Everton returned to winning ways with a 1-0 victory over Newcastle United.

In a poor first half at Goodison Park, neither side came close to opening the scoring with the lack of quality in the middle of the park telling.

However Sam Allardyce’s side started the second half strongly and a fine ball from Yannick Bolasie picked out Theo Walcott to fire home the hosts’ opener.

Newcastle pushed for an equaliser but failed to find it, consigning Magpies boss Rafael Benitez to his first defeat at the Blues’ home since 2006.

Here were the key talking points from Goodison:

Our survey says…

 

It doesn’t take a genius, or the results of a survey, to know that Evertonians do not want Sam Allardyce at their club for much longer.

With rumours that the Everton board will be meeting this week to discuss his future, the fans provided Farhad Moshiri with a message he could not ignore.

‘Get out of our club’ was emblazoned across the banner unfurled across the Gwladys Street before kick off – a clear message to its intended recipient.

Allardyce lost Everton’s support many months ago and his constant belittling of the club, negative tactics and general attitude have only helped to push them further away.

They have mad their feelings clear, it is time for Moshiri to finally share his.

Win doesn’t paper over the cracks

 

Allardyce will invariably sell this as a positive result for Everton, citing Newcastle’s good form heading into the game.

While three points should not be sniffed at, spinning the game as a positive performance would be revisionism in the extreme even for the ex-England boss.

This was not a good display by any means from the hosts. It was another turgid and lacklustre affair that has become the standard during the Allardyce era.

There are also plenty of statistics to back that up, with one shot on target being just a prime example.

If Moshiri needs reasons to justify changing manager this summer, the ambition-free fare served up by the current incumbent should be his primary one.

Three points do not hide from the fact that this is simply not good enough.

Schneiderlin getting back to his best

 

Like his manager, Morgan Schneiderlin does not enjoy universal approval at Goodison.

His miserable performances coupled with a perceived lack of effort and negative attitude mean his future at Everton is as bleak as Allardyce’s.

Yet there is a player in there somewhere and he showed as much against the Magpies.

Deployed to protect the defence, Schneiderlin did just that with several key interceptions and tackles.

It harked back to the strong showings he produced after joining from Manchester United and a far cry from this season’s poorer efforts.

Of course, one good performance does not make up for a plethora of bad ones but it was a timely reminder that the Frenchman is a better player than he has shown this year.

Clock ticking on Rooney’s starring role

 

While Schneiderlin was impressive in Everton’s midfield, the same cannot be said for Wayne Rooney.

In a season of ups and downs for the 32-year-old, this was a particularly low point.

Rooney has often proved himself far more comfortable against the Premier League’s mid-table sides but this game was not a case in point.

He was a passenger for much of the first half as the game simply passed him by time and time again. Things did not improve in the second period.

On the evidence provided here, Rooney’s time as a starter in Everton’s midfield are numbered.