Everton had a lot to blame on themselves in their 4-1 defeat to Newcastle on Saturday evening.
A lack of midfield tenacity, weak defending on the wings and some unusually poor Jordan Pickford goalkeeping saw Everton go 3-0 down to Newcastle United at the break, with David Moyes not happy with his side’s performance.
Despite Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s sublime consolation effort, fans at the Hill Dickinson Stadium were left booing the Premier League result with the chance to go into the top half.
But away from their own performance, fans were aware of some dark arts from Newcastle star Joelinton, who conjured up some crafty tactics in the first half to stop Newcastle being on the back foot.
Everton players against Newcastle United,
Photo by Ed Sykes/Sportsphoto/Allstar Via Getty Images
Fans were not happy with Joelinton’s antics in Everton’s defeat to Newcastle
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Sky Sports journalist Ben Grounds began the discourse by stating that Joelinton hitting the deck with an injury was something that referees couldn’t control in terms of time wasting. He wrote:
“There was a moment in the first half at 1-0 when Joelinton went down for treatment. He wasn’t injured.
“Everton had just had 95 per cent of the ball over a five-minute period. This is happening in pretty much every game now and it’s a form of time-wasting referees cannot control.”
That was met with agreement by Everton fans, who were annoyed at what they saw. Another fan wrote: “I noticed that too. We were building some good momentum at that time and the ‘injury’ delay certainly worked in their favour. The match was flat on the restart”, whilst another posted: “Agreed Ben. We said similar. It interrupted our flow at a vital time and of course, that’s why they did it.”
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A fourth fan claimed: “Mate, we were in this game AND the better side regardless of the first goal BUT yes, they done us. Again”, whilst a further fan wrote: “Thought it at the time – robbed us of dangerous momentum – annoying but clever.”
It wasn’t just Everton fans who were aware of Joelinton’s dark arts. Putting rivalry aside, a Liverpool fan wrote: “Ah, Joelinton taking a tactical break when his team is under the cosh. When are these useless officials gonna wise up to this?”, whilst a Manchester United supporter posted: “Everton have kept the ball for a few minutes so it’s time for Joelinton to go down injured.”
Regardless of the outcome, it did slow Everton down and ultimately, it contributed to a heavy home defeat – though PGMOL may have to look into it.
Joelinton’s time-wasting is something the PGMOL have to change
There is no shying away from the fact that teams do use injury protocols to their advantage.
It’s common, time and time again, for a player to go down in a challenge before clutching his head in the Premier League – meaning the referee instantly has to stop the game due to new ruling.
Tim Iroegbunam simply CANNOT start on Tuesday vs Bournemouth!
Everton v Newcastle United - Premier League
Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images
Whilst some head injuries actually do occur, Joelinton’s antics are another sticking point that PGMOL must look at before it becomes a big issue.
With VAR still undergoing problems, it’s only going to add to the mounting pressure on officials in matches, though by letter of the law, Joelinton hasn’t done anything wrong.
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