Everton fans grateful to Sean Dyche, but ready for fresh start

LONDON – Everton fans have largely been faithful to Sean Dyche and their club through years of underachievement.

But there will be few tears shed at the sacking of their manager on Jan 9, after their patience was stretched to breaking point.

Despite being one of the oldest and proudest clubs in the country, the Toffees have become perennial occupants of the “danger zone”, scrabbling around trying to avoid relegation – something they have not had to face for over 70 years.

Dyche’s particular talent for organising teams to avoid defeat proved enough to just about keep them up twice, even with the added challenge of a points deduction last season, but most supporters were hoping that some sort of Plan B might eventually emerge.

Unfortunately, they have been left disappointed, mostly by the stultifyingly dull way their team are playing.

Everton did avoid FA Cup embarrassment with a 2-0 win over third-tier Peterborough United, courtesy of goals from Beto and Iliman Ndiaye just hours after Dyche was sacked.

Former Everton defender Leighton Baines, now the club’s Under-18s coach, and captain Seamus Coleman took charge, using the starting line-up selected by Dyche before his dismissal.

British media have reported that David Moyes, who managed the Toffees from 2002 to 2013, is the front runner to take over and has held talks to return to the club.

Said Baines: “It was a unique day in a lot of ways. It is never nice when a manager loses his job but then everyone had to get on with their jobs as well. Winning a game is always a positive. I’m not too sure about what’s next. Things moved so quickly today.”

Dyche’s approach was epitomised by the last month.

Goal-less draws against Arsenal and Chelsea, then a 1-1 draw at Manchester City in successive games, were welcomed as three unexpected points gained, and his organisation and tactical discipline were applauded.

But they then lost 2-0 at home to Nottingham Forest and 1-0 at Bournemouth, when they barely managed a shot on goal and, more worryingly, did not look as if they had a clue how to manufacture one.

The 4-0 home win over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Dec 4 looks an aberration as, either side of it, Everton have scored just one goal in nine league games and look a squad desperately short of talent.

Striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin has scored twice in 19 league games and his understudy Beto has one from 12 and both of them look horribly off the pace with the few chances they do get.

Remarkably, Wolves defender Craig Dawson is Everton’s joint-third top scorer in the league this term, with two own goals in that December win.

This was supposed to be the season of consolidation after three successive relegation battles, a solid mid-table position from which to launch the new era from their shiny new stadium next season.

Add to that the boost of being taken over by new owners, the Friedkin Group, in December.

It is still hard to understand how they have ended up in such a state, after previous owner Farhad Moshiri pumped in more than £700 million (S$1.18 billion) on players, with almost all proving to be duds of one level or another.

Under Moyes, Everton regularly finished in the top six and after that, they still finished seventh, eighth and eighth from 2017 to 2019 and were 10th in 2021.

Since then, they have finished 16th, 17th and 15th, and they are currently sitting in 16th, a point above the relegation zone.

Founder members of the Football League, Everton have spent more years in the top flight than any other club.

Their only four seasons outside the top tier were in 1930-31 and three campaigns in the early 1950s.

Only Arsenal have a longer unbroken run in the top flight – since 1920 – and in the mid-1980s the Toffees had a legitimate claim to be one of the very best sides in Europe – they won the league in 1985 and 1987 (their ninth title), the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1985 and the FA Cup in 1984 and 1995.

Since then, it has been very thin gruel, with the FA Cup triumph of 1995 their only trophy in almost 30 years. Everton fans are hoping for change, and can only hope that with a new ownership comes a total overhaul. REUTERS, AFP