't unexpected. It was just disheartening to see Newcastle hold the Spurs well during the first half, and then lost control of the game in the second. But that's Newcastle's current quality level. They usually have two excellent defenders on the pitch at any time. However, their defence overall cannot provide a full 90 minutes of quality shown by the top five clubs in the league, with the Spurs now being one of those clubs.

Newcastle has big players who have a lot of character. They were missing Kevin Nolan and Jose-Enrique in this match. There is no reason to seriously think that they will be facing the same disadvantage against Wigan on January 2nd.

But this match did add to the existing evidence that James Perch is the weak link in Newcastle's defense. He was beaten again by a striker on a scoring run. Good defenders get beaten. But Perch has always been outclassed by Premiership veterans this season. Although Newcastle needs reservists to fill in for injuries and suspensions, I don't think they need Perch going forward this season.

Since most of the Newcastle blogging community didn't write much about this defeat, I won't wither. We were all still recovering from our Christmas gorging, and like New York City's Sanitation department, there was no urgency to do a thorough job as December came to a close.

There will be much more to write about following the January 2nd match in Wigan, as the Lads have a golden opportunity to go on a win streak and the January transfer window opens.