Eddie Howe has praised Tottenham’s atmosphere by suggesting that it was too loud for him to give instructions to Newcastle United players.
Newcastle headed down to North London on Sunday for what proved to be a statement win against one of the so-called ‘big six’.
Callum Wilson opened the scoring for the Magpies, profiting from a Hugo Lloris era in a somewhat controversial goal.
In-form Miguel Almiron added number two with a fine strike before Harry Kane’s header gave Tottenham hope of a draw.
That didn’t happen though and Newcastle were able to head back to the North East with three points in the bag.
Eddie Howe has praised Tottenham’s atmosphere
Newcastle not only held firm in the second half but still posed a threat going forward even with Tottenham chasing a goal.
Tottenham fans were fuming at half time, booing and jeering their own team off the pitch.
Maybe some of that was direct at the referee too after Wilson’s opener, but it was clear that Tottenham fans weren’t happy with Antonio Conte’s side.
The rain poured down alongside the displeasure, but Spurs fans did try and get behind their team after the break.
Kane’s equaliser certainly picked the crowd up and Newcastle boss Howe has admitted that it was a difficult situation.
Howe told Sky Sports that he felt it was ‘difficult’ to get instructions on to his players because it was ‘so loud’ inside the stadium.
Newcastle fans certainly added to that over in the far corner from Howe’s perspective, but being surrounded by Tottenham fans around the dugout made things tricky.
“You’re forever trying to foresee problems,” said Howe. “Whether it’s adjusting a centre forward’s position, whether you’re dropping him deeper or pushing him higher and it’s the same with all the players in the team where you’re just trying to get information onto the pitch.”
“It was very difficult here because the noise was so loud that getting information on was very difficult,” he added.
Tottenham’s stadium was built with the idea of producing one of the loudest atmospheres around.
Stadium designers Populous admitted in 2019 that Daniel Levy was ‘obsessed’ with producing a great atmosphere in Tottenham’s new home.
They added that the South Stand was build to be like ‘a 17,500-seat megaphone’ due to the natural acoustics and it all seems to have paid off.
Howe clearly felt that it was very loud on Sunday and Tottenham can only hope that creating that kind of atmosphere can bring better results than a 2-1 defeat moving forward.
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