Matthias Jaissle talked about the need to “analyse” Newcastle United’s performance against Everton after Monday night’s defeat at St James’ Park.
For the second time in five days, his team had lost to David Moyes’ side, with Thierno Barry scoring the only goal of the game following an error from Lukas Hornicek.
It was a deserved win for Everton, who were better with and without the ball. My report for The Guardian noted the reaction of fans at the end of the Premier League game.
Newcastle did not have a shot on target until the 86th minute, and a “frustrated and disappointed” Jaissle was honest in his post-match comments, admitting that the team had not followed his plan.
“We were not brave enough to break the line, and play on the ground,” he said. “We saw it in training, but there was almost nothing to see from these aspects in the game. In possession, this was not the level we wanted to see.
“If you just play long balls, it’s not the style [William] Osula prefers, and that was not the plan.
“We need to analyse this in depth, why we could not start the game how we planned. I’m responsible for that, to make it work.
“We have a clear identity of how we want to play. To bring the opposition in stressful situations high in the pitch. We spoke about creating one-on-one situations. The plan was not to shoot the long balls.”
Jaissle is now working on a plan for Fulham on Saturday, so will there be any changes at Craven Cottage?
United fans, of course, have also been analysing the game, and one change many would make would be to start Sean Steur, arguably the summer signing who has impressed most so far.