It's a great time for Tyler Dibling to deliver

(Photo by Matt McNulty/Getty Images)

Tyler Dibling’s first season at Everton did not go according to plan.

The club — and David Moyes — can dress it up however they want; so far, this signing is a massive black mark against everyone involved.

Year one — summer one — of a major squad rebuild, and Everton’s biggest signing, costing a reported £35M, hardly featured.

That raises significant questions not only over the player, and the manager, but also the entire recruitment approach last summer. Everton spent around £120M. How can a player who cost over a quarter of that entire total, feature so little?

Let’s look at the numbers.

Dibling played in just 17 games across all competitions, and made only 6 starts. He featured for 513 minutes, and his final appearance of the season came back in March, when he made a brief cameo from the bench in a 2-0 win over Burnley.

He did not score, did not assist and created only five chances. 

Now, I am not laying the blame at Dibling’s door by any means. Some of Moyes’ decisions when it came to handling the 20-year-old were baffling.

Why Dibling saw so little game time from January onwards is a mystery to me — he needs those minutes to develop, he has to have a chance to show what he can do.

Yet, it is also difficult to suggest that Dibling has impressed at all in an Everton shirt, even when given those flashes.

Dibling is an excellent dribbler and is proficient at keeping possession, but where was the drive we saw from him when he first broke onto the scene at Southampton? That want to take on a man and create space and go at goal.

For all Moyes’ faults, I don’t believe he is asking Dibling not to be direct. In fact, from Moyes’ public comments, it seems as if that’s exactly what he wants to see more of from Dibling.

Perhaps Dibling was too scared of the repercussions to try and take risks? It’s a fair point, especially given Moyes seemed to cut Dibling so little slack, yet he would be happy to turn time and time again to Dwight McNeil, or to flog an underperforming Iliman Ndiaye.

However, Moyes was willing to turn to Tyrique George, who continued to take risks, who continued to drive at opponents and wasn’t content in just playing it safe. Too often, Dibling has been.

This pre-season, then, presents a clean slate. A chance for Dibling to really show what he can do. He is settled in and by all accounts, starting to come out of his shell.

He started in Everton’s first friendly, which was essentially just a run-out at the end of a tough camp in Scotland. Dibling has come under some criticism for a somewhat lackadaisical performance, but fans who are critiquing anyone this early in pre-season should take a step back.

I can’t say, though, that it didn’t worry me somewhat. Dibling will get sharper, but I do hope he really understands the reality of the situation.

This transfer has to work out, and he has to play his part. So does the manager, and so do the club, but this pre-season is a fantastic opportunity for Dibling to truly stake his claim.

As it stands, he is the only natural right winger Everton have on their books. 

McNeil is better off the left, but his future lies elsewhere. Jack Grealish is not an Everton player yet. Ndiaye won’t return from his post World Cup break until the end of July, and George has always been used mainly off the left flank. 

This is Dibling’s time to shine.

It doesn’t mean he has to be absolutely brilliant, or rampaging everywhere around the pitch, but he must show the desire to take risks, to be direct, to use his skill and turn of pace for more than just retaining possession. He has the quality.

If he does that, then it’s all on Moyes, then — put the onus on the manager, Tyler.

Read more - One month out - Everton's transfer clock is ticking

Reader Comments (3)

Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer ()

How to get rid of these ads and support TW