It all started so well for Sean Dyche. Less than one week after being recruited by Everton to salvage a chaotic season which had descended into a fight for Premier League survival, Dyche masterminded a shock, but deserved, win against a rampant Arsenal.
Then 19th and on a run of six losses and a draw, no one gave Everton a prayer at Goodison Park against a title-chasing Arsenal side who had won 16 out of 19 league matches.
Yet, the Toffees delivered a performance that featured all the trademarks of their new manager: organised, compact, aggressive, quick to every loose ball, and attacking and defending in numbers.
The euphoria which engulfed the stadium on that February day went beyond three precious points. It reflected the hope and promise that, if the team could continue to deliver similar displays until the end of the campaign, the threat of relegation would be staved off with significant ease.
Dyche was a seasoned pro in engineering Premier League safety having kept Burnley up year after year on a relative shoestring budget, until he and the club ran out of steam at the end of last season. He was the best available, and attractable, manager to allay at least Everton's short-term fears.
And yet, as Everton approach the final six games of the season, they find themselves back in the drop zone and in serious danger of falling out of the English top-flight for the first time in 68 years.
The deep and toxic problems that have led Everton to this point are well documented. Mismanagement from the owners and in the boardroom over the past few years, which long predates Dyche, has seen a high turnover of managers and resulted in an understrength squad.
The club has sold key players and failed to sufficiently replace them as the financial issues mounted to the point where the Premier League last month referred Everton to an independent commission for potential breach of profit and sustainability rules. This came after Everton reported losses of £44.7 million for the 2021/22 season – the fifth successive season a loss was reported.
Everton 1 Arsenal 0: Player ratings
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EVERTON RATINGS: Jordan Pickford - 7, Showed plenty of authority to come out and deal with balls into the box and convincingly saved Leandro Trossard’s shot. Booked for time wasting. AP -
Seamus Coleman - 9, Matched Gabriel Martinelli and hit him with a big tackle early on and continued to do a good job on the Brazilian for the rest of the game. Delivered a great cross to set up a chance for Calvert-Lewin. AP -
Conor Coady - 9, Made a whole host of important interventions, including clearing Bukayo Saka’s shot off the line, recovering after his header hit Eddie Nketiah and halting Martin Odegaard’s run into the box. AP -
James Tarkowski - 9, Put in a solid display as he made a great tackle to cut out Saka’s pass to Nketiah, but did sell himself for the striker’s chance. Had a header go out off William Saliba at the other end, but then headed in Everton’s winner. EPA -
Vitaliy Mykolenko - 8, Set the tone for Everton with his aggressive start and did a superb job of dealing with Saka. Took charge to deal with the ball after a loose touch from Nketiah but hit a horrible shot at the other end. Booked for cynically tripping Saka. AP -
Alex Iwobi - 6, Put in a lot of good work to help the full-back behind him and delivered a good cross that forced Gabriel Magalhaes into an awkward clearance. His cross was poor after some great work from Calvert-Lewin, and he was saved by Coady after playing a poor pass. Getty -
Abdoulaye Doucoure - 7, Was very busy at times and did well to win a free-kick from Thomas Partey, although he sent a header horribly wide. Did well to cut out Odegaard’s pass through. AP -
Idrissa Gueye - 8, Broke up Arsenal play well at various points throughout the match, even if he gave away a couple of needless free-kicks for catching players with his hands. AFP -
Amadou Onana - 9, Broke up Arsenal play and often got Everton going forward, making a great run and coming within inches of finding Calvert-Lewin. Was also a threat in the air and tried to beat Aaron Ramsdale with an inventive shot. Booked for a lunging tackle on Ben White. AFP -
Dwight McNeil - 8, His defensive work to help out the full-back was superb. Also made a good drive forward before seeing his shot blocked and delivered a great cross for Doucoure’s chance. His set piece deliveries were brilliant throughout and he provided the assist for Tarkowski. Getty -
Dominic Calvert-Lewin - 7, Competed brilliantly throughout to give Everton a platform to build from. Couldn’t quite get his goal as he came within inches of reaching Onana’s pass then headed wide. EPA -
SUB: Neal Maupay (Calvert-Lewin, 62’) - 6, Couldn’t provide the focal point Calvert-Lewin had and hit a poor shot from range. Booked for a foul on Oleksandr Zinchenko as he worked hard to help run the clock down in the closing stages. AP -
ARSENAL RATINGS: Aaron Ramsdale - 7, Did brilliantly to beat Calvert-Lewin to a loose ball and authoritatively dealt with McNeil’s floated cross. Nothing he could have done about the goal. AP -
Ben White - 6, Was tested by McNeil but defended well and played some nice switches. His sloppy pass was almost punished. Getty -
William Saliba - 6, Played a couple of poor passes and had moments where Calvert-Lewin made him uncomfortable, but blocked a threatening shot from McNeil, then did brilliantly to deny Onana a clear header at the back post. Action Images -
Gabriel Magalhaes - 7, Often showed authority in his defending, heading away Iwobi’s cross well and controlling Ramsdale’s pass, but completely lost Doucoure for his headed chance. AFP -
Oleksandr Zinchenko - 5, Got into good positions and passed the ball well but disappointed at some key moments. Booked after reacting to Maupay foul. Getty -
Martin Odegaard - 4, Received the ball in tight spaces but couldn’t open Everton up, as epitomised by his pass not quite finding White. Hit a wild shot after good work from Nketiah and was then shrugged aside by Tarkowski for the opener. Getty -
Thomas Partey - 5, Failed to impose himself on the game, with his shot from range comfortable for Pickford to deal with. Gave away a foul after playing a loose pass. AP -
Granit Xhaka – 5, Struggled to overcome Everton’s midfield. Played a poor pass to Martinelli in a promising position, flicked his shot over the crossbar, then played a sloppy pass that allowed Everton to get forward. Reuters -
Bukayo Saka - 6, Had a few bright moments but Mykolenko did a great job of dealing with the winger, and he was unlucky to see his well-hit volley cleared off the line by Coady. Snatched at his shot under pressure from McNeil. AFP -
Eddie Nketiah - 5, Didn’t see a lot of the ball but couldn’t control Odegaard’s pass in a promising position and hit a wild shot from his big opportunity. Had another shot blocked by Tarkowski and was unlucky Odegaard didn’t do better with his shot after teeing up the Norwegian. Reuters -
Gabriel Martinelli - 4, Was dealt with effectively by Coleman twice in the early stages, which set the tone as the Brazilian was anonymous for most of his time on the pitch. Getty -
SUBS: Jorginho (Partey, 59’) - 5, Took up good positions and moved the ball well but lost it in a dangerous position for Maupay’s chance. Reuters -
Leandro Trossard (Martinelli, 59’) - 5, Offered Coleman more of a challenge than Martinelli but his corners were poor. Hit a decent shot that Pickford saved well, then sent another attempt high and wide. AFP -
Fabio Vieira (Odegaard, 77’) – N/R, Saw his attempted cross blocked after he had floated into a promising position. AFP -
Takehiro Tomiyasu (White, 85’) – N/R, Showed composure on the ball in both attacking and defensive situations. Getty
Fan-led protests have also taken place throughout the season demanding the removal of owner Farhad Moshiri and chairman Bill Kenwright. The Premier League is not stranger to chaotic clubs but Everton have taken it to an entirely new level.
Yet, none of that can be of any immediate concern to Dyche and his players; points and survival are all that matters, and time is running desperately low.
Focusing on Everton's on-pitch problems, goals have been the biggest. No team has scored less than Everton's 24, hardly ideal ahead of Thursday's match against Newcastle United and the meanest defence in the league.
Leading striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin has endured a second straight injury-hit season and has been limited to 12 starts, scoring one goal, although his return against Crystal Palace on Saturday, and coming through 90 minutes unscathed, will be a big boost for Dyche.
“It was good to see Dom back out there. He got more minutes than we thought, the tempo of the game was lower so it allowed for that,” Dyche said in his pre-match press conference on Wednesday. “He felt good so he could stay out there. He's recovered well and looks sharp in training.”
Another positive for Everton's run-in is the return from suspension of midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure, who was sent off against Tottenham and missed the defeats to Manchester United and Fulham and the draw at Palace. Used sparingly by previous manager Frank Lampard, Doucoure has been a key player for Dyche.
“When we came here and he came into the side, he did make a difference,” Dyche said. “His energy, his application, scored, set up moments – just a driving force behind the team unit and we want the whole team to be like that. He was the catalyst in certain games and the team followed that.”
The most tightly-contested relegation battle in recent memory – six points separate Everton in 18th and 14th-placed West Ham – looks set to go down to the wire, and while for a brief moment, the Toffees looked to claw themselves out, they are firmly in the mire.
“Only the league table at the end of the season is the one that counts,” Dyche said. “You have to monitor what's going on but we can only control what we're doing. Results outside, if they go our way, brilliant but the way that we're trying to plan it is to help ourselves out.”
The only way Everton can help themselves out is to win matches. The next few weeks will shape the future of the club, one way or another.
