American Blue Scouser Column: Reflecting On Sean Dyche's Everton Tenure

The Sean Dyche era at Everton ended very underwhelmingly, but with him having taken on the Nottingham Forest job and with them playing the Toffees later today, I just had to reflect on Dyche's time in Merseyside. It wasn't perfect, but I will look on it fondly. However, there is one thing that bothers me that happened and it's not what you think.

Dyche took over the job when both the club were battling to stay above relegation and were in financial dire. Really hard job to say the least. Frank Lampard had a done a good job keeping the team up the season before, but it was clear during 2022-23 campaign that he was not a good enough coach. He was fired and Dyche took over. Dyche had been known to keep his clubs above relegation as they fought tooth and nail just stay up and that's what Everton needed. The difference between Everton and a team like Burnley was that the club was a much bigger one than all of the ones he managed before. Burnley was nowhere close to the stature that the Blues had. But what made him a good fit was that with how financially bad things were, he knew what type of players he had and would find a way to stay up, which they did. That being said, fans of the club knew something was different especially with how the attack seemed more explosive despite his 4-4-2 set up.

2023-24 campaign is something that made Everton supporters start to believe that Dyche might have had something in him. Despite the financial sanctions and points reductions, the team safely secured their spot in the Premier League with three matches left. If Everton not had any points reductions they probably would've finished in 11th. It was easy enough to see why Dyche could build upon it and bring this club back to some sort of glory. Unfortunately, things started to stagnate and the defense was not the same in 2024/25. While it was an unfair situation, Dyche was sacked eventually and his tenure was over. David Moyes took over and is still the manager to this day, but Moyes inherited a solid squad plus the financial burdens were starting to be overcome allowing him to spend more than Dyche ever had a chance to do.

So what bothers me? Well, had Everton not had any financial problems then Dyche might still be the manager. I firmly believe that the financial constraints Dyche has endured as a manager has only held him back of what his true potential is. If Dyche was able have the ability to spend more on players instead of having to get creative, then I believe that he could've shown how good of a manager he could possibly be. Sure, he isn't Pep Guardiola or Mikel Arteta, but a team like a Manchester United probably would succeed more often if he was at the helm (now proceed to point and laugh at that club and their stupid downfall). There's a reason Tottenham showed interest in Thomas Frank, a coach that was in a similar situation than Dyche (though I think a better one than him), and recruited him. Graham Potter was seen the same way when Chelsea brought him on board. Had Everton not had the cash problems like they did, Dyche could've been one of those coaches. But that's all woulda coulda shoulda.

So, to look back on his tenure, it should be seen fondly. Dyche did an admirable job with the constraints he had and possibly saved the club. His coaching even helped players like Abdoulaye Doucoure's attack succeed as much as it did or even helping Amadou Onana to flourish like so. Some of his recruitment was great too like Jake O'Brien and Illiman Ndiaye. Yes, there were some frustration towards the end especially not playing some of the younger players or how stagnant the attack became and not adjusting, but not all managers are perfect. Sure, Moyes is more pragmatic than Dyche, but would he have even been the manager now had it been Dyche with a solid cash flow for recruitment? However, I want to thank Dyche for the job he did and I hope one day, even with Nottingham Forest, that he gets that opportunity to succeed like he deserves.