Sean Dyche is a self-confessed music fan, so he would recognize why there could only be one song for this miserable situation: Another bites the dust.
The most chaotic decade in Everton's history has seen the latest manager fall by the wayside, Dyche joining a list that includes Carlo Ancelotti, Rafa Benitez, Sam Allardyce, Marco Silva, Roberto Martínez and Frank Lampard. There have also been interim spells for David Unsworth and Duncan Ferguson in that period.
For many fans, it will mark the first big decision of the Friedkin Group era.
In recent months there has been significant tension in the relationship between the terrace and the dugout; The lowest point came at Bournemouth last Saturday when Everton were beaten 1-0 and were unable to get a shot on target.
Everton's form has been woeful, with just one win (a 4-0 thrashing of Wolves on December 4) in 11 games since turning back the clocks in October. That sequence is identical to the one Koeman claimed in October 2017 and, as it stands, would have replicated the numbers of Lampard (one win in 14) and Benitez (one win in 15) before they too were sucked into the vortex of Goodison. .
However, as always with Everton, this story is complicated. It is possible to acknowledge that Dyche was falling unacceptably short and at the same time give him credit for doing remarkable work under almost impossible circumstances. By rights, this club should have reached the Championship twice in the last two seasons; The fact that he didn't is largely down to him.
Sean Dyche was sacked by Everton just hours before their FA Cup third round match on Thursday.
His time at Everton ended with a 1-0 defeat at Bournemouth to extend a run of one win in 11 games.
Dyche's work at Goodison Park was harder than that of Pep Guardiola and Rubén Amorim
Many will be surprised by this statement, but Dyche's work was harder than that of Erik ten Hag and Rubén Amorim at Manchester United or that of Pep Guardiola at Manchester City. None of his Premier League contemporaries had been dealt such a hand.
Financial restrictions imposed by the PSR, eight points deducted, an absentee owner in Farhad Moshiri who only corresponded with WhatsApp messages and had long since stopped caring before selling, not to mention a team with many who wouldn't trust telling you that tomorrow is Saturday.
“Like juggling sand,” was how he described his job last spring. It was a beautiful and appropriate analogy.
It is easy to forget, when Dyche first arrived at Finch Farm at the end of January 2023 (remember that Marcelo Bielsa had rejected the opportunity to be Lampard's successor), how dangerous the situation was and few gave them the chance to survive. , but, somehow, they managed to do it.
Dyche produced a performance from his first game in charge against Arsenal that was so out of character with everything that had gone before, he was depicted as Superman in images on social media. Everton won 1-0, with a header from James Tarkowski, and the players stopped.
He knew he had to galvanize the spirit and one of the things he introduced to Finch Farm was the “Wheel of Misfortune”; If, for example, a player didn't wear the right socks for training, misplaced his shin pads, or arrived late, he would spin the wheel and the punishment could be anything from a fine to singing a song in front of the team in the canteen. .
But during those first few months, he was able to understand what life at Everton was really like.
With all due respect to Burnley and Watford, Dyche arrived in a new world and his head was spinning at times, such as how quickly the news had spread around the city in April 2023 that Everton had lost a match in closed-door training 1-0 to the Chester team of the National League North.
Everton fans will probably celebrate the first major decision made by The Friedkin Group
Dyche had to deal with an absentee owner in Farhad Moshiri and Everton's financial constraints
He achieved a victory over Arsenal in his first game in charge, but the negative stories kept coming.
Some members of the team mocked how Dyche would absolve himself of blame after losses.
“It's just another negative story that everyone is lamenting,” Dyche grumbled.
The problem was that the negative stories kept coming and coming. Some in the Everton Academy were unsympathetic to him because he did not provide a pathway for young players; More worrying was the lack of respect some members of the squad had for him.
Privately, they mocked how he would absolve himself of blame if they lost games, but have no problem telling them how much credit he should take after a win. What the whispers behind his back said was that the atmosphere around Finch Farm was never far from poisonous.
Last April, Mail Sport told him after a 6-0 defeat to Chelsea that unless the internal attitude changed, the cycle of misery would never be broken. He lifted the lid on what had been a frank exchange of views with the locker room.
“It's a fair question,” he said. 'I asked them: “Is this the cycle?” You want a new manager; you get one and everyone says, “Hooray!” Then, six months later, it's: “Boo! We want it out! Are you still doing that? Is that where we are? I don't mind telling you this because people want the truth.
Perhaps, then, you won't be surprised to learn that when the team was told (appropriately, at the Titanic Hotel) that Dyche and his staff's time had hit an iceberg, there was an immediate, positive change in their spirit.
One day this group will look back and realize the role they played in this misery.
Because this, truly, has been a miserable time to be an Evertonian. Yes, that incredible 52,888-capacity stadium on the banks of the Mersey shines beautifully on the city's skyline and perhaps leaving Goodison Park is exactly what they need to make a fresh start and start progressing.
The victory over Liverpool in April was Dyche's best night, but he failed to connect with the fans.
Several Everton fans could no longer stand watching Dyche's style of football.
Everton's abysmal tally of just 26 goals from open play since the start of last season is appalling
Dyche has seemed empty in recent weeks, exhausted by the negativity surrounding him.
One thing fans want is to be able to go to a game and have fun and unfortunately for Dyche he was never going to be the coach who had that connection with them. Many Blues simply couldn't stand to watch their style of football any longer and the statistics were appalling.
Since the start of last season, just 26 goals scored from open play is appalling and makes you wonder how they are so toothless; They sold Romelu Lukaku in 2017 and have since spent £183.1m on 12 forwards. Frankly, his recruitment has been a disgrace. Until that changes, nothing will change.
So Dyche, whose best night was the 2-0 rout of Liverpool last April, becomes another statistic. You've looked empty these past few weeks, exhausted by negativity and trying to find answers to puzzles that can't be solved.
They said that running England was The impossible job. Compared to Everton, it's a walk in the park.