Deep breath. Okay, here we go..

We have reached a crossroads. This season is panning out as another relegation fight, one which I suspect we may not get out of if nothing changes. Tactically dreadful performances, puzzling team selections and a refusal to change formation, personnel or tactics unless there is no choice, has left us facing a December that could be as barren points-wise as ever before. On this current showing, it's hard to see what, if any points we will gain before the end of the year.

I appreciate too that we are in the final stages of a takeover that is perhaps our only lifeline, so the appetite for change is virtually non-existent. But this, the last season at Goodison Park, is not showing the signs of a deserved celebration and I would hate it to end its days as the last in the Premier League.  

There is the very serious prospect of the possibility of only one more win before the end of the year. It really cannot continue. It is the elephant in the room that everyone skirts around: media, fans, pundits etc. In any other season, the performances would see the manager sacked long before now.

Dyche and his team deserve the many plaudits for the last two seasons, but brickbats a-plenty this season, so let him go. Now.  He is stubborn, bereft of ideas, and his tactics are failing badly.  The players look dejected, the fans too; fear is creeping in… and it's only the beginning of November.

This season needs fixing. A new approach, a better manager. Inspiration for the players.

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I am not talking of a 3-year project, that’s for the new beginning at the new stadium. No, the rest of the season is the issue. I would like to see Dyche removed now and an interim manager appointed until the end of the season. That man would be David Moyes.

Not because I like him, I don’t. I don’t like how he left, I don’t like his "knife to a gunfight" attitude, but he knows the club, he is a better Premier League manager than Sean Dyche any day, and more importantly, he would rework what we have.  

He would get the best out of players sitting on a bench: youngsters, forwards, better tactics — a short-term fix before a transfer window where we could well lose Calvert-Lewin and Branthwaite. It can’t be allowed to happen. But with both probably totally demoralised by Dyche's selections and tactics, who could forgive them for wanting away?

God help me for suggesting Moyes but it makes sense; do it now before the  December matches. Give us a lift, before the January transfer window opens, a chance to strengthen,  a chance of more points. This isn’t about the road back too greatness; this is about the road to hell and stopping the slide.

This season feels worse than the previous ones. We started badly, ill-prepared, structure-less and without shape or purpose or a plan for the new season. Bewildering team management bordering on arrogance has seen the manager throw the fans under a bus and refuse to change.  We have seen these players play some of the best football and lose. Some of the worst and win. But mostly, play some of the worst football seen at the club since the 1970s.

The Friedkin Group may not have finalised a purchase, but they cannot be happy with the way it's going on the pitch. Dyche's days may well be numbered in weeks, not months… it’s surely a virtual impossibility that he will lead us out at the new stadium next season.

Conversely, Moshiri could see a deal fall through and, worse still, relegation. Some decisions cannot wait and this is fast approaching.

David Moyes.  A short-term fix… only because he is still light-years ahead of Dyche, available, would come, and would succeed where Dyche isn’t. It pains me to contemplate a step backward, but sometimes that’s the only option.

The sooner, the better.

Reader Comments (1)

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Peter Laing
1 Posted 04/11/2024 at 00:05:16
I’ve heard that the Friedkin buy out and takeover will be ratified in either December or January. As things stand we have a Director of Football who is sitting on a contract that is running down, an interim CEO that was appointed for and whose sole function was to manage the completion of the Everton stadium, and a Manager who seems to shirk criticism and accountability having been in the job for nearly two years.

We are at a frightening impasse on the footballing front. Morale has been poor all season, the pre-season preparations were farcical and we started looking under cooked. Add in that there are a raft of players who are out of contract next season and motivation does not seem a key factor as they will likely know that a new contract won’t be getting offered.

Your suggestion regarding Moyes on a short term deal seems plausible, he may also be needed to ensure that the first season at Bramley Moor is about bedding in and stability. The option of continuing with Dyche and hoping that things will be ok is diminishing by the week.

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