Tottenham 5-1 Newcastle: Toon totally collapse after taking the lead in London

A second half horror-show and sobering reminder that real investment is needed this summer, as Newcastle United put in one of their poorest displays under Eddie Howe in today's 5-1 defeat at Spurs.

The travelling Toon Army were in dreamland in the 39th minute after Schar rattled in a first half free kick, but Tottenham responded immediately to make it 1-1 before the break.

What followed in the second half was nothing short of shambolic, as we completely collapsed and got carved open with ease, conceding four times to hand Spurs an emphatic win.

Thankfully, our run of away games has come to an end, as we'll now play three straight games against Wolves, Leicester and Crystal Palace at St James' Park before travelling to Norwich.

However, this was a brutal reality check, a horrid display and a defeat we thoroughly deserved, hopefully reminding our players that our Premier League safety hasn't been decided just yet - despite the nine-point cushion.

Howe made three changes from the side that lost 1-0 to Everton a few weeks ago, seeing Manquillo, Shelvey and Saint-Maximin come in for Krafth, Guimaraes - who'd not long returned from Brazil - and Almiron.

The first 15 minutes was a tough watch from a Newcastle perspective. Aside from the odd Saint-Maximin burst that ultimately came to nothing, we spent the majority of the opening stages camped in our own half and struggling to get a kick.

Our first big chance then came in the 22nd minute, as Joe Willock showed some lovely footwork to jink past two Tottenham players in the box, however his close range shot was superbly blocked by Romero to deny what was nearly the opening goal of the game.

At the other end, Burn and Targett had started in typically solid fashion, with the Geordie giant mopping up well and the Aston Villa loanee proving hard to beat whenever Kulusevski tried to attack down that side.

As ever, Saint-Maximin was our main outlet in attack and always look to run at Tottenham's back line, getting Kane booked after he skipped past the Spurs skipper on the counter. He looked a little rusty, with his solo runs often having mixed success, but it was good to see him back.

So, after a slightly negative start, we were starting to look more comfortable on the half hour mark, pushing up the pitch and enjoying more of the ball. The challenge now was creating chances without allowing Kane, Son and Kulusevski to run riot on the counter, with the hosts often thriving when given space in behind.

After some good approach play and a sustained period of pressure, Willock was tripped on the edge of the box by Son, giving us a big chance to test Lloris on the 40-minute mark. Schar stepped up and he did exactly that - but the French stopper could only parry his low strike into the bottom corner!

A poor piece of goalkeeping, but brilliant scenes in the away end as our Swiss dreamboat ran the length of the pitch to celebrate with the travelling Toon Army.

Sadly, our lead lasted just a couple of minutes. After a Spurs corner was only half-cleared, Son whipped a ball across the box and Ben Davies got in between Targett and Joelinton and glanced past Dubravka. 1-1.

Saint-Maximin and Joelinton then went into the book along with Bentancur just before the break, with our big Brazilian flooring the Uruguayan after he went face to face with ASM in an off the ball incident.

The second half kicked off and it began just like the first ended, as it was Burn's turn to go into the book for a late lunge on Kane.

We cleared the resultant free kick but it wasn't long before the ball came back in, as Kane dropped deep and whipped in a brilliant cross which was headed in at the back post after just evading Son at the near.

Another quality cross, but it was yet another poor goal to concede, seeing us slip up twice in five minutes either side of the half-time whistle. 2-1 Tottenham - and it was only about to get worse.

A matter of minutes later, it was Kane once again who caused problems from deep. He released Kulusevski down the right and the winger's cross was put on a plate for Son, who got in ahead of Manquillo and lashed past Dubravka.

We were leading on the 39th minute mark, yet just 15 minutes of football later and it was 3-1 to Spurs. A complete collapse and shocking start to the second half, seeing Spurs slice us open at will after struggling to break us down for much of the first 45.

Howe then made a double change just before the hour mark, seeing Joelinton - who was one foul away from a second yellow - and Manquillo replaced by Guimaraes and Murphy.

The changes saw us switch to a 5-2-3 formation, with Shelvey now playing in between Schar and Burn, Murphy and Targett operating as wing-backs, Willock and Guimares in midfield and ASM, Wood and Fraser in attack.

A new system but more woeful defending followed, as Doherty cut in from the left and found Emerson Royal. The Brazilian beat Targett to the cross and poked in past Dubravka. 4-1 Tottenham and a seriously worrying second half performance from a NUFC perspective was going from bad to worse by the minute.

Alarmingly, it should've been 5-1 just moments later. Kane was given too much space and picked out a stunning pass to release Son. He only had the keeper to beat but dragged a shot just wide to keep it at four.

Howe then made another change, bringing off Wood for Lascelles in a bid to stem the tide, as we were unravelling at quite a rate and in danger of losing by a cricket score if 4-1 wasn't already bad enough.

With little under 10 minutes remaining, it was five. Saint-Maximin lost the ball too cheaply and Burn got dragged out into no man's land, allowing Moura to release Bergwijn - who slid the ball into the bottom corner to make it 5-1.

The hosts had scored with all of their shots on target, but this was a shambolic second half display and a side who approached the final 45 minutes like a team on the beach in Dubai.

Next up, a clash with Wolves at St James' Park next Friday, handing us an opportunity to respond after three straight defeats.