Sorry, Dwight, Enough is Enough

As Evertonians, we can stomach bad performances. It’s hardly like we’d be able to get by if we were’t able to, given the nature of some of the displays in recent seasons.

We can, to an extent, stomach a lack of quality. Again, if Evertonians hadn’t been able to put up with a lack of quality, then how could they have even got through most of the Premier League era? This is a club, after all, that has not won a trophy in almost 31 years.

But when bad displays and a lack of quality come with a lack of effort, then that is the straw that breaks the camel’s back.

On Monday against Leeds United, Dwight McNeil served up a performance that should signal his time at Everton coming to an end.

It has been a largely prolonged, drawn-out, miserable experience. But it has been a long time coming. And a display like this one should be the final nail in the coffin.

McNeil was not the only poor performer against Leeds, especially in a dismal first half. Nobody in an Everton shirt was close to the standard that is expected or required.

But for McNeil to stand out for how poor he was says everything you need to know.

It was clear from the outset this season that McNeil would no longer have the key player status that he had enjoyed under Sean Dyche. It was also clear, as it has been for years, that Everton are a team severely lacking in pace down the flanks.

Everton made a mess of the summer window when it came to buying a much-needed right winger. Tyler Dibling, at 19, was not the answer in the short or medium term, and Everton tried to run before they could walk in purchasing him. Thankfully, Dibling is a talented, high-potential prospect who hopefully will get his chances down the line and will come good. But he was the wrong fit for what was needed right now. Moyes and the rest of the transfer committee must hold up their hands — they got it wrong.

But that does not mean Dibling should have to wait behind an out-of-position and out-of-form McNeil to play on the right.

There is no way McNeil is a better option, offensively, than Dibling in that role.

McNeil was signed in 2022, and reportedly, then-Director of Football Kevin Thelwell and manager Frank Lampard felt the former Burnley man could potentially operate from the right, cutting in on his stronger left foot and exploiting his long-range shooting ability.

Yet it really is baffling how that could even be a thought process, if they had actually spent time watching McNeil earlier in his career. He is one-paced, terribly one-footed, and not particularly agile. None of that equates to a wide player who thrives when asked to play an inverted role.

So, nearly four years later, how have Everton ended up in a position where McNeil is still being asked to start on the right wing?

Let’s be fair here. McNeil has done his bit since his arrival. He played a crucial role in Everton staying up in 2022-23, as he really stepped up once Sean Dyche arrived, playing out on the left but with the freedom to drift inside in a more narrow shape.

He kept up those performance levels in 2023-24, again scoring some vital goals (and some great strikes) as Dyche steered Everton away from danger. And he is clearly a well-liked member of the squad.

But McNeil had not suddenly become a top-quality operator. He has a great left foot, and works hard. That is, essentially, it.

And as soon as more has been asked of him. As soon as the expectations have been raised, he has failed to deliver.

He was injured when Moyes arrived last January, and by the time he did get back in the team, Iliman Ndiaye had (rightly) established himself on the left. McNeil had been playing as a number 10 at times under Dyche prior to his injury, but that skewed the structure of the whole midfield.

Last season, Everton didn’t have the options, so it was understandable to see McNeil feature on the right when needed. But how have they allowed themselves to go through a whole summer window, and most of a winter one, and still have that be the case?

With Jack Grealish out for the majority of the season, the answer to Everton’s right-sided conundrum cannot be McNeil.

He is lost there in an attacking sense, and defensively, he is all over the place. He was disciplined against Aston Villa, tucking inside to perform a role that Dibling would have been unable to, and that should be to McNeil’s credit.

But bar one neat assist against Nottingham Forest late in December, McNeil has offered absolutely nothing this season.

He has been dragged off at half-time several times, including on Monday. He has been at fault for the opposition getting in down his side, including Leeds’ goal, as he failed to track James Justin and then made a half-hearted attempt to get back.

McNeil can only be getting in this team because of his Premier League experience (Moyes’ favourite crutch to lean on) and supposed work rate.

But how much evidence to the contrary must there be before Moyes and Everton, finally act?

McNeil will not be here beyond the summer, and there is a good argument to say he should not be here now. Everton go with the safety-first route far too often, instead of making a swift decision on players who are no longer good enough.

McNeil could have, and should have, been moved on last summer, and replaced with a winger with genuine pace and a little bit of know-how. Everton could still have signed Tyler Dibling, but he at least would have had time to develop. It is not his fault that he is not the profile of winger Everton required.

A move away would suit McNeil, too. All involved need a fresh start. But Everton are petrified to cut the cord, and as sure as night follows day, you can expect to see him back on the right wing, and back underperforming, as the season goes on.

Enough is enough. Please, let’s move on.

 

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