Dirty Harry cor blimeyed:

"I've picked the smallest team in history; Aaron Lennon, Luka Modric, Rafael van der Vaart and Jermain Defoe are all only this big, but I enjoy watching us, I like our football, I get a lot of satisfaction out of seeing the team play. There's no joy in watching a bunch of kickers.

"I told them we could get murdered at set plays because we've only got two people who can head the ball – William Gallas and Michael Dawson – and Newcastle had about five. I said 'that's a real problem, so we've got to keep passing; if we don't we'll be dead'. We're very open but that's the way great teams played years ago. We play fantastic football.

"We absolutely deserved a point and it would have been an injustice if we hadn’t got something out of the game. We passed the ball well in the first half, got in some great positions and Jermaine Defoe had a chance to put us 1-0 up just before half-time. But we then conceded a bad goal from our point of view, a long crossfield pass we didn’t deal with - after that we pushed everyone forward.

"Jermaine Jenas did well but I decided to make the change and we ended up with a midfield of Rafa, Luka, Niko Kranjcar, two wing-backs and three at the back. We had to go for it and we were then open to the counter-attack. William Gallas was also pushing forward and it was four against two at the back at times.

"They were bombing forward as well, nearly made it 2-0 and that would have been game over. It must have been a great 20 minutes or so for the fans, real end-to-end stuff and we deserved the point.

"I was looking forward to him (Bale) playing today at left back. I thought, because the way they play, they narrow up and they don’t play a wide right player because Joey Barton plays way in, I thought Gareth would have run them ragged down the left side today but he got an injury very early in the game and that was that for him. We lost a big threat then - Bassong had to play left back and he’s a centre half and he did a job for us, but he’s not an attacking player like Gareth.

"At one-nil we were getting into great positions and we were getting around their box and then they were always dangerous on the break because we threw too many men forward. We were obviously always open to the counter attack and they countered us and they had numbers in their favour at times. Just before we scored I think they were four for two and they should have made better use of it and finished us off and then we came back and we opened them up and scored.

"Even when it got to one all you could still see another goal coming and we still got in some great positions to score again. In the end when you’re losing one nil at that late in the game it’s a point gained. We’re delighted we managed to get something out of the game and credit to Newcastle, they're playing well and on the counter attack they’re always a danger.”

For the second week running United were denied victory by an added time equaliser, Aaron Lennon slotting home after birthday boy Fabricio Coloccini had netted with a fabulous strike on his 100th club appearance.

But while Gyan's fluke had come out the blue to rescue the mackems, the waves of Spurs raids heading for the Leazes goal in the final 20 minutes ultimately produced a leveller that Spurs will claim was deserved.

Vagabonds may have lifted his wallet during a midweek scouting trip to Spain, but had Dirty Harry's boys left SJP pointless, they couldn't claim to have been mugged by a United side who matched Spurs kick for kick.

While seeing his side make it four league games without defeat though, Alan Pardew will reflect that his side again spurned clear-cut chances to score a killer second goal in a pulsating second half that kept a healthy 50K+ crowd thoroughly entertained.

As had been the case at White Hart Lane when the two sides met last month, half time arrived with no goals and little in the way of shots on target for either side. Spurs played the prettier stuff but failed to impress referee Mark Halsey with the efforts to gain free kicks; Van der Vaart especially intent on throwing himself to the turf at every opportunity. If Spurs do end up at the Olympic Stadium, they'll need to keep the running track for the Dutchman to practice his hurdling...

Two decent opportunities for Shola Ameobi had ended up with the ball sailing into the Leazes End, while strike partner Leon Best struck the crossbar when he met a left wing cross from Jose Enrique at the far post. At the other end meanwhile, Jermaine Defoe was denied just before the break by Steve Harper's quick reactions.

Fielding former Magpie midfielder Jermaine Jenas amid the expected boos, Spurs were forced into an early change when Gareth Bale was forced off early on with a recurrence of his back injury, SJP old boy Sebastien Bassong thoroughly abused as he appeared to fill in at left back. 

Newly-returned Newcastle coach John Carver had spent most of the opening 45 minutes watching and taking notes on the game from up in the Milburn Stand, and his observations looked to have taken on board as the home stepped up their efforts in the second period.

After Best had headed wide, United took the lead from the unexpected source of Coloccini - with the defender almost cashing in a second time later on in proceedings as he made a similar far post run. Given the current midfield problems that Tiote's suspension and Smith's injury caused, it's worth recalling that the Argentinean did occasionally appear in a holding midfield role prior to his arrival on Tyneside.

Substitute Peter Lovenkrands replaced Best and was soon denied a goal by the advancing Cudicini after a slick passing move, before the visiting 'keeper was equal to Ameobi's curled attempt. Guthrie then went off after a heavy challenge and the appearance of James Perch looked to confirm that United were looking to see the game out, Lovenkrands on his own up front with Shola almost stationary by this point - again left on the field for far longer than it seemed prudent.

Nile Ranger's belated appearance almost brought an instant reward, but after somehow wriggling in from the byline to bear down on goal, he opted to shoot rather than pass and drove a low effort wide of the far post - with Lovenkrands failing to follow in. The final stages of the game saw both sides counter-attacking, United unable to supply the killer final pass on numerous occasions as they began to run out of steam, Joey Barton again putting in an effort-laden shift. 

Luka Modric hit the bar and Spurs brought on Peter Crouch in an effort to punch a hole through the steadfast home defence (home fans greeting his arrival with choruses of "you're just a sh*t Andy Carroll"). Just when it seemed though that the threat had been kept at bay, Spurs levelled in the first minute of the four that had been added, Aaron Lennon shooting past Harper.

With no first team match until the visit to Fulham on Wednesday week, the whole United squad and staff flew out to Portugal for a training camp, as efforts continued to add reinforcements in the final week of the window. For Pardew it's a chance to take stock and draw breath after a typically manic six weeks since he first walked up Barrack Road, presiding over seven league games and seeing his side rise three place to 8th. 

Getting off to a winning start against Liverpool was vital both in quelling the post-Hughton hysteria and slackening the pressure on himself a notch or two - it's quite difficult to draw that mythical line under things on the back of a defeat. 

And it should also be mentioned that his public pronouncements are more informative than his predecessor - getting beyond the "what we have here is a group of players" litany at least, graduating from dropping words such as aesthetic into his responses to French phrases in the post-match press conference here. That latter instance really is a great leap forward from the foul-mouthed JFK, whose grasp of Gallic couldn't even stretch to saying 'N'Zogbia" properly....

One other positive - and something we've harped on about for years - is Pardew's willingness to farm out players to lower league clubs on loan, presumably sharing our belief that the "full package" of experiences that such postings give is far more beneficial than faffing about in training ground friendlies. 

Discounting the late blows in both games, this result and the one last week against the mackems have at least proved that the dressing room spirit and unity that was a cornerstone of Hughton's success remain - talk of player rebellion banished as quickly as supporter disquiet over the change of management. 

Various unresolved issues that existed (and undermined) Chris Hughton's tenure remain to be solved though by Pardew - ranging from the lack of left back cover to the trio of under-performing right backs, solving the three horse goalkeeping quandary, keeping the spine of his team together, getting rid of that £5.7m Spanish waster, fashioning something credible out of his three-man Carroll-less forward line and last but not least, finding a reliable supply line to his attackers (which could yet turn out to be Ben Arfa, unless something changes in the next week).

The latter was evident today, with an absence of decent crosses into the box against physically smaller opposition, although limitations in our movement and space-finding did play a part. There were vague hints in the first half of an understanding between Ameobi and Best in terms of what did what and went where, but in the exuberance of the second period that was quickly misplaced. 

At times we looked like what in some respects we still are: A Championship side playing against a Premier League one. Wayne Routledge may have correctly been returned to second grade football, but several others still here are at the upper limits of what they can realistically achieve. There are obviously players to come back into this squad, but the presence of Xisco on the bench was a purely clerical measure.   

To those who have already started penning pieces in praise of Pardew's vision let us recall the feeling of 'joie de vivre' felt by some after messrs Souness and Allardyce both got off to decent starts here. From bitter experience though, it may not actually get any better than this - and may end up a good deal worse. In terms of misfortune, our repertoire extends far beyond cup giant-killings and conceding late goals...

Biffa