Sean Dyche has recorded personal Everton 'victory' - but change in policy could be dangerous
It certainly won’t feel like it at the moment to either the man himself or anyone associated with Everton but despite another defeat for his side, Sean Dyche recorded something of a small personal victory against Southampton. In what was his 68th match in charge as Blues boss, the 53-year-old became the longest-serving Everton manager of Farhad Moshiri’s turbulent tenure.
Dyche, who held his previous position at Burnley for almost a decade, has now overtaken Carlo Ancelotti who was in charge for 67 games before he hastily scarpered back to Real Madrid at the end of the 2020/21 season. Dyche is of course the eighth incumbent of the Goodison Park home dugout in as many years (not including caretakers), so in many ways being the longest ‘survivor’ – and that’s probably an apt word in the circumstances – in the role is something of a hollow boast like being the tallest of Snow White’s seven dwarfs... you can make your own minds up on which of his many predecessors under the now wantaway majority shareholder might have been ‘Dopey’ or ‘Grumpy.’
If Dyche makes it through to the end of the current 2024/25 campaign when his current contract expires then he’ll actually become the first Everton manager since Roberto Martinez – axed a couple of months after Moshiri took control of the club – to have even completed two full seasons at the helm. These kind of damning statistics highlight just how managerial churn has got the Blues into the precarious position that they now occupy.
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Dyche often speaks about “controlling the controllables” but in this respect he didn’t do himself any favours in this landmark fixture. After throwing away a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2 for the second consecutive fixture in Saturday’s game at Aston Villa, the home tie against Southampton in the Carabao Cup provided Everton with a swift opportunity to exorcise the demons from the weekend and pick up a potentially morale-boosting first win of the season against Premier League opposition rather than brooding over what happened for a full week before returning to the Midlands for their showdown at Leicester City.
Instead, his team selection smacked of a manager who was treating one of just two realistic avenues to end the club’s record-breaking 30-year trophy drought as an unwelcome distraction. After avoiding what would have been a first relegation in 72 years by a single goal on the final day of 2022/23, Dyche was still bold enough to name stronger line-ups than this in last season’s Carabao Cup when the team could have been rewarded with a place in the semi-finals if Amadou Onana hadn’t tried a ridiculous ‘look how clever I am’ effort that backfired in a penalty shootout against Fulham.
Yes, Everton were hit by illness and unavailability in the camp that Dyche says restricted his options to just 12 outfield players but that being the case, you make sure that the best squad members that are still available are on the pitch. Eight changes were too many and although Southampton made 10, by their manager Russell Martin’s own admission their squad is probably “too big” and while you’d back the Blues best 11 in a contest, the newly promoted Saints seemed to have more strength in depth.
Joe Thomas' video views on the game
It doesn’t just extend to outfielders either. In this correspondent’s eyes, the concept of ‘cup keepers’ are a folly of modern football given that goalies don’t need to be rested. Jordan Pickford played in all Everton’s Carabao Cup ties last season – plus the previous round last month against Doncaster Rovers – so why leave him on the bench now?
Joao Virginia proved himself to be an able deputy in last season’s FA Cup ties but given that the Blues were – by their own boss’ admission – down to the bare bones, retaining a key player like Pickford could have made all the difference. His inexperienced Portuguese understudy didn’t get close to stopping any of Southampton’s six penalties, yet England’s number one has saved at least one spot-kick in every shootout he’s been involved in on Three Lions duty.
Tossing aside the Carabao Cup proved a dangerous game for Frank Lampard, the man Dyche replaced as Everton manager. He made an unprecedented 11 changes for a tie at Bournemouth on November 8, 2022, and even with a break for a winter World Cup in between it sparked a downwards spiral in form from which he never recovered before losing his job.
Chris Beesley's video views on the game
Of course, last season’s penalty shootout exit following four straight wins prompted a decline in fortunes that included a club record winless streak in the Premier League but in that respect, having lost all their games in the competition so far this term, the Blues must hope when you’re rock bottom, the only way is up as they go in search of their first points this term against the Foxes.
Privately, Dyche’s selection policy may well have been made with the game at Leicester City in mind. When you’re searching for a turning point though, rather than just considering an early cup exit as collateral damage, the defeat actually intensifies the scrutiny.
Having backed Dyche for the job from before he was appointed and been the most vocally supportive journalist throughout his tenure, the mantra that making another managerial change at Everton would be counterproductive and even reckless, continues.
Whatever your personal thoughts on Dyche the manager, or indeed Dyche the man, he has proven himself able to get a tune out of this squad in the most difficult of circumstances and keep his head when many of those around him are losing theirs. Like all managers, he is ultimately judged by results, but he came into this job with Everton joint bottom of the Premier League with over half the season played and kept them up. While it’s painful right now and such failures should never be considered the norm, the Blues still hadn’t picked up three points this time a year ago either.
After the turmoil on and off the pitch in recent years, those associated with Everton crave a season without more unwelcome dramas as the club bids a fond farewell to Goodison Park. Switching partners when you’ve already started the last dance with ‘The Grand Old Lady’ would be far from ideal, but we could all really do with a cheerful change in the mood music right now.