Everton v Tottenham: The boys who would be kings

As the new year dawns, our campaign resumes following a gutsy fight at the end of 2015 against Watford, concluded by an exquisite moment of poetic improvisation from Heung Min Son that provided a well deserved victory.

Forging forward into 2016, as the clock strikes 16:00 on Sunday 3rd January, we face Everton at Goodison Park in the hardest fought, most unpredictable league in the world currently.

Everton have stumbled into a run of five games without a victory, winning only three of their last 12 games and as such go into the new year a wounded animal in their own back yard, ready to bite back in resilience, or crumble under further punishment.

This animal has teeth, in the form of powerful man-mountain striker Romelu Lukaku and skilful street-fighter Ross Barkley, both having proved the difference in the games Everton have succeeded in; Lukaku scoring in his last five games at Goodison, and Barkley scoring six and assisting seven so far this season, more than his previous four Premier League seasons combined (10).

Everton’s mercurial manager Roberto Martinez has stated in the press in the last couple of days that he believes Tottenham have the capability of winning the league this season, with the possible intention of either causing some complacency within the Lilywhite ranks, or laying an apologetic foundation in anticipation of a loss to a team he can refer to at a later date as potential champions. Option C is that he just gave an honest answer to a question that anyone following Tottenham this season couldn’t deny…

We are, after all, a serious threat to all of our opponents as the steady progression of our young, dynamic squad continues to snowball as potential becomes end product. The togetherness of the squad is there for all to see and our flair players are showing more and more glimpses of sheer brilliance as Dele Alli nutmegs all-comers, Son mid-air back heels winning goals and Erik Lamela makes strides towards fulfilling the large price tag he was signed for.

[linequote]Everton’s mercurial manager Roberto Martinez has stated in the press in the last couple of days that he believes Tottenham have the capability of winning the league this season[/linequote]

Most importantly though, our defence has been consistently tough to break down this season with a steely back five and the mighty Eric Dier intercepting and shutting teams down at the back, whilst the attacking players have pressed and hunted down the opposition like men possessed up and down the field, causing mistakes, give-aways and confusion for our lads to capitalise on.

I expect our lads to continue back into the valley they have carved so far this season, charging back into the fray against Everton with a solid, controlled passing display and a frenetic pressing ethos to ensure the away victory.

Last season, 16 of Harry Kane’s 21 premier league goals came after the new year and I expect him to do even better this time round. It is no great secret that we need to sign a player suitable to back up our very own wonder striker, but for the time being, if he keeps putting in the performances he has thus far this season, he will do us just fine.

If our centre-back pairing of Toby and Super Jan bring their best games, there’s no reason why Lukaku will get much of a chance to hurt us, they both know him well from the Belgian national team setup and should therefore be prepared to deal with him come matchday.

In conclusion, expect our boys to hunt down the ball up and down the field and launch regular, blistering attacks to shatter and eventually destroy the Toffeemen of Everton.

If you couldn’t already tell, I’m a bit excited about Sunday and our exceptional squad of lilywhite warriors first game of 2016, because I see it as the beginning of a year where we might actually do something incredible…..

Come On You Spurs!

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