Paul Merson tears ‘lazy’ Dwight McNeil to shreds as Sky Sports News air Everton footage
Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson has slammed Everton winger Dwight McNeil for his “lazy” play during the 2-0 loss to Aston Villa at Goodison Park last week.
The Toffees have looked uninspired in the attacking third under Sean Dyche in recent weeks, having failed to score in their last two Premier League outings, and with the only two goals since the new manager’s arrival coming from James Tarkowski and Seamus Coleman.
Speaking live on Sky Sports Soccer Saturday (Saturday 4 March, 1:22pm), Merson tore McNeil’s performance against Villa to shreds and admitted the winger’s insistence on playing cross after cross into the box was a sign of a lazy player.
Reacting to footage of McNeil playing crosses into the box, Merson said: “There, with McNeil, they’re a token gesture.
“You’ve been told to cross the ball, ‘so I’m just going to cross the ball whatever happens’. Have a bit more about you to come back out. It was like, ‘right, the manager’s told me I’ve got to get 10 crosses in before the the 50th minute’, and he’s just putting balls in.
“I find that lazy, if I’m being honest. It’s lazy.”
Aimless
Although Dyche had lots of success with the bang-it-up to the target-man tactic at Burnley, he simply doesn’t have the correct personnel at Goodison Park to be doing this. With Dominic Calvert-Lewin out injured, the only centre-forwards that Dyche has are Ellis Simms and Neal Maupay – both of whom aren’t renowned for their aerial prowess.
Why McNeil insisted on whipping in countless balls into the box against both Aston Villa and Arsenal is mind-boggling, especially considering Tyrone Mings is one of the strongest headers of a football in the Premier League.
Going forward, Everton need to find some continuity in their attacking play and mix it up a little bit. Right now, everything is far too predictable and easy to defend against.
It is a tough ask due to the lack of attacking talent at his disposal, but Dyche needs to tinker with his tactics in the final third.