Michael Ball has not held back after Everton went out of the FA Cup at the hands of Sunderland on Saturday.
David Moyes’ side lost on penalties at the Hill Dickinson Stadium to cap off a poor week for the club.
Adam Aznou had come off the bench to win Everton a late penalty in normal time, which James Garner converted.
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Fans hailed Aznou for his impact, but sadly the Toffees could not go on to win the tie.
And the reason for that was a poor showing in the shootout, with Everton missing all three of their spot-kicks.
Garner, Thierno Barry and Beto were the guilty parties – and the strikers have come in for criticism from former Everton defender Michael Ball.
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Thierno Barry and Beto accused of ‘arrogance’ vs Sunderland
Barry and Beto have certainly drawn their fair share of criticism this season.
So far, it’s just five Premier League goals between them, and plenty feel that Everton need a new centre-forward if the club are to genuinely contend for European football.
Barry is still adapting following his summer move from Villarreal. But Beto has been here a few years now, and there is concern for many that he just isn’t good enough, for as much as he works hard.
Against Sunderland though, both players were slammed for their efforts in the shootout – and Michael Ball believes they actually showed arrogance with how they took their penalties.
He said in his Liverpool Echo column: “Sunderland’s players walked up at a pace. They grabbed the ball, went up to the spot, placed it down and knew exactly what they were going to do.
“They followed that up with strong run-ups and strong strikes. When I looked at our group, we seemed to amble up like we didn’t want to take them.
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“Credit to James Garner, he stepped up in the last minute, under pressure and put his penalty away in normal time but unfortunately the keeper guessed right when he went the other way in the shoot-out. But I didn’t like the attitude from Thierno Barry or Beto, it felt like arrogance to me.
“Why leave the door open for the goalkeeper? He doesn’t want you running up quickly as he won’t be able to guess where you’re going to put it.
“If you walk, stop, stutter, you’re giving that goalie the opportunity to get into your head and change your mind.”
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Everton penalties were abysmal
The stutter run-up for penalties seems to be increasingly common these days, and they only result in fan fury when they are not successful.
Everton fans remarked after the game that the three penalties against Sunderland were extremely poor. Some even predicted they would miss purely based on their run-ups.
It’s a strong verdict from Ball to suggest that Barry and Beto showed arrogance. But certainly, it wasn’t a good look from either of them as they trotted up to the ball.
Garner’s attempt was also poor, meaning he should not get off completely scot-free.
It will now be a while until Everton are involved in another penalty shootout. But the Toffees could get penalties in the Premier League, and hopefully every time that happens Iliman Ndiaye will be on the pitch to take it.
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