Former Everton flop Neal Maupay fumes over what fans did to him ‘after the games’.
Everton has struggled in recent years with forwards and a glaring lack of goal scoring prowess.
Their continual problems have been directly caused by their wastefulness; Dominic Calvert-Lewin is the most recent Toffee to suffer from the difficulties of starting up front.
Surprisingly enough, these problems are not the result of insufficient chance creation.
In fact, this campaign under Sean Dyche has seen some of the most free-flowing and incisive football played in years at Goodison Park, yet they just cannot find that finishing touch.
Neal Maupay fared no better, although, under their current 52-year-old manager he was never going to.
He has now sought to shed further light on the circumstances surrounding his Merseyside exit.
What Neal Maupay said about Everton
Following a Premier League striker’s recent designation of him as one of the “most disliked” players, his portrayal of the antagonist has gained legendary status in English football.
The Frenchman, who loves playing the wind-up merchant and is never far from controversy, is always nipping at center-backs or trying to unnerve his opponents.
Interestingly enough, it frequently succeeds.
But in his one and only year at Everton, he only caused frustration to his own supporters.
He has now attempted to clarify the events leading up to his return to Brentford in an interview with The Times, lashing out at the same fans.
According to the 27-year-old, “It was a really hard year team-wise.” People fail to notice that. They simply go online, look at the numbers, and declare that you’re garbage. “You don’t deserve the shirt.” The fact that we were losing every week had a negative impact on the atmosphere in training. We had to make difficult changes to our playing philosophy and managers, and the club’s devoted supporters were furious.
I get that, but it’s not like I’m intentionally attempting to pass up opportunities. People in the park would swear at me when I was with my kids on a day off, as if I owed them something since I play football and I’m bound to experience that.
‘After the games, fans would smash on the window of the car when my kids were in the back saying, ‘Leave our club’. I understand if you don’t think a player is good, fair enough, but there’s a way to do it.’
Neal Maupay was never going to work under Sean Dyche
Frank Lampard had high hopes of leading Maupay in a beautiful, free-flowing football game, but Everton was never going to be able to play nice, so when Dyche was brought in in January 2023, he had to adjust.
He immediately went back to his tried and trusted 4-4-2, or a modified 4-4-1-1, and the former Brighton and Hove Albion player found himself out of a position in the team.
Dissimilar to Dyche’s ideal big marksman, he was fired and ended the season with just one league goal out of 4.80 predicted goals.
Even though Calvert-Lewin isn’t doing much better in the Premier League—three goals out of 8.85 predicted—he at least meets the physical requirements required by this approach.
Maupay deserves to move on and find success somewhere else because he was dealt a bad hand with his Everton move.
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