Why hasn't he done as well as in the previous campaign? Is it because he just happened to look great when playing with players not up to Premiership standard for half the season? Is it because he is playing on the right when he is better suited to the centre? Has Harry changed the tactics so that Gary can't get into the box as often as he'd like? Or is he just knackered having played every game last season (to my memory)? Some of them with a foot injury let's not forget.
I think it's a combination of those factors. Harry has significantly improved the team over the summer compared to some of the dross we had last year under Perrin therefore it wasn't hard for Gary to stand out. However with the defence playing so well and with the strikers scoring all of our goals, he isn't in the spotlight as much as he was last year. I don't think Gario will play centre because we have another five players who can play there whilst we are lacking right sided players.
I've also noticed (unless I'm stupid) that Gary has not got into the box anywhere near as much as he did last season, which could suggest that Harry has focused more on the strikers to get in the box and score and leave Gary to create the chances for them. Either that or it could be that opposition managers have got wise to him and have told their players to stop him as I've also noticed that he gets doubled up on at times.
Gary has also played many games for us and might just need to be rested for a couple of games. Tim Cahill suffered a similar fate during his second season at Everton. In his first season he was Everton's standout player but then waned in the second season because of fatigue. After a rest he is now back to his best and has become one of Everton's best players again. This situation could well apply to Gary who might just need a break. After all, form is temporary and class is permanent and I'm sure that he will be back to his best eventually.
The problem is, if Harry does drop him (which I don't think he will) then who will play in his position? Ognjen Koroman, David Thompson and Frank Songo'o are the only natural right wingers at the club and there are question marks over both of these players as whether they'd be able to fill in and do a better job than Gary is current doing. I'm not sure if they could but at the same time I think Koroman needs a chance to prove how good he is and Thompson could also do well given a run in the side. However I think it's too early to drop Gary from the side after a couple of bad performances, I'm sure they'll be forgotten if he sticks one in against Spurs on Sunday.
So let's not be too quick to get on his back. Even if he's not at his best he still runs his arse off for the team and obviously cares a lot about the club. I'm not saying he's undroppable and if he does continue to perform below par then others should be given a chance but right now we don't have a better option and I believe it's only a matter of time before we see him at his best again.