“Never,” says David Miller, “have two mediocre teams worked so hard to prove that they are mediocre. “
Full time: Spurs 1-0 Everton
Peep peep! Spurs move up to eighth, a point behind Arsenal, after an important victory over Everton. It was a poor game, settled by Michael Keane’s unfortunate own goal, but Spurs created the better opportunities and deserved to win. Everton were frustratingly timid.
90+2 min Spurs make their final change. Jan Vertonghen comes on for Giovani Lo Celso.
90 min Kean twists away from Winks and Dier on the edge of the area but hits a low drive too close to Lloris, who makes another comfortable save.
89 min Digne’s corner is headed away to Gordon on the edge of the area. He tries desperately to get over the bouncing ball but can’t quite manage it and lashes his shot over the bar.
88 min Everton are going down with a whimper. This has been a very disappointing game.
87 min Andre Gomes is booked for kicking Lamela.
86 min A terrific ball from Davies flashes across the six-yard box.
85 min “These games really aren’t being helped by the drinks break,” says George Wright. “The flow gets totally stopped, particularly in the second half when it comes in a period already disrupted by countless subs. The 65th-75th minutes are totally lost. Do you reckon they’re here to stay? Sadly I think they probably are.”
Until the end of the season, yes, but I imagine/hope/pray they (and five subs) will be dropped after that. I thought the whole point of those changes was because games are being played during summer.
84 min Alderweireld is booked for flapping his gums at the referee.
83 min Calvert-Lewin’s snapshot is blocked by Alderweireld. Spurs are inviting trouble with their defensive approach.
82 min Erik Lamela replaces Lucas Moura for Spurs.
81 min Gordon’s free-kick is backheeled imaginatively towards goal on the volley by Calvert-Lewin, 15 yards from goal. Lloris makes a comfortable save.
79 min Davies swishes over the bar from long range.
79 min “It’s certainly looking that Mourinho was a bad appointment for Spurs,” says David Wall. “But I’m not sure they should have stuck with Pochettino. Spurs had been in consistently bad form for about a year before he was fired, a run that was masked a bit by the fact that they reached the CL final. But they only managed that thanks to 45 minutes of decent football against an Ajax team who had outplayed them over the previous 135 minutes. Something needed to change there. Bringing in Mourinho wasn’t the change that needed to be made but Spurs were starting to slide before he increased the rate of descent.”
I agree with that. I’m not entirely sure why, but it was increasingly clear that a brilliant Spurs era was coming to an end.
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78 min And one for Spurs: Son is replaced by Steven Bergwijn.
77 min A double change for Everton: Moise Kean and Djibril Sidibe replace Coleman and Davies.
76 min Davies is booked for a cynical foul on Richarlison.
73 min Lucas Moura commits a silly foul just outside the Spurs area. Bernard slams the free-kick into the wall, and Davies’s follow-up deflects behind for a corner.
71 min “A clearly unpopular opinion here, but as a United fan I am actually quite grateful for what Mourinho did for the club,” says Matt Richman. “There were some real displays of attacking cohesion and even fun in his first two seasons, and most of the players that he brought into the first team are performing still (he may have fallen out with them at the end, but he clearly was right in his view of their potential). A 2nd place finish with 81 points, Europa League, and League Cup were all nice things to have in the turgid years since Fergie left. I’d counsel Spurs fans not to write him off yet (but by all means, do not waste time in his third season).”
I know what you mean, though I think you’re generous to most of his signings. The problem with Mourinho is that once the mood sours, there’s no way back. And I fear the second season is the new third season.
70 min Gordon has shown some nice touches since coming on at half-time, including another there as part of a zig-zag passing move with Richarlison and Calvert-Lewin.
68 min And that’s drinks.
67 min Another substitution for Everton: Bernard replaces Gylfi Sigurdsson.
67 min Digne’s clipped free-kick is headed away excellently by Dier, under extreme pressure from Keane in the six-yard box.
66 min “Evening Rob,” says Simon McMahon. “I think the whole Spurs thing is just part of José’s master plan. You know, the one that sees him lead Scotland to World Cup glory in the year 2030. In England.”
65 min Another effort from Son, who wriggles away from Sigurdsson and belts a low left-footed shot that is beaten away by Pickford. That’s another good save.
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64 min A lovely effort from Son, who has been the brighest attacker on the field. He turns just outside the area, dances away from Coleman and hits a curling shot that flies a couple of yards wide of the far post.
63 min When I said the game had improved...
61 min “Isn’t Mourinho like a batsman, once great, who now averages 16 after 17 the previous season and 18 the one before that,” says Andrew Hurley, eschewing the question mark. “What was Levy thinking, and getting rid of Pochettino to top it all off? It’s not one of those where hindsight is even really needed...”
I do wonder if us amateurs are missing something, and that Spurs are going to do the Treble in 2022-23. But it’s hard to resist the conclusion that he’s done, and has been since Madrid. I must say, I thought he would succeed at United, because it was his dream job so I expected it to lift him to his old great heights. Once he started sulking there, I couldn’t see a way back.
58 min Winks belts a half-volley well wide from distance. Everton have been better in the second half, and the game has improved as a result. Spurs are still a bit passive, certainly compared to Mauricio Pochettino’s team at their most dynamic, but they have the game under reasonable control.
57 min “Hi Rob,” says Ruth Purdue. “My cynical alarm went off at that visible hug… in front of the cameras… not in the changing room.”
It looked to me like a sincere, slightly self-conscious reaffirmation of what had already happened in the dressing-room rather than a cynical gesture. But what would I know about the etiquette of making up with a mate after an embarrassing display of toxic masculinity, eh? Oh.
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55 min Coleman, found by Richarlison in space on the right of the box, floats a woolly cross in the vague direction of Calvert-Lewin that is headed away. That was unusually indecisive from Coleman, who was in a great position.
54 min Alderweireld wafts a long ball forward towards Son. Mina lets it bounce, then misses it, which allows Son to run on and drive a low shot across goal. Pickford plunges smartly to his right to push it away.
52 min Davies makes a fine block tackle on Calvert-Lewin, who was in the act of shooting from 20 yards.
51 min It’s a dog of a game, this.
50 min A crisp long-range drive from Gordon is comfortably held by Lloris.
48 min Sissoko fouls Richardson, who lost him with a lovely dummy, and is booked.
47 min “I don’t understand that photo captioned ‘Lloris and Son’,” says Mac Millings. “Surely Hugo’s too young to have a kid playing top-flight football.”
You’ve been watching Father Ted again, haven’t you.
46 min Peep peep! Spurs begin the second half. Everton have brought on the teenager Anthony Gordon for the anonymous Alex Iwobi.
Breaking news: two grown men have made up after a brief altercation
Lloris and Son had a wee embrace in the tunnel on the way out.
Lloris and Son pic.twitter.com/f9m2lL0Uo8
— James Dart (@James_Dart) July 6, 2020
“Did you see what happened with Son and Lloris?” says Chris Ioannou. “They were at each other’s throats as they walked off at half-time.”
I’ve just seen it now – Lloris, in particular, was fuming and looked like he was quite close to throwing hands. I think it was down to Son not tracking back in the build-up to that Richarlison shot that went just wide.
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“Rob,” says Ian Copestake. ““I think it is pretty clear that, like Klopp at Liverpool, Carlo Ancelotti has taken Everton as far as he can.”
Half-time chit-chat
“The problem with 4-4-2, of course, is that you need the two to offer out balls for an outnumbered midfield,” says Gary Naylor. “Richarlison looks short of fitness, too static, neither pressing nor playing the auxiliary target man. Don Carlo needs to do something. or this will get comfortable for Tottenham.”
Half time: Tottenham 1-0 Everton
Peep peep! Spurs lead through Michael Keane’s unfortunate own goal. It hasn’t been a classic.
45+5 min Richarlison almost equalises out of nothing. He received the ball on the half turn, pushed it forward to the edge of the area and crumped a shot that bounced this far wide of the far post. That was a really good effort.
45+4 min “I like Pickford’s shot-stopping skills and enjoy watching him play,” writes Divock Or- Peter Oh. “Sometimes, however, his enthusiasm seems to boil over a little. When he gets into that zone he reminds me of a cat repeatedly pouncing on a ball of yarn. Speedy and mostly effective, but all over the place.”
45+3 min This hasn’t been a great half of football. It has looked like a match between two mid-table teams.
45 min Five minutes of added time.
44 min “Football is really changing,” says Rotimi Styles Obisesan. “Many years ago, who could have predicted The Almighty Jose and Great Carlo would be managing Spurs and Everton respectively? (No disrespect to both clubs though.) Just thinking.”
43 min Lo Celso’s inswinging corner goes through the hands of Pickford, who is relieved to see it drift wide of the post.
43 min Kane, such an underrated passer, slides a nice ball across the field to Lucas Moura on the edge of the area. His first touch takes him past Digne, who recovers excellently to block Moura’s cross.
41 min The second corner is headed away to the edge of the D, where Andre Gomes slaps the bouncing ball miles wide.
40 min Now a corner to Everton on the left. Sigurdsson’s deep inswinger is headed back across goal by Calvert-Lewin and shovelled behind for another corner by Lloris.
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38 min Son’s corner leads to another, this time on the right wing. Mina heads it away.
37 min Kane’s free-kick hits the top of the wall and goes behind for a corner.
36 min Holgate tried to continue but he can’t; Yerry Mina replaces him. Meanwhile, Andre Gomes has fouled Son 25 yards from goal, and Harry Kane is over the ball.
33 min “Pickford’s penchant for unnecessary diving is something that needs to be discussed in greater depth,” says Stephen Carr.
Ha, yes, he doesn’t exactly radiate calm. When it comes to temperament of goalkeepers, I think I’d definitely prefer a Seaman type to a Schmeichel.
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32 min Holgate is going to continue.
31 min It looks like Holgate injured himself when he fouled Lo Celso. He’s receiving treatment.
30 min Dier clips the resulting free-kick onto the roof of the net. It was a good effort, with Pickford leaping desperately across goal in an attempt to make the save.
29 min Holgate is booked for cleaning out Lo Celso on the edge of the area.
27 min “Hi Rob,” says Peter Oh. “Unfortunately Ennio Morricone has passed away. He certainly could have penned a catchy musical flourish to capture Mourinho’s mood of circling wagons and tumbleweed desolation.”
25 min It’s time for the drinks break.
It wasn’t much of a goal, though Spurs won’t mind that. Son and Kane both had efforts blocked, and then Lo Celso’s shot on the turn took a huge deflection off Keane and wrongfooted Pickford. The original shot was going well wide, so that will go down as an own goal.
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GOAL! Tottenham 1-0 Everton (Keane og 24)
Spurs take the lead!
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22 min “Not seen too much so far but genuinely think Calvert Lewin has something about him,” says Tom Collins. “Such a hustler, intelligent user of the ball, great aerially (tips from big Dunc). As and when Ighalo goes Utd could do a lot worse in an area that will require competition. Offers qualities the rest lack. Fits the Ole bill more than Jiminez as well.”
Yes, I like him too. His attitude is great and he’s improved a lot in the last 18 months. That said, I’m not sure how much better he will get. I doubt there’s any chance of Everton selling him anyway.
21 min Lucas Moura rouses the game from its slumber with an explosive low drive from 25 yards that whistles just past the far post. That was a fine effort.
18 min “Spurs,” says Stephen Carr, “are possibly better off playing behind closed doors at the moment...”
17 min Spurs’ problems this season have generally been away from home, so they should go into games like this expecting to win. But they have made a pretty tentative start tonight.
15 min See 10 min.
13 min “When Jose first came to England, they said he looked like Clooney,” says Digvijay Yadav. “That was a compliment to Clooney. So much charisma, oodles of charm, tactical nous. You name it, he had it. Look at him now.”
I have a vague theory that he changed indelibly because of three things at the start of the last decade: the politics of the Real Madrid dressing-room, the mental energy it took to compete with possibly the greatest club team of all time and the disappointment/humiliation of not getting the Man Utd job in 2013.
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10 min Nothing much is happening at the moment. There’s been some decent passing but it’s all a bit too slow.
In other news
6 min Digne’s cross is headed away by Dier. It’s been quite a bright start from Everton.
4 min “Jeez, what a ringing pre-game vote of faith that is from Jose for his players. Chelsea players used to say that they’d happily run through a wall for their coach,” says Justin Kavanagh. “Spurs players are probably desperately trying to tunnel their way out onto the Tottenham High Road these days.”
3 min Lo Celso’s free-kick goes behind off the head of Digne for a corner. Son’s near-post delivery is headed away.
1 min Peep peep! Everton kick off from left to right.
The players are out on the field. It’s a fine and dry evening with cloud slowly breaking. Winds will become light and accompanied by long clear spells overnight, giving a chilly feel around dawn, particularly in rural areas. Minimum temperature 8 °C.
🔵 Tom Davies (22 yrs, 6 days) makes his 100th PL appearance. He’s the second youngest player to reach 100 PL games for @Everton after Michael Ball (21 yrs, 68 days) pic.twitter.com/x3wAwU9l1I
— Sky Sports Statto (@SkySportsStatto) July 6, 2020
Pre-match mood music
[Jose, you’ve made two changes, is that a reaction to the Sheffield United defeat?]
“No. If I was going to change players because of the match against Sheffield United, I would change 11 players.”
“Though Everton have not won at Tottenham since November 2008, a victory today would vault them into ninth, with games against Wolves and Sheffield United among their remaining five,” says Matt Burtz. “The possibilities are enticing!”
An email! “It really shows how elite the Premier League has become,” says Eoin Doherty, “when a match between Spurs and Everton pits Mourinho vs Ancelotti.”
Or £15m a year vs £11.5m a year, if you’re into the whole remuneration thing.
Pre-match reading (and listening)
Team news
Tottenham Hotspur (4-2-3-1) Lloris; Aurier, Alderweireld, Dier, Davies; Winks, Sissoko; Lucas Moura, Lo Celso, Son; Kane.
Substitutes: Gazzaniga, Vertonghen, Sanchez, Lamela, Ndombele, Fernandes, Skipp, Cirkin, Bergwijn.
Everton (4-4-2) Pickford; Coleman, Keane, Holgate, Digne; Iwobi, Davies, Andre Gomes, Sigurdsson; Calvert-Lewin, Richarlison.
Substitutes: Stekelenburg, Baines, Mina, Sidibe, Branthwaite, Baningime, Bernard, Kean, Gordon.
Referee Graham Scott.
Preamble
Hello. The marriage of convenience between Jose Mourinho and Daniel Levy always felt like a big gamble, and it might not be long before both parties are scrutinising the small print of the prenup. Spurs are on course for their lowest finish in over a decade, Harry Kane’s future is subject of constant speculation and, most worryingly of all, Mourinho already has his third-season face on.
Nothing would be more entertaining than Mourinho winning the Premier and/or Champions League with Spurs, before celebrating with a never-ending V-sign to the entire world, but it’s becoming increasingly hard to see that happening. We all know you need to be careful when discussing win percentage as Spurs manager, but so far Mourinho’s is a modest 41 per cent. That puts him below, among others, Tim Sherwood (2013-14), Doug Livermore (1992-93) and The Directors (1908-13). It’s also the lowest of his career.
Sunday’s North London derby looms large, even more so after Arsenal bantered Spurs off with Twithousery, and Spurs could really do with a result or two going into that match. They visit Bournemouth on Thursday, and tonight they host an Everton side that is making decent progress under Carlo Ancelotti.
Only Liverpool, Arsenal and the two Manchester clubs have collected more points since Ancelotti took over, and they’ve each played a game more in that time. All in all, Everton have had a pretty good new manager bounce. At Spurs, it’s been closer to a new manager flounce.
Kick off 8pm.
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