Where would Everton be without Dwight McNeil this season? At the nadir of Sean Dyche’s tenure, most likely – if they aren’t already.
It’s been doom, gloom and no room for positivity at Goodison Park this season, although The Friedkin Group are on the cusp of purchasing Farhad Moshiri’s majority stake and the aforementioned McNeil played his defining part in winning for the first time in 2024/25.
Loss, loss, loss, loss, draw. Win? Win. It happened, and the rot has been stopped. The grotty flow stemmed. Everton have been a day late and a dollar short throughout the first phase of the season but now they have claimed victory and risen above the dreaded dotted line, with four points from six Premier League matches.
McNeil has been excellent, prolific, potent and influential. Without him, Dyche might be toast already.
Dwight McNeil is keeping Dyche in a job
He’s the flavour of the month (McNeil, not Dyche), with his brilliant brace against Crystal Palace last weekend indeed giving Everton their first league victory of the season. Previously, he’d scored and assisted against Aston Villa, putting his team 2-0 up, and had also claimed an assist against Everton, before the shocking capitulation.
Premier League
6
3
2
Carabao Cup
1
1
0
He’s already equalled his three-goal return in the top flight last season, having played 29 fewer games. Dyche, the man who cut his teeth while a youngster at Burnley, is now reaping the rewards of nurturing his protege at a different club.
There’s something poetic about that, to be sure. Without his contributions, Everton may well have lost all six matches without any inspiration at all. As per Sofascore, the winger turned number ten has complemented his direct return with 3.5 key passes, 4.2 ball recoveries and an average of one tackle per game, underscoring his completeness.
There’s a technical quality in there that’s reserved for the very best of English football, and though he doesn’t always harness it in the most prolific of ways, the 24-year-old is starting to come out of his shell, spread his wings and step up like a talisman.
Now let’s talk about how to make him even better. It involves Dyche’s dismissal.
Who could replace Sean Dyche at Everton?
Links have been tenuous and that’s understandable. Dyche has the Merseysiders’ backing so active rumours are going to stem from hearsay and snippets of information. But there are some pointers.
Last month, before Everton scored their opening win of the campaign, Football Insider reported that Graham Potter would be interested in taking on the Blues’ manager position, should it become available.
Linked with the England job after Gareth Southgate stepped down, Potter is an experienced Premier League manager who worked wonders at Brighton & Hove Albion, though did fail to succeed during his eight-month stint at Chelsea.
The 49-year-old implements a smooth and complex-designed system, with interchanging parts and convoluted passing passages. When it works, though, it works a treat.
Potter would be a good choice – he’s Prem-proven and enforces a possession-heavy approach. But the transmutation might be too much of a shift, a diametrically opposite plan for the players to absorb while looking to stave off the ever-looming threat of relegation.
The appointment of West Bromwich Albion’s Carlos Corberan might be more apt.
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Carlos Corberan would make McNeil even more unplayable
Will Dyche see out his second full campaign as Toffees boss? Right now, it looks unlikely. Everton chiefs have expressed their full backing of Dyche and his direct and defensive approach, but this endorsement might only prove to be a stay of execution, with sections of the fanbase turning against him.
Everton, should they dismiss Dyche, would be wise to turn the tactical style on its head and appoint a manager with a more fluid and expressive approach, and Corberan might be the perfect option.
According to The Times, Everton wanted to approach former Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa after Frank Lampard’s sacking and Dyche’s appointment, but, obviously, it didn’t work out. Corberan served as Bielsa’s understudy at the time and has since shaped his own style, but it would clearly strike a chord at Goodison.
McNeil would rise to a level yet unseen with the Spanish tactician at the helm, for he is already demonstrating immense creative capacities within a system that does not promote playmaking to the nth degree.
Corberan has been described as a tactical “genius” by former Leeds star Romario Vieira. The 41-year-old has thus incorporated elements of Bielsa’s style into his own game, and it’s working a treat for West Brom, who perch atop the Championship table after seven matches.
Principally issuing a 4-2-3-1 formation, McNeil would find that he has a natural place in the side, playing behind striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin and allowing the electric Iliman Ndiaye to occupy the left flank. There’s something there, we’ve all seen it in flashes, but it needs gripping and harnessing and shaping into something coherent. A manager of Corberan’s ilk could have the means to achieve that.
With a confident and aggressive strategy that breeds exciting and attractive play, West Brom are flying, but the temptation of joining Everton and heading a new project could convince him to jump ship.
Sky Sports commentator Dom Goodman has remarked that the Baggies are “horrible to play against” due to Corberan’s strategy, and now this must be brought over to Everton, releasing the Toffees from the shackles of recent years and lifting them back to lofty heights.
For now, Dyche continues to lead from the dugout, but he needs to do something drastic to turn the tide completely. It might be better for Everton to just bite the bullet and move for Corberan, who can lead them forward after years of strife.
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