Graham Ruthven: Dyche-ball isn’t working for Everton anymore as another relegation battle looms

IT wasn’t always pretty, but Dyche-ball helped keep Everton up last season. Points deductions could have sent the Toffees down. They found themselves in the bottom three for a spell. Sean Dyche, though, galvanised his squad – and everyone at Goodison Park – to push Everton up to 15th place, comfortably away from trouble.

Dyche would bite your hand off for another 15th place finish because the outlook is now even bleaker for Everton. Defeats to Brighton, Tottenham Hotspur and Bournemouth mean the Toffees are just one of two teams still to pick up a point this term. The way they’re currently playing, it’s difficult to see where the points are going to come from.

Saddled with £650m of debt and actively looking for a new owner, this season was always going to be a challenging one. Last season, Sheffield United, Burnley and Luton Town provided Everton with a buffer. They were three of the worst teams to have recently played in the Premier League and so the Toffees had a low bar to clear.

 

This season, the standard at the bottom of the table will be stronger. On top of this, Everton’s squad is weaker after the departure of Amadou Onana to Aston Villa. Jake O’Brien, Iliman Ndiaye, Tim Iroegbunam, Jesper Lindstrom, Armando Broja and Orel Mangala all joined in the summer transfer window, but how many of those new signings truly improve Dyche’s lineup?

Everton’s current squad is among the weakest ever possessed by the club in the Premier League era. In Dominic Calvert-Lewin, they have a starting centre forward who has only scored 10 league goals dating back to the summer of 2022. In midfield, there’s very little in the way of creativity. At right back, 35-year-old Seamus Coleman is currently playing after 39-year-old Ashley Young was sent off on opening weekend.

"It's putting the ball in the net. That's the biggest thing and that's the next challenge."Sean Dyche says his side must start to take their chances if they're to escape the relegation zone. pic.twitter.com/n3xMiqFqhG

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) December 7, 2023

At its most effective, Dyche-ball has a few key principles. It demands that teams are well-organised and compact at the back. It makes good use of the wide areas where wingers are deployed as a funnel into the final third where a physical frontman can compete in the air and midfielders can win second balls.

So far this season, none of those things are happening for Everton. They have been defensively vulnerable, are struggling to make progress down the wings and are lacking attacking firepower having scored just twice in three league fixtures – and both those goals came against Bournemouth when a late collapse saw Everton concede three in eight minutes.

There is speculation that Everton could sack Dyche should John Textor complete his takeover of the Goodison Park outfit. Dyche driven a wedge between himself and the fans by making a series of snarky comments about the level of support he and his players are receiving. At this point, his departure would be popular.

 

But Everton have bigger problems than their manager. Dyche-ball might not be working anymore, but what manager out there would get more out of the current squad? Even if Everton were to make a managerial change, their team has been moulded to play Dyche-ball. Without a transfer window to bring in new players until January, Everton are wedded to their current manager.

Saturday’s away match against Aston Villa could be another chastening experience for the Toffees with Unai Emery’s team now a Champions League-level side. Things could get even worse before there’s any chance of improvement. Dyche called keeping Everton up last season his “biggest” achievement in management. The Toffees might need a miracle to stay in the Premier League this season.

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