Tottenham’s heaviest Premier League defeats – Newcastle United give Spurs nightmares
Thomas Frank will be looking to improve on Tottenham’s awful Premier League form last season.
Ange Postecoglou will always be remembered fondly among the Spurs faithful after ending a 17-year trophy drought in North London by winning the UEFA Europa League with Tottenham.
However, fans will most likely rather forget Spurs’ form in the Premier League under the Australian.
Tottenham suffered 22 Premier League defeats in the 2024/25 campaign, the most of any side not to be relegated, which saw them finish 17th, just one spot above the drop zone.
Frank will have great aspirations for the season ahead and will hope to learn from the mistakes Postecoglou made domestically.
Off the back of their worst-ever campaign in the competition, Tottenham News takes a closer look at five of the Lilywhites’ heaviest defeats in the Premier League.
5. Tottenham 1 – 6 Chelsea (6 December 1997)
The fact that one of these defeats was against fierce rivals Chelsea, who recently aimed a dig at Spurs after their defeat to PSG, will be particularly painful for Tottenham fans.
In the 1997/98 season, the Blues travelled to White Hart Lane having not lost to Tottenham in league competition for more than seven years.
That would not change on this occasion, with Chelsea running riot in North London thanks to a Tore Andre Flo hat-trick in addition to goals from Dan Petrescu, Roberto Di Matteo, and Mark Nicholls.
Chelsea would continue to dominate against the Lilywhites, not tasting defeat against their London rivals until November 2006, which marked the end of a 16-year unbeaten run against Tottenham in the league.
4. Newcastle United 6 – 1 Tottenham (23 April 2023)
The first of two Tottenham thrashings at the hands of Newcastle United, which features on this list.
St James’ Park has not been a happy hunting ground for Tottenham in recent times, but their defeat in the 2022/23 season was particularly damning
With just 21 minutes on the clock, Spurs were five goals behind, after what was perhaps the most incredible start to a Premier League match ever.
Jacob Murphy and Alexander Isak both found themselves on hat-tricks midway through the second half, while Joelinton had also capitalised on some shocking Tottenham defending.
At this point, it looked as though it could have been 10, or even more, and although it seems ridiculous to say, Tottenham will perhaps feel lucky they got out of St James’ Park with just a 6-1 defeat.
The second half proved a drab affair as Harry Kane scored before Callum Wilson ruled out the threat of an incredibly unlikely comeback.
3. Sheffield United 6 – 0 Tottenham (2 March 1993)
One of Spurs’ joint-heaviest Premier League defeats took place during the competition’s inaugural season.
Franz Carr, Brian Deane, and Paul Rogers all scored at Bramall Lane while Ian Bryson grabbed a brace, with Andy Gray scoring an own goal for the visitors.
This marked one of three occasions in which Spurs have been beaten by a six-goal margin in the Premier League era.
2. Manchester City 6 – 0 Tottenham (24 November 2013)
It took just 14 seconds for City to take the lead at the Etihad Stadium as a poor clearance from Hugo Lloris led to Jesus Navas scoring a brilliant chip.
Tottenham were never able to recover, as by half-time, they were 3-0 down after goals from Alvaro Negredo and Sergio Aguero.
All three scorers got in on the act again in the second half to complete a perfect afternoon for the Cityzens.
City would go on to win the Premier League that season with 86 points, clinching the title on the final day of the campaign, after only topping the table for 14 days in total throughout the season.
1. Newcastle United 7 – 1 Tottenham (28 December 1996)
Spurs’ heaviest defeat in the Premier League era, another thrashing at the hands of the Magpies.
In December 1996, Kevin Keegan’s Newcastle side were on a seven-game winless run, but that all changed when Tottenham showed up at St James’ Park.
Braces for Alan Shearer, Les Ferdinand and Rob Lee, as well as a goal from Philippe Albert, condemned Spurs to their heaviest Premier League defeat.
And with two of the defeats on this list arriving at St James’ Park, it’s fair to say that there will be a few Spurs supporters who have nightmares when travelling to Tyneside.
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