Jermaine Beckford states the obvious for Barry and Beto | OneFootball

Some remarkable insight and wisdom from Jermaine Beckford, who briefly spent time as an Everton striker for one season after he gained prominence when he scored a goal against Man Utd to give Leeds Utd (then in League One) an unlikely if massive FA Cup 3rd Round upset victory at Old Trafford 16 years ago.

The very next day, the moody striker, who had scored 20 goals in the season up to that point, would be looking to capitalize on his new-found stardom, putting in a transfer request to cement his desire for a move to the Premier League... with Everton apparently the would-be recipients of his debatable talents.

At that point, the Leeds fans, who had been lauding him, turned on him 180°. But that didn't stop him doubling up in the next round of the FA Cup, at White Hart Lane, where he scored two to win the Lilywhites a replay against Spurs.

Beckford's deteriorating relationship with Leeds following the transfer request — and free advice from their Chairman, Ken Bates, about not joining a "two-bob" club like Everton — finally saw them cancel his contract a month early, at the end of May 2010, clearing the way for his move to Everton on a free transfer.

The 42-year-old, who was speaking to the Liverpool Echo via Gambling.com, shared the benefit of his experience and knowledge as a Premier League striker analyzing the contribution of Everton's enigmatic striking pair, Thierno Barry and Norberto Betuncal:

“I think the striker position is probably the area that needs improving the most at Everton. There’s no doubting that both of the boys are putting in shifts, but I think it’s clear to see with the overall quality in the final third, that the finishing is not quite there.

“I’ve been impressed with both of them in recent times, because they’re not allowing the outside noise to get to them too much. They’re still getting on the scoresheet, but I just want a bit more from them.

“That’s just me being a centre-forward. I obviously watch another of my old teams Leeds United a lot and they’ve got the former Toffee Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Lukas Nmecha and physicality-wise, all four of them are very similar, they all run channels and are reasonably quick with a turn of pace.

“The difference between the Leeds pair and what Thierno Barry and Beto are doing at Everton, is the finishing position. When they’ve been involved in the build-up play and move the ball out wide, then what do they do?

“The two boys at Leeds, they’re bombing straight for the box. You look at the two boys at the Toffees, they’re ‘yeah, maybe, we might get there a little bit, sometimes but not all the time.’

“As a centre-forward, whenever I’ve set the ball off into a channel, I’m thinking that I need to score from my next opportunity. Where’s the best position for me to end up having the best chance of getting a shot on goal?

“It’s going straight through the middle, it’s going to be in the 18-yard box, it’s going to be drop the shoulder and get away from the defender. You try and push the defender away or get a run on him or try to get up above him and win the header.

“Those boys aren’t doing that often enough. If you give them five chances, maybe one, maybe two they’ll be in the area that you’d say: ‘that’s not so bad.’

“I just want them to be a little bit more ruthless in the final third. I do think it’s an area that they can improve on though, they just have to be open to learning and listening.

“They’ve got some great coaches at Everton. You look at Leighton Baines, he knows how to defend and he’s been up against some of the best centre-forwards in the UK.

“He’ll be talking to them on a daily basis, saying: ‘I remember when I played against so-and-so and this is the movement he did – I think you could do something along those lines too.’ It’s not just about how the message is put forwards, it’s how it’s received.

“I hope that they’re receiving the message in a positive way and that they’re replying with: ‘Yes, I believe in you, coach, I’m going to incorporate that into the next game.’”

It was abundantly clear to anyone watching him play in that one season at Everton that, despite his nose for goals, Jermaine Beckford was a long way from being a Premier League footballer.  With that thought uppermost and a dream bid of £4.5M from Leicester City on transfer window deadline day in August 2011, Everton decided to cash in and Beckford stepped back down to the more suited environment of the Championship.