Dyche hails 'very pleasing' performance after win over West Ham

I'm confident this season, for Everton, allowing good fortune with AFCON, injuries, and suspensions, will be pushing 7th and 8th, at least.

UTFTs!

Given where we are and the players available, the team picked against West Ham is probably the strongest we have at the moment.

We all have different opinions about individual players, for example, Onana, who I would persevere with, but I feel football is also about partnerships and players getting to know how each others play.

Obviously room for improvement but winning against teams like West Ham, those around us and those below will move us up the table.

Getting good performances against the better teams and hopefully picking up 3 points against them from time to time will get us back to being more like the Everton of a few years back.

Re Dyche, perhaps not the most exciting of managers, and probably not my first choice, but I couldn't tell you who is, so he'll do for me. I have listened to some of his interviews about management and he talks alot of sense.

It’s a very, very long time since everyone has been singing off the same hymn page at Everton, but if Dyche is slowly bringing this into our squad, then Everton will slowly begin to grow🙏

I usually write hopefully or imo, when giving an opinion, but I’m that confident about what I’ve written in my paragraph above, that no such words to back up my opinion were necessary!

No offense to Mick Lyon’s intended at all but Crooks is just a bit thick or if I’m kind a lazy journalist

Personally I was not convinced by Dyche but he saved us from relegation and he is slowly rebuilding us by 1- making us hard to beat and 2- making us do the basics right.

The more he says the more he convinces me that he is exactly what we need. Build the foundation and go from there.

Please also notice that we have some of the fewest injuries in the league, coincidence? I don't think so.

I think he knows he can't play Michael Keane but just sometimes we have no other options.

Just random thoughts UTFT

I think Branthwaite is helped in this respect by playing in such a well organised structure - that probably goes for other young players like Onana, Garner and Patterson. I suspect its what is now helping Mykolenko look like a player now after experiencing shambles after shambles under Benitez and Lampard.

We have a goalkeeper is the best since Neville.

We have defenders who know how to defend, indeed in the case of our central defenders and left back they relish the job. Hopefully, with games, Patterson will add to that list.

We have a midfield that is hard working and compact with lots of energy.

Up top we have DCL, enough said!

We are a top 10 in terms of playing without the ball and hopefully over time we will become a top 10 team when playing with the ball.

We have to keep pushing forward over the coming months, we are talking about EFC after all and we should put no ceiling on what can be achieved.

Dyche in!

The improvement has been significant. And maybe, just maybe, we can get ourselves out of the mess we got ourselves into through the first 8 games.

But it's far from done. We've wasted good fixtures and he's still harking back to how it was just bad luck rather than the choices that were made with personnel. There's nothing impressive about having lots of possession and shots against teams that come to sit deep. It's going to happen - the job is then playing people who can turn possession into genuine chances and goals.

There's a decent first team within this squad. It probably doesn't include Doucoure, who again had his boots on the wrong feet yesterday, but we'll have to wait for him to be injured or suspended for the team to again pick itself.

It will also be interesting to see whether Farhad Moshiri turns up at Goodison for any of the two upcoming matches and if he does what kind of reaction he may get. I have a feeling he will be at one if not both matches. I would expect he will want to pay his respects to Bill Kenwright. It would be a poor show if he doesn't.

Replace Doucoure with, say, Gibbs-White, Palmer or Maddison and we'd hit another level with the ball.

Replace one of our steady but not dynamic wingers with, say, Bowen, Mitoma or Neto and we'd be a cracking side.

Shame we're skint.

I know Harrison missed a couple on Sunday, but he's just come back from a fairly long lay off. But him, McNeil and Doucouré can take some of the weight off Calvwert Lewin. Give them some time together and I'm hoping they'll add up to a lot more than each individually. Along with Garner, we#ve got the makings of a good attack

Mykolenko looking much better with Branthwaite inside to cover - he had Salah in his pocket. Tarks after an indifferent start to the season now settled with a steady partner and not the nervy Keane. Having round pegs in round holes, who are playing well - simples.

Keep it going Dyche and beat Burnley. Winning that accursed League Cup will be just what this club needs.

The guy has performed minor miracles. 8 of the 11 fielded on Sunday are players who brought us close to relegation last season (9 if you count DCL).

Many of whom also were in situ during the previous relegation year.

Due to (as outlined below), he has had to put these players on the pitch regularly.

He had no signings which were urgently needed (when he was promised) last January.

No stellar or premier league top quality signings in the summer. We let go a fair few leading to a reduced squad.

With a complete shambles of hierarchy hell bent on steering us into an abyss. Financially inept. Woeful at anything and everything Premier League football club related and staring at huge sanctions for breaching rules and regulations.

Moaning about him is the best you can do !!!

Well I saw the tumbleweed blowing along Goodison Road after Lampard was sacked (I excluded the usual failed money grabbers).

Dyche has given us hope where there was none.

He isn't perfect and will make minor mistakes.

But LOOK WHAT HE HAS GOT !!!

Furthermore he may soon have to dig deeper into his bag of magic tricks if EFC haters and the premier league gets their way.

At West Ham we were not great.

But neither were they.

Mostly lethargic and looking knackered.

That rain soaked heavy going pitch may have been the culprit.

On a sunny day play seems to go at half speed on it.

Branthwaite is phenomenal.

Tarks outstanding.

Jordan world class.

DCL scored a gem. But has a look of concern should he push to chasing a lot.

We do have the making of a strong side if all manage to stay fit.

Taking any win from an away fixture is massive considering our record.

Now two homes games.

Hold onto your expectations

It is Everton.

Ok ok. 2 great wins a'coming

COYB

Is he doing the same with Dele and also waiting for Kevin Thelwell to re-negotiate the transfer deal with Daniel Levy? If he had fitness back (body and mind) then I would quite happily wait until February and be delighted for Dele Alli as much as EFC.

Can't disagree with much of your post. But...you knew that was coming. I think Moyes was fairly committed to winning things even if his methods didn't always suggest so. As for Ancelotti, to be fair to him, if I was in his position, I would have gone to Real Madrid too 😀

Also, a general comment re Dele Alli, Dyche might be the making of him. You never know until he gets tested.

Ps

Well said Peter Moore and well said Martin Farrington.

Having said that, his lack of subs yesterday (a Dyche trait, I believe) truly exasperated me.

I'm just hoping he was keeping some fresh legs for Wednesday. I'm expecting Gana, Beto and Danjuma to all start, hopefully with the first choice, solid defence behind them – and that means Patterson, not Young.

It's a big game for our club and fans in the League Cup but it must be a massive game for Dyche personally after his long stint as Burnley manager – not that he'd ever say so in public. UTFT

Three young players in our back four and, apart from Harrison who is only 26, we have McNeil 22, Garner 22 and Onana 21(ages may be out by a year) in midfield. Up front Dom is 26.

Sean is changing us and very much for the better.

Our reserve forwards: Chermiti, Beto, Dobbin and Danjuma are also relatively young players and it is hard to see the older players like Keane and Gana being here next season. Whether we can keep our young stars is perhaps the big question…

I wasn't overwhelmed when Dyche was appointed. I didn't have an alternative in mind. I guess like many others I was just at my wits end.

I remember reading a rather lengthy post from yourself about him. I really sat up and took notice when you told us you knew him well as a person from your playing days. You were speaking from personal knowledge of the man.

While you were not proclaiming him to be a world class coach. You did put together a list of qualities you thought he would be able to bring to this club.
He is indeed now demonstrating those qualities. We can now all see what you had already seen.

I think Dyche shows very similar values to the young David Moyes. Like Dyche, Moyes came into a club heading for the championship. He unquestionably steadied the ship, but found the next level a step too far. He stopped talking about glory and started talking about Glass ceilings.

I wanted your opinion on whether you think Dyche is a bit more than a ship steadier. We go into Bramley Moore soon and rightly or wrongly expectations will go through the roof.

Do you think we should start to view him as a bit more than a short term fire fighter ? or do you think he will be ambitious enough to aim a little higher. Someone who would be more interested in perusing success than managing expectation ?

I don't mean to put you on the spot, but I've been fascinated by some of your posts on this issue

I think if we are still in the Prem, and we can keep the players we've got, minus the few that we no longer need, we can slowly progress. Once we (hopefully) enter our new home, and we go in as a Premiership club, then I still hope/think Sean will stay, as funds are likely to still be in short supply; and I think he'll do a good job with the players we have.

If however we become an attractive club, because of our new stadium, then all bets are off. I think if that happens, new investors/ owners might come queuing up, as that Stadium will be a magnet for money. Then the demands on the club to be a success might mean something happening like Newcastle. New owners with much more funds than 777.

If we don't get the massive influx of funds, then I can see Sean Dyche and Thelwell, progressing slowly as they're doing now.

I had a good chat to him at Finch-Farm, and I know he wants to do well for Everton, but he has come into an extremely difficult job, and I’m sure he would possibly want to come out and say a lot more, but it seems like he has grown to become a very sensible man, which means he his probably going to keep his council, until a lot more Evertonians, really begin to accept him as our manager.

When I look back at the Howard Kendall era, two of my favourite memories come from stories that were told around the time. My favourite is Stoke away, when the under pressure manager allegedly opened the changing room window, and told the players to just listen to the Evertonians, and my second was at half time against Bayern Munich, when he told the players to just keep doing what they had been doing, and the Glawyds St, would suck the ball into the net. (Fuck rocket science!)

I think Dyche would definitely try and manage us like this, rather than going all technical, (and not because he’s a fucking dinosaur!) but I feel he will only really grow into the job, once he knows he has definitely got the respect of the very demanding Everton crowd. (I could be wrong)

The only real criticism I have had towards Dyche, is that I sometimes don’t feel he has been pragmatic enough, but I heard we began to look like a football team, who are starting to become well drilled and trust each other yesterday, which is what I was trying to allude would happen to Steve Stone, because he had surprisingly (to me) been impressed with Alex Iwobi!

Possible 12-point penalty on the horizon, controversial 777 takeover under review, half the squad out of contract in the summer and no money to spend. I think "short term" is not the word to use. Whether Dyche or anyone else comes in it's going to be a slow climb before we can "peruse success".

Reiterating what I said earlier, with the problems our club has had, I was hoping for a group who seem a lot more stable regards finances rather than this very shady-looking 777 Partners!

I hope so because maybe that is what he needs to make the step as a manager. Managers can progress like players I imagine.

Doucouré wasn't at the races against the Hammers but still nearly scored – that was a top save by their keeper. Every player can have an off day.

Branthwaite is better than Stones was at 21. He is better in the air, on the deck, just as comfortable on the ball, but most importantly, he knows when to get rid of it.

One last comment: Moshiri was in the Directors Box with Wander.

That's the highest praise I can give him. What a player this lad could be. And Sean and his staff are doing a terrific job.

We have taken 84 points from 86 games since Ancelotti left. I'm suspecting that is the worst run in our history. At the moment Dyche has 31 points from 27 so a marginal improvement, I guess.

On a positive note, however, there seems to be the emergence of some young players and a style of play which means we are at least hard to beat.

Oh for complaining about finishing 8th every season!

But those at times questionable decisions were made in part because he had to be a short-term firefighter since arriving, so was reluctant to take chances with youngsters or put players' health at risk. We were a complete dumpster fire when he arrived, and we started this season without a number of our best players fully fit. Now that our best 11 are fit and we're moving away from the relegation zone, the fire finally feels like it's almost out. Of course a points deduction could change all that, but for now we look alright.

I never understood the notion that Dyche lacks ambition or is a dinosaur. He's never had the tools at his disposal at Burnley or with us to aspire to anything besides survival. But what Premier League manager wouldn't want success?

Assuming we find ourselves where we belong at the end of the season, comfortably mid-table, let's judge him then on taking us to that next level in the coming years. If he gets us there, it would be crazy to think about replacing him, and crazy to think he'd jump ship. In Dyche I trust.

I think you know enough for certainly me to agree with you. The manager and the owner were in a comfort zone and for various reasons it suited both their narratives to suggest such a finishing position was a success.

What a change from John Carey's position where 5th was a failure in the eyes of the then-owner.

Everton were solid through the centre with Branthwaite and Onana offering necessary cover. Mykolenko accounted for himself well.

In midfield, Doucouré was not able to do his normal box-to-box, his limited passing ability was exposed. Harrison was involved in more defensive duties and did contribute in midfield.

Both Garner and Onana played well. McNeil was below par and though Calvert-Lewin scored a great goal, he was off the edge necessary to capitalise, though he was trying more to get in position. Everton did defend corners well, but could have done better with the corners they got.

All of this was down to Dyche's work on the training ground and the constant attempts by him to improve individual player stats. Fortunately the team picks itself, because Dyche can get it wrong sometimes.

I do think that Beto needs to be kept in the mix and thought Chermiti looked good, but the ball to him was poor, particularly from McNeil.

Late substitutions are still a problem. Dyche does not seem to react to tactical opposition substitutions, only after they have scored. The first 15 minutes of the second half Achilles seems to have been tackled.

But definite progress will only be warranted by a good performance at Goodison, since we have had a recent performance like this only to find that there had been a slacking off at Finch Farm midweek.

I don't think there is a midweek match to upset the routine this time.

They do have a game midweek unfortunately. So the game after that will be the test.

You clearly came away from your chat with the impression that, despite dragging us from the jaws of the Championship, he (and his staff?) still feel they have to win over the fanbase. That's probably true. The more false dawns, or should I say minor revivals, Evertonians see, the less likely they are to readily commit to the next guy.

Thank you for not ducking the question by catastrophizing about what might happen in the future. Opinions like that are ten a penny at the moment.

If there is a points deduction, I doubt very much that it will be as much as 12 points and, as you point out, a lot can change in a year. 777 Partners have only knocked on the door. Nobody knows what they will do, even if they are allowed to come in.

Let's cross bridges as we come to them. Stick with what we know rather than put up obstacles and arguments based on what might happen in our nightmares.

It's difficult for you to share everything you hear during these conversations, I know that… but you are the one who has the relationship with the management team. The rest of us only get to hear what they want to feed the press.

Once again, cheers.

He brought Mina back into the team in place of Keane at the crucial end of last season. This season, he has brought Branthwaite in and moved Garner more to the middle, which most fans were demanding.

If you look at Martinez, for example, he persisted with his lack of defensive responsibilities and overplaying at the back and it cost him his job.

The thing with Everton is that we are only ever 3 bad defeats away from a crisis. Dyche needs to get us winning more matches at Goodison. We seem to perform better away from home but he must turn Goodison into a fortress, again. If we do that, then we can have a decent season. If he doesn't, then I think we'll struggle.

The Luton defeat was a low point but there are signs that, when he and the team get it right (West Ham, Brentford, Brighton, Bournemouth, Villa in the Carabao Cup) then we look a decent team. I still think we are weak at full-back. Mykolenko has improved but I think we are vulnerable at both full-back positions.

We are very weak at fullback. Patterson is still a question mark, and Coleman and Young are dinosaurs.

Mykolenko is a defensive liability who offers nothing going forward. In the last 15 minutes at West Ham, he put a howler of a header straight into the middle of our 6-yard box. Luckily Tarkowski was on hand to bail us out.

That brings us on to Tarkowski, the guy is immense and is literally the glue that holds it all together. He's easily one of the best central defenders in the country.