Player Grades from Everton vs Tottenham

It was always going to be very difficult to choose a ‘Man of the Match’ when Everton were this bad, with very few players able to leave the game with their heads held high. Against Tottenham Hotspur, the Blues were really bad, and this was widely reflected in the grades that the readers voted on.

There were 206 votes in all, grading the players on a scale of 1-10, and here is how they tallied up.

Man Of The Match -

Jordan Pickford (5.82 out of 10)

That the Man of the Match was a player who only graded out just under 6 out of 10 should tell you overall how miserably Everton played. The young goalie might have been partly at fault for the first goal, he failed to adjust his feet to the flight of the ball and attempted to dive his way out of trouble but in vain. For the second, he parried a fierce shot from close range but the rebound was tapped in while there was little he could do for the third after Harry Kane was left wide open by the entire defence.

Honorable Mentions -

Leighton Baines (5.57)

Here by virtue of not being the worst defender to have lined up for the Blues on Saturday. Spurs quick movement had him flat-footed more often than not and he didn’t give much going forward either.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin (5.30)

Within seconds of coming on in the second half Spurs had scored their third and the game was over for all intents and purposes. DCL provides an option that can run behind the defence that no one else on the squad does as well as him, and should have probably started this game.

Nikola Vlasic (5.17)

Once again, embarrassing for all the starters that a sub who came in very late for just a dozen or so minutes made more of an impression. Vlasic was full of running and wanted the ball as he played through the central midfield area - expect him to feature more often.

The Rest -

Ashley Williams (3.06) - Looked ponderously slow all game long, and his early caution for hauling down Kane was just a portent of how his afternoon would go. Phil Jagielka is currently the better player of the pair, and needs to start.

Michael Keane (4.87) - While the better centerhalf on the day, he was responsible a couple of times for letting his man get away from him. The fact that Spurs kept finding huge gaps in the Blues backline was testament to how poor the defence was.

Cuco Martina (3.13) - The right back suffered badly without looking too overwhelmed. He failed to win a single take on as Ben Davies zipped by him to cross dangerously time after time. Martina’s botched clearance led to the second goal as well.

Morgan Schneiderlin (3.82) - Another poor game for the pivot as he seemed overrun and failed to become the distributing cog for the team yet again. His ball distribution when under pressure from high-pressing teams is starting to look suspect.

Idrissa Gueye (5.02) - Looked a little off the pace from his usual harrying self, always half a step behind. Fatigue looked to be a factor for the player as he picked up a booking.

Davy Klaassen (3.51) - Completely ineffective. Having three central attacking midfielders stacked on top of each other and getting in each other’s way is not working.

Gylfi Sigurdsson (4.46) - Koeman had likely hoped that his trio of CAMs would organically weave in and out and create some width with some quick interchanges of passes, but it has not panned out so far.

Wayne Rooney (4.56) - Yet another poor game as he failed to establish himself as an outlet for the ball or someone who could control play. His frustration was clearly growing and picked up the obligatory yellow card late as he got more irritated.

Sandro Ramirez (3.74) - Fluffed his lines when he got a couple of chances to register a shot on goal. Becoming quite clear that he is not a central striker.

Tom Davies (4.75) - Came on after the break, and while his running was able to open up play a little for the Blues, Spurs’ three-goal lead allowed them to sit back and close any spaces.