“For me it's not old-school or new school – it's the right school!”

The Swan thing just no

On the interview...the commonsense and the honesty just shone through...the like I've rarely seen from an Everton manager in such a long time.

I wouldn't call him dour, Mark, I thought he was very funny at times. An honest and likeable man who has definitely grown on me.

Good results help, of course.

I had thought him a dinosaur: until I watched his coaching masterclasses.

At Burnley etc he had to rely on organisation primarily: here he has more talent and combining this with the basics has produced results.

I would love to see him given money, think he would spend it wisely.

I did like Lampard but realise he was not capable in the way Dyche is.

I for one would be happy to see him lead us out at BMD (and Wembley too).

And while I make a point of never watching Strictly and other Celebrity Soma, I would watch if he was in it!

I know Sean is riding the crest of a wave at the moment, what with the three wins and the pretty fair performance against Utd. However, I remember him getting a little snarky when we had that bad patch and he kept referring to 'the noise' prior to the I.C. hearing. Yet, even what he said there, has come to pass. I.e. With hard work, and focus things can only improve; which they have.

A telling point was that during the NUFC game (I won't insult skunks, who are little cuddly creatures) all the narrative was around them being fatigued, the injuries, having to play the same 10 outfield players etc.

Yet, not one person I am aware of in the media mentioned we had to change the team at the last minute, the vast majority of our team; Youngy, Tarky, Jarrad, Myko, Doucs, Gana, McNeill, Haz, Dom and Seamus; have either played near enough every minute of the campaign, or have had little to no pre-season due to injury and/or off-season competitions, and yet we still had the legs to keep running till the 101st minute. 104 minutes, if you count the 1st half ET.

Yet where were the plaudits for that? Look at the quality, and cost of their team? Nothing like that was mentioned was it? No plaudits were given to us, we were just 'lucky' or 'fortunate' to meet Newcastle at that time... Well as Pep only last week quoted the great Johann Cruyff, "There is no such thing as (bad) luck in football."

It's relatively simplistic but, you train hard, so you don't have to play as hard. Work to your strengths, and try and emphasise the oppositions weakness. Which is what we have done vs NUFC and CFC; and we just worked our socks off against Utd and Forest.

My last quote is from Gary Player the golfer, "It's funny, the more I practice the luckier I get?" All that just sums it up for me. That is the Dycheball way.

Brendan [2] OK, I'll drop the Swan thing BUT in mitigation, Lyndon started it with an autocorrect that got picked up on. It wasn't me Guv' honest! Hehe

Although it does makes sense to me, i.e. his outwatd composure, whilst inside he must have a million things going on in his head, just like a swan paddling.

I agree, not since Ancelotti have we had someone say it as it is, and before that even Davey was a little coy for fear of upsetting William... Prior to that, it probably would have been Howard MK.I

Dale [5] I just found the whole presser to be profound. Very simple, yet elegant. Delivered with humour and not brooking any excuses foisted on him. "It is what it is, we are where are (for now)"

My fave moment was when the journo asked him if he realised that without the 10 point deduction we'd be in the top half of the table, to which Dyche said "Why did you have to say that. We'd had a lovely afternoon"

The man is certainly moulded in the style of the late 80's and 90's. I can't wait to see what he does as he keeps adding to the squad. (Where and if possible)

If we keep the form, stay fit and healthy, and keep picking up points, it'll be easy to keep the faith in Dyche. The acid test would come, if the points deduction stays as is, and we hit a bad patch of form and start dropping points. Will we as a fanbase still remember what he has done thus far? Will he have credit in the bank; or will there be calls to get rid again?

We can only see.

Good wishes all

As I think that he and Kevin Thelwell have really got something going here. I watched a video last night on the PSI Sporting Directors channel, and Kevin seems to think that with Sean they have struck gold, and he is very easy to work with and pragmatic.

For instance, Kevin talked about last January. He said that they could have brought somebody in, but with money being as tight as it was/is, they (Kev and Sean) decided rather than bring someone in, who didn't fit the squad plan exactly, or weren't quite good enough; then why spend to appease the fans, who would have later pelted them for buying poorly AND create a problem down the road, of having spent money unwisely, and created even more fiancial issues by having spent money and loaded another wage onto the books. So as he stated, they decided to keep their powder dry.

It made perfect sense to me. In fact, the whole interview goes from how Kev has developed from being a junior coach with the WFA trust, to how he has developed his career as a Sporting Director and Director of Football, with a large chunk at the end of the interview being about Kevin at Everton specifically.

It was very, very enlightening. E.g. when he took the job, he said to his wife that she probably wouldn't see much of him for 12 months, which has been reappraised to about 2.5 years now... Just goes to show just what a mess the club was when he inherited the job role.

At Christmas each of the last 2 seasons we've been in crisis - desperate for change.

Not now. Incredibly enough and despite the meagre spending in summer and the outrageous points deduction, there's a real sense of positivity.

I’m wondering if they, Dyche and Thelwell, were in agreement both times that Danjuma was suitable for the way Everton are now playing, he seems to be a player with some ability on the ball but very limited without it, not a player who will fight for the ball, yesterday Dobbin, who I like, was brought on instead of the loanee, are we poised to try and cut short the loan? Can we do this?

The timing was very serendipitous indeed. When Burnley let him go, I didn't quite understand it, as they didn't have that much of a fund to use in the Jan TW? I know the new guy (I could look it up, but...) did fairly well initially then the same issues Dyche faced reared their heads again. Why Leeds never went for him, I'll never know, but I am grateful that they didn't.

I think we have to keep our powder dry re Christmas, there are still plenty of games to play till Jan.

Burnley-A, Spuds-A, Citeh-H and Wolves-A, with the Fulham LCup game for good measure too.

Personally, I would take 5-7points from those games and a Win in the LC game. I'd even take 4pts and a win over Fulham, tbch.

I just want us to get into the semi's and end the year with something to look forward to.

In that Thelwell interview I mentioned above; he stated that he doesn't know if they will be able to spend in January because of the situation with the takeover and club funds.

Apparently, we do have some wriggle room, and I believe, or am lead to believe, the biggest business will be to try to sell Gomes, and possibly Dele as we can't guarantee his fitness and/or availability, And at £100k per week, from now till June 30th. Thats approximatel 29 weeks or £2.9m.
Whilst Gomes is on £112,250 p.w. so that's another £3,255,250 till the 30th June. It's mad isn't, I wish we still had our shrewd, and ultra-sharp 'chief negotiator' with us, as he has done wonders for the club! Astute signings and tight, prudent contracts (sic!)

If we can shift them both, we'd have about £20-25m to spend and just over £6m available for wages. Which could mean we may be able to bring in another loan (our last) and maybe another signing.

Not to mention Godfrey may be going too, which would help with cash and wages too. I just hope we get a decent price for him if we do sell, and don't cut our noses off as per.

As you say Robert, there is a real, and genuine sense of positivity. I think although Dyche is the face of the club currently, we as fans, need to recognise the excellent job Thelwell has been doing behind the scenes, and aligning all the different stakeholders into trying to all pull in the same direction (finally!!)

Please could I ask, as I keep getting confused here, are you Tony's son, or Tony's Dad? Also didn't you used to play at Forest (if I recall all the threads and posts correctly?)

Re Arnie, I think that he would have been a Lampard target, which Thelwell probably tried to get over the line to fulfill Little Farsi's promise to the fans to sign a striker.

Arnie though is a forward, not really a striker. He's RF'd, and primarily likes to play LW, though apparently he is listed as being able to play RW and CF (NB Not as ST)

Due to the lack of playing time, it wouldn't surprise me, if as you allude to, if they negotiate an early loan termination, but I doubt it, as we are pretty threadbare up front if we lose two players (not inconceiveable)

In reality, we have Haz, Dwight, Dobbo, and Arnie as genuine wingers. I don't know what position Hunt plays? Just checked, Mackenzie Hunt, a left sided MF. I've no idea how good he is or what foot he has?

In short, we can/could cut the loan short, BUT only with the express consent of Villareal.

The only time a club can terminate a loanee otherwise, is if the loanee becomes injured. Then we would end up paying wages till they are fit anyway.

Would you be happy to see him go, or do you think he is still a useful squad member?

1. get results

2. talk up fans even during crap results.

He knows the "manager out" crew lurk around the corner but the 10 point deduction, the demise of Kenwright and the Moshiri/777 farago have proved useful in developing a circling of the wagons mentality.

He's very savvy.

Alli is worthless on the transfer market - and will clearly just collect his wages in any case until June too. It may be the last deal of any note he ever gets.

As for a January transfer kitty, I expect that to be zero although there may be scope for loans or a very limited market for free transfers.

As for cancelling the loan deal for Danjuma, I would say give it time. He's got some ability and a goal threat and he may yet make a decent contribution. He may be this season's Amokachi in the cup. At this stage it looks very unlikely we'd buy him outright but worth persisting with.

Here's the story;

Mason Holgate to be recalled

Seems like a good idea, and maybe we could get a better deal for the next loan, I.e. all his wages to be paid.

Re Alli I would agree, but he may be being lined up to be shuffled out the door just to get him off the books, or even loaned out to try and get him fit and a wage contribution. BUT I think that is highly improbable.

I think we'd take a nominal fee for Gomes, he's just taking up a spot, and costing us much more than he's worth. Take a tenner and get shut if necessary. Bygones.

I'm with you re Danjuma, he's done nothing wrong, he hasn't been spitting his dummy out, and we need him for cover. He could be a very solid sub when called on, or even a starter if Dwight breaks down again. Though funnily enough, Haz is better statistically on the Left than the Right, so maybe Arnie would go on the RW and Haz move to the LW?

All conjecture thankfully at the moment.

By the way Rob, what is Dobbo's best position?

It is interesting most fans would be glad to see the back of Gomes sooner rather than later. In December 2018 there was a clamour from fans for his loan to be made permanent. I remember one fan rang a local radio station phone-in demanding Marcel Brands act quickly to secure his signature as a ‘Christmas present’ to fans. That was typical of the sentiment at the time. There were even fears at the end of the season Spurs would steal him from us with a £30m bid.

In the end we paid £22m to general approval. Had we failed to sign him the board would have been castigated for its lack of ambition. Five years later fans castigate the board for making a poor signing. Another case of misremembering.

McNeil (ex-Burnley) is consistently at a high level of play under Dyche. He is not the weak player he appeared to be. He always had a shot in him. Even Harrison in effort and endeavour compensates for his occasions of weak play. If Danjuma is on loan, he may not be wanted next season.

Dyche seems to make his mind up about players and they have to work really hard to convince him otherwise.

I might be wrong about him, but I think the only real position he could play for us right now, is a 20-minute cameo up front?

That is an accurate description of him.

No retreat. No mercy.

Link

I would not fuck with this man for any amount of money. And I love the guy as our manager.

He was getting interviewed the other day and spoke about how his son, who is a professional footballer, is not getting a game, and he just keeps telling him to keep his head up and make sure he's ready when his next chance comes along. I think the advice that he his giving will have served him well when he was a young professional footballer himself.

I believe advice is always better when it comes from someone who has lived through what they are talking about and have come through the other side.

I like the fact that Dyche has had a really good apprenticeship before he was given the Everton job. He was under no illusions that the only reason he had been given the job was because the club was an absolute basket case. A match made in heaven, hopefully, but one that would have never happened if we had enough money to maintain our snobbery, maybe?

At the time, I thought we got good money for Gordon but I suspect in hindsight we didn't.

That lad would have been right up Dyche's street. And much as I love Harrison's work-rate, he certainly doesn't have the same quality.

I'm one of the few it seems who hasn't lost any sleep over Gordon leaving. He was never my cup of tea, and I thought it was decent money as well.

I still think he flatters to deceive (and he's just been taken off in their game v Milan).

I'm Tony's dad.

Re Danjuma, he hasn't had much game time even when Harrison was injured early in the season, scored a couple of goals at Doncaster and Sheffield Utd, the one at Sheffield put on a plate for him by Patterson.

I think he could get you out of your seat now and again but would frustrate you more often than not, but of course he will be most probably be needed in the next few weeks.

It would suit me if his deal was ended and another more robust player with a bit of nous was brought in as a replacement.

Bottom of their group and out of Europe, haha!

As for Anthony Gordon? I'm sorry it ended the way it did for him here. No-one came out of it looking good. But we needed the money, the Skunks needed to make a statement purchase, and the player needed to leave.

Having failed to leave for Chelsea, he produced near to fuck all for months. The £45M looked inspired. And we needed it.

I think a lot of us especially dislike any team or set of fans that display a sense of smug entitlement.

Many thanks for the clarification, I could never remember which way round it was, so thank you again.

Did you both have an association with Forest too, or was it just Tony? I seem to remember that you have said that you know Sean, Ian and Steve, and have visited them at Finch Farm. Did you ever spend time with Brian Clough at all?

To be honest, after an initial period of 'common sense' that; like no hoodies, snoods and gloves, and making the practise pitch the same size as Goodison Park, I started to lose the faith a little during the backend of last season, and the start of this season.

This season, was mainly to do with subs and player selection. However, I have listened to enough interviews and pressers, and read enough online material now to understand his reasoning. Things certainly seem to be looking up under his management system.

I guess it's like the old adage 'Rome wasn't built in a day'. Every manager really needs time to put their stamp on a team, unless of course you have access to 'unlimited' funds and resources.

I think I'm with you on Danjuma. I've trawled a couple of Spurs sites, and nobody seemed keen on Spurs signing him after his 6 (5) months there last season. Apparently, he had some rare good moments, but usually flattered to deceive.

As you say, maybe Kevin and Sean will try and get shut, and bring someone more 'robust with more footballing nous' as you say. Not to mention more hard working. Which really seems to be his Achilles heel.

Like I've said elsewhere by inference, he seems a luxury that Everton don't need just now.

I'd like a few changes this window, even if they are sticking plasters.

Out: Loan or Sale: Gomes (L/S), Holgate (L/S) (he's coming back from Saints allegedly), Keane (L/S), Danjuma (End of Loan)

In: CB (Ist need). RW/F (Nice to have!), LB (as an extra)

Then do a John Stones, or TAA with Ben Godfrey and convert him to a proper DM (he played there at Norwich on occasion), and fully utilise his tackling, pace and athleticism. He could still be called on as an emergency CB and or FB cover.

ps: I've no idea what to do with Dele Alli in truth, stick, twist or fold? I just don't know?