Kevin Campbell backs Frank Lampard after Everton boss calls out players in defeat
We’re delighted to welcome former Everton striker Kevin Campbell as our exclusive columnist. Each week the former Toffees captain will be giving his views on the biggest talking points at Goodison Park…
Kevin Campbell is not surprised that Everton manager Frank Lampard turned on his players after defeat at Crystal Palace, calling the defending “a joke”.
The Toffees were dumped out of the FA Cup 4-0 in South London, in the first game following the uplifting win over Newcastle.
Manager Lampard was clearly annoyed with what he had seen, as he questioned his players fight in the face of adversity, saying in his post-match press conference, via The Guardian: “You’re playing at the cut-throat end of football; this is the FA Cup quarter-finals. If you haven’t got the confidence to play, you can flip it and say: ‘Have you got the [expletive] to play?’ Apologies but that’s the football term.”
Speaking exclusively to Goodison News, Campbell backed him up in reaction to the result, saying: “Let’s put it this way. When you’re at home and you get a result like that against Newcastle [1-0 17 March] you’re expecting them to say, ‘Okay, we’ll roll our sleeves up’.
“Everton started the game well, let’s have it right, Everton started the game the better team.
“But what we witnessed as soon as Crystal Palace took the lead, you just knew, you could see the confidence drain out of the team.
“Not: ‘We’re going to stay in the game’. I mean the defending was a joke. You can’t win games if you’re defending like that.
“And it could have been more. If I’m honest it could have been more.
“I know it’s the same outcome whether you lose 1-0 or you lose 4-0, but confidence-wise, and staying in games, and being professional, no wonder Frank Lampard’s upset and questioning the players.
“Because, as he said, there’s only so much you can say.
“Action is needed. Don’t tell me, show me.”
Now out of the cup and with just the relegation fight in the league left, the players are going to have to develop some more fortitude fast.
Conceding a goal should not mean the game is over because more are guaranteed to follow, otherwise this team will fall out of the Premier League.
Winning points from losing positions is going to be important if they continue to defend the way they have done too often, but lately it seems like the team can only hold it together occasionally, if they have something to hold on to.
In other Everton News, a BBC investigation puts Farhad Moshiri in the middle of a dispute over sanctioned property of Alisher Usmanov.
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