Everton fans have been left bewildered by Frank Lampard's decision to substitute Nathan Patterson off in their FA Cup tie with Boreham Wood.
Patterson was handed his debut for the fifth round clash and impressed many with his first-half showing.
The Scotland defender, who joined from Rangers in January, gave good account of himself down the Everton right but his side were unable to break through the non-league team.
Lampard changed it up at half-time with Richarlison coming off the bench in a change of shape.
But the decision to take Patterson off left many furious as one wrote on social media: "I can’t believe he’s brought off Nathan Patterson!! He was having a brilliant game!!"
Another added: "Nathan Patterson coming off?? Yeah, taking off our main attacking outlet from the first half makes complete sense..."
One noted that his future at the club may be in doubt now as they tweeted: "I'd not be surprised to see Nathan Patterson go out on a couple of loans before leaving. Poor kid can't get a fair crack of it! Best player on the pitch @Everton."
While one more believes it was a statement from Lampard to previous manager Rafa Benitez: "Nathan Patterson hooked and all the Everton fans on Twitter are raging. Says a lot. Increasingly just looks like Lampard putting a middle finger to the ex-management team."
