Everton are a side transformed under Sean Dyche, with the only thing standing in the way of their clear progression in the table being the Premier League themselves.
As a club with clear ambition under Farhad Moshiri, who sought to spend big on players, managers and a new stadium, their failure to invest with intelligence has left them hugely hamstrung.
However, few predicted that it would result in as harsh a sanction as the ten-point penalty they received.
It rocked English football, as the most severe penalty in the 135-year history of the top flight.
However, that has not deterred Dyche‘s men, who impressed against Manchester United despite their 3-0 loss, and bounced back from such disappointment to win away at Nottingham Forest most recently.
Now, the former Burnley boss has issued a rallying cry to his squad, as he told Everton’s official website: ‘We have to keep believing, the fans have been terrific [at Goodison Park], without a shadow of a doubt. The performances have been very strong there, but seeing the games through and taking the chances, that is the next level of home performance, because a lot of the home performances have been very good.
‘I have said before that I thought the home performance against Manchester United was very good. I know it doesn’t look like it with the 3-0, but that was a strong performance against a good outfit, so we have got to secure that mentality and keep delivering good performances.’
How has Sean Dyche improved Everton?
The progress made under their 52-year-old manager is clear for all to see at both ends of the pitch.
Under Rafa Benitez, and later Frank Lampard, the club were on a consistently downward spiral and struggling to score goals. However, by foregoing their defensive security in order to fix that problem, they ended up in a middle ground where they excelled at nothing.
This is best exemplified through the 2021/22 season that the two shared, in which Everton finished the season on 38 points, having scored just 43 whilst shipping 66.
That averages out at 1.13 goals scored per game, and 1.73 goals conceded per game.
Now, comparing that to Dyche’s current campaign, and the difference is stark.
Although the finishing has been somewhat lacking, their expected goals tally of 23.92 has them set to easily surpass that aforementioned figure with another 24 games to play.
Meanwhile, their current boss is averaging 1.53 points per game, and across a 38-game Premier League season that is set to see them finish on a whopping 58 points. Naturally, the points deduction will have an effect on that.
Regardless it is clear that they are heading in a positive direction at last, with Dyche’s desperation for more only indicative of that brighter future. A new contract is a must.
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