The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Grayson puts in ‘terrific’ Dundee debut at Dens Park
Dundee’s latest capture had a Dens Park debut to remember. The 4-2 victory over Arbroath was a game that not only boasted six goals but also saw emotional tributes from the stands, late goals to seal the points and TV cameras on hand to capture all the drama.
For Joe Grayson, though, his Dark Blues bow was key because he impressed in the middle of the park.
The good news for Dees is his manager Gary Bowyer predicts his newest recruit will get better and better.
So, what did we see from Grayson on Friday night and what will he bring to the season going forward?
Courier Sport takes a look at the 23-year-old on loan from Barrow.
Grayson faced a tough opening challenge as a Dundee player against last season’s Championship runners-up, Arbroath being known for their hard work and fighting spirit.
But, despite having only been in the country a couple of days, the versatile Grayson took everything in his stride.
Keeping possession under pressure at times, the former Blackburn kid showed why the English Championship side had kept him in their youth set-up so long.
Grayson’s passing range helped the Dark Blues move the ball quickly from deep when building attacks and brought the wide players in particular into dangerous positions.
Very quickly he took over set-piece responsibilities, too, which showed the belief he has in his own ability from a dead ball.
Dundee didn’t create many chances direct from those deliveries but it’s another asset for his new team.
The one slip he had in midfield, giving the ball away cheaply to Michael McKenna shortly after halftime, was dealt with quickly and with authority.
McKenna was a standout in the Championship last season but he was quickly brushed off the ball as Dundee built another attack with Grayson the starting point.
There must be a reason a team like Barrow, who finished 22nd of 24 in the bottom rung of the EFL last season, decided to let a player with a year left on his contract go out on loan.
Grayson hadn’t featured at all for his parent club in their three games this season as new boss Pete Wild went with other options.
Last season he was used mainly in central defence.
The one downside to his debut performance for the Dark Blues was in defending set-plays.
His man to mark was Colin Hamilton. The Arbroath man dominated Grayson in the first half to smack a header off the post and then in the second half got the better of him to bundle in for 2-2.
In a physical division like League Two down south, that’s possibly the reason for Barrow letting him go.
Boss Bowyer, though, knows all about his talents on the ball and expects even more to come from the son of a former Premier League defender in Simon Grayson.
“He’s a good player and he’s only going to get better,” Bowyer said.
“Joe only had two training sessions with us before Friday.
“He’s going to be a good player for us and we saw glimpses of his wonderful delivery from set-plays.
“But his passing range in the middle of the park, getting hold of it and positional play was terrific.
“I can’t praise him enough for a really good debut.”
Shaun Byrne has held the position of defensive midfielder at Dens Park pretty much since he arrived three years ago.
But a thigh strain saw him limp off at Raith Rovers last week and opened up the chance for Grayson to step in.
Byrne was on the bench and may now have a bit of work on to get back in the team, such was the new man’s first impression.
But Grayson is versatile. His preferred position is in that central midfield role but he has played a lot at centre-back and has also turned out at left-back and left midfield.
Bowyer says he is happy to use that versatility as part of his squad going forward.
Asked if the defensive midfield role was where we’d mostly see Grayson, Bowyer replied: “He can play there, he can play left or in the middle of a back three. He gives us balance in the squad to be able to tweak it and add one or two formations.
“We’ll play him where we see fit at any particular time but we felt on Friday it was right for him to play there.”
As far as debuts go, Grayson’s couldn’t have gone too much better – a Man of the Match award from home fans tells you that.
If he can keep that level up, Dundee have picked up a real player.