Newcastle 3 Everton 1: Two key takeways from defeat at Magpies

After inspiring brief hope of improvement with their 4-1 win over Brentford, Everton returned to normal service with a depressingly familiar surrender at Newcastle last night.

The reversal Everton suffered last evening was the latest in a long line of Premier League losses this season that have plunged the Toffees into a relegation battle.

So, with a certain weariness let’s look at two key things this week that yesterday’s defeat underlined.

1. Everton’s transfer mistakes keep hurting the team

Frank Lampard has inherited a lop-sided and profoundly mediocre squad and of course it’s one he hasn’t put together. That’s why no real blame can be attached to him for last night’s awful result.

However, as I’ve previously argued I do think it was a mistake to bring in both Donny van de Beek and Dele Alli on transfer deadline day and not to go and get a more athletic, defensive midfielder or a centre-back instead.

Both players are attacking midfielders who are at their best like playing in an advanced role behind the strikeforce, perhaps in a number ten type position. Neither offer that box-to-box workrate and defensive cover that this Blues team needs so badly, especially with Abdoulaye Doucoure out for at least a further month or so.

Each of them came on last night and while van de Beek showed some good signs of his quality and ability on the ball, Alli was rusty and tried a few silly tricks and touches rather than offering enough substance for a side desperate in need of it.

Given how little top flight football the ex-England man has had recently, it’s not suprising that he looks well off the pace.

If Everton were comfortably in mid-table and just needed some additional attacking threat to try and secure a European place, then he might represent a good punt. But, this team doesn’t have time to wait for the player to re-discover that form from three or four years ago.

This situation was partly the result of an earlier and quite increadibly frustrating foray into the transfer market by owner Farhad Moshiri who persuded by others (we all know who) decided the Blues needed Anwar El Ghazi on loan, a player no one had been looking at before. That of course restricted Lampard’s room for manouvre when he joined.

In addition, one other notable transfer issue resurfaced in Lampard’s team selection. Because of an uncertain Covid test left-back Vitalii Mykolenko was ruled out of playing and so Lampard was forced to put Andros Townsend in that position.

Although Townsend did his best, he’s not a natural full-back obviously and it left the Toffees unbalanced again as they have been so often in recent seasons.

This problem though highlights the consequences of Everton’s decision to loan out Nils Nkounkou for the season thus leaving the squad with only one left-back when the campaign kicked off.

And, this was an issue before that player, Lucas Digne, had his falling out with then manager Rafa Benitez that led eventually to his departure.

Digne had been well below his best for a long time and I think the competition however limited from a player who had some promising moments last season, might have pushed him a bit more. Obviously too, having Nkounkou would have given his manager another option at least.

Last night had the young French defender been available he would have been the obvious natural replacement for Mykolenko.

All these errors are compounding other fundamental problems with this squad and team and making it even harder for a new manager to turn this fast sinking ship around.

2. Injuries could decide the outcome of Everton season 

Once again Everton suffered further injuries last night with Demarai Gray and Yerry Mina both going down hurt in the first half.

The litany of players getting hurt at this club is something I and nearly everyone has been going on and on about for a long time now. Of course, unlike other high-profile clubs, the media seem strangely reluctant to admit this is an issue for Everton.

It’s a quite ridiculous situation and one that has been plaguing this club for several years now. You could even go back as far as 2019 and say that in a sense things have never recovered since Jean-Philippe Gbamin arrived played a hour or so and then got injured for the next eighteen months.

Since then so many players have got hurt it’s become hard to believe. These issues have undermined the last two managers efforts, despite the legitimate criticisms that could be levelled at them, particularly Benitez.

Last season every first-team squad player was out hurt at one time or other and this time round Gbamin, Doucoure, Mina, Richalison, Gray, Tom Davies, Andre Gomes and Dominic Calvert-Lewin have all been out for spells.

Now, Ben Godfrey, Gray and Mina are out joining Doucoure. All four are key players for this team especially Doucoure, Mina and Gray. And, a central defence over the next few weeks of Micheal Keane and Mason Holgate terrifies me.

This squad simply doesn’t have the quality and depth to cope with these endless succession of injuries and losing so many players who make up the central spine of the team is very worrying.

This kind of thing is perhaps going to be crucial in determining whether the team can surivive. I fear that regardless of what tactical tweaks or greater efforts are made, ultimately the absence of so many important players could settle the season’s outcome.