Premier League survival assured by Doucouré stunner

2 CBs, Neil Maupay and Ellis Simms - the only players on the bench who have played in the Premier League before and they have scored 3 goals all season between them.

We can do this guys! COYBs

We all hope that is not a requirement this afternoon but, out of the substitutions that are allowed, we expect the possibility of using three keepers during this match?

I won't bother with the two wide players but no big striker but it does look set up for KITAP1!

Not even enough to complete the bench – they'll get us through.

Praying we win today and the board are gone shortly.

COYB 💙

And yet our highest earners Dele and Gomes are elsewhere. What a shambles

All of us willing the players to deliver and give us something worth celebrating. Muted celebration mind, in recognition that we've got to know rock bottom much too intimately and now need some radical changes at the club.

Supporters, do what you can for every second hope remains and take your bow as the heart and soul of the club, but please no pitch invasion or smoke bombs whilst players are still present.

Up the Toffees!

In any other game I'd say we stay calm and it will come. But this feels desperate already.

Jimmy Garner having a cracking game.

Come on you blues

Now for change.

Now the time to get really angry! Massive changes needed.

Ends well that now needs to be mended well.

Bur that shit of a season is done. If there's no meaningful and purposeful change at the top, buckle up.

Can we at least put this bullshit to bed now?

All we had to do was win. We did.

Time to reflect on the outcome.

Relief – not celebration.

Enjoy the night, Blues. I will.

Garner was exceptional today. Completely flawless as a right wing back.

Decent Bloke as well, unlike the vile Klopp.

Yeah Garner did very well. McNeil seems hit and Miss.

Well done, Sean, I for one certainly appreciate your efforts.

What a game he had in an unfamiliar position.

And a huge thank you to the fans who got us over the line, especially the TW mob who never miss a game.

Well done, Danny O'Neill, Rob Halligan and all the Blues (Tony and Dave) who kept us sane. To the "Blues" who have been on here for months on every thread, every day, hoping to be proven right in their predictions of relegation, hope you will be posting today.

I like Dyche though, and he's bought himself time next year. And a few of the players come out of this well, particularly Doucoure.

Off the pitch, the hard work has to start right now. A few decent signings would transform this side.

Play with no strikers but play like you have strikers! Incomprehensible, bizarre tactics.

What was Dyche thinking?

Lol, there's a couple who said we were already down in November.

What's the big news then that you mentioned yesterday?

There is no way I am going to get any sleep now but at some point today I am just going to smile, close my eyes and sleep. As a result, it looks like I will be going to mass until next season starts; I am happy to pay the price. It wasn't nice to watch, Dave, I didn't hit the scotch… but if I do, I will pass out.

Big games for a lot of players, I saw Thelwell was at the game, not sure about any directors..

Just listening to Dyche thanking the fans on Radio 5 Live, issuing an ultimatum to the players, come ready to work hard at the pre-season. He is off to decompress… but the rhetoric around the club is negative he says – not from the fans.

If the twats at the top don't leave then, same time next year, same situation. Relieved but what's there to celebrate if nothing changes?

Wind yer neck in. No blue on these pages or elsewhere who feared or predicted relegation was hoping to be proven right. Keep the petty point scoring for another day.

Let's remember we were dead and buried when Lampard was sacked… 15 points from 21 games.

Dychey: 21 points from 17 games with the same squad but loads of injuries.

And Right On Andy!

I've been very critical of Dyche. I'm not sure why I would be eating humble pie because we scraped home with our lowest points total ever.

I've been saying that's the only formation that suits the players we have available since about October, so I won't be eating too much humble pie. It was a formation that didn't need Mykolenko (who is a disaster) and allowed us to select more from the only two positions where we actually have some depth - Centre Back and Centre Mid. It's been obvious for months, except to the geniuses we employ to make the decisions.

And I'm not the guy who thought playing Michael Keane at right back was a good idea. I'm also not the one who froze out Gray and Mina, while picking Maupay. It's hard to make selections that are objectively wrong... Dyche managed that feat.

There's a huge risk that we stay up and assume things are ok again. The club is rotten. It's filled with the wrong people. Board, staff, players and management.

It's hard to think that a Sean Dyche team is going to find the goals that stop us being in that mess again. He's a relegation specialist brought in to fight relegation. Keeping him now tells me that we're fighting relegation again next year.

He's done his job, earned his bonus, but he's not what we need if we're ever moving away from this position.

I'd take half of the Leicester side over our team. A good few of Leeds side too & even 1 or 2 Forest players – would their supporters say the same of our side? Our team is shite!

What he's achieved with a team of no striker, no goals, no threat from midfield, no depth to squad, no signings is "Phenomenal" as a brown-shoed fella I once knew would say.
36 points to survive?? How??

He may not be the man to take us forward in the longer term; however, I'd take him for another season to stabalise the Club.

Listening to him after the match, there was nothing celebratory like Frank, this is a man who understands the club's history and traditions, a man who knows us fans have nothing to celebrate being the worst team left in this league.

Thank you, Sean.

Dyche kept us up despite your woeful lack of recruitment. Huge clear out required and 2 to 3 top signings needed.

No doubt they watched from their bunker, to avoid the fallout from the fans. Fans who did attend the match and played their part by providing a rousing atmosphere.

The board must be replaced by strong professionals who know what they are doing, as soon as possible, if not sooner. We will founder if we continue with the cowards. COYB

Credit to Dyche for saving our season.
Garner for stepping up,
Mina for getting healthy and coming back from the dead,
Doucoure for everything he did the past couple of months,
McNeil for being out best player for much of the season despite being slagged off by many including me,
Tarkowski for giving us stability and being the only player in the league to play every minute,
Pickford for doing what Pickford does best,
Gueye for being more consistent the second half,
Calvert-Lewin for giving us everything he could those few matches he played,
Seamus Coleman for being a true legend, and most of all the fans who deserve so much more.

God help us if we're in this position again next season.

If Calvert-Lewin can be ‘cured' over the summer then we may only need one more decent striker to emerge / be recruited.

Branthwaite could play alongside Tarkowski, Godfrey still young enough to come good again. The squad is thin but there is hopefully still a spine to be built around.

But Leicester did the expected, turning over a hapless Moyes outfit, leaving us to defy the odds and thank god we did.

I think the guarded reaction reflects nothing has really changed; we're still financially strapped resultant of mad Moshiri and the new stadium millstone. And once again we approach a summer requiring complete evisceration of a squad. Hope we have vouchers or something if we can't find the cash.

Still, that's over with, thank Christ and we're still alive and kicking.

Jimmy Garner and Dwight McNeil type signings are the future for this club, so let's hope we can pick up five or six of them over the summer,

Great performance by the team today, in the circumstances.

Lots of new club records, all of them bad, including lowest ever points total in the Premier League.

Those were two of the most stressful hours of my life (could barely even watch the ten minutes of added time). I'm going to go lie down now.

I thought we were doomed when we lost to Fulham. He gave us honesty, work ethic and no histrionics.

But I don't think I've witnessed an atmosphere like that – it was incredible.

We really are, and I mean this, we truly are the best supporters in the world.

Yes, Doucouré has improved. McNeil has been our best player for some time.

Are these players that teams above us realistically believe would improve their squads? I think not.

We have 2 sellable assets of real value. Calvert-Lewin and Pickford. Calvert-Lewin's value has drastically decreased so I'd say he stays.

Garner, Branthwaite, Pickford, Mykoleno, Calvert-Lewin and Patterson are the 5 who I'd keep. Every other player is dispensable or replaceable.

FFP and P&S Rules will affect it all but if anyone thinks this squad needs 1 or 2 players is absolutely deluded!

Terrific game of football with plenty of drama for the neutrals. Every player played their hearts out and no-one can be faulted for effort. Even the players I have been critical of: Mina, Onana, Iwobi, Gray – all put in their maximum effort.

Doucoure, especially – what a contribution he has made to Everton Football Club since Dyche has come in, and his priceless goal today has ensured that his name will be remembered along with the legends of the club.

But Bournemouth, where did that performance come from? I mean, I get it that they needed to be professional and competitive, but they way they played the game was like they were the team facing relegation. It was as though they were DESPERATE to see Everton relegated. They are now my 2nd most hated team in the Premier League – hope we thrash them next season, and they get relegated.

But, my god, what a day! At half-time, I was convinced we were getting relegated, but fortunately we scraped through again.

A special mention to our BRAVE, COURAGEOUS fans at the stadium. They must have endured pure torture, but what a performance they put up. I am convinced that if not for their passion and belief, we would have gone down. I bow my head down to you all.

Take it easy now, fellow TWers, and enjoy your summer.

I think the feeling is a deep sigh of relief and mild pessimism about the future. I will sleep better tonight but, as is the Everton way, it won't last too long. My fear is that the dire threat of relegation focussed rebellion and all will calm down now.

Leicester could have been us. However, they can probably take it more than we could have. I think we face a summer of free-floating anxiety. The threat has gone but the fear remains. Let's enjoy this good day, though. Every Blue in the world, yes EVERY, will feel better for a while.

Not much more to say right now, but there's happiness in the air now, not sulphur.

If nothing else hopefully Sean can stabilise the team for a while, while hopefully new owners and a new board arrive. This is needed more so than ever before, as I don't want to see Kenwright, Barrett-Baxendale or Sharp paid by Everton again.

To my fellow Blues, here's to next season and hopefully a new look, staying up increases the chances of change.

We were tanking under Lampard and Sean Dyche has come in with his team and stopped the madness and instilled a bit of discipline, better fitness and organisation. There's nothing glamorous about Dyche, just old-fashioned hard work and getting the players to execute their roles correctly.

In light of the injuries he has been dealt and the calamitous transfer window in January, him keeping us up is a big achievement.

Anger.

Hopefully now the club can get rid of the incompetence at boardroom level as soon as possible and start to behave like a well run club. Keeping the flailing Kenwright in his position will tear the club apart.

This is an opportunity for a new start, we have to grab it and act fast to enable an effective transfer window and pre-season. It's the best bet for solid improvement next season.

Dyche has earned his corn, his staff have been magnificent.
They now deserve to be backed for next season by new owners, new board and a big influx of decent players that will allow us to stabilise and have something to build on so that we never ever find ourselves in this ridiculous situation again.

A massive thanks to all the match-going fans, home and away, for their unstinting support. Thanks too to all ToffeeWebbers – it's been one hell of a ride, you're a magnificent bunch;- knowledgeable, argumentative, hilarious and opinionated – but I love you all.

I hope they go after Maddison and Barnes – if they'd come to Everton!

We need a total reset. New board, new manager, and a complete clear out of the playing staff.

No more "but he gets us"
No more jobs for the boys.
No more "he can do a job for us"
No more "he's a no-nonsense Englishman who know the league"

It's now or never to be a modern professional club with an international fanbase.

We must rebuild, and if a few seasons at mid table is what we need to restructure and rebuild, then I welcome it with all arms.

Dyche must stay put. Not because he's the Messiah, not because he hasn't made mistakes, but because he got the job done and has shown that he has the nous and pragmatism that will continue to get the job done. He'll never win us the league, but I'm sure he'll not get us relegated.

Build the team around Garner, Patterson, Onana (if we keep him), Pickford and, imo, Mina.

But ok, this debate will go on forever. For now we breath. well done blues, you did us proud today, best support in the league.

I believe we should pull out all stops to keep Mina. he has shown what a brilliant player he is, yes he's injury prone, but we should build for a future around Branthwaite, and Mina as his senior, with Branthwaite the deputy and Tarkowski the stable sidekick, to me is ideal. Mina offers arrogance, shithousery, and presence. and he reads the game better than anyone else.

Build the team slowly, with signings in the mold of Onana and Garner, supported with some experienced heads (like Gana, who was excellent today).

I'm an old git, and have seen us win the Title 3 times, FAC twice and a European trophy. All around me there were men in their 30s and 40s whose only wild celebrations have been these fucking relegation escapes.

Something has got to change.

Ever.

Again.

How this puzzle is solved over the summer will be the one to watch for me.

Real objective comments? Well I think that the important comments have all been made (over and over again) in the last few weeks haven't they? I'll repeat them for the benefit of those who haven't been listening. Change - if we are to succeed - starts after today's' success. Straight away too by those who have the power to it. No messing about though.

Kenwright and his cronies being the starting point.

The few that are calling for Dyche to go, as already mentioned by someone, need to think again because he has done a good job with his hands tied behind his back. So those who are saying such things, please behave yourselves.

Wolves got a new manager and went from relegation candidates to surviving at a canter while wearing flipflops.

Everton got a new manager and went from relegation candidates to being relegation candidates with everyone's arsehole twitching like a rabbit's nose in the 100th minute.

Dyche isn't the answer.

Tomorrow, the club – not the supporters – have to seriously sort out this legend that is Everton.

New owners, new management, new players, etc etc.

Never again… until next year.

nd you guys working on next season's problems already, well okay, I guess we still have some problems worth that.

Tomorrow may hold big news possibly not entirely about the stadium so let loose a few hours. Huuufuckongraaaaaaah!

Love you blue boys… Just love you.

I can't say much more right now.

Let's not forget that Doucoure and Mina were nowhere near the eleven and McNeil was up there with the worst buys ever. Those three turned it around massively.

My initial feeling was one of excitement but the reality is we can't spend any more money, no one would buy any of our players other than Pickford. Calvert-Lewin is virtually worthless as it stands so anyone who thinks he is a saleable asset is dreaming.

We are in for another season of battling. I'd rather have Dyche in my corner for that. I just hope we can come up with a miracle and find a striker who can stay fit and score goals.

It's not exciting or thrilling to the end of the season! Really we should have been relegated! By points alone but 3 worse clubs!

Sean Dyche must stay. Our financial situation will be tight! Dyche has seen enough to know what we need to stay up next season. Mid-table is fine by me! Those expecting more? Get real! This is no quick fix by any means.

Just a big relief of celebration tonight! To the fans who spend so much following this club, week-in & week-out, a big thank you!

Today is for everyone who supports this great club across the world! Summer is here! Get some rest! Hopefully our blood pressures recover quickly after this season and today!

Loads of effort but we all must know we are a very poor team. But importantly no worries for a few weeks and we can look forward to next season.

I just hope that we are able to add some depth and quality to the squad as I would not like to live through all of that for a third season in succession.

However, way more relief and anger than celebration, and anyone thinking that we arent already bookies odds on for relegation next year is deluding themselves. Im pretty sure the bookies know that if you keep swirling round the plug hole, sooner or later you are gonna be sucked down.

And that is without the almost certain points reduction. God knows when that is going to be decided, but it looks nailed on.

I think that is why we need Dyche. He is a scrapper, and I think we'll be scrapping from day one. Not entirely sure who in our squad is going to be up to the scrap, tho I think we all have our suspicions.

Dyche came into a shit squad and helped us survive. I genuinely believe Leicester have a much better squad and to finish above them is a huge achievement.

The question lies with the Board as to why our squad is so bad, not with Dyche who's done a good job.

I've waxed lyrical about past players, who I thought could play for top teams (my Man Utd, Liverpool, Arsenal supporting mates) Stones, Lescott, Lukakuu, Rooney, Arteta, Richarlison, Pienaar, Gueye – beyond Pickford there is no one who I think the Top 6 would be interested in. Mina and Calvert-Lewin if they could stay fit, but they can't.

We're a very average team with very average players and, with the lack of money, I don't see it changing any time soon.

Villa have a good squad and ownership made a change when it was required. We have a shit squad and made a change just before it was too late.

There is more hope today. The next developments need to be good ones.

Same time next year, another cup final.

The team? To be honest only Pickford leaving would sadden me, I really hope some of the others step up, or move on.

I was really happy at the final whistle and huge thanks to all at Goodison today, and all those who travelled following the Blues this season. Now the Board must go, and we move on to try to get out of this mess. UTFT.

If we had Calvert-Lewin fit during the season and another decent experienced striker, we would have been nowhere near the bottom of the League – that's been the biggest problem this season.

Well done, Sean Dyche, then we have some saying what he should have done. Don't make me laugh – he's an experienced manager and player who is with the players most days and in training, I think he's in the best position to make the correct decisions.

He's exactly the right manager for us, maybe when we sign City class players we can call Pep up and say "How about it?"

We had all been asked to stay off the pitch again, but guess what – the dickheads went on again, it stops the players doing a lap of celebration.

As a side note, I'm not sure why people are criticising Dyche. He didn't make this mess and his only job was to keep us up. He did it!

But for today UTFT!!!

The team I thought were magnificent, taking into account there were so many playing out of position, and of course they're not that good to begin with. Fantastic scenes at the end, spoiled only by the usual morons invading the pitch. No doubt there will be a price to pay for that,

As for the future, Sean Dyche did what we paid him to do, to change managers now would be madness. I really hope big changes happen soon, with new owners and a new board, to get the club run on sensible lines. We can't go on dodging relegation, one year we won't make it.

Abdoulaye Doucouré

@abdoudoucoure16

·

45m

NOTHING BUT THE BEST IS GOOD ENOUGH !!

Excuse his French lol.

It's been quite a journey since then but today was something never to be repeated. Today was horrible. I wasn't going to put myself through it but, in the end, I sat down and watched the whole 100 minutes in a state of ever-increasing anxiety. In the end, we have survived but with our worst playing record in the 59 years since I first walked into Goodison.

I think Dyche has done a good job with the squad that he inherited. We clearly have one of the worst sets of players in the league, and after the Xmas home defeat against Wolves, I was convinced that we were going down.

So give Dyche some credit for dragging us over the line, he said in his post-match interview that there are a lot of things that still need to be fixed so let's give him the chance to do it and hope for a boring end to next season.

Dyche did marginally better than the worst manager in our history. He's a relegation jockey. If we stick with him, we're a parochial club in an international league.

Thank you both… from the bottom of my blue heart.

Dyche took over a team with 15 points from 21 games. He was not allowed to sign anyone and had to do without a striker for the majority of games. He lost all his full-backs too.

Despite this, his points per game average would have equated to 47 points over a full season. That woud have seen us finish 11th.

He lost 7 games – to 6 of the final top 7 and Fulham who finished 10th.

We would not have been in relegation trouble if he'd taken over earlier.

Proud to be a Blue.

But... now the season is over the work begins. Changes need to be made at the very top because this continual relegation flirt CANNOT continue.

What we have really missed though is proper marauding full-backs. Prime Baines and Coleman types plus a half-decent striker and we would have been well out the shite by now.

Felt nervous before the goal. Felt worse after we scored. I moaned again as to why Sean was so reluctant to bring subs on.

Felt very relieved when we survived but equally angry. My emotions spilled over and I felt even worse.

I think Dyche has kept us up. He inherited a truly shit squad and we survived. I have to hope the club gets taken over because this cannot happen again. Kenwright to blame. Moshiri to question. Dyche to thank. My wife to apologise to.

Thanks TW's everywhere for a very emotional season. I hope the good times are around the corner because NSNO and you are all my friends. You make my day when Saturday comes. Best wishes to George who I've never met, UTFT's

He's not reveling in any glory, he knows a club like ours should never have been in this position in the first place.

11th, eh? Living the dream.

He's shite. His in-game management is atrocious. He's all over the place with selections and formations. He has no clear identity. The team, Brighton aside, hasn't shown anything.

Yes, it's a game of opinions, and your opinion appears to be we should continue with a manager who our rivals wouldn't touch with a bargepole but Norwich would look at if they're in a pinch.

Those on here who have consistently criticised Dyche, his team selection and his tactics, since his appointment, should perhaps think again and hopefully now acknowlege the crucial part Sean has played in securing our safety........

Hope springs eternal.

Watched the first half on my own before they invited me over to their table and we all got pissed. As with all season, I've met new friends, but thank thank fuck it's over!

UTFT and see you next season!

He did a good job with a very bad hand.

Wolves and Villa have quality players with the ball. We don't. If the board replace Dyche? Who? Dyche has come into a mess on and off the pitch with a very average squad and we remain a Premier League club. Job done!

Our current aim is simple. Remain a Premier League club, new stadium with new owners and investment to push on.

Stability is key at a playing level. Everton need to be tough to beat first. Limited funds available means realistic expectations. After 2 seasons of relegation scraps, mid-table or Top 10 next season is real progress.

What I want to see is this manager target both the cups. We are not ever winning the league or getting Top 4 but we can get any of those 2 cups.

What I won't forgive as a fan is him playing a weak side so we can save players for league games. I'm sick to fucking death of us fans being tossed aside by managers and owners when it comes to the cups.

We have not won anything since 1995.

Dyche is far from the ideal, but are we in a position to attract a top tier manager even with the prospect of the new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock?

Are we even in a position to hire a marginally better version of Dyche given we'd have to start all over again with not a pot to piss in?

Here's to winning the race for 17th next season! Meat and potato pies all round!

I'm looking forward to Moyes -10 places.

We haven't, and we must start doing it now. In my book, keeping Dyche and getting some stability would be a good start.

I have seen properly successful Everton sides. The basis of their success was doing the basics consistently well, then letting the talent flow. I was sick of Everton managers/DoFs buying peripheral one good game in five players for huge fees and wages, without ever considering buying players effective in either/both boxes.

I'm glad we've got a manager who starts with the basics and the mentality. I hope he gets the chance to do more with us. I know a few Leeds & Leicester fans who wanted Dyche before we got him. I've had some fair texts from them tonight. They appreciate him more than many of our fans.

He inherited a shit show of squad in freefall, badly coached, unfit and going down.

He got us organised, grafting and got us over the line. That's with one hand tied around his bollocks as we had no strike force, a massive injury list and we gave him zero new signings.

He's more than earned the right to manage us next season. Anyone criticising him after today's performance is a fucking disgrace and needs to give their head a wobble. For those who obviously still have a deep-seated agenda against him – what more could he have done???

Spending the next 18 months wondering why he won't make a substitution before the 85th minute and finishing between 11th and 17th (if we're lucky) is a Kenwright-level lack of ambition.

He's shite and we're a soft touch. Lampard milked it and we can't make the same mistake again. He'll take us down.

Yeah, he's a football genius. He took over when we were 16th and we finished 17th. He'll be at Real Madrid if we don't move fast to nab his signature.

I'm grateful to the man for saving us (and he did save us) but seriously doubt he is anything other than an anti-football set and long ball guru.

No matter how much Daniel tantrums, give me a De Zerbi, Arteta, Frank, Potter, etc. We need to see real football return to Goodison.

I think whilst the squad is unbalanced and short in several areas there are actually some decent players in there.

Pickford, Tarkowski, McNeil, Patterson, Doucoure, Iwobi, Gueye, Garner, Onana and Gray are all good enough to play in teams finishing in the top half (in Pickford's case I'd say he could play for pretty much anyone).

There's a few that might be good enough but because they've played in a terrible team haven't been able to convince me (Godfrey, Mykolenko). I also think Holgate could have been good (he was excellent for a period under Silva) but we ruined him.

Some are just not good enough and never will be (Maupay).

Overall, I think Dyche has done well considering the issues with the squad. Bringing Doucouré back in and switching McNeil to the left wing has pretty much saved our season.

There were some baffling decisions though (Maupay against Fulham; persevering with Keane) but in both cases he saw the light.

I'd 100% keep Dyche but realistically we can only change a few players every window so there won't be a meteoric improvement next season. To not be in a dogfight again would be an improvement.

We need 2 strikers to start with and then gradual improvements elsewhere.

I don't think Thelwell is a write off (I'm a fan of some of his signings ignoring Maupay) but he has to get it right this season.

I've collected a fair few quid today from people who thought he'd take us down. I'll be delighted to do it against them on Betfair next season as well.

I agree: give him a chance. He deserves it.

Some people spout shite.

Pardew is available. He's English and he "gets us" (probably). He'll play 4-4-2 and make the players eat chicken pies. We can all live in a Goodison wonderland and get the new stadium sponsored by "Everton Valley Taxis". Maybe Richarlison will come back. Maybe Riquellme will sign.

The club has sunk because people like you celebrate 17th. It's a relief to survive, but it's an embarrassment to be here in the first place. There shouldn't be a party, there should be an inquest.

So, while you pat yourself on the back for being the world's greatest supporter of a shite manager, I'm asking why the 19th richest club in the world is scratching around with a guy who doesn't know how to use a substitute.

Name me one other Premier League founders who would even put this guy on a shortlist?

The same is true of plenty of the players. But we'll need to move some of them on.

I don't get the "he kept us up so he doesn't deserve to be sacked" logic.

It's that kind of thinking that makes our decline in standards chronic at best and terminal at worst.

If we can improve in the coach position, then we absolutely should.

As usual on TW there is an element calling for Dyche's head already but believe me the best manager in the world couldn't have done any better with this shit squad. We are the worst team in the Premier League and got away with it today by the skin of our teeth.

I'm not saying that Dyche is the best man for the long term, but it's decent young players with potential to fill the positions where we are desperately short that we need.

I know people will be screaming at me that we have got no money, but TW posters like Robert Tressell and Sam Hoare have been identifying possible recruits for years now who wouldn't break the bank. They are out there we just need to get our act together and identify talent in the right markets.It's not rocket science!

We all now how difficult and stressful it has been as an Evertonian these last few years but the professionalism and dedication Michael and Lyndon have shown has made the journey a lot more bearable and enjoyable than it might have been, if not for two special people.

I have been through an emotional roller coater these last few weeks and I dedicate the pure relief, joy and satisfaction I feel tonight to you two great guys. THANK YOU BOTH.

Oh well…

Labelling the guy ‘shite' after what he's done in his short, bedevilled tenure is a disgrace. Nobody is ‘celebrating' 17th – we all know where we are at and why.

The climb back will take time and a staged recovery with tight funds probably. Sean is just the guy for that next stage – that's all we are saying.

Let's just enjoy the relief and give the guy the credit he clearly deserves – he has my gratitude at least.

Alan, 145, I really don't know. But I do know that Dyche is a very limited variation of Moyes.

Look, a few people want to give me pelters over my opinion, which is fine, but let me just say this: Dyche didn't transform anything. He just did things marginally better and a lot more professionally than Lampard. Are we all forgetting how shite the last few months were?

Why does that mean that Dyche isn't also a poor choice?

He was a steadyish choice for a half-season relegation fight. But then so was Idrissa Gana Gueye and I hope we'll get rid of him.

As I and others have said, I believe Leicester have a much better squad of players than us. We were 3 points adrift when he came.

He came to stop us being relegated, not win the league. He's done his job.

He maybe our best option for stability for next season while we transition through the P&S Rules, takeover (investment) period & Premier League panel verdict.

Let's remember Dyche never bought 1 single player in this squad, he done it through coaching a team of mercenaries, misfits and wannabes.

I'd say he will steady the ship.

I disagree, but I see the logic.

I watched the game on Sky and have just watched the MotD highlights as well as I wanted to see what the pundits said.

I have to say I agree with Ian Wright, as we are currently, we are a team going nowhere. Things must change; only time will tell, but surely the board must recognise their mistakes and start making the right decisions?

Those equally bemused feel free to join me in a "John McEnroe":

"YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS!!!"

"Absolutely gutted, but glad it's @Everton

. Have a lot of love for that great football club. Congratulations."

At the point Dyche came in his remit was pure and simple: keep us in the Premier League. How and when would have been irrelevant as long as relegation was ultimately avoided. It's gone down to the wire, as was always likely, but he's done what was asked of him and done it with numerous off-field distractions bubbling away in the background, in the shape of boardroom shithousery and protests etc. He's made mistakes and the evidence so far suggests he maybe likes to play it safe a bit too often for my liking, but he's achieved the initial objective he was tasked with.

When you say he's not the right man, I have to ask the right man for what exactly? The right man to completely reverse our trajectory and get a squad severely lacking in multiple areas flying up the table and competing near the top, in a matter of months, without spending a penny, where others have failed spunking a fortune on it?

Sorry to break it to you, but that bloke doesn't exist. Cryptozoologists have more chance of bumping into Bigfoot coming out of the forest and him saying, fair do's, he was just on his way to KFC but he'll let them capture him on video and clip electrodes to his bizarrely hairless balls if they buy him a variety bucket and a bottle of Fanta first. Ancelotti proved even a manager with a stellar track record of winning trophies and given funds to spend would struggle to transform our fortunes to the degree some demand.

If you mean he's not the right man to perhaps improve us incrementally, over time, whilst ensuring the players at his disposal put in full determination and effort, then I would suggest he's got as good a chance as anyone realistically within our orbit would have, provided others (such as a Director of Football who may have devised the sort of multi-point plan Hannibal Smith would have come up with given a spare 5 minutes on the shitter, but appeared to sit on his hands when it came to actually sorting out any of the glaring deficiencies within the playing squad) step up and do their part also.

Incidentally, form over the last 6 games would have Everton mid-table in 10th, ahead of Wolves in 14th and 2 points behind Villa in 6th. So, maybe he's not being lapped by his contemporaries and left choking on their far superior fumes of success, as suggested. Maybe he just needs to be given a little bit more time to catch the fuckers up?

I know, mate, it's bewildering. That said, I hate this tendency towards telling people they're not allowed to post or shouldn't say this that or the other.

We had the hall monitor in the live forum as usual dictating who should or shouldn't post, calling one TW a Kopite, and trying to run off another. If these people just want to listen to themselves and let no-one else talk, why not spare us and talk to themselves offline?

Give him a chance and we will improve – he is tough and fights and demands 100% from every player.

I try and stay away from exaggeration, but for the few minutes after Doucoure scored, Goodison Pk today, was the loudest stadium I've ever been in, in my entire life, so I was happy to read Andy M, saying exactly the same thing as myself.

Joe Thomas in the echo, said that our crowd was heard on the other side of the River Mersey when Doucoure scored, and I've just read a tweet from Gary Neville saying he's never heard noise like it, whilst sitting in the television gantry before, but he might have been exaggerating when he said the ground was literally shaking?

The scenes on County Rd before the game, were incredible. We are actually only fighting relegation I was telling the local constabulary, just imagine the overtime you will all get, when we finally win something again, and this was the reason I couldn't stay with the ToffeeWeb gang, that once again met in The Harlech, because I had a feeling the support was going to be special, so I wanted to quietly take it all in.

Everton is still a special football club, and how a complete and utter fraud like Bill Kenwright has been allowed to deceitfully, control our football club for so long is completely staggering, and although it's clear you can go a very long way using nepotism, I hope the poisonous bastard is never seen inside our stadium again.

singing- JUST LIKE THE TEAM THAT'S STAYING IN THE PREMIER LEAGUE- WE SHALL NOT BE MOVED- EV-ER-TON!!!!💙💙💙🙏🙏🙏

He achieved the bare minimum.

What's the Latin for "by the skin of our teeth playing shit football"? Because many of you seem to want a new motto.

Next season we're in a league where 13 clubs will be vying only for TV cash dependent on final position and we're one of them at best, so deep is the damage inflicted on us by the Kenwright/Moshiri axis for seasons to come.

Sean Dyche is great for that purpose. He's proved it for years and is now way more savvy than when he proved it.

It's be bonkers to part from him in the expectation that there's a football manager out there who has the still undiscovered touch of Jesus H Christ in getting a catastrophically run to the top four in a so-called three year "project".

None of the guys I was with today was really celebrating, it was much more a muted relief. Well done to Sean Dyche for having what was needed to keep us up, he has done very well in extremely difficult circumstances.

The crowd was superb today, as loud as anything I've ever heard at Goodison. But the pitch invasion was rubbish, as were the efforts of the stewards to prevent it.

We've given ourselves a chance to re-group, that's all. It must be seized.

Was Dyche only brought in till the end of the season? Similar to Big Sam.

If the club is sold, what happens then? We all know that the majority of players we have are not good enough for the Premier League and that includes players that are out on loan. It will take at least 3 transfer windows to just keep them mid-table.

Let's hope we do not end up with a points deduction. Priority is another striker, two fullbacks and a midfield playmaker.

Sounds too easy!!

The manager did what was asked of him. Let's see if dyche stays first? He may see our recruitment or not and go? As said before, a top manager would struggle to implement their style with this group. Bring pure football back to Everton? How? Manchester City play that with world class players.

Today we survived to remain in the Premier League with millions of pounds saved and jobs saved. A stadium can continue to be built. This is the reality of staying up.

Next season, staying up is our only aim. Cup run or final even better but Premier League status is our aim. It's small steps now. No more spending hundreds of millions on players. I believe Dyche deserves a pre-season with 3 or 4 new signings, hopefully to mid-table next season.

I believe, with Dyche, Top 10 is a realistic shout. Remember Villa and Brighton have European football to deal with. Let's see how their squads deal with the extra games.

The 6 game form table won't convince me that Dyche was improving us. In the position we're in, any win changes you from Bottom 3 to mid-table. We won our desperate last match. That's what it came down to... a one-off do-or-die 100+ minutes.

We didn't find an improvement in form to secure safety. We limped along to the last match and Doucoure smashed one in when we were heading towards a nervous last 30 minutes in 18th place.

If you go a bit further back to when there were 9 teams all closely in the mix... Palace, Wolves, West Ham, Bournemouth and Forest all managed to improve and save themselves with some time to spare. All outperformed us hugely (relatively) in that time.

Leicester, Leeds and Southampton imploded. We imploded slightly less than the three that went down, and by one goal in the last game of the season. We dodged a huge bullet and it's hard to argue that we entirely saved ourselves. It was shared between our win and the failures below us.

I'll give credit where it's due. Dyche and this current crop of players just got us over the line, by a razor-thin margin.

That's exactly the amount of credit I'll give them.

Not sure how Dyche suddenly represents stability. Does anyone see him at Everton in 3 years' time?

We were in absolute terminal decline when he came in and somehow saved us. I just don't see how anyone else could have done better with the players available.

You don't like the fact he doesn't put subs on? Our bench today:

Keane Holgate
Begovic Lonergan
Simms Maupay
Welch McAllister

We couldn't even find a ninth player to sit there! Simms came on. But exactly who else would you want on the field!!!!!!!

And for many games, the bench has been just as weak. It seems like every game for the last couple of months I wanted him to put fresh legs on, then I look at the bench and think, no, stay as we are!

Don't blame him, blame those who have 'built' this squad.

So, in those circumstances, who wants to bring in a new manager? At least Dyche knows what they can do now for good and bad. He's kept us up by the skin of our teeth, largely without a striker, inheriting a team who had lost most of the 6-pointers already in a poisonous atmosphere.

At the moment, we need him to stay because none of the other managers who were available when we finally got rid of Lampard would have kept us up.

"Bewildering" is the word.

At moments like this, I am in mind of an old GP who sagely told me there really is no such thing as "common sense".

The issue at this club is our managerial appointments since Moyes have had to hit the ground running fans burned by a decade of excuses no longer have patience. Roberto got time because his first season turned water into wine but since then no one has come close.

It's a knee-jerk default now to give the coach months not years which is weird as fuck in my book but what can you do?

In my opinion, criticism of Dyche's overall performance is ridiculous. He had no alternative but to work with the players he inherited. Unlike a few other managers, at no stage did he complain about the quality of what he had available. He galvanised them as a squad, dealt with a pile of injuries and dragged far more out of them than his nice but dim predecessor.

As regards today's game, relief was the prevailing emotion at the final whistle. The notion Bournemouth would be wearing flip-flops proved completely misplaced. They fought for every ball. Thankfully we had players, notably our centre-backs and Gana, able to match Bournemouth physically. Garner impressed again and I look forward to seeing him playing a bigger role in the centre of midfield next season.

It was very disappointing to see some stupid, selfish fans, albeit only a minority, running onto the pitch after the final whistle. One fan wasn't running. He was in a wheelchair!

The club was fined 𧷤k last season. We may now face another fine, money the club can ill afford. Apart from preventing the players enjoying a moment to celebrate the win in front of the fans, pitch invasions create risks for the players of both teams.

Almost as soon as last season finished, we were put on the back foot with news of Richardson needing to be sold. I wonder will news come out soon about how the Premier League are insisting on further major cuts, such that Pickford and Onana need to go in the next few weeks? Suddenly we get the wind taken out of our sails again, and are piped down again.

We were right to park our complaints until season end, but now of course we have no way to gather and organise, we might not hear from the club now for weeks. Anyone expecting a new broom of efficiency with this clown, in my estimation, is going to be sorely disappointed,

Now, it has to change. All current Board members cannot be in place at the start of next season. It's too toxic. If they give 1% of a shit, they'd walk for the good of the club.

For those wanting Dyche out, you have zero chance. We literally cannot afford a severance package, without impacting the meagre transfer budget. If we fired Dyche; a new hire and a partial rebuild of the squad would cost us both Pickford and Onana in sales. As it is, we may get to keep one.

Relief… and now a determination to see a new Boardroom!

I think you can absolutely criticise Dyche's performance. There are plenty of bats to beat him with. I'll counter that by saying it's a symptom of having to make tough decisions due to the paucity of available players without any great length of time working with those players. Still doesn't excuse using Maupay, but I get the constraints.

I also think you can give him credit and still want him gone. I give Mina and Gueye credit but want them gone. They're far from alone in that and I suspect I'm far from alone too.

It's natural to assume no-one else has common sense when they disagree with something that you believe in. That's just common sense.

Anyway. I've hated the majority of this season and as much as I enjoy, no, value discussion on here, I'm going to check out for a while. It will be nice to not worry about Everton's matches, just the state of the club.

Hopefully the Blues can make some meaningful change before things get moving again in July.

Have a great summer back in Blighty.

I respect others' opinions on Dyche. What I'd say is he will have learnt a lot about these players in the few months he's been here. A lot of time and experiences that a new manager would have to go through all again to find out the things Dyche now knows.

I'm not going to say we will get in Europe or Top 10, the best we can hope for is stability for next season, consolidate our position in the Premier Leauge without the relagation fight, and make incremental improvements to the squad. It's a long road back but stability gives us a shot.

George McKanesaid he was hoping to catch the game on TV, in Italy. Hope you did, George, and let's hope you're soon up and running again.

This is my 65th season and this must be the poorest and most unbalanced squad in that time. Even that shit squad has been ravaged by long-term injuries so full marks to Dyche for getting them over the line.

My Man of tthe Match was obviously Doucouré, closely followed by Pickford, but I also thought Garner had a stand-out performance, in an unfamiliar position, and he looks an outstanding prospect.

I didn't stay and cheer at the end. I felt sort of relieved but deflated and angry at what our incompetent board has put us through, for the second year on the bounce.

The only game I've missed was the away Carabao Cup defeat at Bournemouth but the second defeat a few days later should have signalled the end for Lampard. That the board dithered for nearly another 2 months almost proved fatal.

So, we've survived by the skin of our teeth. The hard work starts now to avoid a repeat next season, beginning with a purge of the incompetents on the board (and I'd include Sharp in that).

There is no rationality to sacking Dyche. Even if he deserved it -- and I would argue strenously that he doesn't, that in fact he deserves every chance to fix this mess -- it would be insane.

First, we can't afford it.

Second, it would send a horrendous message of instability to our new investors.

Third, club management has a pretty horrible record of hiring managers, and we'd have no assurance that the replacement would be better.

Fourth, the players clearly respond to him, producing passionate performances while playing out of position.

Fifth, it would take a new manager time to learn the club, and we may not have that time, because the situation next season will be urgent from Day One.

And sixth, he gives better, blunter interviews than anybody besides Carlo.

Gotta keep him. Gotta. And we will, I'm certain.

I would like to mention Danny O'Neil's and Rob Halligan's posts – I love to read about those amazing trips Danny makes, travelling from London to all the home games.

We finished 5 points off 13th and, if we had brought Dyche in sooner and not had such bad luck with injuries and refereeing decisions, we would certainly have finished up there in mid-table.

For me, Garner and Mina were the stand-out players today but kudus to Doucouré who has scored some really important goals for us.

I feel we have a strong backbone of centre-backs and midfield now but really need to find goalscoring players and beef up our fullback cover.

Let's start by sacking the board, please, Mr Moshiri, and in good time to be able to plan and execute for next season. Please don't dither.

Let's do what proper clubs do and line players up now for when the transfer window opens.

Dwight McNeil as well.

Stayed up for this. I must say final day football is absolutely captivating.

Thought Garner and McNeil ran their arses off for the team and the defence was extremely brave.

I haven't seen a lot of Bournemouth but they seemed particularly niggling and physical. Almost like they are straddling the line.

Hopefully with the announcement of the potential stadium funding and prospective new investment (take both with a grain of salt at this stage), we can rebuild effectively.

In terms of contracts, who is up at the end of season?

I'm aware that Mina is moving on and we triggered an extension for Doucouré (aka God of Thunder) – any others?

I know the investigation is still hanging over the club, is there any progress on that?

Oh and one question that I've always wanted to ask: I've noticed a lot of hatred from Newcastle fans, what's the story there?

A reprieve, thank God. Now for the rebuild. There is no time to lose. Kenwright, Barrett-Baxendale and Co. must go, with immediate effect. There is no room for debate, whatsoever. Closely followed by every underachieving high earner. Particularly those who are serial 'sick-note' merchants, persistently bleeding the club dry. We all know who they are.

Consequently, if there is any money left in the kitty, then for God's sake spend wisely this time. We need to be pragmatic and realistic in our approach to any new signings. Such players should be brought in to complement the development of any rising young stars already on the books.

For starters, we would do well to secure the services of Ché Adams to lead the line next season. I imagine a modest fee would secure him now that Southampton are relegated. He is young, yet experienced and is a proven goalscorer at Premier League and International level.

And best of all? ... One of his 'middle' names is actually Everton!

Say no more!!!

Really? Ché Everton Adams?

It's destiny!!!

Luckily we held out against what looked like a determined effort by Bournemouth to win the game and put us down. No sign of them wearing flip-flops – that's for sure. I liked their young lad Brooks who was running the game early on.

Right now, we need a quick resolution to this takeover, investment and board change so the club can move on from Kenwright's sickly grip on our club. That prick has to be first out of the door. Only then can we start afresh and look at player recruitment and who will manage the team.

Dyche has performed a miracle with a shambolic squad of players although the other teams' crap form helped us stay up. I really like Dyche's honestly and understanding of this club of ours and thought his post-match talk was excellent. I got the feeling he was also talking like a man who knows his fate and knows he's not there for the long haul.

For now, let's just enjoy the relief.

Yes, mate, it's a fact!

That is brilliant!

We sign him and make our away kit OD Green.

Revolutionary!

Yes to everything John 180 and Mike 186 said about keeping Dyche — and what John said about the stupidity of running on the pitch. Last season with Palace was one thing. To do it this season just made us all look amateurish.

One last point in favour of Dyche that's been made already, but to hammer it home. I don't get how he doesn't get even more credit than we're giving him, nevermind wanting him out, given what he did with our striker situation.

To stay up with Gray, Simms, and Maupay as our strikers, along with Calvert-Lewin, who never got into full form but for a match or two, is a minor miracle. And how anyone would expect some beautiful style or clear identity given the hand and players he was dealt is beyond me.

So, to answer some questions posted above, yes, I do see him leading us in 3 years and fighting for Europe. Will it happen? Maybe not, but I see it as entirely possible.

I had given up after the Fulham game at home. I can't see how we can survive but, thanks to Dyche and the team, they got themselves a big win at Brighton away. It's that game that put us back on the front foot.

One would have thought Bournemouth had nothing to fight for and would be easier to play against. Luckily Dyche and the players had no such complacent thoughts as it was a tough game.

I'll miss Mina. He rose up to the challenge every time, especially in big games. I wish him well. Garner had shown his intelligence by making the right decisions at crucial times.

We have to stick with Dyche. Change and chop gets us nowhere but a squad of unbalanced players. Building from the back up is the way. We've been struggling with goals since Lukaku left. There's no quick fix. Being industrious and hard to beat gives us a platform to move up the table. Leicester has much better attacking players but their leaky defence ended up costing them dearly.

WIth us staying up, I don't think a distressed sale will happen. Moshiri and Co will likely stay around until the stadium is completed. I can see Onana and Branthwaite being sold to help with the books. Hopefully the DoF can identify better buys and loans, and perhaps a youngster is ready for the first team.

Ya. Sure. Sean Dyche is crap and we should fire him immediately. He's a shithouse manager and we should be rid because he'll never get us to the promised land.

Go ahead, deep, deep thinker. Try that superficial route. See where it gets us.

Relegated in 2024, I assure you my simple, sweet summer child.

Dream of glory, and wield a sickle, striking down all those who don't drop the knee to the altar of NSNO. Not NSNO in regards to an ethos; a long-term plan mind you. But NSNO akin to a child not getting what they want in the moment.

Throwing a tissy fit and calling for heads on spikes when we dodge death – all because we didn't finish in our rightful place. And in the near term future 10th isn't an improvement, but a castigation of those who don't strive for the apex, the pinnacle where we "belong".

The older I get, the more simple fools amuse me. You're funny. Stupid, but funny.

Well fucking done Everton! Sean Dyche, take a bow, sir!

You inherited a squad in decline, injury-riddled, without passion. You turned them into a team, motivated, running through brick walls to survive. You did all this through an injury epidemic.

Celebrate survival. It should be celebrated. Relegation would have been our death.

The work moving forward will be difficult. Consistency with manager and players will be key to building chemistry, cohesiveness, and seeing our gradual climb up the table and away from death.

This won't be fixed in a day. But for now, what a fucking strike by Doucouré, what an effort by our players, and what an amazing run this survival treck has been.

Well done. Improvement is needed, but credit and plaudits and celebration in the moment is just fine and proper.

UTFT

What we need (apart from the changes at the very top) is a period of stability. We've been a car crash club now for years with managers coming and going, players being signed left and right with no strategy.

Sorry but Dyche needs 2 or 3 years to get us back to mid-table mediocrity. Maybe he'll surprise a few? Many on here were lambasting Eddie Howe a few years back when we were linked with him.

Pardew. Haha, tempted to order a beer with my breakfast but the missus would kill me.

Like Dyche said, the real work starts now... getting Kenwright and his leeches out the club. But hats off to Sean for keeping this squad in the Premier League after the shit show of Lampard and the January window, he got a squad of limited quality to unite and fight again.

Only time will tell if Dyche is the answer long term; my gut feeling is we will get sick of his tactics eventually but they may bring us stability in the short term, which I think we can all agree is what we bloody need.

Once again, just bloody relieved that's over! Enjoy your summer, people.

UTFT.

Also, the powers that be would want fans to keep their fingers pointing endlessly at the manager.

Dyche's record is W5 D6 L7 with a completely unbalanced and poor quality squad. If that was repeated over the season, we would have finished 13th. Not great but a better reflection of where this group of players is.

He evidently works well with the players, has motivated them to give committed performances and has simplified the gameplan and remained incredibly calm in the crisis he walked into.

He has earned the right to revamp and prepare this squad so that we reach the new stadium in the Premier League.

Also, Mike G makes the key point. Does anyone trust this board to hire a better replacement? I don't.

Dyche has done a pretty remarkable job, I'd say. When he came in, we were the bookie's favourite odds for relegation, with lower odds than even Southampton. We have had arguably the weakest squad in the Premier League when shorn of Calvert-Lewin and had the toughest fixture list of any of the teams. Yes, it may not have been pretty but we've got points on the road and won a few crucial games at Goodison.

Dyche is the perfect manager for us right now. Even Pep could not transform this lop-sided squad into Top 6 material and our focus next season has to be on stability. Hopefully we can battle our way to 25 or so points before Xmas and not endure another season of torment. ‘

'Mid-table mediocrity' will represent success for next few years and sensible squad building while the club, hopefully, undergoes change at all levels.

Dyche gets his teams well-organised and working their socks off. His appointment was one of the only decisions this board have got right over the last few years. He's exactly what we needed and I actually think he might surprise a few people next season.

Firstly out with the board, not next week, tomorrow morning, straight up, first thing.

I have no idea of the club finances but this squad obviously needs some TLC to put it mildly. In an ideal world, these are the only squad players I would keep:

Pickford
Begovic
Tarkowski
Patterson
Mykolenko
Godfrey
Coleman
Coady – Sign him as he's only ٢.5M and we skint
Onana
Doucouré
Gueye
Garner
McNeil
Calvert-Lewin
Simms

Bring back Nkounkou (left-back cover) and Branthwaite

That's only 17 players. Maybe Coleman as back-up right-back. So we desperately need a forward as top priority.
And another centre-back unless Branthwaite impresses.

At least one winger and a playmaker in the middle of the park, although I think Garner could possibly be the answer there.

Surely with decent recruitment we can find 4 players that will instantly improve the squad without blowing 𧴜million?
DOF and scouting team, time to actually earn your money.
Must be some hidden gems out there?

Not celebration. We don't celebrate near catastrophic failure.

A trip to Germany meant I couldn't attend. I guess that's a lucky omen, as I was in Cyprus for the Wimbledon match and stayed at home in Woolton for the Coventry one. Note to self, but hopefully I'll never been in that situation again.

Thankfully, we get to play Luton!!

But now the change needs to happen. Grasp this Mr Moshiri because you have gotten out of jail.

The Manager and team done the absolute just enough, backed by the supporters, to get us out of the mess we ended up in. Sheer belief by supporters. Determination by an embattled squad. And a steady hand by the manager who stayed calm in choppy waters.

But we done it on our own. Abandoned by people who should be accountable and take responsibility, yet ran away in the hour of need. Cowards.

They are not needed. They are not wanted.

Be decisive. Make decisions Mr Moshiri.

My brother got to attend. By his own admission, he was a mess. Having to watch on the tele with my son was interesting. With Leicester winning and us sat in the bottom 3 staring at the abyss, Danny the optimist was sat with head in hands. My son, the realist, reminded me that a game of football lasts 90 minutes and at the end, that a season lasts 38 games!! Young wisdom.

Not a time for celebration. A time for change. Real change, not some made up strategic review, which, if it happened, equated to marking their own homework.

Enjoy the moment blues and breathe again. The Grand Old Lady befittingly gets her last full season in the top flight of English football that she has graced for so long.

I can't give a match report, but from my viewpoint on the couch, Iwobi was busy as always, Pickford, not for the first time, kept us in the top flight. Man of the Match? James Garner. We have a player there.

Phil McNulty on the BBC sums it up well.

Link

Hopefully the potential investment brings it to a head. Change and recruitment essential to avoid a repeat of this horrible season, we definitely can't weaken the squad any further.

Dyche did well in his relatively short time. As well as having an imbalanced squad, we've simply no depth, can't even fill the subs bench. On a positive note, Garner was excellent yesterday and, on his appearances so far, looks like a very intelligent player.

Maybe the most important summer in our history coming up.

I don't want dour football but you don't win the Derby on a donkey, so we need to stabilise, organise, plan and improve. This is right up Dyche's street and my Burnley mates still love him so he has some qualities. Let him get us to mid-table and see where we are in 18 months. We need consistency and stability.

Moshiri, grow a pair and have a clear out of the dross at the top and get someone in to work on recruitment with the manager. We all know what's needed, so find the players.

Anyway, next season will be okay as we will be better than Luton, Sheffield Utd and Burnley.

Stability and consistency, the football will follow.

When I think back a few months, I was convinced that we were dead and buried, but he's somehow organised a poor set of players to survive another year.

Enjoy your summer everyone. UTFT

I understand those who berate the situation that Everton has found itself in, but think on, what would have been the feeling had Everton failed to win that game yesterday? In any walk of life, when things go awry, it's incredibly important that you live to fight another day. Make no mistake yesterday's match was probably the most important game in the long storied history of the club.

Unfortunately, there is no quick fix to the issues that have beset the club in recent times, but there are not many clubs who can call upon the unbridled passion of Evertonians. That has to be harnessed by the club as the single most positive asset, in fact I'd say that the club should reimburse every single season ticket holder a full refund as without those fans the club would not have survived this most traumatic of seasons.

Well done to every fan, whether at the game or watching from afar, the defiance and positivity shown in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary is a testament to the whole fan-base.

However, those doomongers who have continued to moan and complain and who constantly predicted losses, please take the summer off, because you haven't helped in any way at all. In fact, you have possibly added to the tension and anxiety of the fans who travel all over the country to watch this great club of ours.

Every fan of this club knew how bad this club has been run, how poor the squad was and that a lack of goalscorers has given us a handicap that few clubs could have overcome.

A reset at board level is crucial to give the club the chance of matching the ambitions of the supporters. It can not be business as usual in the coming months, whether investment happens or not, whether Moshiri remains in charge or not,

We should not and will not accept such a mess in the future, and what we all should learn from this season is that every single game that Everton play is important, every single goal scored or conceded is important, and every single point won or lost is important.

Let's rid ourselves of the snobbery that sometimes surrounds this club of ours, let's take the lesson that everything has to be worked for, everything has to be earned and reputation does not entitle anybody to anything. It's a message that should be heeded from the youngest fan to the movers and shakers at the club.

Have a wonderful summer, and come back refreshed and re-charged in August.

Well played yesterday for a team with no full-backs and strikers. Now the hard work.

I have never liked 1-0 situations, or narrow leads, especially with the poor standard of refereeing. Yesterday's was no exception, he gave a very physical at times Bournemouth carte blanche and rarely looked like awarding us anything.

Still, we did it in the end, James Garner was MotM for me despite Doucouré getting the decisive goal. All played fairly well but I thought Onana was the poorest on show.

A good clear-out and some astute additions should see us (hopefully) a different unit next season in the Premier League.

As others have said, he has had to do with other managers' players and adapting to an injury crisis. We were dead and buried before he arrived. Special mention to Mina, who I thought was excellent and didn't put a foot wrong, you could see on his face: “Everton are not going down on my watch.”

Garner did well again in an unfamilier role, Gana also excellent, in fact I think they all had a good game, McNeil was a bit off pace for me but that was due to to him having to cover defence and not having a target man.

So well done, players and manager, but keeping Dyche is paramount, he will have learned so much in his time here and anyone suggesting getting rid is deluded and missing the blindingly obvious.

What Moshiri will want to do about his ownership of the club, I'm not sure, I suspect he will want out but who knows?

I said earlier in the thread if we had a fit Calvert-Lewin and another striker we would have been comfortable mid-table.

Okay, that's not challenging the leaders but it was obvious early in the season that we were short in the goalscoring department,.

We fans knew what we needed and all that stress would have been avoided.

Dyche must be given the tools to rebalance the squad. A club of Everton's stature requiring the 12th man of a desperate Goodison Park, having to field a team of 3 centre-backs and 7 midfielders to get to 36 points for the season in a must win game! It is a ridiculous state to be in.

Well done to every player yesterday and Dyche and his staff too, it was not easy, it was not pretty, we must be in much better shape to start the next season. UTFT.

No celebrating. I didn't touch a drop yesterday in view of the precarious position before and during the match; thankfully Everton's spirit and belief prevailed.

But no more – the clock stopped yesterday and the reset starts today… no later than tomorrow.

The club will not move forward until the board is replaced and a new harmonised professional Everton FC is begun.

To carry on and pretend all is good is total madness and will ultimately destroy Everton FC.

UTFTs – Sean Dyche and his coaches and staff, have done a remarkable job in a short space of time and have literally resurrected “Lazarus”.

But now is the time and hopefully there's a single buy out or a strong consolidated buy-in, but survival was key and new stadium will hopefully progress and be completed on track. Then to plan and reap what it can do to galvanise Everton FC.

Let's see what happens in the next few days but time is key to replace the board and strengthen the squad in time for pre-season.

UTFTs!

Interviewer to Keane: "Do you think Sam will be at Leeds next year?"

“Him go to the Championship? Not with that ego!”

Micah Richards winces and Carragher laughs.

Sam Allardyce, the gift that keeps on giving… ha ha!!

We need to get our house in order at the very top, the rest follows once the structure at the top has the solidity to take the club forward.

We probably need Dyche for maybe another season or two to just stabilise the club on the field while off-field the transition with potentially new investment and people on the board settle down.

I also think we need to find a proper set-piece taker as well in the signings we make.

Could we afford Ward-Prowse?

Whatever lies ahead in the short to medium term, I hope he is part of the way forward. He was dealt a very poor hand of cards when he arrived and, while he has made some mistakes along the way, he has learnt from them.

If we are allowed to spend some money during the summer, even if it has to be generated from the sale of players, we really must sort out the central striking position and provide cover for both full-backs.

We cannot expect to make rapid progress given our finances but, if we can take small steps in the right direction next season, we can look forward to much better days ahead in the new stadium.

More deadwood to leave now and more to follow in a year's time. We will then be in a much healthier position salary-wise.

Thank you, Mr Dyche!

The managers you mention are doing well at the moment but how long will it last? They well might be excellent in the long term but we will have to wait and see.

Frank does seem to have his head screwed on the right way though, I have to say, but it's when they move up to bigger-name clubs that they come under more pressure. Fair play to Arteta – he had to come through a bad patch and then almost won the Premier League title.

"However, those doomongers who have continued to moan and complain and who constantly predicted losses, please take the summer off, because you haven't helped in any way at all, in fact, you have possibly added to the tension and anxiety of the fans who travel all over the country to watch this great club of ours."

Not sure that comment stands scrutiny.

Fans who attend don't always clap along in dutiful support they give it in spades when things aren't going right players from other clubs reference the Goodison crowd "turning" when it gets a bit sticky. The fan reaction at the notorious cup defeat to Brentford a painful example of many going back donkey's years.

I know it's the ultimate sacred cow to dare suggest Evertonians are much like any other footballing tribe but it's true. We moan as much as any it's just that we have loads of fans given the shiteness of the club going back to the last century.

In that respect, we're all doom mongers you can't follow this club and be anything else. Additionally if fans didn't sound off, there would be no pressure on the board to do something dear to the hearts of even Mr and Mrs Positive-Toffee these days.

The whole structure and operation of Everton FC has to change at every level or bad things will keep happening.

It's no good the fans talking about players when the club is so dysfunctional. It's like going to the dentists and being told your teeth are alright but your gums have got to come out.

Everton are doomed unless all of the fans realise this, this isn't fantasy football, it's sport at the elite level and we're being run worse than an alehouse team and we're expected to be grateful for it.

And it's happened because too many people let it happen.

But consider this, Jason: Dyche should have been hired a month earlier, been allowed to bring a couple of players in, and who knows we mightn't've to have been put through that yesterday.

But he wasn't and we were. And all because of this shambles of a board.

So, Jayse (I can call you 'Jayse', can't I?), what other manager would have kept us up with his best striker not being available?

Losing a goalscoring midfielder through, albeit his own stupidity disrupting the flow, and to cap it off having to play the last 2 crucial games without any recognised full-backs, once again nullifying McNeil's attacking threat causing him to drop deeper.

I doubt there's a manager out there who would have done what he did with what he had to work with. So credit to him for that – he's done what he was hired for.

By the way, Jason, I'm no lover of Dyche myself but I'm Intrigued to know who we would go for. Because, as someone earlier in the thread said, you wouldn't trust this board to do anything right.

As you get older, you find yourself not suffering fools and trying desperately not to even argue with them. We need to clear out, stabilise and build with Dyche.

I said a while back that the love affair with Sean Dyche would be over the moment we are safe... typical.

Hope next season it's last game again but at their ground. Hope we are long since safe, and our 3 points will be our Karma.

Well done, Sean Dyche – no signings, no strikers, no support from the so-called board – yet he did it and earns the right to have a go next season. He talks a lot of sense and has no illusions about what's needed. Good luck to him.

Thanks to the players, playing under enormous pressure yesterday, they stood up to it. Garner was superb and there were plenty of other good performances too.

It's a pity we couldn't show some appreciation on the pitch at the end due to the brain-dead morons who went on.

Especially sad not to see Mina at the end. He did what he said he would when he spoke to fans in the street back in January – a good guy.

Things must start to change today. Waiting with bated breath…

I've just risen from bed, mate, so no meeting with Seamus in alderstones. I met Derek and a few others in the Harlech Castle yesterday and told them what I know. Unfortunately, it's not what anyone is thinking or hoping for.

What I got told on Saturday evening was that the member of the backroom staff that I know was having heart issues and undergoing tests. So quite naturally, he's been off work since his problems started. As I said, he is a well-respected and liked person amongst the playing staff, and is also a massive massive Blue, and I naturally thought, amongst others things, that his problems would be a great motivator for the team to win yesterday.

I think what threw most people on Saturday night was me saying maybe there would be an announcement by someone from the team saying “We won it for so and so”. Obviously “Announcement” was the wrong word to use; maybe I should have said statement, or something like that.

Anyway, sorry to get everyone's hopes up, and it's not what you all wanted to hear. I'm sure that we will hopefully be hearing some good news soon anyway!

You can spend a full week fearing the worst, weighing up the worst outcome, but until the kick off, you can do nothing about it.

I was expecting a Barry Horne or Farrelley moment, Everton rarely do tap-ins, when we need that final day goal, but even that strike was up there with one of the sweetest strikes.

People deal with it in different ways in the days before the event: some treat it like a trip to the dentist with the build-up; others in different ways,. I will say though that my tonsils are red raw. If there are any Barry White fans out there, I could do a voice over Happy Birthday for you, free of charge.

Anyway, we survived, like we always do. We pissed our neighbours off, and the vultures of the media, sniffing a wounded animal, safe for another season.

Now the reset must finally begin. Investors will now be ploughing into Everton for sure, bringing in experts at the top, who know about business, and running a football club. Get rid of the rotten core at the top, get the stadium finished. It will not happen overnight, but the younger generation now finally have a bit of hope for the future.

It was a nice meet up in the Harlech, some of the best guys I've met and all passionate Evertonians. Too many to mention, but finally got to meet the one and only Mr Rob H and a pleasure indeed, Rob.

I went home with three special memories yesterday: the meet up with the lads, the bird stood at the bar, and Doucouré's winner.

Steve V doing a crowd surf and ending up in the seats a row in front with his feet dangling in the air, was a nice story Steve told me back in the Crown after the match, still laughing now Steve, could only happen to you mate.

So here we are another season at the old lady in the top flight, let's see what the summer brings us.

See you all next season, if not before.

Up the Toffees.

I do think though, if Leicester had kept Brenda, they would have stayed up. Forest and West Ham stuck by their managers and reaped the rewards.

We already have a 'proper set piece taker'.

It's James Garner.

I thought we were down at one point, so happy that I was proved wrong. To stay in the Premier League feels awesome and the players, manager, and crowd all deserve huge credit for the performance yesterday.

I actually feel optimistic for the coming seasons with Dyche in charge. He is a decent manager and will build a good team given the time, money, and support. He is a proper leader too and knows how to manage people plus gets all he can from sometimes limited players.

Any talk of getting rid of him is crazy in my opinion. Not only do we need stability but he is also clearly up to the job. Best manager we have had for ages. I think anyone who knows football can see he has worked miracles with us, to be fair.

On top of a very poor squad to work with and no money or new signings to help, he has lifted a side that was only heading one way when he arrived. He should be thanked for that and shown some gratitude – not thrown out on his ear.

There is just no reason to sack him and it is no way to treat people either. He has worked hard and done a good job – you can't just get rid of people like rubbish when it suits.

We made a similar mistake with Allardyce when we had a chance to build on what he had done and get some stability. If we make the same mistake again by letting Dyche go, then it would be a disgrace and would set us back again.

He made mistakes but, with such a small and poor squad, he saved our bacon when many thought it was impossible for us to escape relegation.

Yesterday, he had to choose a team with the main striker and all full-backs out injured. He conjured a team together and I wanted James Garner to play but in midfield.

James played full back and looked like that was his natural position – cool, calm and in complete control of everything he did, even walking slowly, very slowly, to take those throw-ins as the game wound down even more slowly. Doucoure might get MotM but Garner was mine, an unbelievable performance.

As most have said and felt after the game, relief was the common emotion, followed by anger, frustration and bitterness towards the people who have run this club and literally left it to its own devices for the last few months of the season.

Maybe in hindsight, that's the most sensible thing they have done for the last few years because God knows what fuck ups they could have created if they had stayed. None of them will be missed and the quicker they go the better.

I couldn't make it to the Harlech through a problem – I only made it to the game just before it started. I wanted to meet again all those brilliant fans who travel from all over and some of the regulars like Derek who spends plenty of time organising these events along with the golf days.

Anyway, it all turned out okay in the end but it will be futile if the way the club is run now isn't completely changed.

Leeds threw half a million at him for four matches and he delivered one draw, three losses, and 11 goals conceded. Nice work, if you can get it!

The Bournemouth fans who we spoke to before and after the match were praising the atmosphere. Thanks, fellas. I hope to catch you again next season in Ma Edgies and Dr Duncan's!!

We all know what needs to happen on the admin side of things, so is the Strategic Review, Part 2 on its way?

As for Sean Dyche, he did what we wanted, didn't he?
So I'd say give him a chance.

I met up with Steve and Bill back in town and asked them both, all three of us said James Garner was Man of the Match.

Tip: If you're going to call someone "illiterate", you're gonna have to get the grammar spot-on or you'll look like the idiot.

Yesterday was horrendous viewing for all of us, and at the end, I was just glad it was all over for another year. It feels like the last 6 months or more have been high-level stress, thinking about it on a daily basis, wondering and hoping for a positive outcome.

Now we've stayed up, I don't really feel anything. To my mind, nothing is going to feel any different until there are announced changes that actually happen. One will be investment, and hopefully as part of that, a full clear-out of the board and especially removal of Kenwright.

Someone on here said to me yesterday I would wake up, look in the mirror and see a smiling face – well, unfortunately, I didn't!

I feel exactly the same!

Let's now hope that there is a major change in the running of the club before next season.

Coady spoke yesterday about a sense of relief, but I don't even feel that. I guess as players your only job really is to put the pigs bladder in the onion bag, or keep it out, so they have that relieved moment as players.

What do we have? Uncertainty. Lots of uncertainty.

That seems to be the common feeling, certainly mine. Jubilation at the point of the goal and the final whistle, followed by a sort of resignation and deflation about the position we found ourselves in at season's end, followed now by a seething resentment about the long-serving (non-serving? self-serving?) custodians of our great club.

Gonna (sic) ask a question: If you use a colon, should the first letter of the following word be in lower case? I'm not a grammar expert, so please excuse any "illiterate" errors.

I believe they do use a capital in American English but that's a whole other basket of bananas.

I just hope that we: a) have money to spend to strengthen the squad; b) we have people that can be trusted to spend that money wisely; c) there are lots of quality free signings willing to join us if we have don't have money; d) nobody can successfully sue us, ie, relegated teams; and e) we don't start the new season with a points deduction.

All credit to Sean Dyche, his backroom staff and the effort from the players to get us over the line again.

The short answer is no. The long answer is, sometimes!

Welcome to the wonderful world of Englishish.

I think the way you feel is the common denominator amongst the majority of Everton fans this morning.

It was me who told you you would see a smiling face in the mirror this morning, James; you are not trying hard enough. Before you look in the mirror again, think how you would have felt if we had lost or drawn and gone down yesterday? Surely you would have seen a glimpse of your lips turning upwards!!

He achieved the bare minimum, but so many here want to worship him as the master of stability. He's Steven Bruce with better PR.

If Doucoure didn't give the ball away against Forest when we were 2-1 up then we'd have been safe going into the final game too wouldn't we? But again, he did give it away and we weren't safe.

I won't bother repeating the facts as you've made up your mind but he did what he was brought in to do.

In ideal circumstances, Dyche would not be my choice as manager, ie, in circumstances far from where we have been and still are.

The kind of arrogant thinking that would consider immediately despatching him now we've survived is straight from the failure playbook of delusion characterizing Moshiri's time here.

I thought the "noise" around Everton supposedly considering their manager options over the last couple of days prior to the last game, and posed questions of such, were disgraceful, whatever their source or intent.

As a club, we are not too good for anyone right now, and not good enough for most. Cold reality time.

I kicked every ball yesterday and still can't believe we survived. At times this season, we looked like the worst team in the Premier League and scored the fewest goals. The writing was on the wall and I don't blame the pessimists, but even they were extreme towards the run-in.

Well done, Mr Dyche – you had just enough time to try everything and make the right choices in the end.

It must never happen again, the board needs changing, starting today – get some professionals in to oversee real strategic change.

Thank fuck we're still a Premier League side. Have a good summer everyone.

I'm possibly the biggest cynic of bullshit I've ever known, to the point it really impacts my dinner party invitations. Yet I have to say, I don't think Dyche is near the worst example.

Different opinions, I guess.

Dyche will not move us onto the tails of Man City or the Top 8 but there's a high chance he will provide a base. That might stop at "better Burnley", depending on players, but for now, it's better than we've had. Sad reality.

An interesting part of one interview he gave about the club, paraphrased, was "Some of the stories I could tell would take hours, and I don't mean the team on the pitch."

This is the kind of reality check we need for the next couple of seasons. We just escaped by a gnat's dick, again. The fantasy is over.

I wish he'd desist from the Doucouré may have mishit it though. I don't want that soiling :-)

I can only surmise that what Dyche said was tongue-in-cheek.

Twice I heard him say it.

Alex Parker? Wow – that's a blast from the past. The king of the slide tackle.

I was also very impressed with James Garner. Quality and much better than he was in The Rockford Files!

You said "I cannot put the news on here" – why not? What was it about yesterday that stopped you and today that didn't? Presumably the bloke still has the same health issues today that he had yesterday? What changed?

And why all the cloak-and-dagger "I know something you don't know and I'm not going to tell you" bullshit?

Will, I'd never post a single negative thing at you or in your direction, but I do have to point something out.

You say, "Dyche will not move us onto the tails of City or the top 8 but there's a high chance he will provide a base."

Will, he took Burnley to Europe.

We're not talking about Newcastle or Villa here, two "big" clubs. We're talking about Burnley. To Europe.

It would appear to me if Sean Dyche can accomplish that with Burnley, who's to say what he could do with a club of stature?

The counter argument is that he also went down with Burnley, and I'd concede that is a valid point. But again, we're not talking about a big club. The fact he kept them up for so many years on a shoestring budget is near amazing.

And the fact he qualified for Europe with Burnley is damn near walking on water in my opinion.

This guy talks straight. He's had real success previously with no real financial backing. He's a hard working, no nonsense motivator. He's not perfect, but he is an avenue for this club to regain an identity, and in the end who's to say what he can actually accomplish with Everton, if Everton right the ship at the upper-management level?

Will, truly consider the accomplishment of getting Burnley into Europe and ask yourself if maybe he can get this job done over time with Everton?

Cheers mate.

Also, I did post on Saturday night that one poster, I think it was Brent, was near when he asked was it about a player's health? Seems most posters overlooked that!

You're right, I generalized about Burnley and what they mostly were under Dyche. I forgot about their Europe foray. Incidentally someone else mentioned it somewhere on TW today, which I read after posting.

I agree with what you say. I think keeping him would be a sensible step, the best step for now, which I hope came across. This said, he probably isn't the ultimate high-level success manager but that if true (or applicable), is for far into our future. Who knows?

First thing is to stop the lunacy. We all know what that has been.

Stop the lunacy. INDEED!

Cheers bud.

Agree with all you say.

I used to think Burnley played alehouse football and labelled Dyche as such but, to me, apart from picking Maupay and Keane, he has done an outstanding job in the face of boardroom nonsense, major injuries, and dodgy decisions.

There aren't many honest people in football but Dyche is one of them: blunt and honest and I believe he can be the building block we need to rebuild this club.

And Jason, come back, I don't want it to be weird, just hear this out. The short version is all the outcomes you complain about are somewhat accounted for in Dyche's contract; there is nothing to complain about.

That contract was weighted toward the outcome of survival which implies it didn't matter how he got it across the line. Add to this what it looked like from Dyche's position. I'm sure he did not expect the absences of Doucouré and Calvert-Lewin.

This makes an additional point to be considered. Neither Dyche nor anyone else foresaw those very impactful factors that worked against our chances of survival. In that context, Dyche is being criticized for having events occur – not for how he found a response to both situations.

Instead, it's ended with us finishing 17th, just avoiding relegation, and hopefully a new board to take us forward instead of stagnating. Well done to Dyche, his team, the players, and not forgetting Doucouré and that saving goal! 💙

The issue with keeping him on is that recruitment will inevitably be with his system of play in mind. That's fine if that's what we and the club want.

But imagine in 2 years time, letting Dyche go then and the new manager being faced with a squad that only works for a 4-4-2, with a big lump up front, not comfortable in possession, very direct, and so on.

Perhaps Thelwell can find a middle ground and identify players that work in a more progressive system too – though that would not be Dyche's ideal, I think.

There may need to be some compromise. Else a change in manager really needs to come now.

No matter how fit the team... we would never have been safe under Lampard.

I think you raise a reasonable concern for the longer term. That being said there are players out there who are adaptable. Longstaff for one looked like a poor man's Joe Parkinson but he's adapted well to Howe.

Back in the day the likes of Bowyer and Harte were in Graham's hard working functional team but found new levels when O'Leary changed the style. Someone like McNeil for example seems to have that adaptability. They're the kind we need.

I agree Garner is our best dead-ball guy and a player I think can help us turn the corner. That said, I don't think he has loads of assists yet – a set-piece taker is still required, alongside a striker, full-backs (cover) and a midfield playmaker.

We need a centre-back as well unless we can get Mina on a pay-as-you-play deal.

Well what if we imagine that the players Dyche recruits fit into the system he uses and Everton are starting to make movements up the table? There would be no need to change the manager.

Imagine further that we are in a position to spend, which hasn't been the case since Dyche arrived, and Thelwell and the manager work well together in the transfer market and agree to buy certain players that fit into the system.

I think imagining positive things helps more than imagining negative plans.

For me, he gets Everton, he has had no money to spend yet and had to try and get a balance to the team. We need a bit of stability for now, aim for a little higher each season, but for now, we have to stick with Dyche.

Baby steps for a couple of seasons, get our fianances into order and move into the new stadium then we can think about a new manager if need be.

Dyche is the least of our worries, he has got the players fit, but the imbalance of the squad he has to work with – even Pep would struggle.

Get the ownership sorted out, bring in people at the very top who know how to run a buisness. If funds are available, get a better balance to the team.

I am not saying we are both right; others will have different views and I respect that, but that's the way I see it.

Remember not too long ago the Chelsea success came when the Russian rubles started pouring in but look how they have gone down the pecking order since Abramovich went.

Dyche has served his apprenticeship and is at the right age to really succeed in the Premier League if he can get the financial backing.

I like the pairing of Tarkowski and Coady in the middle and think Garner is getting better with every game but what happens next season is anyone's guess.

Iwobi has really improved this season and his endless endeavor is amazing. Onana can learn from him.

The strike force should be the primary focus as I do not see anything we have as being useful next season. The lack of real ideas in the opponent's third is and has been a problem all season except for the Brighton game which was a freakish result.

Pity we never produced any talent under Unsworth, one of Kenwright's ass-licking buddies, that has come to fruition right now.

Dyche: 21 pts from 18 games… 1.2 points per game. Whole season extrapolation — 46 pts and mid table.

Same squad, no pre-season, board shenanigans, stadium build, less time and more pressure to put it right. And he just made it.

Dyche's not our dream manager, but he is a decent fit for our reality. And our reality ain't changing drastically next season neither.

Is that comment supposed to be for me, because I didn't say anything remotely like that.

I named 2 players who were very important in our survival that I'd give Dyche credit for getting the best out of, and about 4 more who I think will still be with us at the beginning of next season who could still, possibly, be decent for us.

There isn't going to be a great influx so we have to hope some of what we've already got can do better. Is anyone really going to argue with that?

I genuinely thought we were doomed after we lost the home matches to Wolves, Leicester and Southampton. I didn't see where we were getting enough points from to stay up and the forthcoming fixtures looked like a mountain with all the so-called winnable home fixtures gone.

When we lost at home to Fulham, I didn't see any other outcome. The Doucoure sending off v Spurs, the Keane penalty error, Forest beating Arsenal, Leicester drawing at Newcastle, the Calvert-Lewin and Patterson injuries. It all just seemed to point to one thing: relegation.

When you look back, he has engendered some belief into this squad. Thinking back to Holgate's sending off at Palace, Keane's equaliser, Mina's equaliser, the comeback vs Leicester and Pickford's penalty save, Simms's goal vs Chelsea etc. He's done all that with one barely fit centre/forward and zero recruitment.

Dyche has got us back to basics and people who say he doesn't get us, he has understood that we value hard work and fighting spirit. His "sweat on the shirt" mantra was what I wanted to hear when he took over and he has instilled that into arguably one of our worst ever playing squads.

I think he will sign players that will fit his style and we can start to rebuild this club. He also had the balls to take on the job.

I work with a Leeds fan and he said we were relegated because we didn't take Bielsa. His beloved Bielsa wanted to work with the U21 team and let somebody else carry the can. Dyche took on the job and kept us up. I, for one, will be be forever thankful of what he has done.

What worries me though is the Profitability and Sustainability Rules breeches and their ramifications. A points deduction would mean we're starting the season from a worse position than our rivals. A transfer embargo could mean relegation.

I'm half-expecting legal challenges from Leicester and Leeds' as it is. I expect one or two teams who have had good seasons this season to be in the relegation mix next season (Fulham, Brentford, Palace, for example), because that is how the Premier League works. West Ham and Leicester where "best of the rest" for a time but you can interchange a lot of teams in the Premier League.

I'm old enough to remember when our youth setup was the envy of Europe. Throughout the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s, a steady stream of future stars emerged from the ranks of Everton's young talent.

It was no coincidence then, that these youngsters were coached by the best backroom staff in the country. Their development was such that, when the opportunity arose, there was no hesitation in promoting them to first-team duty.

Successive managers were eager to field homegrown young blood, confident in the knowledge that their apprenticeships were complete and they were ready for first team action.

Compare that to the Kenwright years. Surrounding himself with 'Yes Men', he created a 'jobs for the boys' fraternity which, while creating employment for underachieving ex-players, did little for the development of home grown talent.

Unsworth presided over this unhealthy situation for many years. He was more concerned about preserving his own position, than coaching Under-23s.

He paid fees for overage players to consolidate the league position of the Under-23s. How could that be considered building for the future, when all he was concerned with was results? His cohorts, Ebbrell and Jeffers proved no better. All Kenwright's yes men.

Unsworth's alleged cozy 'understanding' with the hierarchy at the club, created a bombproof situation for himself and the rest of our shambolic backroom staff.
How was young talent going to emerge in such an unhealthy situation?

Hopefully, the structure of our youth development will be completely revolutionised as soon as these charlatans at the top are finally ousted.

The sooner the better. Go now for God's sake!