I would drop Everton midfielder to fix issue Sean Dyche has not resolved

Michael Ball tackles the big issues at Goodison Park after Everton’s 2-1 home defeat to Luton Town

I think James Garner should be playing in central midfield because that’s his position. The issue with Garner is that he’s a good footballer so when he plays right-back or on the right wing, he plays well.

But you notice, as soon as he’s in central midfield, he’s not second guessing where he should be, which happens when you’re playing out of position. That’s what happens when you get moved around, I played everywhere except in goal in the Premier League.

Yes you can fill in for one or two games when you’ve got an injury crisis or suspensions but when you go back to your natural position, it comes natural to you, you don’t think about it.

Those little moments in your head can affect the game. Garner showed that at Aston Villa when he played in the centre, he expressed himself a lot more and he seemed to be enjoying it.

I was thinking ‘you’ve got two wingers on the bench, why are you playing a central midfielder out wide?’ I know the manager is saying it’s down to the players to change the story but it’s down to him to set a style out correctly.

He’s the in-form player and a midfielder who likes to try and find a pass going forward and never hides. He’s got an all-round game and likes to press and force an error from an opponent.

When he receives the ball, you can see an intelligent footballer who can make things happen. He’s not rushed, he’s assured and can put a bit of composure in that midfield.

Sometimes it can be like a hot potato for us because we give the ball away so easily and so cheaply at times so Garner is the type of midfielder you need. The others might try and do something straight away and hit the ball out of play but he’s got the ability to look after it.

Abdoulaye Doucoure has got his goals but what has Idrissa Gueye brought to the table? He can tackle but he’s making mistakes, he’s not passing forward, he can’t shoot.

I’d drop him and then if you do go ahead then you can bring him on to help defend that lead. I think it will be something that Sean Dyche will be thinking about because he obviously wants to play Garner because he likes him and he’s putting him in the starting line-up when he’s got wingers on the bench.

We’re not a team who can afford to play players out of position though. It doesn’t work in the long run, you get found out.

We’ve been guilty of it with Ben Godfrey. He’s not a left-back but played left-back once and had an outstanding game so then he gets played there again, makes mistakes and gets caught out.

Yes, they’re Premier League footballers who can do a job in a few different positions but if you’ve got a full-strength squad, we can’t afford to put people out of position. We’re not Manchester City, we’re not a top-six side, we’re nowhere near that.

Everyone wants a run of games in their preferred position. Garner has been brought to the football club last summer but hasn’t been given the opportunity to have five or six games on the bounce playing there.