How Everton fans reacted to players at final whistle shows what Frank Lampard needs desperately

A rather worrying pattern is beginning to emerge for Everton. Well, of course, there are already multiple on display - but this is something which has been a common theme under Frank Lampard.

Sunday afternoon's game against Crystal Palace demonstrated it almost perfectly, and the obvious nature of what is to come in these matches is what will frustrate those beleaguered fans in the stands more than anything else.

Everton are actually starting all of their recent matches on the front foot, they're showing the kind of qualities that give supporters that brief bit of hope that maybe this will be different to what has come in the past. But, it just never is.

In the end, this turned into yet another embarrassment in what has been a disgusting season in general for the club. Crystal Palace are a good side, but they're not one of the elite Premier League teams by any stretch. The visitors rightly came into this match with some level of belief that they might be able to upset the odds, which weren't exactly "stacked" against them.

How wrong they were, though. Another meek, feeble and aimless performance for the majority of the match confirmed that Patrick Vieira's side would have the easiest possibly quarter final ahead of a morale-boosting trip to Wembley.

The fact is, one goal is all it takes to beat this current Blues crop. That's not to suggest they're only losing matches by slim margins, it's more attributed to the fact they look completely devoid of fighting their way back from those positions.

That fact is magnified whenever they travel away from Goodison Park. Just as they feed off the emotions of their own fans on Merseyside, they seem to take similar stock in the raucous atmosphere that other stadiums across the