BBC Sport journalist Shamoon Hafez was surprised by the reaction of Burnley supporters towards Everton winger Dwight McNeil during their EFL Cup tie.

After Burnley’s Premier League relegation, McNeil signed a reported £20 million contract with Everton [BBC Sport] in July 2022.

The 23-year-old received criticism from the visiting supporters when he started the EFL Cup last-16 match at Goodison Park on Wednesday, November 1, against his former club.

“Burnley fans are booing former player Dwight McNeil every time he gets on the ball,” Hafez said on BBC’s live blog [1 November, 20:05].

“He was not on bad terms when he left Turf Moor, was he?!”

As is the fickle nature of football supporters, this is hardly a surprising development.

McNeil was too good for Burnley in their relegation campaign and earned his move to Goodison, with the large payment also helping Burnley balance the books.

He made 140 appearances for the Clarets and missed just two Premier League games between December 2018 and the end of the 2021–22 season, as that BBC Sport report noted at the time of his transfer.

In case the Burnley supporters who were on the road had forgotten about McNeil’s skill with the ball, he skillfully placed a pass into the box to set up Everton’s game-winning goal.

To exacerbate the situation for the Clarets, James Tarkowski, another one of their former teammates, was the one who converted McNeil’s delivery.

The Everton supporters are accustomed to this kind of suffering, so when things work out well for us, we will relish it even more.