I was angry watching Everton’s performance against Newcastle United. It was a display that I was not expecting from David Moyes and this group of players. All the highs that happened the previous Monday evaporated very quickly against Newcastle. Going to Hill Dickinson Stadium under the lights and with the confidence from the result at Old Trafford, to start so sluggish and so switched off, was so disappointing.It was really deflating to see. You can’t just say it’s a one-off situation because it’s what I warned about the week before in my column – when we do produce a top performance, we then seem to throw it away next time out and unfortunately we’ve done the same again. It was evident from the first kick. We didn’t win the first or the second ball, we didn’t stop the turn, we didn’t follow runners.They got a shot away, Jordan Pickford flicked it away for a corner and then like the Spurs game, they knew our weaknesses and put it in that danger zone because they know Pickford doesn’t command his six-yard box on crosses, and they took full advantage. It sucked the life out of us.
READ MORE: [Gary Speed's mother shares thoughts on 'fantastic' Everton memorial as former team-mate pays tribute](https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/gary-speeds-mother-shares-thoughts-32975968)READ MORE: [David Moyes explains Thierno Barry plan as Everton forward told what he needs to do next](https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/thierno-barry-david-moyes-everton-32977253)
To be fair, we did respond for 10-15 minutes afterwards, but our lack of goal threat or desire to get the ball into the box was worrying. This wasn’t down to Newcastle’s fantastic play, I think if we’d have been up against a Championship side we’ve have still got beat. The mentality was wrong. Doing the hard yards was non-existent. I wouldn’t say Newcastle were clever, they just had a bit of a game plan that we sucked ourselves into. Nick Woltemade up front was dropping in deep, Michael Keane and James Tarkowski were trying to go tight and in behind they had the runners.We were too occupied by the big striker and trying to play the high line, that we were leaving it wide open for Newcastle. While the players found a solution against Manchester United, they failed to do so against Newcastle, as did David Moyes.The goals were really, really sloppy. Look, I’ve played the game and I’ve had an off-day, you’re human beings, that can happen.But unfortunately, all 11 for Everton had an off-day. Everybody really did struggle.James Garner was trying to get things going, but he hasn’t got a 20, 30, 40-yard ping pass in him, so he needs other players to come and help him and do one-twos, and runs that will help put the ball through to him. He needs spinners, he needs runners.If you look back at the third goal, that shows just how poor we were. We had an opportunity to put a great ball in the box and we failed to do that with a poor delivery.We didn’t get back quick enough. Tim Iroegbunam didn’t deal with the situation and for some reason, Vitalii Mykolenko came right over, into no-man’s land and left the danger man alone.From their goalkeeper having the ball, within 30 seconds, it was in the back of our net. That’s schoolboy football – that’s what made me angry. While David Moyes’ starting line-up was predictable and he didn’t have many alternative options, the same mistakes are happening with the same group of players. James Tarkowski was the last man, standing in front of Jordan Pickford.Yes, it’s Pickford’s fault and he should have done better but why is Tarkowski trying to have a flick when the ball is behind him? What’s he trying to achieve? He’s obviously put Jordan off a bit. That’s not the first time it’s happened this season.The really frustrating thing is that we’re not learning from our mistakes. It’s not like Newcastle played like Real Madrid, we made it so easy for them to dictate and to do what they want. Their full-backs were basically in our final third, causing mayhem, as they had delivery. If you look at their fourth goal, it was a fantastic delivery.Jordan looked like he was going to come for it, realised the ball had too much power and whip on it, he’s out of position, and it’s a header at the back post. We’re really lacking in those departments. They always say: ‘Don’t go too high when you win, so you don’t go too low after a defeat.’ It felt like last week we went too high after Manchester United and now we feel down in the dumps.It was a strange game because we didn’t put their keeper under any threat. That’s worrying.The same goes for the like-for-like substitutions we continue to see. Beto for Barry, Alcaraz for Iroegbunam, the formation or the game plan don’t change. David Moyes won plaudits against Manchester United for not doing anything because he sensed we were doing well, but I felt he missed a trick against Newcastle. This was an opportunity in a competitive game to try something different. Why not stick Beto up with Barry? Play two up front, see what happens, it might get the crowd up.Why not go three at the back? They only had one striker. Maybe try Jack Grealish in the 10? Just try something!Try and pack that midfield because we were really weak in the middle. People have said we missed Idrissa Gueye, well yes, but we should have had confidence having beaten Manchester United with 10 men without him.Trying something different could be an option for the future because our squad is thin. But saying all that, no matter what tactics or formation David Moyes deploys, if you have that lack of will, that lack of desire to tackle someone or put them under pressure, you’re going to get beat, no matter what level of football it is. There was a lack of an Everton player causing a problem for every goal.The goal where Tim made a mistake, yes, it’s a sloppy touch, but we’re not sharp, not alive, but then in the build-up play, Harvey Barnes gets the chance to take three touches and turn in our six-yard box – why isn’t someone up his backside, forcing him away from goal?Elanga made his run from halfway inside his own half and not a single player tracked him. Vitalii Mykolenko got caught flat-footed, so he looked really slow like everyone does against Elanga, but that was a lack of fight from the start and we just didn’t get going.It was really frustrating, walking out thinking: ‘We don’t want to see our stadium like this 15 minutes before the end.’ We’ve got a nice, little rivalry going with Newcastle, but we handed it on a plate for them.
**Pickford made a mistake but he's got credit in the bank**Jordan Pickford’s shot-stopping has been brilliant. We wouldn’t be in this league without him.Even the previous game, the save he made from Joshua Zirkzee of Manchester United was world-class. He put his hands up over Newcastle’s second goal though, he knew he made a mistake.Like all goalkeepers, there are still weaknesses in his game. This includes coming for crosses, even if you’re not going to come for them, command your area a bit more and stand off your line, so they’ve got to kick it further away from the goal. If you come off your goal-line from a corner, it’s harder for the taker to put it where he wants. Every goalkeeper makes mistakes though, even Neville Southall made mistakes.I, as a defender, could make 10 mistakes and nothing might happen, a striker might make 100 mistakes and nothing could happen, but goalies, if they make a mistake, nine times out of 10, it ends up in the back of the net. Jordan will be really disappointed and obviously it came against his old rivals, Newcastle United, but he’ll bounce back from that, he’s got a lot of credit in the bank at Everton.