Sean Dyche loyalty to Ashley Young has proven costly for Everton, he must be binned v Newcastle United
Loyalty to experience has always been the name of the game for Sean Dyche at Everton but his devotion to Ashley Young could yet cost him against Newcastle on Thursday (7 December).
Dwight McNeil’s clinical strike gave Everton their first win since their 10 Premier League points deduction as they hung on to beat Nottingham Forest helping them move off the bottom of the table to 18th.
The Toffees have enjoyed some brilliant results sandwiched in between the points deduction, currently on a run of five wins from their eight games in all competitions [SofaScore].
After Luton’s dramatic defeat to Arsenal on Tuesday (5 December), Everton have the chance to move out of the relegation zone should they triumph over Newcastle United at Goodison Park.
However, their home form has proven quite a stickler for the Blues this season and in order to correct that against a rampant Magpies, fresh off their impressive win over Manchester United, Dyche may need to shake things up.
One of those changes should see Young binned for Thursday’s game and replaced with the youthful exuberance of Nathan Patterson as the intensity and class the Magpies possess could well be too much for the Everton veteran.
The 38-year-old former Aston Villa and Manchester United defender enjoyed a fruitful game against Forest winning six of his nine duels both in the air and on the ground and wasn’t dribbled past once in the clash (SofaScore), but has shown already this season that he struggles to deal with quick direct wingers.
Up against Luis Diaz of Liverpool, Karou Mitoma at Brighton and Alejandro Garnacho at Manchester United in recent weeks, the Everton full-back was completely torn apart. He only won four of his duels in those three encounters and was dribbled past a worrying five times. [SofaScore]
In fact, Young has only managed to tackle an average of 45.8 per cent of wingers per game, a figure which places him in the bottom 20 per cent when compared to all Premier League fullbacks [Fbref].
On Thursday, Everton face the threat of their former employer Anthony Gordon who is enjoying a thrilling campaign at his new club, so far scoring six goals and registering three assists in 13 games, and such form will certainly leave Dyche wincing.
It may be time for the Toffees boss to end his stubbornness on Ashley Young and axe him for Nathan Patterson whose pace, aggression and energy could prove incredibly useful up against former Goodison Park fan favourite Gordon.
It’s time the Everton youngster is handed the opportunity to prove he’s the future of the club. As shown in Young, experience isn’t always the name of the game.
In other Everton news, a Sky Sports pundit was amazed by something he saw after the Toffees’ win at Nottingham Forest.