Newcastle United's Pre-Season Struggles Against Everton
The voice over the Murrayfield PA system went big.
“Expect passion and world-class football from the very first whistle,” boomed the announcer, as Newcastle United and Everton emerged for a pre-season friendly at the home of Scottish rugby.
It didn’t quite live up to that billing. What it did do was hand Matthias Jaissle a sharp, timely reminder of the size of the job he has walked into.
Newcastle were beaten 3-1. A week and a half out from the Premier League opener against Liverpool, the scoreline felt less important than the message: this team needs work. On the grass. And in the market.
Bright start, brutal punishment
For a few minutes, it looked promising. Newcastle had a fresh, almost experimental feel. Eight of the starting XI were 25 or under. Joelinton, captain’s armband strapped on, and Yoane Wissa, both 29, were the elder statesmen by a distance.
Down the left, Bazoumana Toure once again showed why the club moved for him. He ran aggressively, attacked space, and unsettled Everton early on. Newcastle carved out chances. They just didn’t take any of them.
The longer they squandered opportunities, the more fragile they looked at the other end.
Everton’s opener on 27 minutes was as simple as it was alarming from a Newcastle perspective. James Tarkowski launched a straightforward ball forward. It caused chaos. Thierno Barry darted in front of a hesitant Sven Botman, surged clear, and forced Newcastle into panic mode.
Lewis Hall did get back to make a recovery tackle, but his clearance dropped straight to Harrison Armstrong. Armstrong kept his head, rolled the ball back to Barry, and Barry did the rest, sliding his finish past Lukas Hornicek from inside the box.
On the touchline, Jaissle punched his palm in frustration, then immediately urged his players to reset. He had seen them come from behind to beat Valencia 2-1 in his first outing at the weekend. He wanted a similar response.
He didn’t get it.
Everton turn the screw
Within minutes, Everton had their second. Iliman Ndiaye stepped up from the spot after Joelinton was harshly judged to have fouled Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall in the area. The decision did Newcastle few favours; the finish from Ndiaye was ruthless.
From the Everton end, the chant came instantly and relentlessly: “Going down, going down, going down.” It was only pre-season, but the soundtrack stung.
Newcastle’s defending never really settled. As the game wore on, the gaps grew. When Tyrique George drilled in Everton’s third in the 73rd minute, some Newcastle supporters had seen enough. They started to drift towards the exits, and not for a better view of the solar eclipse.
Jaissle, arms folded, took it all in.
Barnes offers a late reminder
There was at least a flicker of resistance. Substitute Harvey Barnes, introduced from the bench, found a pocket of space at the back post and smashed in Jacob Murphy’s cross to make it 3-1.
Barnes and Murphy both know this fixture well. They were on the pitch when Newcastle fell to Everton in the league at Goodison Park back in February under Eddie Howe. This, though, was a very different Newcastle side – younger, rawer, and stripped of some of its most influential figures.
That late goal didn’t change the narrative, but it did underline something: there is still quality in this squad. It just needs help.
A vacuum at the heart of Newcastle’s rebuild
The scale of the rebuild has been obvious all summer. Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali, Anthony Gordon and Kieran Trippier have all departed. Four pillars, gone. Jaissle didn’t dodge that reality.
“You all see the matches,” he said afterwards. “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.”
For the second time in as many days, the German head coach spoke about a “vacuum” in his group – spaces where leaders used to stand, roles that now demand new voices.
“You cannot change things really quickly,” he added. “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.”
Ross Wilson, the sporting director, watched on from the stands at Murrayfield. He hardly needed the reminder, but this game underlined it anyway: Newcastle’s squad is short.
Key figures such as Dan Burn, Lewis Miley and Tino Livramento are still to return. Even then, all three are unlikely to be ready for Liverpool on the opening weekend. The gaps are obvious.
Time running, window open
Newcastle remain active in the market. A right-back is on the list. So is an older central midfielder. Depending on Jaissle’s assessment of what he has seen over these friendlies, there could yet be another addition before the window closes on 1 September.
There are still a couple of warm-up games to navigate before Liverpool arrive at St James’ Park next week, but the clock is ticking.
“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.”
On a cool night in Edinburgh, Everton exposed exactly where those stones lie. Now Newcastle have to decide how quickly – and how boldly – they clear the path.
