Great Everton Managers are judged on the trophy’s they win, I’ve had the great pleasure to have watched the Catterick and Kendall years but I got a bit of stick after suggesting that if Dyche keeps us up it should genuinely be considered one of the great Everton managerial achievements.
Players and staff don’t live in a vacuum, the off-field issues have to manifest themselves on the pitch;
- avoided relegation in the last day of the season but despite an obvious lack of quality in the squad a great improvement saw us moving along nicely until the first points deduction kicked in.
- players playing with freedom become uptight, the crowd becomes nervous. 8 points deducted but the reality is its cost us more than that. Rooney was saying in the week how impossible it is to manage a club with points deducted.
- shambles off the pitch, an absent owner, the conflict with the Board. The chairman passes away, the Board sacked and transitioned to new personnel. No money for January transfers.
- lack of quality in key positions, no goalscorer yet he found a way to accumulate points. He’s coped with injuries and still kept us competitive.
- through all the issues he’s protected the players and I never thought for one minute he’d ‘lost the dressing room’.
- we all have our selection issues but he’s uncomplicated and pragmatic. Defensively outstanding, players not found wanting for effort.
I believe keeping us up this season is one of the great managerial achievements in my 60+ years watching. Dyche is unpopular on here but I didn’t mind watching his team earlier in the season, defended well but got players forward and created chances. When the going got tough he’s done what he needed to get us over the line.
We’re safe, we can have the discussion on how well Dyche did.
