Sean Dyche told he’s asking for trouble with ‘embarrassing’ decision that has upset Everton fans

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Everton’s recent unbeaten run came to an end on the weekend with defeat suffered on the south coast against Southampton.

Despite playing the side who were rock bottom of the Premier League, Sean Dyche’s men were unable to take even a point back to Merseyside on Saturday.

Pressure may now be starting to mount on Dyche as the prospective new Everton owners are eyeing potential managerial options.

Dyche has already come under pressure from the Everton fans this season with the Toffees starting out their campaign with four straight defeats in the Premier League.

Everton were unable to keep a clean sheet against the side who have scored the fewest goals (7) in the Premier League and one key decision has come under fire.

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Sean Dyche warned of ’embarrassing’ Everton decision

The results on the weekend did not exactly go in the Toffees’ favour with Everton’s cushion on the bottom three having been reduced.

And former Everton defender Michael Ball has told the Liverpool Echo that Dyche’s decision to leave out Jarrad Branthwaite has absolutely baffled him.

“He’s got Jarrad Branthwaite, the best defender at the club sat on the bench for most of the game so he’s leaving himself open for criticism and asking for trouble with the fans if he doesn’t win games,” said Ball.

“Unless there are changes, I fear he could start losing the fans and even losing the players, if he hasn’t done so already.”

Ball did urge Dyche to start Branthwaite ahead of the game against the Saints and it is a decision which has come back to bite the Everton manager.

“Leaving Branthwaite on the bench just hands the opposition a boost. Yes, Dominic Calvert-Lewin needs to work harder and do more, showing more heart and quality – his head doesn’t seem in the right place for me at the moment – but we take off an England international striker and finish the game with Keane up front alongside Beto again.

“That’s where we are as a football club, it’s embarrassing. It’s not modern day football at all.”

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Why Jarrad Branthwaite did not start for Everton vs Southampton

With their star defender sat on the bench, Dyche admitted he did not want to change the Everton backline following their impressive run of form.

The Toffees had gone five unbeaten with James Tarkowski and Michael Keane as the starting centre-backs.

However, not starting Branthwaite did not go down well with the Everton fans on Saturday with Dyche slammed for his decision.

Everton have some seriously difficult fixtures coming up over the coming weeks and having a solid defence could be crucial to them picking up points in these games.

There was a lot of interest in Branthwaite over the summer transfer window and not starting him at Everton surely not do their favours of keeping him around any favours.