Dec 4 2008 Liverpool Daily Post
I WAS at White Hart Lane on Sunday to witness a game between two teams that both failed to hit top form.
Spurs, in particular, were poor, but great credit nevertheless must be given to Everton for a solid if unspectacular away display in which there were actually some good individual and group performances.
For Spurs the players who have been earning rave reviews of late - Tom Huddlestone, Aaron Lennon, Darren Bent and Roman Pavlyuchenko - were all disappointing, but that was at least due in part to the tenacity and determination of their immediate opposite numbers.
Joleon Lescott didn't give Lennon a kick, Phil Jagielka was awesome and, with Joseph Yobo, created a formidable barrier that restricted the home side to only two reasonable opportunities that were missed by Lennon and Bent.
Everton manager David Moyes opted for the tried and trusted 4-5-1 formation and his midfield trio were simply too much for Huddlestone and Didier Zokora.
It was the defensive solidity provided by a resolute back four performance, combined with the added protection of the extra man in midfield that gave Everton the platform on which they built a match-winning display.
The victory could have been more comprehensive had Louis Saha converted the best chance of the game - as one might have expected from a man of undoubted quality who has been returning to his best form over the course of the past few games.
It's been said many times before that Moyes took a calculated when he bought the French striker and unfortunately for everyone concerned Saha picked up yet another injury during the game to join James Vaughan and Ayegbeni Yakubu - who suffered a particularly nasty and long-term problem after an innocuous challenge - on the Goodison Park sidelines. But what on the face of it would appear to be bad news for Everton is not necessarily catastrophic.
The situation means that Victor Anichebe will be given a golden opportunity to show what he can do given an extended run in the team.
It will also enable Moyes to focus his mind on playing 4-5-1 without fear of criticism - not that I'm suggesting for one second that his team selections would be swayed by the prospect of that happening.
And time such as these can also present opportunities to other players at the club who will now be moving up the pecking order as a result of the injuries to three key strikers. I'm thinking of Jose Baxter, for one, who has been hard at work preparing for his chance since he broke onto the first team scene in the very early stages of the season.
Looking ahead, Sunday's home game against Aston Villa provides a stern test, especially in terms of the visitors' attacking prowess.
Despite drawing blanks in their last two outings - one of which was against Manchester United and farewell present ideas in the other creating enough good chances against Fulham to have won three matches - Villa have a mixture of attacking options.
They can score goals from set plays, from wide positions thanks to Ashley Young's devastating delivery, through the middle with the strength and pace of Gabriel Agbonlahor and John Carew and, of course they have the man who missed the chances last weekend in Gareth Barry, who makes great runs from midfield.
Having said all that, it was pretty much the same scenario at Spurs, whose ranks included Lennon, Bent, HuddlestonePavlyuchenkoDavid Bentley. But on the day they didn't perform - or Everton prevented them from doing so - so there is no reason why the same thing should not happen against Villa this weekend.
