Everton would NOT have gone down underneath Sean Dyche… sacking him has solely made relegation extra doubtless for a membership who actually can not afford it, writes IAN LADYMAN

Everton‘s new owners the Friedkin Group have sacked Sean Dyche by looking at the Premier League table. Had they considered his record and specific skillset, they may just have pressed pause.

Results this season have not been good enough. Dyche said that himself this week. He has been dogged at Everton by a struggle to score goals and in the end it has done for him.

Nevertheless, is Everton’s squad better than those of the teams above them? Is it better than that of Crystal Palace, West Ham or Manchester United?

It would be hard to say that it is, so if they are hovering above the relegation zone — rather than in it, as they were when Dyche arrived in January 2023 — then maybe there are deep-rooted reasons for that.

All teams must feel as though they are moving forward if managers are to survive and Everton have not been. But neither have the club. Everton have been stuck in a cycle of uncertain recruitment and ownership volatility for so long it is hard to recall when they were not. Financially they have also been in a stranglehold and Dyche is not the first manager at Everton to suffer for that.

But they would not have gone down under Dyche. At least, it’s hard to think they would have. The 53-year-old played a trick on gravity year on year at Burnley and his time at Everton has been characterised by periods of difficulty punctuated by short runs of results that have provided breathing space.

Everton are now more likely to be relegated this season after the decision to sack Sean Dyche

This Everton squad need stability and Dyche would likely have got results to keep them safe

Relegation would be disastrous, so it is understandable the Friedkins would be feeling anxious

Had Everton’s owners held their nerve, the chances are it would have happened again.

With a move to their new ground at Bramley-Moore Dock imminent, Everton literally cannot afford to start next season outside the top division. They have been a top-flight team since 1954 and now would be a disastrous time for that sequence to end. 

So if the Friedkins have been feeling anxious in the wake of their defeat at Bournemouth last Saturday, it is understandable.

Nevertheless, sacking Dyche has only increased the jeopardy. Everton’s squad needs uncertainty and instability like it needs another points deduction but that’s what it has now. This move has arguably opened the door to relegation wider rather than closing it.

West Ham jettisoned Julen Lopetegui because they were losing games heavily. It was the same at Wolves with Gary O’Neil. It was like that at United under Erik ten Hag, too.

Dyche’s Everton were losing games on the margins, which is different. It hasn’t been good enough but the question facing the new manager will be how much scope there is to make things terribly better.

Clubs such as Brentford, Brighton and Bournemouth — smaller than Everton in terms of stature and history — have moved ahead of them in recent years with intelligent modelling and joined-up thinking. At those clubs, the coach is just one factor in their success.

At Goodison Park in recent years, the manager has had to do all the heavy lifting on his own and that can only work for so long — hence the churn through men such as Dyche, Frank Lampard, Carlo Ancelotti and Ronald Koeman.

Everton have lost games on the margins and the question is whether a new boss can do better

The Toffees may have a bright future at their new stadium  – but are not well set up as it stands

Keeping Dyche in the short term seemed an obvious move, so it is a big call to part ways now 

Everton are not set up to do well on or off the field. Maybe new ownership and a modern stadium will change that. But not now. Not yet. 

A new face may introduce some freshness, though, and if they can find a way of scoring more they will pull clear of the bottom three.

There seemed an obvious way forward in the short term and that was to allow Dyche to keep the club up, then thank him and say goodbye. His contract was up at the end of the season anyway. It’s a big call to move away from that road now.