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
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.
