Sean Dyche must roll the Everton dice and start Demarai Gray after ‘awful’ Arsenal loss
Sean Dyche must roll the Everton dice and chuck Demarai Gray up top against Nottingham Forest after the club’s “awful” 4-0 loss to Arsenal on 1 March.
Before Dyche’s arrival at Goodison Park, Gray was the shining light in an otherwise dull Frank Lampard setup and it’s bizarre he hasn’t been given the chance to continue this rich vein of form.
Liverpool Echo Journalist Joe Thomas described the second-half performance as “awful” against the Gunners and the Blues Plan A of firepower up top with Neal Maupay was none existent yet again.
“Plan A still relies on finding a goal from a relatively unlikely source and, put simply, there is no Plan B. This side can protect a lead but not chase a game. And that second half was awful,” said Thomas on Twitter after the game. (2 March, 12:10 AM)
So why not let Gray lead the line against Forest instead of Maupay? He is Everton’s joint-leading goalscorer this season with three Premier League goals and is an absolute nuisance for defences.
Criminal.
There are a few ways how Dyche could make things better for Everton and incorporating Gray into his starting XI has to be top of the list.
Gray looked dangerous as soon as he came on in the Arsenal game, something Evertonians have gotten used to this season from the Englishman.
The 26-year-old has been the only Blues player with any clue of where the goal is this campaign and it’s bizarre to keep leaving him out of the team.
Especially with forward projects like Ellis Simms and Maupay clearly not paying dividends for Dyche, it’s time to roll the dice on plan B and Gray.
It’s criminal to think that Gray had only played 49 minutes out of a possible 405 for Dyche before the Arsenal game, a frantic fixture that was perfect for him.
Sacrificing the defensive side of the game may have to be done for Gray to come into this Dyche fold, but with goals massively needed it’s a decision that must be considered.