View: Senior Everton ace may be finished after he let down Dyche on 3rd crucial occasion

Sean Dyche brought in Ashley Young from Aston Villa last summer to provide a dependable veteran presence to his Everton squad at a time when he couldn’t afford to make expensive signings.

But despite being the oldest player in the Toffees first team the former Manchester United star continues to prove himself anything but reliable on crucial occasions.

The 39-year-old was the the elder statesman for the opening game of Goodison Park’s final season vs Brighton at the weekend (17 August), even with James Milner in the Seagulls line-up.

But what started as a purposeful Everton performance with another addition from Villa Tim Ireogbunam at the heart of it eventually fell apart in traditional Toffees fashion after chances were missed, officials delivered some VAR controversy, and discipline was lost on the way to a 3-0 defeat.

It was Young who got himself sent off after 66 minutes with the score at 2-0 to blow away any faint hopes of a comeback, with Jordan Pickford and company clinging on to avoid a huge thrashing when a man down as a result.

Everton without injured Seamus Coleman and Nathan Patterson

The right-back was caught in possession by Kaoru Mitoma when controlling a high ball, then dragged the Japanese forward down as the last man and was duly shown a straight red.

Mistakes can happen to anyone and Young has demonstrated through a career that has seen him win 39 England caps, plus the Premier League, Serie A and the Europa League, that he has plenty of quality.

But Dyche’s Everton are almost always operating up against it, whether on or off the pitch, and the manager needs to know he can rely on players, especially those with as much experience as Young – over 700 senior club appearances.

But the ex-Inter man has now shown on multiple occasions that he can’t be trusted to stay cool at the most important times.

Not only did Dyche need to get off to a quick start this season either way, he would have wanted to harness the fans celebrating the beginning of the end for Goodison, and while there was no shortage of poor performances on the pitch Young’s was the most damaging, and needless.

It would have been bad enough if he’d been caught out and allowed Mitoma into score, but to drag him down and get sent off has created a selection crisis at right-back for his manager that may, incredibly, force him to start Mason Holgate at Tottenham next week.

Ashley Young sent off vs Liverpool and conceded Manchester United penalty

Both Seamus Coleman and Nathan Patterson are currently out injured so the last thing Dyche needed was Young rendering himself unavailable as well.

Holgate is a player fans might have thought had played his last for the club after loans at Southampton and Sheffield United last term, with the Toffees looking to offload him in the summer [i News, 12 August], but it is arguably Young who should be in more danger of not featuring again.

The Brighton game was at least the third time he’s heavily contributed to a disaster for Dyche on a big occasion for Everton.

Not only was he sent off during the first half at Anfield as a heated Merseyside derby was lost to Liverpool last term (23 October), he was also criticised for conceding a crucial penalty against Manchester United to break his side’s resistance in another loss on 26 November.

Chris Sutton said on 27 November he should have been sent off that night too, while BBC Sport’s Phil McNulty branded him “blatant and stupid” on the night of the game.

That game was the first at home after the club had been deducted 10 points, and while Alejandro Garnacho’s spectacular early opener helped derail a big night of protest from the stands it was Young who made a crucial error there too.

The issue is not that he is a bad player, but he has now proven himself to be at best erratic, and at worst careless, in a trio of key contests.

So Dyche would surely be excused for losing trust in the man he signed a year ago and thinking at least twice before putting him into an important game again.

And it is perhaps therefore unsurprising that the club are now in talks to re-sign 37-year-old Asmir Begovic in a move that is seen as potentially “vital” for leadership in the dressing room [Mark McAdam, 19 August].

In other Everton news, Paul Joyce has named a high-profile “one to watch” who could leave the club before the transfer deadline.

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