The Everton verdict as the Blues were beaten 4-1 by Newcastle at Hill Dickinson Stadium
Many Everton fans had left long before the end
Many Everton fans had left long before the end(Image: Getty Images)
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David Moyes collapsed into his padded seat and sank his head deep into the cushioned headrest. Arms folded, the elation of Old Trafford just days earlier must have felt a distant memory.
Under the lights and in the drizzle of a cold winter night on the Liverpool waterfront, his Everton side were being reminded just how far they are from where they want to be. The win at Manchester United was a famous victory that felt like a statement three points in a season of immense transition. It was one built on guts, a result earned through heart, passion and determination.
That will not always be enough. On Saturday evening, Newcastle United were simply too good for Everton. They were bigger, stronger, quicker than their opponents in Royal Blue. When Nick Woltemade’s cute finish sent Moyes retreating to his dugout with his side 3-0 down just before half-time, it was hard to imagine many associated with the hosts would have complained had referee Craig Pawson offered them the chance to end it there. He did not, and the humiliation of Everton’s worst night at Hill Dickinson Stadium would only get worse.
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There was always a danger this would happen. Everton did a lot of work over the summer and while questions over some of the decisions are justified, with Adam Aznou and Tyler Dibling struggling to win the trust of Moyes, Thierno Barry still yet to register a shot on target in the Premier League and Merlin Rohl’s injury battles having followed him across from Germany, the ‘to-do’ list was always too long to be fully addressed.
That felt painfully clear when the team news was released. A lot of work was undertaken to brush away the spat between Michael Keane and Idrissa Gueye and, to some extent, it was a success. But the loss of his name from the teamsheet was a chastening reminder of an episode that will continue to have serious implications throughout this challenging week.
Everton started the season light in central midfield and with concerns at full-back. There have been times when those frailties have been exposed but the squad has been versatile and willing enough to paper over some of those cracks in what has been a good start to the season. It remains a good start, even after this 4-1 embarrassment.
The suspension of Gueye left one weak spot too many on this occasion though - particularly against this Newcastle side, one well-placed to expose Everton given its strengths came directly up against the Blues’ weaknesses.
That much was clear inside the first 30 seconds when Anthony Elanga burst down the Everton left and met little resistance until Jordan Pickford, who was just about able to turn his shot around the post. The respite was brief. This game was still inside the first minute when Malick Thiaw met the resulting corner and headed his team into the lead.
More chances and more threatening corners followed before Everton found a foothold in the game. Jack Grealish, James Garner and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall were at the centre of a 10-minute spell that produced encouraging signs as Everton hinted they were capable of getting behind the visitors. That old enemy - end product - remained too big a foe for Everton to vanquish, however.
That spell was all Everton had in this game. It ended when a Newcastle attack led to the ball bouncing around the box and falling kindly to Lewis Miley. His shot went straight through Pickford, whose remonstrations with James Tarkowski likely centred on the centre back’s positioning threatening his line of vision. Whether he had a point or not, this was not a good night for England’s number one in front of his most vocal opposition.
Twenty minutes later Woltemade lofted the ball over Pickford after Tim Iroegbunam misjudged the bouncing ball and allowed Elanga to escape into space and Moyes was trying to bury himself in his seat.
The contest was over but the game was not. Half-time substitute Carlos Alcaraz, who replaced Iroegbunam, cracked the bar with a thunderous effort from the edge of the box. But Pickford was busier, saving from Harvey Barnes, watching helplessly as Tarkowski blocked Woltemade’s effort on the line and then getting lost under the flight of the ball as Thiaw headed in again at the back post.
If there was one moment of cruelty that summed up the night it came when Barry thought he had broken his Everton drought midway through the second half. The 23-year-old beat Aaron Ramsdale from close range after bringing down a cross and he celebrated with all the emotion that is to be expected from a forward whose frustrations have played out in HD through three months of labouring in front of goal.
It was a rare moment of levity and one that united the Everton supporters who remained in the ground - there is little doubt fans are willing him to do well. Even that ended with misery, however, as VAR intervened and the former Villarreal man was adjudged to have handled the ball before it hit the back of the net. When he was later withdrawn his head sank towards his knees in disappointment after he took his seat.
There was one passage that reminded those who had not left early of the quality this new Everton squad possesses. Dewsbury-Hall showed composure and elegance to bring down a long ball from Tarkowski and finish for his second goal in a week.
The scenes that greeted this one were remarkably similar to those at Old Trafford on Monday. The difference was a gruesome one for Everton, though. Instead of empty red seats and the raucous celebrations of the Everton supporters that ended the Blues’ last match, this game concluded to a sea of empty blue seats and another set of supporters having the time of their lives at their expense.
There is little doubt this was the worst night at Everton’s new stadium. It was a torrid, brutal horror show that exposed the lack of depth in the squad and the stupidity of Gueye’s actions towards Michael Keane. That there is no obvious, easy-fix heading to Bournemouth in midweek only added to the pain. Moyes has a lot of work to do if he is to prevent a bad night from turning into a terrible week.