Former Tottenham star Jermaine Jenas has written about Everton’s victory over Spurs in his column for the BBC.
The Toffees were on a high after completing three huge signings in a week. The club brought in Allan from Napoli, Abdoulaye Doucoure from Watford and James Rodriguez from Real Madrid.
The trio started against Tottenham in their first game of the Premier League season on Sunday and all three were outstanding. Allan won the man of the match award but it was Rodriguez who impressed Jenas the most.
He said: “Rodriguez looked a world-beater for Everton on Sunday – and he is exactly what Spurs haven’t got at the moment. They have got plenty of players with pace and energy in that area behind the striker but they haven’t had anyone with real guile since Christian Eriksen left at the start of the year.
“There isn’t anyone in this Tottenham team who you can give the ball and they can soak it up and say: ‘Let me settle this down.’ That is exactly what Rodriguez did time and time again when he found Richarlison or Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
“Whenever the ball came to him on the right, Rodriguez always had so much time. He never seemed rushed and it was like he was saying to Spurs left-back Ben Davies: ‘You stay there, I am controlling this ball and I’m going to do what I like with it.’”
The Colombian brought a sense of calm to Everton, especially after they took the lead. Rodriguez’s passing was brilliant and it genuinely seemed like he could do whatever he wanted with the ball in his own time.
Tottenham, on the other hand, looked poor. Jose Mourinho’s side were arguably lucky to come away with only a 1-0 defeat. Richarlison could have had a hat-trick on another day, which should ring alarm bells for Spurs fans.
With more time to train and a few new signings, Tottenham are likely to fare much better this season but, if they don’t, Mourinho’s third-season troubles could come a year early, which isn’t good news for him – or for the club.
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