LONDON • Forget moving next summer's Premier League transfer deadline day, perhaps all Mauricio Pochettino needs to do to ensure his Tottenham Hotspur team start the next campaign in a more productive fashion would be to move the big kick-off to Sept 1.
"Didn't like August anyway," tweeted his star striker Harry Kane, after ending yet another barren opening month with two England goals against Malta.
On Saturday, Kane added two more as Tottenham made a mockery of the problems they are experiencing at their temporary Wembley home with a 3-0 win against an Everton side that had won 10 of their past 11 home league games.
While there is undoubtedly a sports psychology dissertation waiting to be written on why the 24-year-old has failed to score a top-flight August goal in his entire career to date, that motto would look pretty good on a T-shirt for Tottenham fans should Kane follow up his last two Golden Boots with a third and the league title in May.
"It was a very solid performance," said Pochettino with a fair degree of understatement. "I'm very pleased and happy because it's important. We have a very busy period ahead (starting with their Champions League campaign against Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday) and this was very important for us."
At least Kane had the decency to confess that his opening goal at Goodison Park, after 28 minutes, belonged firmly in the "fluke" category as his attempted cross drifted in over the head of Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford from wide.
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101
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Goals Harry Kane has scored for Tottenham. The England striker took 169 games to reach that total.
"I got a lucky one but sometimes you need that. It has been a crazy few years and to get my 100th goal (for Spurs) was amazing. Hopefully I can get more," said Kane.
Kane only had to wait until 47 seconds of the second half had elapsed to get one more, and Tottenham's third on the day, as Everton's defensive meltdown continued.
In between, on 41 minutes, Christian Eriksen claimed a second goal that again underlined Everton's defensive disarray.
"They (Tottenham) have, maybe with Manchester City, the best football side in the league," admitted beaten manager Ronald Koeman.
THE TIMES, LONDON, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
