1 good, 3 bad from Newcastle United 2-3 Everton

It’s now five defeats in six league games as Everton turned up at SJP and showed us how to get results on the road in the Premier League. Make no bones about it, United were garbage in the main, and I don’t want to hear about how we pressed and harried them in the second half as before Murphy equalised via a lucky deflection, we hadn’t tested Pickford once.

The goals came via Ramsey and Murphy for United and Branthwaite, Beto and Barry for Everton.

Here’s my one good and four bad from the game:

Bad: Pope disasterclass at the double

For me, Nick Pope was at fault for both of Everton’s opening two goals. He was far too beyond the front post for Branthwaite’s opener, in no man’s land where he could not affect the ball, and the shocking parry for Beto’s goal was schoolboy-like considering it wasn’t even a difficult shot to hold/save.

I think it’s time we admit that Pope is costing us more than he’s worth, and even though Ramsdale is diabolical at making saves, at least he offers us something with his feet, in terms of build up and recycling possession, which Pope just doesn’t offer full stop.

It’s safe to say United MUST invest in a top keeper this summer as the two we have (that are reasonably going to play) are finished at the top level, and we’ll just have to keep our fingers crossed we can muddle through to the end of the season with the disasters we have between the sticks at the minute.

Good: Ramsey and correcting the starting lineup

The sight of Jacob Ramsey throwing up over himself mere seconds after entering the pitch for the start of the second half perfectly summed United up on Saturday. Our best player by a country mile in the first half brought low by some apparent amateur hour stuff as he was allowed to enter the pitch for the second half, but came off before a ball was kicked, in a moment that surely could’ve been dealt with in the dressing room.

Ramsey was excellent during the first 45, he was the only player who looked composed on the ball, he drove at the Everton defenders with the ball at his feet and was head and shoulders above a diabolical other ten players throughout the first half.

But the simple fact was that United were as poor as they were in the first 20 mins because Gordon, Joelinton and Woltemade were all playing out of position in each other’s position. It made us disjointed as the lads ran about like headless chickens during a spell in the game that just made you go “what the hell is the manager thinking?” playing them like that.

Thankfully, Eddie seemed to realise that and corrected the issue as the lads eventually ended up in the right positions, but it smacked of a manager who was grasping for ideas and rarely finding them.

Bad: Self destructing after scoring…TWICE

Considering how hard it was for United to score goals on the afternoon (but it has been a general trend this season) to concede two minutes after the first equaliser and a minute after the second was, frankly, tragic.

Hall was powderpuff in the challenge against McNeil that led to his shot for their second, and Gordon was swarmed by three players (with barely anyone giving a **** to try and help him) for their third.

But honestly, if you couldn’t see that coming watching that game, you needed your eyes testing. United have no press resistant footballers in the side, so every game is chaotic. During this game specifically Everton were winning every aerial duel, passed around us in neat little triangles often involving N’Diaye and Gueye. Every Everton defender was prepared to die for their cause as they backed each other up, sat ridged in a 5-4-1 most of the second half (but especially after their third), and had a world class keeper to fall back on if that failed as he made a stupendous save to stop Tonali’s piledriver volley in injury time.

Bad: Five defeats in six and European hopes looking bleak 

Watch the replay of Beto’s goal, and look how lazy Trippier, Thiaw and Burn are in reacting to the loose ball, it was pathetic and summed up why United will fail to qualify for any form of Europe via the Premier League this season.

Throw in that when you are turning to Wissa (who is the biggest waste of £55m since…Elanga…) to try and save the game by grabbing you a goal, Woltemade being woefully out of form, Gordon looking like a sulky ex-Evertonian, and all the mistakes and lack of character shown, and this side is going nowhere this season.

Teams know they can come to SJP and just dig in, sit deep, and we will rarely threaten the goal. We’ve been bullied this season by Brentford, West Ham, Fulham, and Everton at various points and currently sitting in 12^th with just ten games left, we certainly won’t qualify for the Champions League next season, and Europe in general in looking like a very distant dream as I write this.

Oh well, just a resurgent Man Utd up next…blow me down with a feather…

Keep the faith. HWTL