Our Everton jury have returned to have their say following the heartbreaking Merseyside derby defeat to Liverpool and the upcoming game against West Ham
David Moyes before Everton's defeat to Liverpool
David Moyes before Everton's defeat to Liverpool(Image: (Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images))
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Everton suffered Merseyside derby heartbreak after Virigl van Dijk scored 10 minutes into stoppage time to secure Liverpool a 2-1 victory on Sunday afternoon. Mohamed Salah opened the scoring with 28 minutes on the clock, only moments after Iliman Ndiaye saw a goal disallowed by VAR.
But the Blues drew themselves level when Beto got on the end of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall's ball across goal. And just when it looked the first derby to be played at Hill Dickinson Stadium would end in a draw, Van Dijk scored to break Everton hearts.
The Blues now find themselves 10th in the Premier League table, and ahead of Saturday’s game against West Ham United, our Everton jury have returned to have their say.
Paul McParlan
We all know the script. Several factors have to go in our favour for Everton to win a Derby. A strong referee who doesn't allow Virgil van Dijk to officiate the game, a VAR decision in our favour, a penalty call that is given, and a key player not being injured and taking our chances.
None of these happened, and the outcome was predestined. It was a strange decision to appoint Chris Kavanagh to take charge of such a high-profile fixture, a man whose incompetence in an FA Cup game between Aston Villa and Newcastle meant he was stood down by the Premier League for a round of fixtures in January.
But there is no point in dwelling on this; time to move on. You know that any team who joined the so-called European Super League will also get the benefit of any 50/50 calls, so desperate is the Premier League to keep them for their lucrative TV deals. Despite that loss, we are still only two points behind Chelsea in sixth, and our European qualification hopes have been dented but not derailed by that result.
The biggest setback from Sunday was the injuries to Beto, who has found his scoring touch again, and Jarrad Branthwaite. Michael Keane can cover in defence, but the bigger blow would be to lose Beto for a prolonged spell. Thierno Barry made no impact at all when he came off the bench on Sunday. His body language showed that he no longer wanted to be here, and the fans don't want him here either; this is anything but the ideal combination. A summer parting of the ways seems inevitable.
Jarrad Branthwaite leaves on a stretcher during the match between Everton and Liverpool at Hill Dickinson Stadium. Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP via Getty Images
Jarrad Branthwaite leaves on a stretcher during the match between Everton and Liverpool at Hill Dickinson Stadium. Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP via Getty Images
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On Saturday we have to get back to winning ways against a West Ham United team battling for Premier League survival. Our away form has been excellent, and there is no reason why that can't continue at the London stadium.
Accepting that we will probably struggle to get anything from the Manchester City game, three wins and a draw from our remaining five fixtures may just be enough for a top-seven finish and a place in Europe.
There will be many twists and turns before the season is over, and Everton have to make sure we pick up enough points to make Europe. Our main challengers will probably be Brentford, Brighton, Bournemouth and Chelsea, who all still have some difficult games ahead.
It's not been the best week to be an Everton fan, and it has not been helped by the owners deciding to exploit the loyalty of the fanbase by hiking up the cost of season tickets by far more than expected. At a time when the cost of living is spiralling, this decision was tone-deaf and insensitive.
Nevertheless, on the pitch there is still everything to play for. Derby defeats always hurt, but it didn't end our ambitions. This season could still have a far happier ending than even the most optimistic Blue could have anticipated last summer.
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Mark McParlan
Sunday was utterly traumatic. We suffered in two of the worst ways imaginable: firstly, scoring a first-half goal, cueing absolute ecstasy and wild, wild celebrations; having it heartbreakingly ruled out; and then conceding 90 seconds later in the most brutal sucker-punch.
Secondly, conceding in 90+10 minutes of added time to my personal least favourite football player of all time. I sit in the lower tier on the side, level with the goal-line, so I had a perfect view of the trouble which was clearly brewing in our defending of that corner. Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk had the freedom of the box. It was obvious where the danger was; you could see it an absolute mile off.
I’ve said all along that to achieve any serious European football with this team (Europa League, as opposed to Conference League), we absolutely had to beat Brentford or Liverpool – and we haven’t. Conceding in the last minute was a catastrophic, sickening, horrible blow, but really, we needed three points from that match anyway – arguably, there isn’t a vast difference between one point and nil.
Virgil van Dijk of Liverpool scores his side's second goal during the Premier League match between Everton and Liverpool at Hill Dickinson Stadium
Virgil van Dijk of Liverpool scores his side's second goal during the Premier League match between Everton and Liverpool at Hill Dickinson Stadium(Image: Getty)
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Jarrad Branthwaite looked in absolute agony as he collapsed for the second time, and the fact he needed to be stretchered off, covering his face with his hands the whole way, left me fearing the absolute worse. He is a cut above most defenders in the Premier League. Thankfully, it appears not to be an injury that rules him out for months and months on end, even if his season is over.
At least Beto’s spring-time form has returned again. He probably does score 15 goals a season if he’s the undisputed starting striker, a privilege he has never been granted for a full term during his Everton career.
Is it time for a reappraisal of our summer window? The only new signing who started the derby was Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. We’ve spent £27 million on Thierno Barry and somehow managed to spend almost £40 million on Tyler Dibling.
Still, even though I personally can’t see us qualifying for Europe now, we should be an improved prospect to new players this summer than we were a year ago. I’m not particularly blaming Moyes for the derby defeat; we didn’t play terribly – subs let him down. He should continue to lead this Everton project that we are still building up.
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