Newcastle United's Reality Check Against Everton: A Learning Experience
At Murrayfield, the stadium announcer promised “passion and world-class football from the very first whistle.”
What Newcastle United and Everton served up was something rather different: a sharp reality check for Matthias Jaissle, a reminder that this young Newcastle side is still very much under construction.
A bright start, then cracks at the back
Newcastle actually began with purpose. There was a freshness about them, a hint of something new in the way they moved the ball and pressed. Bazoumana Toure, again, looked fearless on the left, stretching Everton with his pace and direct running.
But the early promise went to waste.
Chances came and went without reward, and as the first half wore on, Newcastle’s vulnerability without the ball became impossible to ignore. One long, hopeful ball from James Tarkowski in the 27th minute was enough to rip them open.
Thierno Barry nipped in front of a hesitant Sven Botman, raced away, and although Lewis Hall scrambled back to make a recovery tackle, his clearance only reached Harrison Armstrong. Armstrong kept his head, rolled the ball back to Barry, and the forward beat Lukas Hornicek from inside the box.
On the touchline, Jaissle punched his palm in frustration, then urged his players to reset, just as they had done when they came from behind to beat Valencia 2-1 in his first game in charge at the weekend. This time, the response never really came.
Penalty blow and travelling taunts
Moments after the opener, Everton struck again. Iliman Ndiaye doubled the lead from the penalty spot after Joelinton was harshly judged to have fouled Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall in the area.
As Ndiaye scored, the Everton fans found their voice. “Going down, going down, going down,” they chanted at the Newcastle end, a pointed reminder of the noise that has followed the club’s summer departures and upheaval.
Jaissle could only watch. His side looked stretched, uncertain, and every Everton attack seemed to expose another gap.
George adds a third, fans head for the exits
The pressure told once more in the 73rd minute. Tyrique George drilled in Everton’s third, and with the score at 3-0, some Newcastle supporters decided they had seen enough and began to drift towards the exits at Murrayfield – and not for a better view of the solar eclipse.
Newcastle did at least avoid a complete humiliation on the scoreboard. Substitute Harvey Barnes arrived at the back post to slam in Jacob Murphy’s cross and pull one back late on.
Barnes and Murphy had both been involved the last time Newcastle lost to Everton, in the Premier League under Eddie Howe back in February. The faces around them this time, though, told a different story.
A new era, and a clear “vacuum”
This was a radically reshaped Newcastle XI. Eight of the starters were 25 or under. Joelinton, wearing the captain’s armband, and Yoane Wissa, both 29, were the senior figures by some distance.
Key players are still missing. Dan Burn, Lewis Miley and Tino Livramento are to return, although it is unlikely all three will be ready for the season opener against Liverpool. Even with them, this squad needs more.
Jaissle knows it. So does sporting director Ross Wilson, watching on from the stands.
The German head coach again spoke of a “vacuum” in the squad, repeating the phrase for the second time in as many days after the exits of Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali, Anthony Gordon and Kieran Trippier earlier in the summer.
“You all see the matches,” Jaissle said. “You are also smart enough to see the needs in the squad. I will be always consistent with my approach. We handle these things internally. We are aware of what we need. Let’s see now. There is still some time.”
He added: “You cannot change things really quickly. It’s a really young team at the moment so there are vacuums where players need to step up. We fill these positions we lost with the experienced players, but that’s also the process.”
Time running, window open
Newcastle are hunting a right-back, an older central midfielder and, depending on Jaissle’s final judgement on the group, potentially one more signing before the window closes on 1 September.
The clock is ticking. There are only a couple of friendlies left before Liverpool arrive at St James’ Park next week, and every day without reinforcements tightens the squeeze.
“If you make new signings at the end of the transfer window, they usually need time,” Jaissle said. “Usually it takes time to adapt to the Premier League. Those are all things we consider, but we are all still positive. We all want to go in the right direction. We have these goals and there’s many stones along the way thrown in that path, but we need to get rid of them.”
At Murrayfield, Everton exposed exactly where those stones lie. The question now is whether Newcastle can clear the path quickly enough before Liverpool come storming down it.
