Everton’s Turbulent Week | Dyche’s Exit, the FA Cup and Moyes’ Return

The Time Had Come

I’d gone in pretty hard on Blues boss Sean Dyche, in the wake of a dismal non-performance against Bournemouth and the subsequent press conference, and wasn’t certain that I’d been entirely fair. Not as regards the team setup and tactical approach to the game, which was unquestionably desultory, but in interpreting the manager’s post-match display, which was necessarily a subjective take. I’d seen a man who appeared not to be visibly overly stressed about the plight of the team, or the defeat, but who was more focused on deflecting and shaping the narrative — a man with an eye on his post-Everton future.

In the fallout following Dyche’s abrupt sacking by the club’s new owners – the Friedkin Group – I’m less conflicted and feel that my criticism of him was on point. The former Burnley chief had been used to operating in a very accommodating atmosphere at Turf Moor, in terms of expectations, and had worked under no real scrutiny during almost two years at Everton, with the club’s board of directors being mere placeholders and an absentee owner, in Farhad Moshiri — who’d long been trying to find the exit door himself. Sure, Dyche was the public face of the club for almost his entire tenure, which must not have been a lot of fun, given the circumstances, but pressure from above? Little to none.

There was Kevin Thelwell, who publicly had a convivial working relationship with the manager, but how much real authority did Everton’s director of football have over Dyche? Certainly, he was unable to dismiss him. The manager’s dismissive attitude, regarding allocating playing time for those he didn’t agree with signing, made public the disconnect between himself and the recruitment department at the club, which has been spelled out since his departure. Thelwell and his staff would work hard to bring new players in, but often they’d go underutlised. The highest-priced signing of the summer — Jake O’Brien, is the most obvious recent example.

Dyche’s contract at Everton was expiring in the summer, which would have been the ideal situation for TFG to make a change, but the vibes coming from the manager were at odds with improving circumstances. He appeared oddly unenthusiastic about the takeover, despite the financial stability this offered the club and the chance for some ameliorative changes to the squad in January. That he rejected this assistance, admitting that he’d reached the end of what he could offer the team was surprising, given his stout, uncompromising old-school public image. With his limitations exposed, along with an unwillingness to operate under scrutiny, Dyche’s stance left the Friedkins with no choice but to expedite his exit.

Everton’s new owners are very successful operators in the business world and with that comes a high degree of expectation, in what their employees deliver — in particular ones as highly paid as Dyche, with his rumoured £5m annual salary. They demand a “can-do” attitude — for solutions to be provided for problems and won’t accept admissions of inadequacy. It can be seen, from the club’s terse statement announcing his dismissal, that a combination of Dyche’s self-professed inability to solve the team’s woes, complaints about his influence on transfer policy, along with complacency regarding plans to improve the squad and a preoccupation with his compensation package, had irritated TFG.

Dyche held the fort following Frank Lampard’s departure and during last season, in which the figurative chickens of Everton’s financial irresponsibility under Farhad Moshiri came home to roost. If his methods were pragmatic, prosaic in the extreme, then for a time it was effective, given the limitations of the squad, but it began to falter as 2023 came to an end and for the past year it’s been unconvincing, at best. Such unappealing football can only be tolerated if it’s accompanied by results and as Dyche never forged an emotional bond with supporters, he leaves with thanks, but no genuine affection.

The Old Boys Act

It brought a real smile to my face watching Leighton Baines, one of Everton’s best players of the last couple of decades, standing in the Goodison Park dugout alongside his assistant for the night, club captain Seamus Coleman. Baines may have been unofficial interim first team boss for only a short period of time, but he and the veteran Irish fullback will look back on Thursday’s comfortable 2-0 win over third-tier Peterborough United in the FA Cup with deserved pride. Perhaps we’ll see one, or both of them, taking more senior roles at the club in the future? The touchline demeanour of the two widely differed: Baines calm and introspective, whereas Coleman was animated, mentally kicking every ball.

Dyche apparently selected the team prior to being relieved of his duties and presumably the shape too – as Everton deployed three central defenders – but it was apparent that the game plan, ad-hoc though it necessarily was, was all Baines. The hosts kept long balls to a minimum, instead seeking to play along the deck, largely out from the back and through midfield, to an extent never seen under Dyche. Direct passes were generally fired down the sidelines or into the channels, not just lumped up towards the lone striker. It was clearly a work in progress, with the players having had such maverick footballing ideas ironed out of them at Finch Farm under the outgoing regime.

If it was a bit slow and lacking in decisive play, then it was still a relief to see only 8.4% of the team’s passes hit long — surely a low over the past two years. Goalkeeper João Virgínia launched just six long balls (from 17 kicks), while centre halves Jarrad Branthwaite, Michael Keane and Jake O’Brien hit just one, ten and eleven respectively from a total of 225 passing attempts. The trio’s pass completion percentages stood at 96, 93 and 87; by contrast, Branthwaite and Tarkowski had each managed an erratic 56% at Bournemouth five days earlier. The difference in Everton’s play was stark and most welcome.

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Obviously, the level of the opposition has to be taken into account when evaluating performances, but everyone played at least solidly, with several catching the eye. Foremost was midfielder Harrison Armstrong, who provided a lovely through-ball assist for Beto towards the end of the opening period. Still only 17, the academy product demonstrated good balance, technical ability, vision and surprising physical strength. The teenager was a level above his League One adversaries and looks quite capable of being sent out on loan this month to a decent Championship side, which would aid his development at this stage.

Armstrong, along with forgotten men O’Brien and Nathan Patterson formed a strong triangle down Everton’s right, in what seemed to me to be a 3-4-2-1 formation, combining well after a sluggish start for the home outfit. Much of the team’s play was focused down this flank and although there were a couple of moments of miscommunication, this is understandable given the lack of minutes each had under Dyche. The Scot offered plenty of adventure as a wingback, often unexpectedly appearing high in the final third, whereas the Irishman was composed on the ball, turned well and showed quickness. Why he was ignored by the manager is perplexing.

Beto proved himself a handful, looking far more suited to running in behind defenders than acting as an isolated target man and added a quality finish, rounding the Posh ‘keeper. Whether he can perform this well against Premier League opposition is still an unknown, given the lack of opportunities he’s had since arriving at the club and the striker’s future is still uncertain, given continued transfer speculation. The lone negative was what seemed to be a serious injury to substitute Armando Broja, who was stretchered off; hopefully it’s not as bad as initially feared and the Albanian can catch a decent run of luck. It’s horrible to see a player’s career derailed though continuous injury, especially at a young age.

The Return of Moyes

Given the rate the club has gone through head coaches since David Moyes’ acrimonious, disastrous move to take the reins at Manchester United – at the time the best team in the land and reigning champions – it’s seemed only a matter of when he’d eventually find himself back at the club he ran for eleven years. It’s been even longer since he left and at every turn, every crisis point, his name has been thrown into the mix by the media — and even considered by the powers-that-be at Everton. And so, at last it’s come to pass that the Scotsman is back at the Blues, with a two-and-a-half year contract.

What to feel about this development? I wanted a statement of intent appointment, not simply in terms of name recognition, à la Carlo Ancelotti, but someone at the cutting edge of current tactical thinking, who is comfortable working within a modern football structure — to align with a fresh, ambitious era for the club. With a big overhaul in the squad imminent in the summer, a move to the new stadium only months away and with the stability promised by the Friedkins, I initially felt that turning back to Everton’s old manager was a retreat into the past, the safety of the familiar.

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I do still somewhat think along these lines, but if TFG intend to run the club along modern lines, with a functioning executive and an empowered director of football, who is charged with selecting a manager according to predetermined stylistic principles, then this was always going to be difficult to accomplish midseason. Thelwell’s status is undetermined, and desired long-term managerial targets may be either unwilling to come in at this stage of the campaign, or be currently employed — therefore costing money to buy out existing contracts, a PSR expense the club can ill-afford currently.

As an interim appointment – and it can be argued that most managers fit this description in the current football environment – Moyes ticks plenty of boxes: availability, competence, recent experience in the Premier League and, not to be understated — genuine affection for the club. He hearkens back to an era of stability, which existed prior to the chaos of the Moshiri regime, when Everton was not considered a basket case; that has to be welcomed. Although pragmatic, he’ll set up to win at home and will seek maximum points against lesser sides away. The football won’t be fancy, maybe even a little old-fashioned, but players will get forward to threaten the opposition goal, and that will do for now.

So, I welcome the return of Moyes. Although I prefer to look forward, and am resistant to nostalgic impulse, it will be good to see him lead the Toffees out onto the Goodison Pitch, against Aston Villa on Wednesday, under the lights.

Statistics provided courtesy of sofascore.com