Pundit slams ‘erratic’ Jack Harrison after ‘passive’ Everton display v Tottenham
Everton attacker Jack Harrison has been slammed by Michael Ball for his performance in the Toffees’ draw with Tottenham, with the BBC Sport pundit labelling him “erratic”.
Sean Dyche’s side drew 2-2 with Spurs at Goodison Park on Saturday (3 December) with Harrison’s first half strike and a late equaliser from Jarrad Branthwaite cancelling out Richarlison’s brace for the visitors.
Harrison’s performance was far from perfect as he struggled to influence proceedings, outside of his goal, which he knew little about, and Ball has criticised the Leeds loanee for his “passive” display.
Writing for the Liverpool Echo on Monday (5 February) he said: “Harrison is always checking his shoulder, trying to find where the opposition are trying to pass to. That’s fine when everybody is set up but when it’s so erratic, you’ve got to fully commit.
“His work ethic is fantastic and he looks busy but he’s not effective enough and he’s wasting too much energy by being too deep and too passive. In those moments in which you want him to be sharp and put the pressure on, he doesn’t always get there.
“Jack’s work-rate is great and I’m sure he’ll be a stats man’s favourite in the analysis room because he probably runs more than anybody but is he effective enough on the ball?
“As for Everton’s first goal, it looked like Jack Harrison was a little bit embarrassed by it.”
‘Erratic’ Harrison could spark Everton relegation fears
Ball’s suggestion that Harrison would have been embarrassed by his goal on Saturday seems a bit harsh, as the Everton winger made a point out of admitting he knew very little about the strike, laughing with Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
However, his suggestion that the Leeds loanee needs to do more to influence games both in and out of possession is incredibly fair and something most supporters would like to see Harrison work on for the remainder of the campaign.
The 27-year-old was dispossessed twice and failed to find a teammate with any of his four attempted crosses in the game as he repeatedly surrendered possession. He wasn’t the only player guilty of this as both Ashley Young and Dwight McNeil repeatedly overhit crosses.
But if Everton want to avoid relegation this season, they need their best and most creative players to be firing on all cylinders. Harrison is one of those starts and he needs to up his game to help Dyche’s side get over the line.
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