Sorry, Dwight, enough is enough

As Evertonians we can tolerate poor performances. It’s hardly like we could get by if we couldn’t, given the nature of some of the past few seasons’ displays.

To some extent we can tolerate a lack of quality. Again, if the Evertonians couldn’t have tolerated the lack of quality, how could they have survived most of the Premier League era? After all, this is a club that hasn’t won a trophy in almost 31 years.

But when poor performance and a lack of quality are matched by a lack of effort, that’s the straw that breaks the camel’s back.

Against Leeds United on Monday, Dwight McNeil had a performance that should signal his time at Everton is coming to an end.

It’s been a largely drawn-out, drawn-out, miserable experience. But it took a long time. And an exhibition like this should be the final nail in the coffin.

McNeil wasn’t the only poor player against Leeds, especially in a dismal first half. No one in an Everton shirt came close to the standard expected or required.

But the fact that McNeil stands out for how poor he was tells you everything you need to know.

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

Everton made a mess of the summer window when it came to buying a much-needed right winger. Tyler Dibling, at 19, wasn’t the answer in the short or medium term, and Everton tried to run away before they could get in on him. Fortunately, Dibling is a talented candidate with a lot of potential who will hopefully get his chances and end well. But it didn’t fit what was needed now. Moyes and the rest of the transfer committee need to raise their hands – they are wrong.

But that doesn’t mean Dibling has 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 it was reported that then-football director Kevin Thelwell and manager Frank Lampard believed the former Burnley man could potentially operate from the right, cutting in on his stronger left foot and exploiting his long-range shooting ability.

Still, it’s truly baffling how that could even be a thought process if they had actually spent time looking at McNeil earlier in his career. He has one pace, is terribly one-footed and not particularly agile. None of that equates to a wide player who thrives when asked to play an inverted role.

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

Let’s be honest here. McNeil has done his part since his arrival. He played a crucial role in keeping Everton afloat in 2022/23, when he really stepped up when Sean Dyche arrived. He played on the left, but with the freedom to drift inside in a narrower shape.

He maintained these performance levels in 2023/24, again scoring some crucial goals (and some great strikes) as Dyche guided Everton out of harm’s way. And he is clearly a beloved member of the team.

But McNeil hadn’t suddenly become a top-quality operator. He has a great left foot and works hard. That’s essentially what it is.

And as soon as more is asked of him. Once expectations were raised, he failed to meet them.

He was injured when Moyes arrived last January, and by the time he came back into the team, Iliman Ndiaye had (rightly) established himself on the left. McNeil sometimes played as a number 10 under Dyche before his injury, but that disrupted the structure of the entire midfield.

Last season, Everton didn’t have the options, so it was understandable to see McNeil appear on the right when needed. But how did they allow themselves to continue for an entire summer period, and especially a winter period, and still be the case?

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

Offensively he’s lost there, and defensively he’s everywhere. He was disciplined against Aston Villa and did his best to fill a role that Dibling could not play, and that should be credit to McNeil.

But apart from one nice assist against Nottingham Forest at the end of December, McNeil has offered absolutely nothing this season.

He was dragged away several times during halftime, including on Monday. He has been blamed for the opposition coming in past his side, including the Leeds goal, as he failed to track James Justin and then made a half-hearted attempt to get back.

McNeil can only get into this team because of his Premier League experience (Moyes’ favorite crutch to lean on) and his perceived work rate.

But how much evidence to the contrary does it take for Moyes and Everton to finally take action?

McNeil won’t be here after the summer, and there’s a good argument for saying he shouldn’t be here now. Far too often, Everton opts for the ‘safety first’ route, rather than making a quick decision on players who are no longer good enough.

McNeil could and should have been moved last summer and replaced with a winger with real pace and a bit of know-how. Everton could still have signed Tyler Dibling, but at least he would have had time to develop. It’s not his fault he doesn’t require the profile of Everton winger.

A move would also suit McNeil. Everyone involved needs a fresh start. But Everton are terrified of cutting the cord, and as surely as night follows day, expect him to return to the right wing and underperform again as the season progresses.

Enough is enough. Please let’s move on.

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