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You probably became aware last week of the footage of an exasperated Spurs fan – resist the urge at this point to respond “Which one?” – stood in the stands at Brentford with their arms outstretched, the weary expression on their face conveying a look of utter bemusement. Words were not really needed after an opening weekend 3-0 defeat, but you could have inserted your own choice of profanity and it would have worked seamlessly. That was not the beginning of a bold new era that Tottenham’s extensive spending this summer had promised, as their high-price midfield of Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes – costing a cool combined £185m – floundered and failed to establish anywhere near the same level of control as their Brentford counterpart Mamadou Sangaré, signed for considerably less. Scraping your way to safety on the last day of the season, as Tottenham did last term with victory over Everton, only generates so much goodwill and their recruitment whether costly – weighty fees have also been dropped on Jan Paul van Hecke and Sávio – or through shrewd free transfers – Andrew Robertson, Marcos Senesi – set a level of expectation that Tottenham would not end up in a similar mess again. That now was the time to dream a little bigger. So yes, an opening-day humbling away at a London rival with fewer resources but who do seem to be getting it right is going to taste bitter. And it might have been worse for Tottenham had Igor Thiago not also missed a penalty. Roberto De Zerbi, given those extensive funds after last season’s survival act having become Spurs’s fourth manager in less than a year, conceded that Tottenham were simply not ready “to fight the duels”. They were not physically or tactically prepared enough at Brentford. The knock-on effect of a spending spree, an aggressive overhaul in personnel, is that it can take time and patience to bed everyone in. Now, suggesting that Tottenham supporters may need a touch more of both of those qualities, after a season in which they ran out of fingernails, is admittedly a little on the nose. But August, with teams in flux as the transfer window remains open, is the month for misleading results. It was just over a year ago that Tottenham travelled to Manchester City and, benefiting from an error-prone home debut for City goalkeeper James Trafford, came away with a 2-0 win. In theory this was a landmark win to kick off the Thomas Frank era. He was sacked the following February. Brennan Johnson and João Palhinha, Tottenham’s two goalscorers that day, are long gone too. Sign up to newsletters from The Observer View more For information about how The Observer protects your data, read our Privacy Policy Unless you are Frank de Boer’s infamous Crystal Palace and clearly heading for disaster, settling on an opinion about a team before the leaves have changed colour feels risky. Spend money and the expectations get higher. Or you could be Newcastle, watching your side be disassembled yet then perform surprisingly well, which must rank as one of sport’s more pleasant surprises. Matthias Jaissle’s side were very unfortunate to draw with Liverpool last Sunday after Lewis Hall, otherwise excellent, conceded a penalty late on. It does not seem like a reach to suggest that out of the numerous high-profile departures from St James’ Park this summer – Anthony Gordon to Barcelona, Bruno Guimarães to Arsenal, the departure of Eddie Howe as manager after five years – that the fewest tears were shed when Tonali’s £100m move to Tottenham was announced. Tonali was very good at St James’ Park when available, following his betting ban. The reports suggesting that he was being shopped around by his agent back in January also hinted that he had long been ready to head elsewhere. When it clicks Tonali, with those surging runs forwards, can ably support Tottenham’s evolving cast of attackers, bolstered most recently by the arrival of Omar Marmoush, on loan from Manchester City, who started here. As the match progressed those surges became more frequent, linking up well on one occasion with Fernandes and Pedro Porro. Had it not been for a sharp block by the incredibly impressive Hall, then Spurs would have deservedly led at the break. Sure, Spurs still left the occasional chasm in midfield, leading to a collective groan so loud it almost rivalled the boos from the away end every time Tonali touched the ball. The combination of Brentford and facing his old side so soon could have turned that £100m price tag into a millstone for Tonali. Instead, as the match progressed, he seemed to play with more freedom. That, for Tottenham, augurs well. While De Zerbi and Tottenham’s business after eight arrivals is surely done, Newcastle’s remodel feels unfinished. But for a coach in Jaissle whose arrival from Al-Ahli was not exactly heralded, this has been a highly promising start. Add in a couple more attackers to strengthen Newcastle going forward, including a more natural No 10 behind Yoane Wissa, and a season which promised little may well end up over-delivering in a hurry. What would the Spurs fan from Brentford have made of it all? Perhaps on Saturday evening his arms were slightly lower, his facial expression more relaxed. There was, by a narrow margin, more to like here. A vague glimpse of what Spurs, with a few more weeks and a bit more cohesion, might end up becoming. Well, that was until Anthony Elanga’s effort off the post went in for Newcastle and ruined his evening. And gave the travelling Newcastle fans a chance to use the chant they had been saving up: “Sandro, Sandro, what’s the score?” Photograph by Shaun Brooks/CameraSport via Getty Images