Full time at White Hart Lane: Tottenham 0-0 EvertonPeeep! Peeeeep! Peeeeeeeep! It’s ended scoreless at the Lane, where Tottenham had the best chances, but couldn’t convert any of them. Harry Kane missed a wonderful opportunity to get off the mark for this season, but was thwarted by Tim Howard, who saved his team time and again. Everton had one good chance to score, with Tom Cleverley bringing a wonderful save out of Hugo Lloris.
Not long afterwards, the midfielder was forced off with what looked a serious injury. Here’s hoping it’s not too bad - we wish him well. This game won’t live long in the memory, but it is one Spurs should have won.
11m ago
19:23
90+2 min: Everton win a free-kick wide on the right - their last chance. Deulofeu sends the ball into the mixer, where Mirallas heads meekly at Lloris.
13m ago
19:22
90+1 min: We’ll have three minutes of purgatory, then we can all get on with our lives. Can anyone break the deadlock? Alli sends in a cross from the right, which is cleared as far as Kyle Walker on the edge of the penalty area. James McCarthy steps in to deal with him.
14m ago
19:20
89 min: Kane picks out Dele Alli in the inside right channel with a nice pass from deep and Spurs win a corner, which is taken short. Everton clear. This is beyond turgid, please let it end tactically fascinating ... like a chess match!
17m ago
19:17
87min: Deulofeu sends a cross in from the right, but it’s cleared to Pritchard, who sends Spurs off on the counter-attack ... which fizzles out into nothing, much like this second half.
19m ago
19:15
86 min: Kyle Walker drives forward for Spurs, playing the ball to Nacer Chadli. What looked a promising enough attack eventually breaks down when Dele Alli is dispossessed by Bryan Oviedo.
20m ago
19:14
84 min: Everton substitution: Arouna Kone off, Gerard Deulofeu on. Spurs substitution: Alex Pritchard on, Ryan Mason off.
21m ago
19:13
83 min: Ross Barkley shimmies left and right, before shanking an ambitious shot from distance horribly wide.
22m ago
19:12
81 min: Spurs win a corner, from which Danny Rose sends a cross into the Everton penalty area. Steven Naismith heads clear.
24m ago
19:11
79 min: Danny Rose shoots high over the bar as Spurs continue their search for a winner. Spurs being Spurs, you can’t help[ but feel they’ll end up losing this 1-0 courtesy of a scuffed Steven Naismith effort that goes in off Toby Alderweireld’s backside.
Updated at 7.11pm BST
27m ago
19:08
77 min: Replays of that Steven Naismith penalty appeal show that Kyle Walker was indeed keeping a tight hold of his wrist as he attempted to control an incoming ball. He should have got a spot-kick. Then again, if everyone who was held like that in the penalty area got a penalty, referees would be getting through four or five whistles per game. Still, laws is laws.
29m ago
19:06
76 min: Harry Kane lashes the ball into the bottom left-hand corner, moments after being penalised for offside.
Tottenham’s Harry Kane hammers the ball home because he didn’t hear the whistle go for offside.
Updated at 7.18pm BST
30m ago
19:05
74 min: Steven Naismith falls over in the Tottenham Hotspur penalty area, but a half-hearted appeal for a penalty is waved away by the referee.
31m ago
19:03
72 min: Oof! I thought Kone had opened the scoring for Everton, but he’s flashed his header just wide of the upright. The Everton striker made an excellent run through the centre to get on the end of an Oviedo cross from the right and skimmed a fine header this wide of the right post. I really thought he’d scored.
Updated at 7.04pm BST
33m ago
19:01
71 min: Eric Dier tries an ambitious curling shot from the right flank, but it’s a fairly feeble effort.
34m ago
19:01
69 min: Everton substitution: Lukaku off, Steven Naismith on. Lukaku walks off in disgust, shaking his head. Apart from trying to pick a fight with Eric Dier, it’s the first noteworthy thing he’s done all evening.
35m ago
18:59
67 min: Spurs are huffing and puffing, but can’t blow the Everton house down. Dele Alli goes down under a John Stones challenge in the penalty area and there’s a huge appeal for a spot-kick. None is forthcoming. Good decision - there was no foul there.
38m ago
18:57
66 min: Another chance for Kane, whose low drive is blocked by Howard. Chdli blasts the rebound over the cross-bar.
39m ago
18:56
65 min: Following a surging run from Bentaleb, Harry Kane finds himself in possession of the ball about 30 yards from goal. Once again he tries a shot from distance, but it takes a deflection, loops up in the air and drops into the arms of Tim Howard.
40m ago
18:54
63 min: Attempts on target stat: Tottenham 6-2 Everton. This second half has been fairly dismal in terms of entertainment, but Spurs are dominating.
42m ago
18:53
61 min: There’s a pow-wow on the touchline between Roberto Martinez, the fourth official and referee Mike Jones. It seems that Martinez thinks Dier was booked earlier and should now be sent off. Apart from the inherent sneakiness surrounding his alleged grumble (c’mon, nobody likes a grass), Martinez is mistaken. He - and he is *cough* not the only one - thought Dier was booked five minutes ago for a foul on Gareth Barry. Apparently that was Dele Alli.
Updated at 7.31pm BST
44m ago
18:50
60 min: Eric Dier gets booked for a foul on Ross Barkley.
44m ago
18:50
59 min: Everton win a free-kick wide on the right and before it can be taken, the referee is forced to adjudicate some handbags between Eric Dier and Romelu Lukaku. Ross Barkley swings the ball into the mixer, where Harry Kane heads clear.
45m ago
18:49
58 min: Nabil Bentaleb gets booked for hanging out of Arouna Kane’s shirt after gifting possession to the Everton man.
46m ago
18:48
57 min: Another rick from Gareth Barry, who miscues to provide a wonderful assist for Ali with what may have been an attempted back-pass. The young substitute slashes wildly at the ball from a narrow angle but fails to take the decent chance that was gifted to him
Updated at 6.48pm BST
48m ago
18:46
56 min: Dele Alli gets booked for a foul on Gareth Barry.
Updated at 7.29pm BST
49m ago
18:46
54 min: Ryan Mason brings a wonderful save out of Tim Howard from point-blank range after capitalising on a Gareth Barry error. The Everton defender was trying to clear a Dele Alli flick but got it all wrong, but when Mason tried to steer the ball home, Howard got down low to save.
51m ago
18:43
52 min: Spurs break down the field with Danny Rose galloping into the space where Seamus Coleman should be, but isn’t. Rose sends in a cross, but it’s poor. Tottenham substitution: Dembele leaves on a stretcher and is replaced by young Dele Alli.
Updated at 6.43pm BST
53m ago
18:41
50 min: Mousa Dembele runs to the byline and pulls the ball back into the penalty area towards Harry Kane. James McCarthy steps in to clear before the SPurs striker can control the ball. In stretching to keep the ball in play, Dembele went down injured just off the pitch and stayed down. It looks like the jig is up for him too. Spurs are currently playing with 10 men as their midfielder receives treatment down beside the Everton goal.
55m ago
18:39
49 min: Chadli cuts inside from the left and unleashes a shot that’s blocked on the edge of the six-yard box.
1h ago
18:38
48 min: Bryan Oviedo gets penalised for a foul on somebody or other and gets a ticking-off from the referee, who warns him his next foul will earn him a booking on the unofficial totting-up system.
1h ago
18:37
The second half is under way at White Hart Lane ...
Tottenham Hotspur get the ball rolling, with no changes of personnel on either side. The word from the Everton dressing room is that it’s too early to tell how badly injured Tom Cleverley is, but it is a serious one.
1h ago
18:35
Jamie Redknapp speaks ...
He’s not so sure Eric Dier was blameless in the demise of Tom Cleverley, although he does concede it was a good tackle, where absolutely no malice was intended.
1h ago
18:33
Thierry Henry speaks ...
The Sky pundit knows a thing or to about one-on-ones and he reckons the reason Harry Kane missed his was because, rather than establish the whereabouts of covering defender John Stones while Ryan Mason’s pass was on its way towards him, he waited until he’d taken his first touch and was approaching Tim Howard.
Leaving it so late to look across to check where Stones was, explains Thierry, meant he wasn’t able to concentrate on the one-on-one and therefore made a mess of his second touch, fluffing the shot. It’s an interesting theory (or Thierry) and makes a lot of sense. Anyway, Harry’s clearly playing like a man who’s lacking a bit of confidence and swagger, which is no way to live.
1h ago
18:28
An email from JR in Illinois
“Call me crazy but I think that even if a player gets the ball as he is making a tackle, if he destroys his opponent’s cruciate ligament in the process he has probably committed a foul of some sort,” he muses.
Well, I wouldn’t say your crazy JR, but you’re wrong. Eric Dier’s challenge was as clean as a whistle, so it was pure bad luck that did for Cleverley. He appeared to twist his ankle in the crook of Dier’s leg, in a state of affairs that would have resulted in no injury way more often than not. Alternatively, he could have just got his studs got in the turf and given his ankle or knee an accidental twist. These things happen.
1h ago
18:23
Half-time: Tottenham Hotspur 0-0 Everton
It’s all square at the break, after 45 minutes of football that were largely uneventful and dull. Everton bossed proceedings early in the half, while Spurs created the best chances once they’d settled. Harry Kane will have nightmares about the dog’s breakfast he made of his effort being put clean through on goal with only Tim Howard to beat. At the opposite end of the field, Tom Cleverley brought an excellent save out of Hugo Lloris with a long range effort, before succumbing to what looked like a nasty injury a couple of minutes before the interval.
1h ago
18:20
45+2 min: That injury to Cleverley seems have taken what passed for the “oomph” out of proceedings and it feels like the players are just playing down the clock until they get to half-time. Assorted Everton midfielders pass the ball to and fro across the face of the penalty area, but nobody tries a shot. Eventually, the ref blows for the interval.
1h ago
18:17
45+1 min: Everton substitution: Cleverley is stretchered off to warm applause and replaced by Kevin Mirallis
1h ago
18:16
41 min: Replays show that Dier’s tackle was perfectly legitimate, but Cleverley stays down getting treatment on his right ankle. It looks like his race is run for this evening, as the stretcher-bearers have been summoned and he’s lying flat on his back with his hands covering his face. Standing to one side monitoring proceedings, Eric Dier looks slightly concerned That could be a nasty injury: ankle or knee ligaments, I’m guessing ... but who knows? Hopefully he’ll be alright.
Updated at 6.16pm BST
1h ago
18:13
40 min: Barry sends a wonderful long diagonal pass out towards Tom Cleverley near the corner flag. He cuts inside, only to be dispossessed by Eric Dier in a crunching challenge. Cleverley immediately signals for medical assistance; there’s something wrong with his ankle.
Tottenham’s Eric Dier tackles Everton’s Tom Cleverley.
Updated at 7.21pm BST
1h ago
18:10
38 min: Ryan Mason crosses from the right and Kane tries to cushion a header into the path of Mousa Dembele. The Belgian fails to read his team-mate’s intention and a half-decent chance goes begging.
1h ago
18:09
Everton’s Arouna Kone and Spurs’ Danny Rose get stuck in.
1h ago
18:08
36 min: The most booked player in Premier League history earns the 105th yellow card of his career for a tug on Harry Kane. Gareth Barry, take a bow.
1h ago
18:05
34 min: Another Spurs corner, from which Everton launch a counter-attack. Alderweireld is back to prevent any damage. Spurs are enjoying a spell in the ascendency, having been under the cosh for the opening 20 minutes. They’ve had three or four decent scoring opportunities, while Everton have only forced Hugo Lloris into one save.
2h ago
18:03
33 min: Ryan Mason spears the ball into the penalty area, where Toby Alderweireld gets a free heaader and forces Howard to tip the ball over the bar.
2h ago
18:02
32 min: Harry Kane has perked up considerably. He does well to jink his way past Phil Jagielka and find space in the Everton penalty area, but can only win a corner for his team when he tries to advance past Oviedo.
2h ago
18:01
29 min: Harry Kane catches John Stones napping down by his own byline and begins a move that ends with Bentaleb bringing another smart save out of Howard from distance. “Forty mill, you’re having a laugh!” comes the chorus from the Wildean wags assembled behind the goal.
2h ago
17:59
28 min: Nacer Chadli plays the ball down the inside left channel, where Ryan Mason had got in behind John Stones to pick up the pass and shoot at the Everton goal from a fairly narrow angle. Once again, Tim Howard sticks out a leg to make another good save and concede a corner. Nothing comes from the set piece.
2h ago
17:56
23 min: Apologies, a replay shows it was Oviedo who won the ball, before passing it to Mason who played it forward for Kane to chase. It was a wonderful pass into space and Kane did superbly to beat the offside trap, but his finish was dreadful - Kane 1.0 would have slotted that home no bother.
2h ago
17:54
22 min: Everton enjoy a spell of possession in the Spurs half, pinging the ball around in the area between the halfway line and the edge of the penalty area. After about 40 passes, Bryan Oviedo wins the ball back, lumps it forward and suddenly Kane is through on goal with the ball at his feet. He does a little shimmy in a bid to sit Tim Howard on his pants, but the keeper isn’t having it and sticks out a leg to save Kane’s low shot. That is a dreadful miss by the Spurs striker, who shakes his head and looks to the heavens in despair.
Everton’s Tim Howard gets the better of Harry Kane.
The Spurs striker knows he should have buried that chance.
Updated at 6.07pm BST
2h ago
17:51
20 min: Now Barkley tries his luck from distance, with much the same outcome.
2h ago
17:50
19 min: Rose and Bentaleb pass the ball between themselves outside the Everton penalty area, looking for an opening. Bentaleb rolls the ball towards Harry Kane, who tries a shot from more than 30 yards out, that flies high and wide. What’s he doing 35 yards out, when the Spurs midfielders are trying to build an attack? I suppose you’d have to ask him that.
2h ago
17:48
18 min: Everton win a corner from that Lloris save, but it’s Spurs who capitalise. They break up the field, with Danny Rose attempting to pick out Ryan Mason with a cross from the left. John Stones is back to avert the danger.
2h ago
17:47
17 min: A bad touch from Kyle Walker, gifts possession to Tom Cleverley just outside the Spurs penalty area. The midfielder doesn’t need to be asked twice and takes a couple of steps before unleashing a powerful drive. Hugo Lloris saves well.
2h ago
17:46
16 min: Harry Kane wins the ball out near the right touchline, deep in Spurs territory. Bryan Oviedo relieves him of possession and boots the ball upfield.
2h ago
17:45
15 min: Nacer Chadli cuts inside from the left touchline and tees up Nabil Bentaleb just outside the penalty area. His effort curls away from goal and goes well wide of the right upright. Still no chances of note to report, but Spurs finally seem to have found their feet.
2h ago
17:43
13 min: Spurs play the ball from right to left across the pitch just inside their own half. The ball’s worked forward, where Nacer Chadli pulls it back for Danny Rose. His neat, clipped cross towards the far post evades Harry Kane.
2h ago
17:42
12 min: The ball’s played from deep towards Nacer Chadli in the Everton penalty area. It’s too high for him and Tim Howard mops up in the Everton goal.
2h ago
17:41
11 min: Under pressure from John Stones and James McCarthy, Harry Kane chests down the ball a few yards outside the Everton penalty area and unleashes a low drive. It zips along the wet surface but fizzes wide of the left upright.
2h ago
17:40
10 min: Chadli plays it wide to Mason, who is up on the overlap as Spurs embark on a counter-attack. He cuts inside from the right touchline, but overhits his cross.
2h ago
17:39
9 min: Barkley wins a free-kick not too far outside his own penalty area after being felled by an Eric Dier push.
2h ago
17:38
8 min: Eight minutes in and we’ve yet to witness any attempts on goal or penalty box action worth talking about. Everton definitely dominating, with Spurs yet to settle into the game and find their groove.
2h ago
17:37
6 min: Everton have lined up with Arouna Kone (right) and Tom Cleverley (left) of Ross Barkley, who is tucked in behind Romalu Lukaku. Kone picks up the ball inside the Spurs half and cuts inside from the right touchline and plays the ball forward for Lukaku. Spurs clear.
2h ago
17:35
5 min: Bryan Oviedo hustles and harries Nacer Chadli in the centre-circle, winning the ball as the Spurs midfielder dithers on the ball.
2h ago
17:34
3 min: Kone ... Barkley ... Cleverley ... McCarthy ... Lukaku ... Everton continue to dominate possession, but we’ve had nothing in the way of a chance yet. Everton looking the smarter of the two sides, though.
2h ago
17:32
2 min: Everton continue to dominate possession early doors, until Jan Vertonghen gets his foot on to a stray pass and plays it to Toby Alderweireld, who pings it forward to Ryan Mason.
2h ago
17:31
Tottenham v Everton has kicked off
1 min: Everton get the ball rolling and pass it around inside their own half, giving pretty much everyone a touch. The Spurs of yore wouldn’t have allowed that without putting them under severe pressure, surely?
2h ago
17:29
Not long now ...
The teams are out, going through the pre-match formalities. Here’s hoping for a decent game of football! Everton will kick off and minute now.
2h ago
17:27
Earlier at White Hart Lane: Heung-Min Son has just been presented at White Hart Lane, where he got a very warm reception. I remember being there when they introduced Federico Fazio last season. Have they sold him on yet?
2h ago
17:22
On Sky Sports: Jamie Redknapp and Thierry Henry are wondering where it’s all gone wrong for Harry Kane, who had scored 47 goals by this time last season, but has yet to get off the mark this time around. They’ve concluded that he’s playing too deep at times and that he isn’t getting enough help from his team-mates. Spurs have no width, you see. Nacer Chadli and Mousa Dembele both like to cut inside all the time, which isn’t helping Kane. Neither is the fact that Christian Eriksen is sidelined with injury.
2h ago
17:11
Some interesting Premier League results today ...Sunderland didn’t get beaten ... Stoke City only lost 1-0 to West Brom despite playing with nine men for an hour ... Liverpool got tonked 3-0 at home by West Ham ... Chelsea lost 2-1 at home to CrystalPalace. I think we’ve had a risible total of seven home wins out of 37 Premier League matches so far this seaosn, which is decidedly odd. Will we get another home win at White Hart Lane? I’d be inclined to plump for Everton - Spurs have looked surprisingly lethargic and sluggish this season, for a team managed by Mauricio “Energetic High Press” Pochettino.
Updated at 5.11pm BST
3h ago
16:53
Tottenham Hotspur v Everton line-upsReferee: Mike Jones (Cheshire)
England manager Roy Hodgson doesn’t look too impressed with today’s line-ups.
Updated at 6.10pm BST
3h ago
16:51
Pre-match knack news ...
For Tottenham, Christian Eriksen is out with a knee injury, but Andros Townsend has returned to training. Today’s match could come a little too soon for Tottenham’s new signing South Korean Heung-Min Son, but their other recent acquisition Clinton N’Jie may feature at some point.
Brendan Galloway remains a doubt for Everton, so Bruyan Oviedo could fill in at left-back again, while Leighton Baines, Tony Hibbert, Steven Pienaar and Darron Gibson are all sidelined.
Heung-Min Son signed for Tottenham Hotspur from Bayer Leverkusen during the week
3h ago
16:16
Tottenham Hotspur v Everton previewSpurs have yet to record their first league victory of the season and will have their work cut out to do so against an Everton team that put on a masterclass in counter-attacking when they battered Southampton 3-0 at St Mary’s a couple of weeks ago.
Much is being made of the big news that a man will turn up for work and do the job for which he is handsomely paid today. John Stones is the employee in question and it is a measure of how petulant, spoilt and brattish some modern footballers and their agents have become, that it is considered admirable that he continues playing for Everton, just because Chelsea want to give him a new and improved gig.
Everyone has to deal with outside distractions as they try to go about their work, although I am prepared to concede that many of these people - pilots, doctors, nurses, minute-by-minute reporters, bomb disposal experts - don’t perform the same important, high pressure jobs as a man whose life’s work to date has involved standing beside Phil Jagielka and heading footballs. Anyway, kick-off is at 5.30pm (BST), but we’ll be here with team news and build-up from about 5pm.