Everton (Away) 19.01.2025

More injuries meant another re-adjusted side had to be fielded, with just the four teenagers on the bench, three of whom have never had a minute in the first team.  One player had made a return from the sick list, coming back into a back three, with a four man midfield in front of them with Kulusevski and Maddison supporting Son, as the lone striker.

Everton had an early free-kick which they didn’t win, but when Djed Spence pressed high on our left, he won a corner with a low ball into the box.  It was cleared, but Spurs won the ball back twice and from a throw-in they won, Djed tried to take the ball past three defenders in the box, but ran out of room and the ball ran out for a goal-kick.  However, it was the home side who had the first shot on target when they won the ball on their right wing and Lindstrom had a shot that Kinsky save to his left at full strength for a corner.  It took some time as the officials’ comms were defective and had to be fixed.  When it came in, following the obligatory chat from the ref about pushing, O’Brien won a header to recover the clearance but fell heavily and was winded.

When Calvert-Lewin got the ball in the box, he had three players around him, but got them on the turn and placed it in the net to Kinsky’s right.  So, it wasn’t the start Tottenham wanted, but the loose ball from Sarr gave the Toffees the chance to get the ball into the striker’s feet.  The ball had popped up and hit Lindstrom’s hand in the build-up, but like the Newcastle match, the referee decided that it wasn’t a problem.

Tottenham’s press was haphazard, meaning Everton could play the ball out at the back and they were up for it, backed by a fervent support.  When Son did get onto a ball and made his run into the box, Tarkowski made a well-timed tackle before a shot could be got off.  The returning Ben Davies was aggressive in winning tackles, but when we were in possession, there was little movement ahead of the ball to make forward passes.  A great move up the left wing that Davies and Spence started ended in winning a corner, which went to the far post, but too long for a white shirt.  With Son playing through the middle, he was up against three giant defenders, so high balls were not an option.  When Porro pass bisected two defenders, Dejan had space to square it to Son on the 18 yards line, but his low shot lacked conviction and made it simple for Pickford to fall behind it.

For the second time in the match, a long straight ball put Calvert-Lewin in the clear.  The first time he was offside, the second he took the ball down and with his second it came off his knee with Kinsky coming out to block it and collect the loose ball.  In their next attack, Davies made a tackle and the ball went to a blue shirt and was switched back to where to came from for Doucoure to curl a shot that Toni dived full-length to his left to push onto the post.

Then it was Tottenham’s turn to attack, with Son getting into the area on the left to step-over and hit a shot from a narrow angle that Pickford saved, but Son regained possession and was then bundled over by a clumsy Branthwaite challenge that the referee didn’t give.  When Ndaiye got the ball just inside the Spurs half, he was direct in this running and stepped over the ball selling Dragusin before firing a shot into the roof of the net with his left foot.  It was what Son should have done with his chance, rather than hitting it low.

Spurs were so open and it exposed the defence, but the concession of the second goal made it feel like there would have to be something we haven’t seen for a long time and that was coming back from being behind in a match; especially when it looked like we were getting nothing from the referee.

As usual, the build-up play was slow and that allowed a Moyes team to do what a Moyes team would do and get men back behind the ball.  They were also killing the game with Gueye going down twice for no apparent reason.  Bergvall picked up a booking for a shove on Calvert-Lewin that was judged to be a foul 20 yards inside the Spurs half that wasn’t given in the Everton box when Son was shoved over.  Dragusin got a cut over his eye when Calvert-Lewin elbowed him as they jumped for the ball, but that got the same treatment as Bergvall’s little push.  After long treatment Radu had to leave the field, even though a yellow card had been issued !

Tottenham’s final ball was poor and when we got into good positions, the move would break down because it was passed straight to a blue shirt.  In contrast, a straight-forward ball in from a free-kick was attacked by Tarkowski who dived in to head it straight at Kinsky and it was kicked away.  Late into added time, another ball into the box came in after a corner was cleared and Tarkowski headed it back across goal, it took a touch off Calvert-Lewin and came off Archie Gray’s thigh into the net to round off a miserable first half that we had hardly participated in.

Richarlison replaced Dragusin at the break and the second half started with Mykolenko flattening Kulusevski from behind – foul, but no yellow.  A typical example of where we are at the moment was when Bergvall got the ball from a free-kick in our own half, moved forward with it, but was exasperated, throwing his arms wide, as there was nobody moving to receive it.  Which is partly why we get caught on the ball when we are playing out, because the onus is on players to make an angle to receive the ball from the player in possession.

O’Brien was ripping the shirt off Richarlison’s back without even a free-kick being given and when Njaiye turned Pape around with a pull of his arm, there was no yellow card which was dished out to Bergvall for less in the first period. When Maddison found some space in the box, he sat down Mykolenko but couldn’t pick out a white shirt with his cross.  The corner was cleared and then the ref gave a foul against Madders for winning a header, when Everton players who just jumped at the man were allowed to get away with it.  The general standard of refereeing in this country is rapidly declining, with VAR reducing their need to make decisions of their own on a consistent basis.  It appeared to the referee that every Spurs tackle was a foul, but not when it was the other way around.

Ndaiye ran away with the ball again, but when he pulled it back Mykolenko skied his shot, but from the goal-kick, Toni passed straight to an Everton player and Calvert-Lewin could only put his shot wide when it came into the box.  Gueye goes in late on Bergvall – nothing done about it; Lindstrom pulls Djed down outside the Everton box so the ref players on and then, when Spence is bumped into in the box, nothing given, so where is the advantage ?  When there was a booking it wasn’t for a late tackle on Dejan by Mangala, but for Doucoure ‘delaying the restart’.  It was nice to see the ref getting all the important decisions right.  A player on a booking then has to be careful after that, but too many Everton players were allowed one more free go.  When a long ball evaded Tarkowski, Richi couldn’t pull it down and when Djed got away down the left, his low ball was touched out to Maddison who blazed it wide.

When Toni made a quick release to Bergvall, he played a divine pass beyond the last man to Kulusevski, but Dejan slipped as he crossed the ball that just went over Richarlison’s head and was too far ahead of sub Mikey Moore at the far post.

Spurs pulled a goal back when Kulu played it wide right to Son and he slipped a ball into the box that Maddison beat Pickford to.  He turned it back inside for Moore, but his shot was blocked and the ball came out to Dejan, who chipped it perfectly over the four opposition players between him and the goal to find the net with fourteen minutes left.

Mikey was running well on the left and a low ball into the box saw Richi hit a shot that was blocked and it came back to him quickly, so he could get much power behind his second attempt that was straight at Pickford.  Toni had to be quick out to knock the ball away from Calvert-Lewin when it fell to him and then when Spurs were ready to break from the back, the referee pulled it back for a foul, which didn’t help us at all.  At least Mikey was showing some intent and drove in a cross that was deflected into the side-netting. The corner was taken short and Moore crossed to the far post, where Richarlison crept in behind Keane to volley in from close range.  It was a late rally that put the tiniest bit of gloss on the result, but failed to cover up how poor we were in the first half.

With a constantly changing back four due to injuries it is difficult to embed any consistency and understanding, but the problems go deeper than that, with the midfield getting pulled around and not providing anything for the forwards.  It leaves space for teams (even those like Everton) can fill and start moves that are inevitably ending in goals these days.  The need for the returning players is pressing and while the transfer window is open, what quality and at what price is the question.  There are complications about signing players in January, as those coming to the end of their contracts won’t want to move until the summer, when they can ask whatever wages they want as they will not command a transfer fee and if clubs are keen to move players on, not only will they want to ask for a big pay-day, but will have to find someone to come into the team in their place, so that delays things.  There are also wage bills to consider as well as the limitations on squads for the Premier League and Europa League, so who would be left out of them and how much would the club be paying them for not playing ?

Fans may question the lack of substitutions, but the players on the bench are young and inexperienced, so can hardly be expected to come on and change a game, which shows just how depleted the squad is at the moment.  Whether some players might be recalled from loans is a question for the recruitment team to look at, especially as some are club-trained.

Fifteenth place in the table isn’t good enough and most people know that, with the fall down the table having been rapid, but the super-tanker needs to be turned around before its progress in the wrong direction goes any further.  It’s not quite sink or swim, but the five wins (OK, so one of them will be Man City) and a draw we need to reach 40 points looks a long way off at the moment.   And it wasn’t helped with the news after the match that Dom and Brennan are going to be out for between two and four weeks. 

Ted Maul

• Heung-Min Son made his 435th appearance for the club to join Harry Kane in 10th place in the all-time appearances for the club.