Dwight McNeil affair highlights the fundamental flaw of the transfer window

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If Dwight McNeil is given minutes on the pitch at Hill Dickinson Stadium when Evertpn host Bournemouth next Tuesday evening - or even if he just warms up but never actually comes on - expect the Toffees midfielder to be given support from the majority of the 52,000 supporters inside the ground.

Among those who will be offering their backing, there will probably be a few whose cheers and applause for McNeil will come with a sense of guilt. In recent days and weeks, some of the criticism directed at McNeil has verged on abuse. Sadly, abuse seems to be the norm on social media these days.

Ironically, such criticism might have played a part in the collapse of the proposed move to Crystal Palace. When the switch looked to be immminent, were Palace spooked by the majority of comments - coming from users purporting to be Everton fans - that were, to put it mildly, highly critical of McNeil’s recent form? It may seem unlikely, but it is certainly possible.

T he words of McNeil’s partner, Megan Sharpley, cannot have failed to stir sympathy for the 26-year-old former Burnley winger, no matter your thoughts on his footballing ability. Or the fact that he earns fortunes playing football.

“The last 48 hours have broken my heart to see how the football world you love so much can be so cruel to you," she said. "To have something promised to you, to have been dragged along on an emotional rollercoaster, and to be toyed with until the final minute ... has hurt more than I can say."

Obviously, there are different perceptions of cruelty. And on the face of it, being compelled to stay at a fantastic football club and earn an awful lot of money does not seem particularly cruel. Far from it.

But the mind is not governed by a pay packet. McNeil has been through a lot with his partner, helping Sharpley through the trauma and pain of a serious, urgent operation in late 2023. And while his performances have not been great this season, the level of criticism he has had on social media has been intense.

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