Jaissle Fumes After More Early Xmas Gifts

In his after match presser Matthias Jaissle was not a happy chappy after watching his side bring more early Xmas gifts to the Hill Dickinson Stadium just as they did at Leeds and Coventry - 11 goals in three games as the Newcastle defence was unwrapped.

Our manager's frustration and yes, anger, was clear and shared by the 8,000 fans who made the journey to Merseyside and the 10's of 1000's watching in the pubs and at home.

Like many I was just thinking early in the game how much better our shape was, how compact we were when defending, how we were dominating possession, winning second balls and threatening to score.

This looked like a team who had listened and put into practice hard work done on the training pitch, and then...

Dedic tried to shield the ball, got hassled, and the ball broke kindly to an unmarked Garner who, totally against the run of play, planted it straight past Hornicek.

The gifts keep coming from this Newcastle defence and the Toon's Xmas sack wasn't empty yet as two more defensive jingles allowed Everton to go 3-0 up - a score-line that would have looked impossible to someone just looking at the game stats.

But, stats don't win games.

Scoring goals and not conceding, or at least conceding fewer goals than the oppo score, is what will bring the turkey to the Toon table - instead we are the turkey's fluffing chances and being carved up defensively.

My view after the Palace win was that it was against a very poor team and, whilst gratefully accepted, in no way indicated that any major step forward had been made.

And so it proved last night; we continue to ship goals faster than the Titanic took on water and, like that tragic night in 1912, it ended in our hopes being sunk under waves of frustration, despair and no short measure of anger.

There were signs of a lifeboat

As I said earlier, stats don't win matches, but at least we didn't get basted like a well roasted turkey as we did at Leeds and Coventry.

During and after the match even the media were left scratching their heads how, after we dominated in so many areas of game play, we walked off the pitch with the score 3-1 to Everton.

Once that despair and anger settles and the mist clears this morning, some fans may be able to see that there were definitely signs last night of improvements in our play.

Positionally, both in attack and defence, we looked far more organised and for the first time we saw a consistent press and a real desire to close down and win second balls.

There was an aggression running through the side that has been totally absent so far this season; we looked like a fairly well drilled team instead of eleven players who had been thrown together and told to go kick a ball.

Even when we went 1-0, 2-0 and 3-0 down that didn't change and whilst we had our pants pulled down after defensive mistakes, no heads dropped and we battled until the end with Burn scoring almost at the final whistle.

Having said that; my bet is that a few heads were down back in the dressing room after getting a lacing from Jaissle who was still red in the face and simmering underneath in his after match presser.

We aren't used to a manager steaming into his team after a match, it wasn't Eddie's style, but I for one didn't mind the honest and brutal assessment that MJ gave as to why we lost the match.

Jaissle and his coaching team can give as many directions as they see fit in training but once out on the pitch the responsibility passes to the players.

He called it "shocking" in his presser, and dead right he was too.

His 'they know what to do' in defensive positions and his ire that not doing it led to not one, but all three, goals will lead to strong words for sure before Monday's rematch.

I saw signs of a lifeboat last night.

But will it come and rescue the Toon before we sink further?

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