The Beto Conundrum
Everton’s forward line is under fresh scrutiny after Brentford owner Matthew Benham highlighted a game in which beto missed three one-on-ones, and former Everton striker Jermaine Beckford urged greater ruthlessness from the club’s striking pair.
Why Beto’s Missed Chances Still Loom Large
Benham singled out a midweek match at Brentford when he said Beto missed three one-on-one opportunities. At that stage, Beto had been in strong form, having scored five goals in four league appearances while David Moyes managed the side with another forward absent through injury. Benham noted that those chances represented 0. 76 expected goals and argued that, despite the misses, the positions Beto created were valuable — saying a data model would typically upgrade a player who makes several one-on-ones in a single game. He also pointed to the roughly even odds for a one-on-one chance, framing the issue as a mix of finishing and opportunity creation.
Beckford: Copy Calvert-Lewin, Be More Ruthless
Jermaine Beckford urged Everton’s centre-forwards to emulate the finishing instincts of another former Everton striker, Dominic Calvert-Lewin. Beckford said the striker position is the area that needs the most improvement and praised the work rate of both players while stressing that finishing remains the ultimate measure of a centre-forward.
Beckford contrasted the movement and finishing of Calvert-Lewin and his Leeds United strike partner with Everton’s current pair, saying the Leeds forwards tend to ‘bomb straight for the box’ while Everton’s players do not consistently get into the best scoring positions. The former striker called for more ruthlessness in the final third and urged the Everton forwards to be open to learning and listening to coaching input.
The point on outputs is stark: this season, Thierno Barry and Beto have contributed six and five goals respectively, while Calvert-Lewin — who netted 71 goals for Everton in total, including 57 in the Premier League and sits third on the club’s all-time Premier League scoring list behind two earlier strikers — has shown a higher finishing return at his new club, where he has already reached double figures in the campaign referenced.
What This Means For Everton’s Forward Line
The debate underscores a recurring Everton issue highlighted by commentators in recent pieces: the club has not produced a prolific, world-class striker since the days of Romelu Lukaku. Names from the club’s past and present appear in the discussion to illustrate the difficulty of replacing top scorers, and the current focus is on converting promising positions into goals.
For now, the combined perspective of a data-focused owner and a former striker converges on two practical demands: maintain the ability to create high-value chances and increase composure in front of goal. Benham’s analytics-driven view values the creation of one-on-one chances even when finishing falters, while Beckford’s striker-eye emphasizes finishing positioning and ruthlessness. Everton’s forward options will be judged on whether they can close that gap between opportunity and execution as the season progresses.
