Everton will not be winning the League Cup this season after they were knocked out of the competition by fellow Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers on Tuesday night.
David Moyes made a host of changes to his starting XI to provide some of the fringe players within the squad with an opportunity to shine against a top-flight side.
Unfortunately, for the Scottish head coach, those players did not step up to show that they deserve more minutes in actual Premier League matches moving forward.
Summer signing Thierno Barry started up front and was substituted at half-time after the team failed to create a single ‘big chance’ for him to find the back of the net, per Sofascore.
The French centre-forward, who is yet to score his first goal for the Toffees, was far from the only player who failed to take his chance to shine against Wolves.
As well as Barry, Tyler Dibling was another one of the summer signings who came into the starting line-up and did not do enough to keep his place in the team.
Why Tyler Dibling should be dropped
The Toffees splashed out a significant fee of £40m to sign the 19-year-old attacking midfielder from relegated Southampton during the summer transfer window, but it was unlikely that he was going to make an instant impact at the Hill Dickinson.
Dibling scored two goals and did not register a single assist in 30 appearances in the Premier League with the Saints during the 2024/25 campaign, per Sofascore, which shows that Everton were signing him for his potential, rather than any proven quality.
The teenage whiz also scored two goals in two matches in the FA Cup for Southampton last season, but he was unable to step up in the League Cup for the Blues on Tuesday.
Dibling was selected to start on the right flank, coming in for Iliman Ndiaye, and did not offer enough at the top end of the pitch to suggest that he should keep his place for the clash with West Ham United on Monday.
The left-footed forward ended his time on the pitch without a shot on target or a chance created to show for his efforts, as his team lost without scoring a goal, per Sofascore, which shows that he did not have any meaningful impact in the final third.
Minutes
58
Pass accuracy
86%
Key passes
0
Dribbles completed
2/6
Crosses completed
1/1
Duels won
4/14
Tackles + interceptions
3
As you can see in the table above, Dibling did work hard to put himself about defensively, competing in 14 duels, and tried to make things happen by taking on opposition defenders with the ball.
Unfortunately, he was ineffective with the ball at his feet, as evidenced by the opposition winning the ball off him in four of his six attempted dribbles. That led to him being subbed off for Ndiaye just before the hour mark, and is why he should be dropped from the XI for the game against the Hammers.
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Dibling, however, was not the least impressive performer on the pitch for the Toffees on the night, as Tim Iroegbunam showed why he should never start against top-flight opposition.
Why Tim Iroegbunam should never start for Everton
Since signing from Aston Villa in the summer of 2024, the English central midfielder has started in just one win against a Premier League side for Everton.
That includes one appearance in the cup and eight starts in the Premier League for the Toffees in that time, which shows that he has had plenty of chances to help his side to more wins.
Whilst Iroegbunam was not the sole reason why Everton failed to win most of those nine matches, it is a worrying pattern that is underpinned by some dismal performances from the former Villans academy graduate.
Wolves (A)
2-0 loss
Aston Villa (H)
0-0 draw
Brighton (H)
2-0 win
Leeds (A)
1-0 loss
Arsenal (H)
1-1 draw
Aston Villa (A)
3-2 loss
Bournemouth (H)
3-2 loss
Brighton (A)
4-0 loss
Tottenham Hotspur (H)
3-0 loss
As you can see in the table above, the Toffees have won one and lost six of his nine starts against top-flight opponents since his move to the club last year, conceding a whopping 19 goals in those matches.
It is a dismal run of results for the 22-year-old midfielder and does not suggest that he is ready to control the engine room for Moyes, which was backed up by his performance against Wolves on Tuesday night.
The Athletic’s Paddy Boyland criticised Iroegbunam’s “sloppy” play in possession that gifted the ball back to Wolves on multiple occasions, leading to attacks for the home side.
He gave the ball away ten times, per Sofascore, throughout the 90 minutes, more than Dibling’s eight, despite not attempting a single cross or long pass, which meant that his short passing was far too sloppy for a central midfielder.
The Liverpool Echo handed him a player rating of 5/10 for his performance, noting that he failed to impose himself on the game, and even that may have been a tad generous as the midfielder failed to impress on or off the ball in the middle of the park.
Despite playing as a holding midfielder, Iroegbunam made fewer defensive contributions than Dibling. The winger made two clearances, one block, two tackles, and one interception, whilst the midfielder matched that bar the block. This shows that he was slightly less effective out of possession than a forward player.
On the ball, as aforementioned, he was sloppy and did not help to control the middle of the park for the Toffees, which contributed to the home side’s comfortable win on the night.
Therefore, Iroegbunam showed why he should never start for the Toffees unless injuries force Moyes into selecting him, because the club’s results when he started have been abysmal and his performance on Tuesday night was not far from abysmal.