Michael Ball tackles the big issues at Hill Dickinson Stadium following Everton's 1-0 defeat at Leeds United
David Moyes, James Tarkowski and Jordan Pickford speak to referee Chris Kavanagh at full time following the match between Leeds United and Everton at Elland Road on August 18, 2025
David Moyes, James Tarkowski and Jordan Pickford speak to referee Chris Kavanagh at full time following the match between Leeds United and Everton at Elland Road on August 18, 2025
(Image: Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)
Putting everything on the penalty would be glossing over a poor performance from Everton as we didn’t deserve to win and probably didn’t deserve to get anything out of the game. The only team trying to win that game was Leeds and they got lucky with the penalty and took advantage.
I’m sort of in two minds over Leeds’ penalty. Do I know what James Tarkowski is thinking? Yes, I think he knows exactly what he’s doing. The ball is 15-20 yards away from him and he could have moved his feet, but he was flatfooted and leaned his body into it. It was a sore one because it was very quick and the assistant referee has given it.The officials in the stadium could have let VAR make the decision for them yet the official on the line has given it and as Henry Winter has pointed out: ‘Where can Tarkowski’s arm go?’ The consistency – or lack of it – over the handball law and its implementation frustrates players, managers and fans alike. It’s all over the place and next week we’ll probably see a similar incident where it isn’t given.
I think the referee was poor all game. Everton’s players were getting fouled here and there but he seemed to be getting sucked in by the Leeds crowd who were up for their first game back in the Premier League, and he was swayed by certain moments. How could Chris Kavanagh not give the Rodri handball at Goodison Park in 2022 and then award this one? That kills the beautiful game of football that we all love. We saw Eberechi Eze’s free-kick goal for Crystal Palace against Chelsea disallowed at the weekend because of a little-known law about attacking players having to stand at least a yard away from the wall but last season there were loads of goals, including one against Everton when Bruno Fernandes scored as Harry Maguire was standing by the wall, but why wasn’t that looked at? We thought VAR would end all these debates but while they insist they’re going by the letter of the law, it feels like they pick and choose when they want to do that. I’d like the club to put pressure on the PGMOL because we don’t want this happening again all through the season and we’ve had apologies before.Things have been going against Tarkowski and he’s been getting caught out a little bit, here and there. He’s been a fantastic servant to the football club during difficult times but there have been moments in games where he has been caught out.You want your captain to be the stand-up player and don’t want him to be making these little mistakes that are hurting us.The warning signs that I had seen in the pre-season games came to light at Leeds. As that first half went on, we got bullied.We were trying to rope-a-dope a little bit by staying in the game, and it was not a good start. It provided Leeds with some optimism that they could get something out of the contest and they could smell a bit of blood. We had no answer to it as we were losing second balls and couldn’t keep possession, putting each other into trouble. There needed to be a reaction in the second half and to be fair the players did that and started believing a little bit.But even when we had a period on top, we weren’t getting shots on target and remained vulnerable on the counter-attack and that’s how Leeds got the penalty that led to the goal. It was a silly ball from Jordan Pickford at a time where we should have shown better game management.The Leeds fans were urging the team on to press and make us feel nervous and we fell for it, trying to play that pass into midfield. You could tell from David Moyes’ reaction that he wasn’t happy about it. It should be common sense from a senior player to not make those decisions at certain times. You need to play safe, get the ball upfield and put the pressure on their backline.It doesn’t matter who you’ve got up front, whether it’s Beto or Ronaldo, but if you don’t get the ball upfield and you’re passing it sideways or backwards, you’re not giving anyone any service. We’ve brought Jack Grealish to the football club, so we want him to be in the final third, not in his own final third, tracking back.That’s down to David Moyes and the players to take responsibility. We’ve got players who possess the ability to cause other teams problems, but we’re not doing that. There is optimism about this season for Everton with the new stadium, but it feels like it took a big dent with that performance. The mindset of the travelling fans going to Elland Road was that we’ve got a few injuries, but if we play to the best of our ability, we’ll come away with three points, but no matter what our quality is, we don’t want to be outbattled.As the action unfolded, it was ‘wow’ as it was like a Championship game. It was like an old school contest back in my day, the ball was bouncing around everywhere. That’s concerning for me as there was nobody out there to show composure on the ball and get the game going by showing some quality. That’s a huge warning sign for both David Moyes and the owners. We want to bring new faces into the football club but the style in which we were playing is not going to get the best out of those type of players.
Moyes still faces left-back dilemma
It had been a huge talking point over how Everton were going to find a solution if Vitalii Mykolenko wasn’t fit. Seamus Coleman came on at left-back for substitute Adam Aznou in the Roma game, while Dwight McNeil has played there in the past and perhaps they could have gone to three centre-backs?
Against Leeds, with two fast wingers, it might have been dangerous though as you’re leaving yourself open in the wide areas, so I can understand why a back three might have suited us, it could also have helped the opposition. Having decided to go more like-for-like, I thought James Garner handled himself ok.
He’s a good footballer with a good footballing brain and he knows what needs to be done all over the pitch and has played in a few positions already for Everton. While McNeil is left-sided, his lack of pace against speedy wingers might have been a question mark.The club might have to go into the transfer market to find a full-back who can cover both sides. The injury to Jarrad Branthwaite is also frustrating and a bit concerning and if Jake O’Brien is being asked to play centre-half – his natural position – then you’re going to want to bring in someone who is an out-and-out full-back who plays the system that David Moyes likes.It’s up to The Friedkin Group and David Moyes to find that type of personnel and perhaps someone who can cover both full-back areas.