The Observer
25.08.19 13favourites but I think in football
everything is possible – there is
no invincible team,” Lucas says.
“Everything can happen and we
need to believe that.
“We went to City and got a good
result. We cannot lose stupid points
at home as we did last season. My
objective and our objective is to win
a trophy. We have a very good squad,
an amazing structure, a lot of fans
and we can dream of a trophy. I
think it is possible and we will try.”
Lucas smiles when he describes
how the club’s summer signings
have assaulted the ear-drums with
their initiation songs.
“We’ve enjoyed it a lot when new
players come and we go to dinner
in the hotel,” he says, miming how
what is surely a tough crowd clink
their glasses with their cutlery to
call for the performance. “Tanguy
[Ndomb el e] was very bad – very,
very bad – and [Giovani] Lo Celso,
as well. We will see about Ryan
[Sessegnon]. He is injured. When
he comes back, he will sing. It is
very funny.”
The point is that for the fi rst time
since Spurs took Lucas from Paris
Saint-Germain in January 2018, they
have new arrivals of which to boast.
They have lifted the mood, bringing
fresh impetus and competition.
“When a new player comes,
it is exciting for us and for the
fans and we have got some very
good players,” Lucas says. “We are
stronger this season. The most
important thing is that we had two
transfer windows with no signings
and we still did well; we played in
the Champions League, fi nished
top four. We got to build the new
stadium. Perfect. It is not normal
that a big club like Tottenham goes
two windows with no new signings
but we are proud because we were
very, very good. When players leave
and we don’t buy anyone, it is very
hard. We need to be proud of this.”
Lucas has been in London for a
little over 18 months and his English
is already excellent. It was the same
story at PSG with his French. The
Brazilian picked it up quickly and
impressively. He sits down for this
interview with an interpreter but it
is akin to a comfort blanket because
there is little call for any outside
input. “I think that Lucas must
have been an interpreter himself
in a different life,” the aide says.
Lucas understands what is meant
by a supersub. “Yeah, I saw this on
Twitter,” he says, with a nod to the
aftermath of the City game.
If Lucas was squeezed out of the
line up for the Champions League
fi nal, then the sense persists that
he might be Pochettino’s 12th man
when everybody is available. It is
not a tag he cares to embrace, even
if he treads a careful line between
his own wishes and respect for
Pochettino’s selections.
“When I am on the bench,
I always think of coming on and
doing my best but I want to play,
I want to be in the starting XI,” Lucas
says. “I do know that the season is
long, that there are a lot of games
and I will have my opportunity.”
Lucas will always have
Amsterdam but he says that
his most emotional moment
followed his other hat-trick last
season – against Huddersfi eld
at home in April – after
which his baby son,
Miguel, came on to the
turf at the new stadium.
The supporters roared
every time he kicked
the ball.
“In Brazil we
say that there is
no price for this,
you cannot
pay for these
moments,”
Lucas says.
“It was a
really good
gift from
God to me.
Miguel is now
one year and nine
months old and next
month, my second one
will be born. Another
boy, Pedro. Two boys and
that’s it. Finished! Too much work.”
Lucas will never stop working on
the pitch.‘The semi-fi nal
was the best day
of my life and after
the fi nal it was
diffi cult, I believed
we could win’
Lucas Moura
Lucas Moura,
pictured at
Tottenham’s new
Enfi eld complex,
has the knack of
scoring decisive
goals, as he did
against Ajax
(below) and at
Manchester City
TOM JENKINS/
THE OBSERVER4.30pm Sky Sports PLTottenham
v Newcastle
Bruce invokes ‘siege
mentality’ to navigate
the Newcastle storm
At fi rst glance, Steve Bruce remains
on the affable side of polite and even
makes a couple of jokes but it does
not take long to establish that inside
he is hurt and angry. Within minutes
of taking a seat Newcastle ’s manager
is discussing the need to preserve
“dignity” in the face of “insulting”
criticism, life in the eye of “a storm”
and his perceived tactical ignorance.
As a welcome and long-awaited
August sun streams through an
open window before 9am every-
thing seems deceptively benign at
the club’s suburban training base.
Yet as words including “crisis”, “lies”
and “siege mentality” tumble from
Bruce’s mouth it is clear such appar-
ent serenity is illusory.
“I’m the manager who sends the
team out to play with no formation
and no tactics, who makes the wrong
substitutions,” he says sarcastically,
as, following two admittedly concern-
ing defeats, Rafael Benítez’s old side
prepare to visit Tottenham today. “We
can’t even take a warm-up properly ...
it’s been relentless. Some of it’s fab-
ricated lies but we’re in a storm and
you just have to keep your dignity and
make sure you’re strong enough to
see it through.”
Bruce has swiftly discovered
that, even in the kindest light, he is
regarded as a very poor man’s Benítez.
Although we are only two Premier
League games – and, for Newcastle,
zero points – into the new campaign
many supporters delight in contrast-
ing his every failed manoeuvre with a
“Rafa masterstroke”.
This partly explains
why in one breath
Bruce says: “ It’s too
early for soul-search-
ing,” but in the next spells out
the need for contingency measures.
“We’re going to have to have a siege
mentality,” he says. “The expectations,
the fabric, of a big club like this means
you have to perform. Nobody’s under
the relentless spotlight more than us
at the minute. The only way we can
turn the thing round is with good per-
formances – and results.”
It is an easy prescription to artic-
ulate but much harder to administer- especially going into seven poten-
tially season-defining days also
featuring Wednesday’s League Cup
tie against Leicester and Saturday’s
must-win league fixture against
Watford, both at home. “It’s a big,
big week,” agrees Bruce, who must
arguably decide whether to con-
tinue building his team around Jonjo
Shelvey in a 3-5-2 formation or fol-
low Benítez’s example and possibly
deem the playmaker dispensable
while shifting to 3-4-3.
“Of course, you’ve got to get the
balance right but Jonjo Shelvey’s a
very good footballer,” he says. “ Jonjo
can play in a couple of positions so I
don’t see him as a problem.”
Unfortunately Newcastle’s man-
ager created considerable diffi culty
for himself by screaming “ what’s
happening?” from the technical
area against Arsenal on the opening
weekend, as the apparently confused
Eintracht Frankfurt loanee Jetro
Willems stepped off the bench and
into central midfi eld before swiftly
being relocated to left wing-back asLouise Taylortactical anarchy briefl y prevailed. By
way of exacerbating the pain, Willems
made the error prefacing Pierre -
Emerick Aubameyang scoring the
game’s only goal.
Worse followed at Carrow Road last
Saturday. Not only did Norwich can-
ter to a 3-1 win but Paul Dummett
commented : “ From the warm-up,
it wasn’t right.” No matter that the
defender was referring to the collec-
tive attitude of his team; in the eyes of
Bruce’s detractors this offered conclu-
sive, damning proof of the manager’s
ineptitude and strategic inarticulacy.
If he could desperately do with
Joelinton, his new £40m Brazilian
striker , fi nding his shooting boots –
not to mention gelling with the £20m
Miguel Almirón – he also craves a
fi t Sean Longstaff. The midfi elder,
pursued by Manchester United all
summer, ranks among England’s
fi nest young players but has recently
returned from five months out
nursing a torn cruciate ligament.
Fears of a setback led to the deci-
sion to start him on the bench at
Norwich. “Sean’s had a nasty injury
and over the last few weeks his knee’s
been sore and his movement not as
fl uid as you’d like,” says the manager.
“I’ve got to protect him a little bit.”
Right now, though, Bruce looks like
a man in urgent need of a bodyguard
of his own.Steve Bruce
says he is dealing
with ‘fabricated
lies’ in an effort
to maintain his
dignity in the
early days of his
Newcastle tenure
ANTHONY DEVLIN/PA‘The expectations of a club
like this means you have to
perform – we’re under
a relentless spotlight’
Steve Bruceant to be in the starting XI, Lucas
s. “I do know that the season is
g, that there are a lot of games
d I will have my opportunity.”
Lucas will always have
sterdam but he says that
most emotional moment
owed his other hat-trick last
son – against Huddersfi eld
home in April – after
ich his baby son,
guel, came on to the
fat the new stadium.
e supporters roared
ry time he kicked
ball.
In Brazil we
that there is
price for this,
u cannot
y for these
ments,”
cas says.
was a
lly good
from
d to me.
guel is now
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nths old and next
nth, my second one
l be born. Another
y, Pedro. Two boys and
t’s it. Finished! Too much work.”
Lucas will never stop working onzero points int
many supporters
ing his every faile
“Rafa
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Br
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the need for con
“We’re going to
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you have to perfo
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turn the thing rou
formances – and
It is an easy p
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SteveBruce