When Everton sacked Frank Lampard in January 2023, Sean Dyche was a name on many Evertonians’ lips. He was available, he had a solid if unspectacular reputation, his teams were hard to beat but also hard to watch.
We were in disarray on and off the pitch, and he was viewed by many as a safe pair of hands. He would steady the ship, navigate us to safety and give us pragmatic but limited football.
Fast forward 2 years and we are arguably worse off than we were under Frank. We cannot buy a goal and the current modus operandi appears to be:- They shall not pass. The most we can hope for with this approach is a 0-0 draw (I have had my fill of these), while one mistake and we are consigned to a loss.
The players look as if they have absolutely no clue what to do going forward, they look completely uncoached and disjointed. They are less than the sum of their parts, devoid of any confidence, taking an extra touch when bravery and instinct is required. On top of this, having Dyche publicly criticise the players – in my opinion – will not help. This is absolutely a management and coaching issue.
There are 12 players out of contract this June. The significance of this cannot be understated. We need to clear out the current management team and give whoever we select the rest of the season to assess the squad and help us to hit the ground running come August 2025. There is so much work to be done between then and now.
I have been unimpressed with the names linked with one of the hardest – but most prestigious – jobs in English Football. Steve Cooper, Gareth Southgate, and Graham Potter are very different in their approach; I’m not sure any of them can steer us clear of relegation this season while preparing for the next.
We are used to a certain type of football, if not in the recent past, then certainly through the lore of the teams from the ’60s, at times in the ’70s, and definitely from the mid-’80s. Everton supporters are extremely demanding, we constantly compare current teams with those of the past. This is no bad thing, it just makes it an almost impossible task for any manager to deliver the success we crave given the current footballing landscape.
Sean Dyche will not give us the style of football we crave. We need someone who understands the club ethos, the fans, the footballing culture and the history. I would go with Lee Carsley and Seamus Coleman.
Based on the objectives outlined by the new owners, Carsley would be the ideal candidate to develop young players, give them a chance, and build for the longer term. Coleman can instil the ethos of the club and drill into them the privilege and responsibility that comes with representing this wonderful club. The respect his peers seem to have for our captain could give us the “new manager bounce”, a fresh impetus, to kick-start our season and drag us to Premier League safety and the Holy Grail of Bramley-Moore Dock, still a member of England’s top league.
Recent grumblings from Dyche, erratic and regretful comments at press conferences, point to a man who is under pressure, who is looking for excuses rather than answers. He may look back at his time at Everton as being at the right place, but the wrong time.
Evertonians will probably say it was a case of the wrong place at the right time. I wish Dyche well, but he is not the man to take Everton forward.