Few can deny the remarkable job that Sean Dyche has done across his 12 months in charge of Everton.
Yesterday marked exactly one year since his appointment, when he signed on and threw himself into the deep end on Merseyside.
He promised to fashion a hard-working team that would give everything for a fanbase that had earned at least that, and to his credit, that is exactly what he has done.
For the most part, this is a side now willing to leave everything on the pitch, and his work in healing this shattered club has been miraculous.
So, it is no surprise that he has been touted for bigger and better things, albeit tenuously through a hypothetical talkSPORT conversation.
However, it does pose an interesting debate.
What talkSPORT had to say about Sean Dyche
Speaking live on talkSPORT last night (5:30 pm, 30/01/23), Jason Cundy and Andy Goldstein ended up devolving into a heated debate over whether Dyche was ready to take the step up to the elite level.
As a Manchester United fan, the latter was particularly incensed when it was suggested that he might have been a good fit for his club.
Goldstein noted: ‘He’s at a massive club Everton but they just can’t get anywhere near to where they should be. Is it a case of at that club just constantly putting out fires?’
This prompted Cundy to respond: ‘Feels like it doesn’t it? To be honest with you, Sean Dyche, I don’t think that’ll really bother him. He’s not one of those managers that will go in a press conference and start using that as a bit of crutch or an excuse. He’ll just say it is what it is, he deals with it.
‘I would like to think that there is a chance to manage one of the big clubs but I just don’t think he’s going to get it.’
However, what truly sparked their debate was a clip from earlier in the day, where Jeff Stelling said he would love to see the 52-year-old at Old Trafford.
Goldstein was having none of it: ‘I think there’s a big difference between managing at a smaller club to worldwide superstars, and on the back of that, I think when Man United are looking for their next manager, it won’t be Sean Dyche because he’s not a Hollywood name.
‘Whatever way you look at it Man United are really struggling at the moment, they’re really poor, hopefully since Jim [Ratcliffe] has come in things will change. I’m a believer in Erik ten Hag I think he will turn things around, but either way if he doesn’t work they’re not going to from Erik ten Hag to Sean Dyche.
‘I think Sean Dyche has got more chance of managing England next than he has one of the top six sides.’
Everton are lucky to have Sean Dyche
It is quite ironic to see Goldstein so certain that Dyche would be a bad fit for United, given the work he has done in fixing a club with far greater issues than theirs.
When he took over, Everton were dead and buried. Marooned around the relegation zone and inheriting a squad devoid of confidence and quality, he turned things around miraculously to steer them to Premier League safety, and has worked wonders in forging the team in his hard-working identity for this season.
Were it not for their points deduction, he would surely be earning similar praise to Andoni Iraola and Gary O’Neill, especially given his side would be above the former and a point behind the latter.
Dyche may not have experience at a club like Manchester United, but he does have experience dealing with problems far bigger than the ones faced there.
If he was to be given the reins, which would break the hearts of many Evertonians, there are likely few better placed to recapture those core ideals which made Sir Alex Ferguson’s reign so revered.
Pride for the badge, work rate, decorum and dedication. Everton are lucky to have him in charge, and United would be too.
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