Premier League: Tottenham 5 Newcastle 0

A breathtaking opening half-hour marked by four assists from Emmanuel Adebayor propelled Tottenham to a 5-0 victory over Newcastle.

It was a week full of worry for everyone involved at Tottenham but the demolition of Alan Pardew’s side at White Hart Lane on Saturday will ease that anxiety.

Adebayor walked off the pitch the star man, scoring one and providing four assists for Louis Saha, who bagged a home debut brace, Benoit Assou-Ekotto and Niko Kranjcar.

It took just three minutes for Spurs to find their rhythm as Adebayor surged into the box and played a great one-two with Niko Kranjcar to find himself closing in on goal.

His low cross found its way beyond Tim Krul to the onrushing Assou-Ekotto to slide into an empty net.

Barely two minutes later Adebayor again got the better of Fabricio Coloccini and sent a superb teasing cross across the box from the right touchline. Arriving right on cue was Saha to superbly tuck away his first goal for the club, leaving Krul no chance from six yards.

The positive mood at White Hart Lane was exemplified by the home fans who were intent to voice their dissatisfaction at the prospect of manager Harry Redknapp leaving the club for the England national team role.

Chants of ‘Harry Redknapp – we want you to stay’ were interrupted by scenes of celebration as the home team tormented their visitors in the opening 20 minutes, surging to a 3-0 lead.

Assou-Ekotto’s pass down the left to Luka Modric opened Newcastle once more and the midfielder fired a low cross into the feet of Adebayor.

The Togolese striker, not content with a brace of assists, cushioned the ball into Saha’s path for the Frenchman to double his tally and move Spurs into a commanding position.

Newcastle did eventually get their house in order, winning a free kick in their attempt to claw a way back into the game. After Scott Parker was booked for a foul on the edge of his box, Demba Ba lashed his shot just wide of Brad Friedel’s left-hand post.

But just as the Magpies looked to be gaining a foothold in the match, Spurs struck again.

Modric won the ball off Danny Guthrie and launched another attack, sliding the ball left to Saha who rolled Gareth Bale in behind the recovering Newcastle back-line.

Bale’s low pass found Adebayor who saw his shot saved by the legs of Krul. The rebound though, dropped to the on-rushing Kranjcar to slot past Krul and into the net.

Half an hour of football had been played and Spurs were 4-0 to the good.

Newcastle continued to carry little threat and looked happier to deal with Pardew’s half-time dressing down than the rampant Tottenham attack.

That was justified on the hour mark as Spurs added to the four they scored in the first half as their two strikers linked up once again. This time, Saha returned the favour to Adebayor.

Assou-Ekotto’s deep cross was headed back across the box by Saha to the unplayable Adebayor to volley the ball past Krul.

The assist added to his two goals and was a suitable end to Saha’s involvement – he was subbed minutes later to a fantastic ovation.

Predictably, the game took on a more languid pace after the fifth goal. The disappointing forward line of Papiss Cisse and Ba never found its rhythm and the former was subbed for Dan Gosling as Pardew clearly looked to restrict the loss to just five goals.

That said, Gosling was guilty of missing an open goal with 15 minutes to play, flicking the ball over the bar following Friedel’s excellent point-blank save from Ba’s header.

Spurs remained persistent in their hunt for further goals and Modric was unlucky with a drive from distance that stung the fingertips of Krul.

To Pardew’s relief, the scoreline remained 5-0 but on reflection he will look at this game and wonder where it went wrong.