EXCLUSIVE: Former Everton-striker Jermaine Beckford has been assessing the displays of current frontmen Thierno Barry and Beto
Everton strikers Beto and Thierno Barry
Everton strikers Beto and Thierno Barry
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Everton strike pair Thierno Barry and Beto have been told to take a leaf out of former Blues frontman Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s book to improve their respective goal outputs.
Calvert-Lewin netted 71 goals for Everton, including 57 in the Premier League, putting him third on the club’s all-time list in the competition, behind Romelu Lukaku (68) and Duncan Ferguson (60). He joined the Blues from home city club Sheffield United in 2016 but went back across the Pennines to return to his native Yorkshire last summer when his contract expired.
So far this season, the 28-year-old has plundered 10 goals for Leeds United, a tally that already betters his totals from his final four seasons on Merseyside (five in 2021/22; two in 2022/23; eight in 2023/24 and three in 2024/25). In contrast, Barry and Beto have six and five goals respectively in 2025/26.
Jermaine Beckford, who struck 10 goals for Everton in the Premier League in his only full season at Goodison Park in in 2010/11, told the ECHO: “It’s a difficult position for David Moyes to be in. It’s the area that gets the most scrutiny and rightly so.
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“As a centre-forward, if you’re not putting the ball in the back of the net or getting a load of assists, you’re not doing your job, regardless of what else you’re bringing to the team, whether it’s running the channels or hold-up play. Ultimately, you’re judged on your numbers.
“I think the striker position is probably the area that needs improving the most at Everton. There’s no doubting that both of the boys are putting in shifts, but I think it’s clear to see with the overall quality in the final third, that the finishing is not quite there.
“I’ve been impressed with both of them in recent times, because they’re not allowing the outside noise get to them too much. They’re still getting on the scoresheet, but I just want a bit more from them.
“That’s just me being a centre-forward. I obviously watch another of my old teams Leeds United a lot and they’ve got the former Toffee Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Lukas Nmecha and physicality-wise, all four of them are very similar, they all run channels and are reasonably quick with a turn of pace.
“The difference between the Leeds pair and what Thierno Barry and Beto are doing at Everton, is the finishing position. When they’ve been involved in the build-up play and move the ball out wide, then what do they do?
“The two boys at Leeds, they’re bombing straight for the box. You look at the two boys at the Toffees, they’re ‘yeah, maybe, we might get there a little bit, sometimes but not all the time.’”
The 42-year-old, who was speaking via Gambling.com for exclusive bonuses from the best new UK casinos, added: “As a centre-forward, whenever I’ve set the ball off into a channel, I’m thinking that I need to score from my next opportunity. Where’s the best position for me to end up having the best chance of getting a shot on goal?
“It’s going straight through the middle, it’s going to be in the 18-yard box, it’s going to be drop the shoulder and get away from the defender. You try and push the defender away or get a run on him or try to get up above him and win the header.
“Those boys aren’t doing that often enough. If you give them five chances, maybe one, maybe two they’ll be in the area that you’d say: ‘that’s not so bad.’”
Ealing-born Beckford, who was capped six times by Jamaica, reckons that Barry and Beto – who both found the net in Everton’s last away game when they won 3-2 at Newcastle United – can also benefit from the brains trust at Finch Farm that includes one of his own former Blues team-mates. He said: “I just want them to be a little bit more ruthless in the final third. I do think it’s an area that they can improve on though, they just have to be open to learning and listening.
“They’ve got some great coaches at Everton. You look at Leighton Baines, he knows how to defend and he’s been up against some of the best centre-forwards in the UK.
“He’ll be talking to them on a daily basis, saying: ‘I remember when I played against so-and-so and this is the movement he did – I think you could do something along those lines too.’ It’s not just about how the message is put forwards, it’s how it’s received.
“I hope that they’re receiving the message in a positive way and that they’re replying with: ‘yes, I believe in you coach, I’m going to incorporate that into the next game.’”