Everton: 5 Things We Learned After Spurs Defeat

Everton were dealt a cruel blow in their quest for European football when they were beaten by a solitary Emmanuel Adebayor goal in the 1-0 defeat to Tottenham on Sunday. It was only their 4th league defeat of the season, but 2 of those defeats have come in the last 3 games, having been put to the sword by their Merseyside neighbours in their previous away fixture. Their peformance at White Hart Lane was much more assured than the derby game and Martinez will take heart from that, but both defeats could prove to be pivotal come the end of the season as they came against direct rivals for European qualification. Here we take a look at some of the things we learned from Sunday's game and consider where Everton go from here.

5. Martinez Will Stick To His Principles

Since he breezed into Goodison Park, Roberto Martinez has gone about instilling his footballing style and principles on the players he inherited and those he brought to the club. He has previously stated that he would rather lose than win ugly, an amazing admission and one that the English culture may find hard to embrace or comprehend. There is no doubt that Everton fans have quickly warmed to the softly spoken Spaniard, and have thoroughly enjoyed the brand of football that has been on display thus far. As the season wears on, there could be a danger that teams work out how to play against certain styles, at which time, you may need to revert to a plan B or C. Injuries also play a part as the season wears on and although they may be a little short on firepower, when their first choice eleven are fit, this side are more than a match for anyone in the Premier League. With Adebayor scoring after 65 minutes of the game, there was still plenty of time for Everton to get back into the game and having already replaced Steven Pienaar with Ross Barkley, he then introduced Gerard Deulofeu and Aiden McGeady for Steven Naismith and Leon Osman. With the clock ticking, you would have expected desperation to have kicked in with the typical English style of hoofing it upto a centre forward (or even centre half if you are really desperate!) becoming the order of the day. But that is just not the Martinez way. From back to front, the whole team are comfortable in possession and look to work an opportunity through slick passing and movement. On this occasion it wasn't to be, but Martinez will have been buoyed by the manner his side controlled the game for large parts. Now his side need to turn dominance of possession into goals and ultimately points, especially in the crucial 'winner takes all' clashes against rivals for European spots.