Michael Kenrick 27/04/2025 10comments  |  Jump to last

 

Dwight McNeil has been talking about yesterday's game against Chelsea, the chance he had to score after he came on as a substitute, and the 'new role' David Moyes had him playing as an inverted winger.

“I haven’t seen it back, but I think at the time I didn’t see it until late. For me it was a bit of an awkward height to generate the power that I wanted.

“But they are the chances that we need to create more, especially against a team like this, and be more ruthless in front of goal.

“We knew before the game it's always difficult to come into places like this. I think it was just that one mistake.

“Against teams like this, that's all it takes, and we got punished for it. But yeah, we were better in the second half, but we’ve got to create more chances.”

“We’ve had that problem the last couple of years. We don't create chances, but when we do we’re not as ruthless in front of goal. The goal that they scored today was one chance from our mistake and they scored.

“It’s a new position for me but I just want to be on the pitch as much as I can to try and help the team.

“I definitely feel like I’m getting back to that fitness that I want to get to every day in training, which is helping. Now I’m just waiting for my chance to try and help the team.”

“It was my first serious injury and it was really difficult to not be involved, especially when I was doing well, playing inside, before I got injured, contributing goals and assists. Now I just want to get my fitness up and try and have a chance to get back on the team.

“It’s been a tough season. But before getting injured I think I was playing well, playing inside where I want to play and impacting games.

“Like I say, you’re with the lads but you're actually not a part of it. You only see them after training. Meg (his partner) and my family have supported me really well through this difficult time.”

“The gaffer is the main one who drives it. He’s already looking ahead to next season, trying to improve the team. He doesn't want to be where we've been in the last few seasons, he wants to be looking up.

“So that’s starting to rub off on us. We want to try and implement it in the last four games of this season and carry it on to next season.”

 

Reader Comments (10)

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Les Callan
1 Posted 27/04/2025 at 16:49:43
What on earth is an inverted winger?

Does he stand on his head?

Kevin Naylor
2 Posted 27/04/2025 at 17:12:03
Posh term for being played out of position.
Jim Bennings
4 Posted 27/04/2025 at 17:21:29
I like Dwight McNeil but I still think he's too slow and far too one-footed to really propel himself to another level.

I put him in the same kind of bracket as the likes of Mykolenko, Garner, Doucoure, and Harrison really.

All players that have some use in terms of work ethic but very limited and we are probably the biggest club they'll ever play for.

Kevin Naylor
5 Posted 27/04/2025 at 17:33:01
He has ability – bit like the majority of our midfield front line.

But he doesn't create or score enough to be anything more than average.

Martin Farrington
6 Posted 27/04/2025 at 17:45:33
I have commented on a previous thread about the state of our team, squad and massive massive problems that we face next season.

Between 10 - 15 players will go. Most having zero effect on the footballing ability of our club, other than a physical presence of making up numbers in the squad and bodies on the pitch.

How we got here is obvious, but no longer matters.
New ownership. New board. New investment. New stadium. New optimism.

But a juxtaposed reality. Due to regulations, we cannot resolve this terrible situation in a positive manner.

For me, Dwight McNeil is a squad player at best. Occasional starts perhaps. Not much more. However, due to our dire situation, he is going to be a guaranteed name on the sheet for next season and probably the season after.

Peter Hodgson
7 Posted 27/04/2025 at 17:49:00
Is this the sort of reason Jason Kidd has been brought on board? Can his experience help the Manager and the Team get more focussed on attacking and creating more opportunities?

If so, we have needed this sort of input and improvement for years.

Mihir Ambardekar
8 Posted 27/04/2025 at 18:43:32
McNeil is one of the better players we have. Much much better when compared to Doucoure, Harrison and Mykolenko in terms of ability, creativity and scoring despite slow speed.

Next season, he should be competing with Alcaraz for the playmaker role. We should have 2 faster wingers capable of playing on both sides.

Andrew James
9 Posted 27/04/2025 at 19:46:39
I'd always interpreted 'inverted winger' as being similar to the old inside left and right. It's a good position for Number 10s to play in and overload the opposition.

It interests me that Moyes uses it but I suppose he did employ similar with Baines and Pienaar.

Several of our players, like Alcaraz, Ndiaye, Lindstrom and McNeil, can play it, so I would expect to see more of this next season.

Andrew Merrick
10 Posted 27/04/2025 at 21:11:19
On other news...
An Everton mate shared an X post with me a while ago about a fan who bought a few thousand blue flares and re-labelled them as red, and sold them on some of them went off today, patience is a wonderful rewarding thing sometimes...
Jerome Shields
11 Posted 27/04/2025 at 23:16:54
What this means is that rather than overlap he is coming inside. It means that Moyes is applying a low block tactic, similar to Dyche.Ir also means that Nidaye is doing the same on the other wing. This is a 4-4-2 formation and is a negative defensive formation.

Moyes has morphed into Dyche.

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