Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker react as Everton controversy broadcasted on Match of the Day v Bournemouth
Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker believe Everton players were in a “no-win situation” at the end of their 3-0 defeat at Bournemouth on Saturday.
After the game at the Vitality Stadium ended, there was a slight altercation between fans and players with TV cameras focusing mainly on Seamus Coleman, Jordan Pickford and James Tarkowski.
It’s unclear exactly what happened but Shearer can understand why the fans were so upset even though the players had the decency to go over to them at full-time.
Speaking on Match of the Day on BBC One on Saturday night (12 November, 1h12m53s), Lineker said: “There were some angry scenes at the end of the game with the Everton players going to their fans.
“The Everton fans not very happy at all.
“At one point, a shirt is thrown onto the pitch. I don’t think it’s a shirt given to them by one of the players but it’s a worry for them, isn’t it?”
Shearer replied: “Yeah, you’ve got to accept that as bad as they were today, you’re in a no-win situation there.
“You’ve got to say, ‘ok, we were that bad, we have to go and thank the fans for travelling and putting in another poor performance’.
“If you don’t go over you get criticised anyway.
“You’ve just got to accept it when you play that badly, unfortunately.”
Lineker said: “Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.”
Anger
Everton fans are furious and you can understand why.
Frank Lampard only just kept us up last season and since then, he’s spent a lot of money on trying to revamp the squad after losing Richarlison to Tottenham for £60million.
However, some of our signings have been a massive letdown since arriving in the summer while some of the more senior players – or those who we thought we could rely on – have underperformed.
Pickford and Anthony Gordon are two players who’ve declined this season despite being instrumental in our survival last term.
And while we can point the finger at the players, Lampard needs to be blamed too.
He set us up for a week of misery with that team selection in the Carabao Cup game at Bournemouth earlier this week.
Yes, he reverted back to a stronger side for the Premier League clash on Saturday but the damage had already been done in terms of the team’s confidence and it just added to Bournemouth’s momentum.
He’s got a lot to answer for but so do the players.