With Luton Town, Sean Dyche has the ideal opportunity to debut the 23-year-old Everton youngster in an

With Everton travelling to Luton Town on Friday, for the first time in what feels like forever, this is a game that means absolutely nothing.

It is so refreshing as a fan not to have to worry about the result of the Toffees or those around them, having secured safety on Saturday with a win against Brentford.

However, Sean Dyche will certainly want to get one over on his relegation rivals, who have already beaten them twice this season at Goodison Park.

The freedom that safety could provide to the visitors though might prove deadly for the Hatters, and it could also allow for some experimentation…

Everton have nothing to play for at Luton Town
With nothing to play for, in the past, this has made teams dangerous.

A few results spring to mind from already relegated sides, when Newcastle United thumping Tottenham Hotspur 5-1 in 2016 just before dipping into the Championship, and also when AFC Bournemouth came to Goodison Park in 2020 and claimed a 3-1 win despite having already dropped down too.

And whilst some might argue that Everton will be on the beach with their safety, it is unlikely that Dyche will allow any of these players to rest on their laurels.

With the opportunity to potentially hand a few debuts to youngsters though, as well as rest some of his more fragile stars, this is not a game that he will want to take any unnecessary risks in.

That being said, the 52-year-old tactician might be tempted to make one tweak, which if it works, could solve a long-term problem position at right-back.

Sean Dyche could experiment with James Garner
With Seamus Coleman ageing and always injured, and Nathan Patterson clearly not fancied by Dyche, the right full-back spot has been one of great contention in recent years.

When fit, the captain starts, but at 36 years old a successor has been needed for some time now.

Ben Godfrey has deputised well at times, as has Ashley Young, but both are still prone to mistakes and not the long-term answer.

One man who might be though is James Garner, who enjoyed a stint at right-back for the England U21s side that won the European Championships last summer.

There, he was combative and classy down his flank, often drifting into unmarked half-spaces where he could do more damage with his deep deliveries.

With the likes of Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Abdoulaye Doucoure to often aim at, perhaps this might afford the 23-year-old more freedom to become that creative force that the team craves.

After all, from midfield this season in the Premier League he is posting an 83% pass accuracy alongside 2.3 tackles, 4.8 ball recoveries and 1.2 key passes per game, via Sofascore.

He clearly has the defensive credentials, and his offensive statistics would surely improve with more space to thrive.

It might take some getting used to, but Friday represents the perfect time to start experimenting with this as a long-term answer to a longstanding problem.

Sunderland went into this season (1973/74) as just about everyone’s favourites for promotion following their thrilling FA Cup win and excellent form in the league for two-thirds of the previous season.

The cup-winning side only played together twice that season as an injury to Richie Pitt in the corresponding home defeat against Luton proved career-ending. Before the end of the season, Dennis Tueart and Mickey Horswill had left for Man City.

There were some surprise packages in Division Two this season as Orient, Blackpool, Luton, and Carlisle battled with Sunderland, Forest, and Jack Charlton’s run-away leaders Middlesbrough for promotion.

Sunderland came into this game following two victories at Aston Villa and at home to Blackpool. The damage to our promotion campaign was done and had been conducted over a disastrous Easter programme which started so well in a thrilling 2-1 home victory against Carlisle in front of a near 35,000 crowd at Roker Park. The next day we dropped the baton at home to Bristol City, as we did everything but score in a 1-2 reverse.

Following the Bristol reverse, I was one of many fans who packed into Brunton Park for the return against our “uppity” neighbors in the West a couple of days later. This was a tight but good game, spoiled by a very debatable penalty decision that saw the points go to Carlisle. The foul looked well outside the box in real-time. Had that game ended 0-0, we would have been promoted in front of Carlisle, where is VAR when you really need it?