Newcastle United got another point on the board after a 0-0 draw with Everton at Goodison park but it could, and indeed should have been a much different story.
For some reason, now that Newcastle have got their act together with the way they're playing, in terms of passing and controlling games, it seems they have completely lost the ability to score from open play ... and indeed from the penalty spot in the case of today's game.
Anthony Gordon scored a penalty against Manchester City in the 1-1 draw last week and Fabian Schar scored from the spot against Wimbledon on Tuesday, and against Everton, Anthony Gordon was given the opportunity to score from 12 yards again.
It was written in the stars - Gordon vs Jordan Pickford but Gordon never read the script and his tame, in fact let's call it was it was, shocking penalty was easily saved by the former Sunderland man.
Everton had the ball in the net in the first half through Abdoulaye Doucoure but it was ruled out for offside after a VAR intervention. Doucoure celebrated Pickford's penalty save more than he celebrated his own goal - which tells you all you need to know about what direction the game was heading.
Newcastle had a slow start to the game with Everton looking dangerous initially, but after they had that goal chalked off, it was all Newcastle.
Bruno Guimaraes had a shot saved on the line via a fortunate deflection and there was the penalty miss, but other than that, Newcastle never really came close to scoring.
Sandro Tonali and Lewis Hall were particularly wasteful in possession today with far too many loose passes and passes played directly to the opposition.
However, the big concern is our lack of ability to produce anything meaningful in the final third. Yes, we aren't playing with a recognised striker - what must Will Osula be thinking by the way? - but we have several players more than capable of scoring, but all seem allergic to having a shot.
Our crossing has been terrible, the final ball has often been lacking. The game today was there to be won but our lack of bite up top has let us down again. We could have won against City and we never looked like scoring against Wimbledon either. Something has to change.
Alexander Isak and Callum Wilson are expected to be back after the international break, but it's all well and good having them on the pitch, but if we can't supply them with the chances, they might as well not be there.
PL | GD | PTS | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Liverpool
|
14 | 18 | 35 |
2 |
Chelsea
|
15 | 17 | 31 |
3 |
Arsenal
|
15 | 14 | 29 |
4 |
Manchester City
|
15 | 6 | 27 |
5 |
Nottingham Forest
|
15 | 1 | 25 |
6 |
Aston Villa
|
15 | 0 | 25 |
7 |
Brighton
|
15 | 3 | 24 |
8 |
Bournemouth
|
15 | 3 | 24 |
9 |
Brentford
|
15 | 3 | 23 |
10 |
Fulham
|
15 | 2 | 23 |
11 |
Tottenham Hotspur
|
15 | 12 | 20 |
12 |
Newcastle United
|
15 | -2 | 20 |
13 |
Manchester United
|
15 | 1 | 19 |
14 |
West Ham United
|
15 | -8 | 18 |
15 |
Everton
|
14 | -7 | 14 |
16 |
Leicester
|
15 | -9 | 14 |
17 |
Crystal Palace
|
15 | -6 | 13 |
18 |
Ipswich
|
15 | -13 | 9 |
19 |
Wolves
|
15 | -15 | 9 |
20 |
Southampton
|
15 | -20 | 5 |