Everton would NOT have gone down with Sean Dyche… sacking him has only made relegation more likely for a club who literally cannot afford it, writes IAN LADYMAN

Everton's new owners, the Friedkin Group, sacked Sean Dyche looking at the Premier League table. If they had considered his background and specific skills, they may have simply paused.

This season's results have not been good enough. Dyche said it himself this week. At Everton he has been pursued by the fight to score goals and in the end he has achieved it.

However, is Everton's squad better than the teams above it? Is it better than Crystal Palace, West Ham or Manchester United?

It would be difficult to say it is, so if they are floating above the relegation zone, rather than in it, as they were when Dyche arrived in January 2023, then perhaps there are deep-seated reasons for this.

All teams must feel they are moving forward if managers are to survive and Everton have not done that. But neither does the club. Everton have been stuck in a cycle of uncertain recruitment and ownership volatility for so long that it's hard to remember when they weren't. Financially they have also been in absolute dominance and Dyche is not the first Everton manager to suffer because of it.

But they would not have sunk under Dyche. At least, it's hard to think they would have. The 53-year-old coach played a trick on gravity year after year at Burnley and his time at Everton has been characterized by periods of difficulty punctuated by brief streaks of results that have given him respite.

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

This Everton team needs stability and Dyche would probably have delivered results to keep them safe.

Relegation would be disastrous, so the Friedkins were understandably anxious.

If Everton's owners had remained calm, it would most likely have happened again.

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

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

However, Dyche's dismissal has only increased the danger. The Everton team needs uncertainty and instability like they need another point deduction, but that's what they have now. Arguably, this measure has opened the door to relegation more rather than closing it.

West Ham fired Julen Lopetegui because he was losing too many games. The same thing happened at the Wolves with Gary O'Neil. It was also like that at United with Erik ten Hag.

Dyche's Everton were losing games by the margins, which is different. It hasn't been good enough, but the question facing the new manager will be how much room there is to improve things terribly.

Clubs like Brentford, Brighton and Bournemouth (smaller than Everton in terms of stature and history) have moved ahead of them in recent years with smart models and joined-up thinking. In those clubs, the coach is only one factor in their success.

At Goodison Park in recent years the manager has had to do all the heavy lifting himself and that can only work for so long; hence the rotation between men like Dyche, Frank Lampard, Carlo Ancelotti and Ronald Koeman.

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

The Toffees may have a bright future in their new stadium, but they are not well prepared as it is.

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

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

However, a new face can bring some freshness and if they can find a way to score more they will move away from the bottom three.

There seemed to be an obvious way forward in the short term and that was to allow Dyche to keep the club going, then thank him and say goodbye. In any case, his contract expired at the end of the season. It is a great call to move away from that path now.