Tis’ the season alright. Everton have received an early Christmas gift in the form of The Friedkin Group’s club takeover last week, purchasing outgoing shareholder Farhad Moshiri’s 94% stake.
Sean Dyche said that he wasn’t worried about his future after the acquisition, though it’s bound to bring change to an outfit desperate to improve.
In any case, recent reports suggest that change might indeed be afoot.
Everton considering Dyche dismissal
As per pundit Jay Bothroyd, via Football Insider, Everton’s first-team players are discontented with Dyche’s pragmatic style of football and his long-term suitability appears negligible.
That said, TFG won’t jump the gun and axe the experienced manager yet, for Everton have only lost two of their past 12 Premier League fixtures and have claimed points in recent matches against Arsenal and Chelsea.
The problem is that Everton’s 14-goal haul this year has proved emblematic of their struggles, toothless and uninspiring in attack. Indeed, the Toffees have failed to score in a league-high nine matches this year.
15th
Man United
21
15th=
Leicester
21
17th
Crystal Palace
18
18th
Ipswich
16
19th
Everton
14
20th
Southampton
11
TFG won’t do anything drastic, but they are bound to be assessing the market and might have the perfect dugout replacement in Graham Potter.
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Why Everton should appoint Graham Potter
When Dyche is no longer in the Everton hot seat, his tenure at the club may well be looked back at with more admiration and respect. He’s kept seven clean sheets in the Premier League since the start of October, more than any other side across Europe’s top five leagues.
But this is a time for ambition. Everton have languished around the pit of England’s top flight for several years now and TFG need a coach whose ideas will take root in a Blues crop capable of more.
Potter is the man for the job. Sky Sports’ Alan Myers acknowledged one month ago that Potter was a strong candidate for the Everton job but that Dyche would retain the club’s backing until the new year presents a clearer picture of things.
Described as a tactical “genius” by journalist Sam Morton, Potter enforces a ball-playing system that is fluid in its in-game shape and structure.
Over at Liverpool, Arne Slot promotes a similar outlook, and given the success that the pesky Reds have found under the Dutchman’s tutelage this term, it wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world to appoint a manager capable of turning Everton toward slicker and more stylish football too.
Potter also cut his teeth with Swedish fourth-tier side Ostersunds in 2011, leading the outfit to the Europa League in a remarkable journey that proved fundamental to his development as a coach.
Slot, too, has enjoyed the fruits of operating away from Europe’s top five leagues, managing in his homeland for a number of trophy-filled years before moving to the Premier League in the summer.
Given that Potter likes to play without a rigid formational structure and has showcased his talents in England’s major league with Brighton & Hove Albion and, to a less successful degree, Chelsea, over the past few years, there’s every reason for TFG to bite the bullet and replace Dyche with a more modern-tailored style.
It would be imprudent to dismiss the one-time Burnley boss off the bat, but it would be wise to keep a close eye on Potter, lest he fall into a rival’s clutches before Everton are able to welcome him as the spearhead of a promising new era.
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