The last three managers of Everton Football Club have all been Champions League winners in either playing or coaching capacities. Their potential and pedigree has been beyond question, with a collection of glittering CVs catching the eye of the Goodison Park HR department.
It is fair to say that some household names have delivered a mixed bag on Merseyside, with occasional forward momentum all too often followed by steps of the backwards variety. For too long, stability and consistency – the most sought-after of commodities – have proved elusive for the Toffees.
Priceless
With that in mind, a change in approach of sorts has been adopted when handing managerial reins to Sean Dyche. While he is a proven Premier League performer when it comes to the art of collecting priceless points, he is not the kind of ‘name’ that has been favoured in the recent past.
Trying something a little different should come as no real surprise – after all, Albert Einstein once said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. After being backed into a corner, Everton need to find a way of coming out swinging.
It may be that substance trumps style for a while, but there will be few dissenting voices if that helps to get the club back on track. When it comes to elite level sport, everybody is chasing the ultimate end goal – be that on the field of play or off it.
In Premier League circles, it is all about keeping heads above water and climbing the table. Momentum is key in that pursuit, and that is only achieved through hard work. Each passing fixture presents the toughest of tests, with favour in betting odds and among those in the stands often earned the hard way. Everton need to start proving that they can be reliable, both to those that come through the turnstiles every week and to those seeking to make revenue from online wagers across a whole host of markets ranging from individual match outcomes to Golden Boot winners and final standings, with odds comparison tools as valuable across those online platforms as scouting networks and statistical analysts are in the real world.
Dyche will be busy pooling together all of the resources available to him at Goodison and has made it clear that everybody has an opportunity to impress. He has said of his methods: “Different managers have different feels for different players and different styles, about how they wish the team to play. I’m looking at the players with a clean slate going right – how do they fit in with what I think is appropriate?”
Backing
Having been appointed on January 30, with only hours remaining in the winter transfer window, the latest man to fill the Toffees’ hot seat has not been able to call upon the financial backing afforded to some of his predecessors. He is, for the most part, having to get a tune out of a squad assembled by others.
Dyche did, however, never have much money to spend at Burnley and found a way of allowing them to punch well above their weight. He is not one to complain about the hand that he has been dealt and will be looking to show after taking on another big challenge that he can keep a poker face locked in that allows Everton to compete with the high rollers.