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2024/25 Sean Dyche

I don't think we have a better squad.

Nah, sorry, what?

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It’s like he’s uncomfortable with how many points we got last season as he wants to live in a perpetual relegation dogfight. He has orchestrated the drop in expectations with his language and mannerisms. As a manager it’s up to you to motivate the players and make them believe they are better than they are, look at the likes of Klopp making Origi and Nat Phillips think they are Champions League level players. We’ve got a manager who wants our players to believe they’ll be lucky to finish above Leicester and Southampton’s Championship level squads. Eventually that’s going to lead to a tailspin, which looks like it’s started.

As I say, he isn’t turning it around. The rot is too deep at this point. The players don’t believe in him and no longer believe in themselves.

Moyes caused a big problem with this at us with inferiority complex. He'd downplay expectations to his own benefit at every opportunity - always has. Man Utd won the league, he rocked up and said any result vs Newcastle is a good one. At Sunderland he said it would be a miracle if they stay up before a ball was kicked etc.

But at the moment, a spade is a spade.

I also don't agree with the last sentence, there's no sign this team have downed tools IMO. You don't go 2 up at Villa away etc.

We're just poor.
 
Yet, we also went on a run like this.



Swings and roundabouts isn't it?

We earned 48 points last season.

Last season I said that "achievement", all considered, is the most impressive of any Everton manager since Moyes finished 4th.

Hard then to say sack him after 4 games - all 4, the opposition were bookies favourite. 3 of the 4 have been games I've not expected us to get a result.

But, almost amusingly, I'm aware I've said he needs results in the next 2.


*5 games
 
Yup, and it totally killed any little semblance of play that we had up to that point. Beto can’t have been tired, he’s hardly played, don’t care that he’s a little rough and ready or not very good, he didn’t need to come off.

Ndiaye was then up against two massive cbs, and we started pumping balls up to him and crossing, he just disappears after being our biggest outlet and brightest performer - mental.

McNeil had been given a pretty torrid night out of position at lb, but was then thrust into attack, he looked goosed from about 60 mins to me.

Tim did ok, but the tactical shape of the team is broken and the midfield is a problem, especially with doucure in there - willingness to just let the opposition have the ball is killing us.

Harrison was his usual self, and actually seemed done in after about 10 mins, not sure if he got a knock - lindstrom did much more for me.

Young shouldn’t have been on the pitch, but didn’t really do anything wrong - got skinned a couple of times by that dibling kid and had a few mad shots that ended up in a Gwladys st garden.
Harrison put a beauty of a ball in if DCL was there, he also got the ball in the final third and was swamped with no support.

Dyche played for pens after 60 minutes
 


We made a profit last summer, as we have for 3 summers on the spin. No other club in the league have done that.

And I'll just finish the sentence you cut short;

I don't think we have a better squad. We didn't address what we needed to. We've been in a relegation scrap for 3 years because our final third don't produce enough. McNeil, has been relegated. Doucoure, has been relegated. Harrison, has been relegated.

So no.

This squad is no better prepared than last season*.

*Unless Ndiaye and Lindstrom turn up. Both gambles.
 
The squad is better than avoiding relegation though. Why have people allowed themselves to be convinced otherwise? Good managers get more from players and don't consider 17th success.
17th is the lowest we've ever finished so that should be seen as a bad thing.
You mentioned the points deduction and yes he helped navigate that but he isn't talking like someone who in effect got 48pts and 12th last season. The narrative among a large section of the fan base is 17th is success which is plain weird tbh

Who’s saying it is, I’ve said my expectation is 10th - 12th and I stand by that.

There is an assumption we are getting relegated - how many games did we win at this point last season and still earned 48 points. Sorry, no.
 
We made a profit last summer, as we have for 3 summers on the spin. No other club in the league have done that.

And I'll just finish the sentence you cut short;



So no.

This squad is no better prepared than last season.

I never asked you if the squad has filled its problem areas - I asked if the squad is better this season.

It just flat out objectively is unless you're Stevie Wonder. The fact we can now actually bench Doucoure is a godsend.
 
Moyes caused a big problem with this at us with inferiority complex. He'd downplay expectations to his own benefit at every opportunity - always has. Man Utd won the league, he rocked up and said any result vs Newcastle is a good one. At Sunderland he said it would be a miracle if they stay up before a ball was kicked etc.

But at the moment, a spade is a spade.

I also don't agree with the last sentence, there's no sign this team have downed tools IMO. You don't go 2 up at Villa away etc.

We're just poor.

Moyes genuinely overachieved here, he kept us up and then pushed us on to the next level with no money. His Achilles heel was big games, especially away. But it’s completely disingenuous to compare him to Dyche, he is and was 10x the manager Dyche is or ever will be.

It’s not necessarily a downing tools, it’s a belief and confidence thing. They have absolutely no belief in themselves, and it comes from the manager sitting in front of the media and telling them we’re relegation fodder, and also setting them up to basically hunker down on the edge of the box like a non league side going up against a Premier League side in the cup.
 

It’s like he’s uncomfortable with how many points we got last season as he wants to live in a perpetual relegation dogfight. He has orchestrated the drop in expectations with his language and mannerisms. As a manager it’s up to you to motivate the players and make them believe they are better than they are, look at the likes of Klopp making Origi and Nat Phillips think they are Champions League level players. We’ve got a manager who wants our players to believe they’ll be lucky to finish above Leicester and Southampton’s Championship level squads. Eventually that’s going to lead to a tailspin, which looks like it’s started.

As I say, he isn’t turning it around. The rot is too deep at this point. The players don’t believe in him and no longer believe in themselves.
100% agree
You keep telling your players they are relegation fodder they will eventually believe you.
Keep telling the fans we should be grateful for him saving us but deflects criticism is the stuff of dictators and cult leaders
Eventually fans start believing he is the only one who can save us(I've heard that said often!) because those expectations have been bottomed out.

He never wants to look higher up the table and its depressing. He touched it once and likely felt out of his depth
Hopefully he turns it round, because it looks like we are stuck for now, and the next owners don't fall for the 'he is perpetually saving us PR spin' by giving him a new contract.

Some more old guard, old mentality players out of contract at the same time. Need a new vision and new attitude for the new stadium
 
Moyes caused a big problem with this at us with inferiority complex. He'd downplay expectations to his own benefit at every opportunity - always has. Man Utd won the league, he rocked up and said any result vs Newcastle is a good one. At Sunderland he said it would be a miracle if they stay up before a ball was kicked etc.

But at the moment, a spade is a spade.

I also don't agree with the last sentence, there's no sign this team have downed tools IMO. You don't go 2 up at Villa away etc.

We're just poor.
 
Yet, we also went on a run like this.



Swings and roundabouts isn't it?

We earned 48 points last season.

Last season I said that "achievement", all considered, is the most impressive of any Everton manager since Moyes finished 4th.

Hard then to say sack him after 4 games - all 4, the opposition were bookies favourite. 3 of the 4 have been games I've not expected us to get a result.

But, almost amusingly, I'm aware I've said he needs results in the next 2.

Unfortunately our latest run is 24 Premier League games and 5 wins... I`m not sure a strategy of "hoping things change" is a solid one, and smacks of sheer desperation by the club. What we are seeing on the pitch is Dinosaur Dyche using the same strategy, let them have the ball, launch it forward and hope for a corner.
 

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