This was another one of those days. Before the match, the atmosphere was rather muted, which was a sign in itself. It was almost as if we knew what to expect. The omens were there for all to anticipate. Tottenham manager, Christian Gross was probably living up to his first-name religion by praying for a similar result to the one that he had on his first visit to Goodison last season. Worthy winners then, the last thing Everton needed today, was for Spurs to win their first game of the new season. Most of the talk though was for us just to score a goal in a competitive game.

The crowd gave Dave Unsworth a rousing reception on his homecoming. But there was still an uneasy feeling in the crowd. Not optimistic, but then I suppose after their last result against Leicester, that was hardly surprising. Six pointers are not really the topic that should be discussed at this stage of the season, surely?

The game started and Everton looked nervous. Tottenham didn't. And that was the way it panned out for the rest of the match. Everton lacked any kind of inventiveness. They were playing as if they had all just met up the other day. Everton have spent a lot of money in the last couple of months putting together an expensive midfield crew who would provide exciting play, bit of steel, and a good deal of consistency. Unfortunately, these qualities have yet to be seen.

Everton huffed and puffed all afternoon. They could hardly string three passes together. Tottenham were always going to win this game. One could tell this after just two minutes when the sight of two Everton defenders crashing into each other tells you that there is an awful lot of work to do. Tottenham are no mugs and they could see that there was more of a will to win from their team than there was from Everton.

It was no real surprise when Tottenham scored after just 6 minutes. One thing no one should do is give Ferdinand room to run onto a cross. Everton did this with aplomb. One cross. One header. One goal. Easy, as taking candy from a baby. From then on, Everton created few chances when the crowd were screaming for more committment and creative play. Everton's midfield disappeared in the middle of the first half, largely due to Spurs' players closing down on the Everton midfield players with conviction that belies their league position.

Up front, Everton relied on Duncan Ferguson. They had to as he might as well not have had Danny Cadamarteri with him. Cadamarteri is not the answer to Walter's striking problems. If anything, Danny would be better suited plying his trade on the wing and even then he has to learn how to stay on his feet. Too often Danny treated the pitch as if he should be wearing skating boots. It was not a pleasant sight seeing a young player with the supposed talent that Danny has, falling to the ground at every opportunity. No wonder Duncan glared at him as the game wore on.

In the first half Tottenham closed down on Everton which reduced the Blues to just a couple of clear cut chances. One of them fell to Cadamarteri. Unlike another hopeful from across the park, Danny quite simply fluffed his clear chance. This is one of the reasons that Everton have made a big mistake. The sooner that Everton's youngsters stop being compared to other young and successful players, the better.

Put simply, they are not the same type of players. Our youngsters may be suited to playing the role of providers, rather than scorers. This zealous pursuit of building a player into something he is not comfortable with, must stop, from both the club and fans alike.

The only other chance of any real note, in the first half came via a free kick from what must surely be the best acquisition of the summer, Olivier Dacourt. His free kick was a very good effort and his all round play was of a much higher standard than anyone else wearing a blue shirt and for that matter green. Thomas Myrhe needs to learn very quickly that his honeymoon is clearly over with the fans. He has clearly lost the command in the penalty area. He has become hesitant and confidence seems to be draining by the game. Maybe he knows that another youngster is going to be knocking at the "opportunity" door before long.

Second Half

The second half finally found Everton doing something that so far had been lacking from their game. Being determined. They started creating chances. Tottenham repelled them with little effort for most of the half. One heart stopping moment came mid way through with a penalty claim from the best diver since Brian Phelps triumphed for Britain back in the sixties and early seventies.

To be fair I actually thought it was a penalty at the time. Since then I have had the benefit of the replay via the TV. It wasn't a penalty. But what annoyed the crowd was the histrionics from the Frenchman. I maybe taking a very different view on Ginola than most, but I do wish we had a player that plays with the passion that Ginola obviously has, although I would not want the Ginola that loves to dive at every opportunity. It is known more commonly as cheating. Come to think of it, Ginola's "cheating" is catching on among his teammates.

Les Ferdinand has always had a good record against us. 11 goals now, in 12 games against us speaks volumes. What is galling now though is that his game has become infested with the antics of his friend and colleague Ginola. Naturally, Everton fans dare not complain too vociferously for fear that Les will play the racial card to his own advantage. I, with good reason, do not advocate racial abuse of any kind, but when Everton fans get berated for claiming that a player is blatantly cheating, then we might as well pack up and go home.

As for the second half, Everton did have a few more chances that nearly all fell to Duncan. Unfortunately Tottenham had a goalie in Baardsen that you knew was going to have a great game.

In the end Tottenham hung on for all three points. The players were mildly booed off the pitch for a performance which will, if continued will mean yet another season of struggle.

It is plan to see that Everton cannot help but play the long ball up to a player who is not the natural goalscorer in the team. Duncan has served the club to the best of his ability and scored some game-saving goals, but maybe the problem Everton have to face up to is that it is time for them to abandon the route-one football tactic and sell this player and with the money go and buy two players who know where the net is and are not reliant on the long ball all the time.

If we don't decide to sell Duncan to the highest bidder, then perhaps we could use him like Coventry deploy Dion Dublin... in defence. He seems to work better there. Besides, he can always come up for set plays and who knows score the odd goal.

As far as the rest are concerned, I am not convinced by John Collins just yet. He may not have the legs for Premiership football. Classy touches are OK in a good team. Everton are not a good team. Materazzi is another one who maybe needs a few months before we can judge him. He is certainly slow, but at least he can use the ball when absolutely he needs to. That isn't good enough however.

Barmby I'm afraid is THE square peg in the round hole. He has become headless under this formation. Again, maybe the time to sell him is now. Even then, Everton would probably only get three and a half million for him. What a waste. I only wish he could suddenly become the great player he once promised. A bit like my wish for the team.

Until we were desperate for an equaliser during the final quarter, I did not realise the similarity between the two. Watching Everton so far this season has been like drinking tea without the tea-bag. We have lacked that vital component which adds excitement and flavour to the game. Goals are Everton's tea-bag! We desperately need them to cause a stir in the Premiership. So far though, the only brewing at Goodison has been that of a storm. The fans are sick of this goal-drought already, and unless Smith can find the answer soon, in the form of yet another partner for Duncan.

As we struggled to become familiar with the game, Spurs had begun brightly. Alex Cleland did not impress me when he began to retreat, away from Allan Nielsen, who was attacking down the left towards Gwladys. Nick Barmby was forced to come across to try and prevent the cross. Unfortunately, he was unable to. But why was Barmby doing a defender's job? Is Cleland not paid a vast sum each week to defend the Everton goal and to dispossess opposing attackers who are potentially dangerous to the score-line?

It was Cleland who conceded the corner which Ginola took, to enable Les Ferdinand to jog further into the box and head the ball, virtually unchallenged, past Myhre. Although Short and Ferguson were beside him, Short jumped too late, and Ferguson only realised the danger when Short looked certain to miss it. Teletext's match report of a few paragraphs glorified the goal by saying that "Ferdinand out-jumped three Everton defenders, not to mention Duncan Ferguson." There was one defender, Short, and Ferguson was not out-jumped, as he leapt after Ferdinand, and not at the same time.

John Collins, who stood before Myhre, fell on one knee, distraught, while Ferguson clenched his fists, screamed and then began scowling at the Spurs celebrations. Cleland walked away from his position at the far post without showing any emotion at all. The crowd shook their heads and groaned. This was all too reminiscent of last season, it brought back memories of the painful anguish and traumatic "relegation six-pointers," of clawing ourselves a little further away from the danger, only to lose footing, and slip, until once again we were staring over the treacherous precipice, face-to-face with first division football.

The goal was a cruel awakening for Everton, and they dominated play as much as possible from then on. Dacourt's fierce shot rebounded to give Danny Cadamarteri a brief stab at goal, but to no avail.

Barmby's only half-decent moment of the first half came when he intercepted a pass to Nielsen, passed to Short, who gave it back, and then began to run. It took a meagre handful of seconds for him to slip and be dispossessed. A careless ball by Barmby a few minutes later meant that John Collins was forced to tidy up after him, by passing three defenders with apparent ease. Hopefully Barmby took notes when watching Collins' example.

Myhre looked uncomfortable at times. Cleland insisted on joining every attack, and Ball also (though he rarely ventured forward) helped to prove that the wing-back system is definitely not going to work. The gaps left were once again appalling, and although we need to push forward for goals, it would be preferable to have an extra midfielder who could stay forward permanently, and a defender who could remain back prepared for the break, than two who struggle to do both.

For one free kick, there were about 8 men forward, and around half of these were outside the box, in areas where the ball was unlikely to rebound to. One of these was Ball, who should have been back helping the two remaining defenders to prevent a Spurs attack. Instead, we risked a break, which would almost certainly have killed the game.

One brighter aspect of the afternoon was a lovely piece of work involving four players. Materazzi took the throw-in, which arrived at Danny's feet. He passed to Ball, who returned it to Materazzi. Dacourt was sought and found. He swung his foot back, we held our breath, and he slipped.

David Ginola should have gone in the first half, and it was miraculous that he didn't in the second, especially after his petulant outburst which was triggered after his blatant dive, while he searched for a penalty. Hippo was chasing "the f***ing tart" (as a man in front of me affectionately christened him) into the box, when Ginola fell over. Had Hippo been the Rhino that we once knew, I am certain that there would have been contact, but as it was, he was not close enough to impede him. The Hippo worked well with Collins at one point, and the Scotsman outwitted a Spurs player, who I think might have been Darren Anderton, with some beautiful footwork that was a pleasure to watch, and was by far the most enjoyable moment of the day, apart from Duncan's "goal."

Sol Campbell must have suffered recurring nightmares of the previous season (Duncan turned him over onto his shoulder, and put him out for several weeks) when he saw Ferguson charging towards him, to coolly dispossess him, round Baardsen, and put the ball in the back of the empty net.

Duncan's head bombarded the Gwladys Street goal, but Baardsen denied him every time. It was truly unbelievable that we did not score. There were three Everton penalty appeals, and a Spencer shot diverted on the line. I cannot remember a single game when I have put my hands over my face in tormented sorrow more often.

I couldn't bear to watch the Spurs attacks, so I sat with my back turned away from play several times, only turning back when I could hear the crowd roaring an Everton attack on.

Marks:

• Myhre: 6 - Tommy did not look happy at times. He would wave the defenders forward, knowing full well that he would be isolated if Spurs intercepted the attack, and threatened his goal. Maybe he made some good saves to prevent a second goal during the second half. I don't know, I could not bear to look.
• Cleland: 3 - Desperately avoided tackling, which is useless in a defender. His crosses were hit straight at Spurs defenders, as if he expected that they were actually cardboard cut-outs, and that they would fall over to make way for the ball.
• Short: 6 - A satisfactory performance. It was good to see him on one of his rare runs towards goal. The fiasco in the Everton box early on, which lead to our point being stolen was unfortunate, because it reflects badly on him.
• Materazzi: 6 - Not bad, but I feel he'd benefit from a return to the traditional 4-4-2
• Unsworth: 5 - I'm sure Smith and Knox will have his weight sorted out in no time. A fully fit, slimmer Rhino would be very welcome in this side.
• Ball: 9 - One of a handful of players who deserves to don the shirt with pride again. Only one cross, but he coped admirably against Ginola, which is worth a few points!
• Collins: 8 - Whenever he was in possession, he was excellent. But he should become more involved. Barmby should allow him to take all corners.
• Dacourt: 9 - He battled hard, fought for and won possession. His shooting was accurate, and he was constantly aware of what was occurring about him.
• Barmby: 6 - Was not very effective. We have waited both patiently and generously for him to impress, but he has not delivered the performances expected of him. We should sell him before he becomes worthless.
• Cadamarteri: 7 - This doesn't seem like the Danny that I watched transform the leaky Liverpool defence into a mockery last season. We need last October's Danny urgently.
• Ferguson: 7 - Could anyone believe that Duncan had not scored from a single chance. I didn't think the goal was offside.......

A traumatic Saturday. All I need now is a hat-trick from everyone's favourite 18-year-old to send Liverpool to the top of the table, and him to the top of the scorers' list to make my weekend absolutely disastrous.

Instead it is Walter Smith, the Everton manager, who must suddenly be fearing joining Kenny Dalglish on the dole after a disastrous beginning to his Goodison reign.

With three games played – two lost, one drawn – Everton have still to score a goal and rarely looked like doing so here. Instead Smith's ensemble found themselves repeatedly outwitted by Tottenham's well-drilled offside tactics.

Much to the chagrin of his adoring public, local hero Duncan Ferguson was marked out of the game by Ramon Vega, a man operating under the handicap imposed by an early booking, while David Ginola and Les Ferdinand emphatically de-bunked theories about their "attitude problem" destabilising Gross.

With timidity replaced by temerity, the likes of Ginola, Ferdinand and Darren Anderton all found themselves booked as the ignominious memories of recent defeats at the hands of Wimbledon and Sheffield Wednesday were, at least temporarily, eclipsed.

Afterwards Gross was justified in stressing his team's commitment, leaving Smith to lament a "lack of confidence" among Everton ranks.

Tottenham started in a new-look diamond formation a la Ardiles, and this configuration quickly appeared to be exerting a positive effect.  Indeed, Gross's men were ahead as early as the fifth minute, the goal ironically being conjured by none other than Ginola and Ferdinand.

Everton's defence found no answer to Ginola's corner, permitting Ferdinand to dispatch a downward header which skidded out of Thomas Myhre's despairing reach.

Gross had dropped his usual goalkeeper, Ian Walker, replacing him with Espen Baardsen, who swiftly proved his mettle by spreading himself admirably before bravely blocking a promising effort from the on-rushing Danny Cadamarteri.

Generally, though, it was the Tottenham diamond, featuring Colin Calderwood supporting his defence and Ginola augmenting Ferdinand in attack, which sparkled brightest in the Goodison sunshine.

Olivier Dacourt may have pledged to replace Liverpool's Paul Ince as Merseyside's top midfield "enforcer", but he displayed few first-half indications of such spiky intent. In mitigation Dacourt brought the very best out in the excellent, almost heroic, Baardsen when Tottenham's goalkeeper acrobatically flipped his back to tip the Frenchman's impeccably weighted top-spin propelled free kick over the bar.

If that appeased the Gwladys Street End they – and Dacourt – were mortified when Ginola dispossessed him courtesy of a startlingly meaty tackle which must have warmed Gross's heart but also earned Tottenham's Frenchman a yellow card. No matter, the half ended with Goodison calling for Ginola's dismissal after a similarly wince-inducing challenge on John Collins.

Ginola reverted slightly more to type when he made a meal of David Unsworth's tackle, collapsing dramatically under the challenge of a man happily back on Merseyside.

Peter Jones, though, was having none of it, and, much to Ginola's wild-eyed, arm-waving disgust, shrugged his penalty pleas aside. By now Gross, whose preceding hair has puzzlingly gone from jet black to iron grey in the space of a summer, was consumed by tension and pacing the touchline.

He must have endured a heart-stopping moment when Ferguson for once evaded Vega and Baardsen before depositing the ball in the net, only to have the 'goal' rightly written off for offside.

Smith brought on John Spencer for Nick Barmby and, almost immediately, he made an impact controlling Dacourt's imperious through pass, cutting in from the right and bewildering Baardsen only for the outstanding Sol Campbell to athletically scoop the ball off the line.

Although Ginola's dead-ball ability continued to ruffle blue-shirted opponents, Tottenham were starting to stutter rather than strut and had reason to be grateful that Smith's men continued to run into their offside trap.

Right now Gross needs all the help he can get.

On Saturday, Tottenham Hotspur were not so much visitors as delivery men and the anxiety that they have been carrying for the past fortnight was dumped at Goodison Park. A fresh consignment of misery always seems due at White Hart Lane, but, for the next few days, it is not mandatory to tag Christian Gross, the Tottenham manager, with the adjective "beleaguered".

Gross reckoned that there had been 50 journalists and crews from 11 television stations at one of his press conferences last week. The more crowded the room, the less secure the manager's position. Walter Smith, Gross's counterpart at Goodison, need not start taking a media head count yet, but the problems that he identified when appointed by Everton in July are now public knowledge.

After three games, his team has just one point and failed to score at all. Smith intends to sign a forward and was asked if Marco Negri might be a candidate. A year ago, the moody Italian was prolific for Rangers, Smith's previous club, but he is now in dispute with his employers. "Nine months of him was enough," the Everton manager said. If stroppy strikers are off limits, there can be no bid for Pierre van Hooijdonk either.

In addition to puzzling over transfers, the club will have to make better use of Duncan Ferguson. He would have scored had it not been for fine saves by Baardsen, who took over in the Spurs goal from the dropped Walker, but his style of play is impoverished. Each worthwhile attempt was a header and the obsession with his prowess in the air adds to Everton's predictability.

Ferguson himself appears to have forgotten that he was once a youngster, at Dundee United, with enough deftness on the ground to play wide on the left. Were it not for all the exertion of leaping for high balls his legs might have atrophied by now, so little use do Everton make of his feet. Smith's team will require a broader repertoire if they are to overcome recalcitrant opponents.

Gross had suppressed his quixotic impulses and, with the restoration of Calderwood to central midfield, the side was steadfast in holding the territorial advantage. There was a rudimentary quality about the whole contest, including its goal. After five minutes, Ginola's corner was met with the downward header by Ferdinand that sent the ball bouncing past Myhre and into the net.

In modern football, teams rarely score from a corner kick, let alone one of such simplicity. It might have been a picture in a football annual from decades ago that a child would colour in at Christmas. Smith did not see it in so sentimental a light, preferring to wonder how his side, with three tall centre backs, could have allowed it.

There might have been an equaliser: Cadamarteri fired against Baardsen; Dacourt compelled the goalkeeper to touch over a free kick; Spencer, the substitute, marginally misdirected an attempt and that forehead of Ferguson caused alarm. Still, Tottenham's margin of victory could have been greater, particularly if they had been awarded a penalty when Unsworth tangled with Ginola.

A slender win was gratifying for Gross because it evoked powers of endurance and concentration that have rarely been associated with Tottenham since he took over from Gerry Francis in November 1997. The manager has hardly routed his foes. Speculation over the identity of his eventual replacement, with Jürgen Klinsmann's name added to a long list, will continue, but it may be conducted at a lower volume this week.

There has been too much woe at Tottenham for anyone to be silenced by a single win. Whatever his managerial gifts, though, Gross is good at suffering. One has to admire the stoicism and the protestations of devotion to the club. With the omission of Walker, there was proof, too, that he will not be paralysed by fear for his own future when decisiveness is essential.

Gross is convinced that he will still be in charge for at least the next two games. He was in the right place for optimism, having won at Goodison in his first match as Tottenham manager. "Everyone likes to play here," he said. As distressed supporters of Everton will know, he was not referring to charming decor in the dressing room or the soothing greenery of nearby Stanley Park.

England striker Les Ferdinand was the match-winner with a header not long after the kick-off and promoted goalkeeper Espen Baardsen defied all Everton's attempts to equalise. Spurs had the better of an understandably tense and scrappy first half, but were forced to defend desperately after the interval. They held out, though, at the ground where Gross had begun his Tottenham career with a 2-0 win last November.

With Tottenham having lost both their opening fixtures and Everton picking up only one point from six, all the talk was of relegation six-pointers only three games into the new season.

There was also the question of Gross's tenure as manager of Spurs. It looked to be over regardless of the result of this match, since the London club seem actively to be looking for a replacement. According to one newspaperman close to Alan Sugar, Tottenham's chairman, Daniel, the chairman's son, was due to meet Andy Gross, Jürgen Klinsmann's lawyer, this weekend to discuss the possibility of bringing the German international striker back to White Hart Lane as manager.

Meanwhile, the unfortunate Gross - Christian, that is - tried to put out a team that could return to London with a decent result from this game. It involved dropping striker Chris Armstrong, recalling Scottish international central defender Colin Calderwood - something the Spurs fans have been pleading for - and playing David Ginola in attack alongside Ferdinand.

However, Gross used Calderwood as the defensive midfield player and stubbornly refused to leave out Ramon Vega, the Swiss defender who has been blamed by the Tottenham supporters for most of the team's defensive frailty. Ian Walker was not so lucky, the England goalkeeper losing his place to the Norwegian Baardsen.

Gross's reward for the changes was to see his side take the lead after just five minutes. The scorer was Ferdinand, who rose high above an earthbound Everton defence to put a towering header past Thomas Myhre, the Everton goalkeeper, from Ginola's high, hanging, far-post corner.

Everton should have equalised nine minutes later, but Baardsen managed to save the ball with his face as he came out quickly to challenge Danny Cadamarteri just outside the six-yard box. Cadamarteri, preferred to John Spencer in Everton's attack, was left all alone in front of goal when a shot from the forceful and influential French midfielder, Olivier Dacourt, broke to him off a defender.

Tottenham, however, were much the more cohesive unit, and played some fluent, attractive and penetrating football in the first half. One example was the careful build-up to a clever pass from Ruel Fox that sent the right-back, Stephen Carr, in on goal. Only Myhre's desperate, blocking save prevented another goal.

Dacourt remained Everton's best hope of levelling the scores, and he nearly did so after 32 minutes. The Frenchman thought his free-kick had succeeded in curling just under the Tottenham crossbar when it was deflected over it by the straining fingertips of the leaping and inspired Baardsen.

The level of ineptness and misunderstanding to which Everton were capable of descending was illustrated starkly in the opening seconds of the second half. When Carr again got forward down the right and centred, Myhre and the Italian defender, Marco Materazzi, both went for the ball together and collided. As a result, the centre wriggled away from them and trickled only a few inches wide of the near post.

The referee, Peter Jones, was not having the best of days, either. Having booked Ginola in the first half for a fairly innocuous trip, Jones then let him get away with three fouls that were worse. But the worst was yet to come. Early in the second half, the referee somehow failed to give a penalty when Ginola was brought down from behind by David Unsworth as the flamboyant Frenchman closed in on goal.

It looked an open and shut case, but Jones infuriated the Spurs players by waving their claims and protests away. Ginola was so incensed by the decision that he stalked off on his own waving his arms about in fury in front of the equally angry Tottenham fans, who were demonstrating their displeasure in one corner of the packed ground.

There were equally heated scenes when Duncan Ferguson had a goal disallowed after 63 minutes. The big Everton striker had put the ball into an unguarded net after charging down a Baardsen clearance, but he turned to find the linesman with flag upraised to signal an offside decision. Nor could Ferguson beat the Spurs goalkeeper when he was onside.

Twice in as many minutes the Norwegian denied the tall Scot. First he leapt to turn one header over the bar, then he saved again excellently when Ferguson got his head to an inviting centre from Cadamarteri not far from goal. Those goalscoring efforts reflected the greater urgency and penetration there was in Everton's play during the second half.

The introduction of Spencer and Don Hutchison for Nicky Barmby and Alex Cleland 16 minutes from the end brought added sharpness and aggression to the home side's play, and Spurs were often struggling to keep them at bay. Sol Campbell was at full stretch to clear a shot from Spencer that had beaten Baardsen, and Tottenham were as lucky as Everton had been when the referee refused to give a penalty for a clear trip on Materazzi by Darren Anderton.

Arsenal  0               Charlton Athletic  0      38,014
                          
Blackburn Rovers  1      Leicester City  0         22,544
Gallacher 12          
Coventry City   0        West Ham United  0        20,818
               
Everton   0              Tottenham Hotspur  1      39,378
                         Ferdinand 4
Middlesbrough   1        Derby County   1          34,121
Ricard 48                Wanchope 31
Sheffield Wednesday   0  Aston Villa   1           25,989
                         Joachim 37
Southampton   1          Nottingham Forest   2     14,942
Le Tissier 89(pen)       Darcheville 52, Stone 68
Wimbledon   1            Leeds United   1          16,473 
Hughes 71                Bowyer 61
                 

Newcastle United   1     Liverpool 4               36,740
Guiv'arch 28             Owen 15,18,32, Berger 45

Club                          P    W    D    L   GF   GA   GD   Pts
Liverpool                     3    2    1    0    6    2    4    7
Aston Villa                   3    2    1    0    4    1    3    7
Nottingham Forest             3    2    0    1    4    3    1    6
Charlton Athletic             3    1    2    0    5    0    5    5
Wimbledon                     3    1    2    0    4    2    2    5
Arsenal                       3    1    2    0    2    1    1    5
Leeds United                  3    1    2    0    2    1    1    5
West Ham United               3    1    2    0    1    0    1    5
Leicester City                3    1    1    1    4    3    1    4
Coventry City                 3    1    1    1    2    2    0    4
Blackburn Rovers              3    1    1    1    1    1    0    4
Sheffield Wednesday           3    1    0    2    3    2    1    3
Derby County                  3    0    3    0    1    1    0    3
Tottenham Hotspur             3    1    0    2    2    6   -4    3
Manchester United             2    0    2    0    2    2    0    2
Middlesbrough                 3    0    2    1    2    4   -2    2
Newcastle United              3    0    2    1    2    5   -3    2
Chelsea                       2    0    1    1    2    3   -1    1
Everton                       3    0    1    2    0    3   -3    1
Southampton                   3    0    0    3    2    9   -7    0