The deal with the Dyche devil

I couldn't believe it in the close season when Young and Harrison were both offered another season after being two of the poorest performers last season.

Young in particular gave goals, penalties and games away last season so yesterday's performance was hardly a surprise. Giving him another year was simply jobs for the boys and was typical of the way the club is run. Thelwell as director of football should not have allowed it.

As it was, we have signed four new players (excluding Jack Harrion, who was already effectively here) and he only played one of them!

So he picks a team with a back four and a defensive midfielder, only one of whom is less than 31 years old, and throws in another oldie at Number 10 who has been poor since his injury last season and is not a Number 10.

Two genuine Number 10s plus two genuine strikers were left on the bench until it was far too late to make any impact and, even then, two of the four new arrivals did not see any time on the pitch.

To call for Dyche to go is way too premature but his team selection was bizarre. Thelwell will be wondering why he bothered trying to improve the squad if the manager doesn't use them.

I was there yesterday and thought the crowd was poor — no attempt to raise the team — and as for walking out after an hour, the Palace game showed the folly in doing that.

But I suppose it's also very obvious that a lot of football managers have become multi-millionaires by having enough knowledge and experience to just keep a team in the top division.

If the players we signed are not deemed ready, then what does this say about the whole recruitment policy and the football club in general?

Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away, and then the match started. Or, to be more specific, maybe it was when I got inside the ground and saw the team sheet.

Until he is gone, nothing changes on the field.

By next weekend, I expect us to be rooted to the bottom. With Villa away looking a step too far, Bournemouth and Leicester already loom as games we must get something out of. 4 points at a minimum.

Harsh reality has collided with Lyndon's predictions or aspiration of a 10th or 11th place finish. That's probably roughly where Brighton will be and yesterday was a brutal revelation of what a team achieving that looks like.

Ironically, and despite the above, the biggest threat we may face is the club's ownership continuing unresolved, and Dyche having enough of the instability and packing it in. Especially if he isn't too closely associated with a relegation, Dyche's stock is plenty high enough to expect well-paid work as a relegation-avoiding trouble shooter. Cutting his losses may make sense to him by Xmas.

And if that happens, the odds on our relegation will certainly shorten quite considerably...

I know you like Dyche and I am not sure if he was a team mate when you were at Forest. As somebody said, he has enough credit in the bank to be given time to put this result behind us and move on.

While I agree about managers learning, I think you will agree that most have a belief in the way their teams should be set up and, over the years, I can't remember too many who change their philosophy — especially those around Sean Dyche's age.

Guardiola will set his teams up the same way. Not only does Guardiola's first team play that way, so do every team in the City Academy. It can't be luck that they produce kids like Foden, Palmer and many others, and these weren't brought in from other academies, these were boys born in Manchester or greater Manchester.

So the real question is not will Dyche change his style — that wont happen — but will he be prepared to play with more attack-minded players than he has now.

I said in another thread that Dyche is a fossil and I stand by that. He has absolutely no grip on modern-day football and its tactics.

A very young upcoming manager out-thought a man who has been years in the game and he should hang his head in shame for that.

I'm not sure how good Dyche is, because he has only ever managed teams with the worst budgets in the Premier League.

Although Everton's wage bill is a lot higher, I don't think it's because of the players who have signed for Everton whilst Dyche has been at a club. A club whose net spend over the previous five seasons must surely have us close to the bottom of the league?

I definitely give Dyche massive credit for keeping Everton in the Premier League (it's one of the main reasons I stood up and clapped for Kevin Campbell yesterday — because I believe he once did the same).

But football is all about today and Sean Dyche definitely bemused a lot of Evertonians yesterday, even if very few people would have been surprised by his very conservative approach.

Without wanting to get involved in any debates, Dave, I never saw Dyche get out thought, although his team selection definitely never left a lot to be desired

The Brighton manager "adapted" to our way of playing and acted accordingly; Dyche on the other hand stuck with a "set" plan and could not — or would not change it up.

That's what I was getting at, mate.

They reminded me of Burnley at Goodison last season. They looked like they had been concentrating on playing out from the back that much that they had forgotten about the second phase, and kept giving it away in the middle third.

But we simply never had the craft that is needed to capitalize on some very good possession.

While he has been here, we have signed 18 players which consist of 3 defenders, 4 midfielders and 11 forwards, which makes you wonder why we are one of the lowest scorers in the Premier League.

The list of players is: El Ghazi, Dele Alli, Andros Townsend, Donny van der Beek, McNeil, Onana, Maupay, Garner, Gueye (2nd time), Tarkowski, Beto, Chermiti, Danjuma, Harrison, O'Brien, Ndaiye, Lindstrom, Young.

Feel free to add any I have forgotten.

Moshiri doesn't care and has no board of directors to sack him and pay him and his staff off. Dyche isn't going anywhere.

My point is, if we want a new manager, then we'll need to move quickly with the new ownership and that doesn't look like it's happening anytime soon hence the need for the fanbase to start exerting some pressure on Moshiri. He's simply taking the piss.

For any number of reasons, it was a shocking start… but to lose so much support so early in the season will take some effort to recover, worrying stuff.

I'm guessing Dyche took Calvert-Lewin off for Beto as he was not risking an injury on, in his view, a lost cause. I thought any booing was aimed at Dyche and a like-for-like sub using an inferior player.

However, I don't think that applies to Dyche, whereas, the adage that applies in his case, is to continue to use a losing formula, expecting a miraculous turn around, which of course rarely happens.

Apart from the result of yesterday's match, it is the confidence — assuming there was an element of that in the first place — that will take a knock for both players and fans alike.

I have generally supported Dyche to a degree, believing he had pulled off a minor miracle in achieving Premier League survival; I'm afraid that support after yesterday is greatly diminished.

It will be a mixture of emotions this season, firstly regarding results and the takeover issues, with one eye on other results and of course survival. To enter the new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock and not be a Premier League team is almost unthinkable.

I meant to add, the fact that the club have not offered him a new contract may well be another cause of irritation to him. If I was him, I'd consider this decision by EFC to roundly point to his leaving when a new owner is appointed.

A new contract now would mean a hefty payoff, when running his contract down will cost EFC nothing. Will this mean he's starting to look elsewhere? Who knows… but not being valued by your employer (as he may see it) is not going to help him keep his mind on the job in hand.

I hope the changes in personnel increases the prospects of us being well clear of trouble in the next few months.