EVERYTHING Ange Postecoglou said on the pitch this week worked wonders.
Because five days after Tottenham’s terrible finish that cost them dearly in Leicester, they were in front of another team’s goal.
Imagine what they’ll be like when Dominic Solanke returns from injury.
Even after Cristian Romero, James Maddison and Brennan Johnson missed the early entrants, helped by rookie Wilson Odobert’s explosive start, it never ended like Monday.
Because Everton won in August and Spurs were brilliant.
They were so bad that even Yves Bissouma scored in his first goal at Tottenham and thus took his first steps towards reconciling with Postecoglou.
The week after being sent off by Leicester for his embarrassing fuel sniffing video, Bissouma let his feet do the talking with a very good opener.
If he owed much to Dejan Kulusevski’s formidable footwork, Bissouma’s finish wasn’t bad either, flying over the bar.
His reaction was an apology to Spurs fans and a hug to Postecoglou.
Bissouma’s magical moment came less than 24 hours after the Tottenham manager asked him to start his act of redemption.
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And it is the best answer.
But if Jordan Pickford can’t do anything against Spurs’ first goal, his moment is terrible for the English goalkeeper.
For all his exploits over the years, Pickford has never managed to eliminate this type of moment from his game.
In the past he had looked unbeatable by keeping Tottenham on occasion.
But he almost single-handedly threw away the game for Everton when he faded midway through the first period.
Pickford, seemingly innocent after a pass from Michael Keane, earned an unnecessarily strong touch under pressure from Son Heung-min, allowing the South Korean to score his first goal in August since 2021.
The Tottenham boy will score more fluently throughout the season.
For Everton, it is the moment of worst nightmare in what is already becoming a crusade, even if it is only two games.
But Spurs are never home and dry under Postecoglou, so those inside the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium can be forgiven for worrying when the Toffees enjoyed a promising end to the season at the end of the first half.
After all, an exact copy of this precise adjustment was made in December.
This time, Postecoglou’s team was also leading 2-0 and looked set to crush Everton, but in the end it took some heroics from Guglielmo Vicario to hold on for a narrow victory.
There were more difficult moments with Vicario having to leave out Jesper Lindstrom, while the Spurs’ vulnerability in set pieces was put in check thanks to a physical side of the Toffees.
But just when the levels of anxiety seemed to be increasing, Romero stepped up and put the result beyond doubt.
Tottenham looked exposed to dead-ball conditions during Postecoglou’s reign but showed they can hurt themselves too.
Maddison sent the ball in and Romero jumped to pass Pickford in his 100th appearance for the club.
Spurs’ central defenders, however, are no longer there.
Micky van de Ven, obviously feeling left out, collected the ball on the edge of his own domain before using his lightning speed to literally cover the entire pitch before opting for the best moment to release Son, who was unmarked.
And when you give that kind of area to the Tottenham captain, there is only one result.
Son didn’t want a second invitation and, with a bit of luck, fired under Pickford to make four, even though it all brought Everton enthusiasts out of their misery.
Four goals and a blank sheet, like Tottenham 12 months ago.
It was also their biggest win in front of their own fans since the 6-2 win over Leicester under Antonio Conte almost two years ago, when Maddison was in the visiting dressing room.
And Tottenham is not well suited to this result.
The season may only last two games but they will travel to Newcastle next weekend before hosting bitter rivals Arsenal in the N17.
As a smart move, book a date at Old Trafford before the end of September, as not crossing the line here could have slowed down the start of the season.
As it stands, there would only be one winner here, the only thing up for debate is how many Spurs would get.
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