Everton best in the Premier League at one statistic that shows Dyche’s big impact

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Everton’s blind ambition under Farhad Moshiri was admirable, but in the end, it proved more foolish and regressive than anything.

They sought to upset the traditional top six with a new group of expensive players and a shiny new stadium with which to house them, but those combined costs have ended up leading the Toffees down a dark path.

Now sat in the relegation zone again, courtesy of a points deduction that was administered for flouting the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules, Sean Dyche has been left picking up the pieces of a broken club that continues to take hit after hit.

Such has been their fall from grace, they have unsurprisingly fallen down in a number of key metrics. As a once steely defensive side under David Moyes, and then a free-flowing attacking unit under Roberto Martinez, the tenures of Rafa Benitez and Frank Lampard ensured both of those assets were completely stripped.

However, it does feel like under their new 52-year-old boss they are healing.

This is no better exemplified than in the one statistic in which they rank highest in the entire division for, with Everton managing 19.8 tackles per game at the time of writing.

Narrowly ahead of Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace, and completely dwarfing the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool, it is clear how the tactical differences affect this figure.

Who is Everton’s best tackler?

Realistically, it should come as no surprise to see the Toffees rank so highly in that area, given the core ideals that most Dyche teams have boasted over the years.

To then blend that with a hard-working midfield, a couple of defensive wingers and a back four who all love a heavy challenge, and the conditions were perfect to see Everton reach the pinnacle of tackling.

However, at the apex within Goodison Park is actually Vitaliy Mykolenko, whose 3.6 tackles per game stands comfortably clear at the top. Given the resurgence enjoyed by the 24-year-old, even adding goals to his game, he deserves such praise.

He is closely followed by the midfield trio of Amadou Onana, James Garner and Idrissa Gueye, who boast 2.5, 2.4 and 2.4 tackles per game respectively.

It is a testament to this philosophy that even Dwight McNeil and Jack Harrison are posting 1.8 and 1.4 tackles per game, having wholeheartedly bought into these ideals, via Sofascore.

Given how their form has hugely increased under Dyche’s leadership in recent months, they will hope to maintain this trend and tackle their way to safety.