Everton have been told they have an ‘UNKNOWN’ player who deserves far more LOVE

Everton have often found themselves painted as the underdog in most scenarios of late, with the club and its fanbase likely welcoming such a narrative.

To be played down is to be underappreciated, which in turn makes such an unknown commodity dangerous.

And yet, Sean Dyche hardly employs the most intricate system, with most able to outline exactly what he plans to do. The only issue becomes finding a way to stop it, which most who host the Toffees are failing to do.

Saturday was no different, grinding out a fine 1-0 victory in what was their fourth away win of the Premier League season. Impressive figures for a side that only has seven points!

Everton Training Session
From that showing, in which many impressed, James Garner stood out among the rest as the true spearhead of such a fine result. As such, he was rewarded with the Player of the Match award by both the Premier League and his club.

What are pundits saying about James Garner’s performance vs Nottingham Forest?
Pundit Robbie Earle, speaking on his podcast The 2 Robbies, has since sought to highlight the 22-year-old maestro: ‘I’m gonna give you my underappreciated player of the week, and I’m going to say, if I gave most people a picture of James Garner, I guess eight out of ten wouldn’t even know he’s a Premier League footballer. That’s kind of how sort of underappreciated, unknown he is.

Queens Park Rangers v Manchester United – Pre-season Friendly
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‘But he’s a young player who came up for Manchester United, was bought for £15m so somewhere around $20 million, has been one of the most consistent players under Sean Dyche since he’s been at Everton, can play in a number of positions, was outstanding I thought yesterday and, just his appreciation, his ability, his tactical IQ, his clearances.

‘I had some numbers Rob, like his 63 touches of the ball, 13 ball recoveries, four clearances, 11 final third passes, three long passes, three dribbles into the box and my man of the match, and he’s a player who, if we think of Everton, we think maybe the goalie and then you know Branthwaite and Tarkowski as a back two, we think Doucoure doing good things and Dominic Calvert Lewin and maybe McNeil who got the goal and Jack Harrison’s come in.

‘You never really, he’s somebody who is under the radar, and under the radar is underappreciated, so my underappreciated player of the week goes to James Garner.’

How good was James Garner vs Nottingham Forest?
Starting in his ninth consecutive Premier League match for the Toffees, it is fair to say that Garner has grown into a true mainstay of Dyche’s setup. In fact, the 52-year-old remains a vocal fan of his despite publicly issuing a challenge for him to improve upon.

He is undroppable, with his work rate and quality in possession unrivalled within the squad.

Saturday marked an exemplary showing of those qualities, with his 7.6 rating the joint-highest of anyone from the visiting side.

Such a figure was buoyed by his 63 touches, in which the midfielder himself admitted he felt like a ‘magnet’.

However, it was his defensive work that perhaps is more worthy of praise, with four clearances, three interceptions, one block and one tackle more than making up for the absence of Amadou Onana, via Sofascore.

As such, winning six out of nine duels also marked an impressive return, supplemented by a 100% dribble success rate too.

Nottingham Forest v Everton FC – Premier League

Garner deserves all the praise coming his way, but as Earle notes, he arguably has earned more.

Should he maintain these levels throughout the rest of the season, perhaps at last he, and Everton as a club, will start to get the admiration they richly deserve.