Michael Ball addresses the major issues at Goodison Park following Everton’s incident-filled goalless draw with Newcastle United. Everton should have been awarded a penalty against Newcastle United, but when they weren’t, Sean Dyche should have taken a page from Alex Ferguson’s book and made more of them. First and foremost, I believe Dominic Calvert-Lewin should not have attempted the shot when Abdoulaye Doucoure was free; instead, he should have tried to get his toe on it and passed it to him because he was in a better position. Dom may have done better with his touch and shot, but Idrissa needs to strike the target.
Dom’s intended swing angle appeared to be challenging. He’s put his foot back to swing and strike the ball, and the defender has impeded his shot; to me, that’s a penalty. I understand Dom kicked Dan Burn’s back, but the Newcastle player hindered his attempt to have a shot on goal, and he did not receive the ball. Other pundits have asked, ‘How is that not a penalty?’ It’s not only my blue heart that’s getting in the way.
Perhaps Dom has been falling down a little too easily in the area, and referees have marked his card, believing he has been too soft? You have to consider all sides, and while he may have clipped Burn, he is also out and unable to recover from his shot. Dyche appeared to avoid discussing it in his post-match press conference because he didn’t want to waste energy on it, but I’m sorry Sean, that’s your duty to protect Everton Football Club. Ferguson was a genius at it when he was the manager of Manchester United; he couldn’t stop talking about it. It does not indicate bitterness. It’s attempting to get an advantage and challenge the officials.
Craig Pawson has repeatedly issued seven or eight major verdicts against Everton Football Club. I’m not sure why he’s still permitted to referee Everton games, and I felt he had a terrible performance. Yes, Anthony Gordon was clipped and going down, but there were times when he wasn’t. The referee was being duped at times, and I thought he was too quick to blow his whistle and stop play. For many years, significant decisions have gone against us, and he has also been a part of VAR. Even Neil Warnock has publicly questioned Craig Pawson’s motives against Everton.
We can all sense it. I understand that every football club constantly questions certain officials, but something has to change. Dyche has tried to shy away from it, and I know that he’s trying to be the bigger man and talk about the football instead, rather than looking for excuses, but we want you to stand up for Everton Football Club and call them out because we’re not getting these penalties, we’re not getting these decisions. From Allan getting sent off at Newcastle in 2022, Phil Jagielka’s straight red at Wolves in 2018 or even the Merseyside Derby at Anfield last year when he didn’t show Ibrahima Konate a second yellow card, we’ve had all of them from Pawson.
These are critical moments in the game that have the potential to completely influence the outcome, but they consistently work against us. I believe it is time for the club to be stronger, to confront the officials, and to question why this is happening to us. Yes, Dyche’s style of play needs to be improved, as do the players’ talent and decision-making, but these recurrent actions have the ability to hold us back. Every professional footballer seeks to take advantage of every opportunity. Every team engages in gamesmanship or ‘black arts’, as credited to Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal.
We are a little too mild in this area and don’t do it well enough. When we do, it appears that we are penalized because we are not very adept at it, with Jordan Pickford receiving yellow cards for time wasting, indicating that football knowledge and cuteness in our approach are frequently lacking.
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