Asking Everton FC Fans To Lower Expectations Is Unfair

Once again Everton FC manager Sean Dyche found himself discussing the noise supporters made at the final whistle after losing at home.

The boo that cuts through the air at Goodison Park after a poor performance is something of a throwback, a guttural reminder of the raucous atmospheres which used to define the Premier League but are in scant supply around England’s top flight these days.

Depressingly this discontent hasn’t been occasional in the past few years. The Goodison boos have become an almost inevitable part of life at Everton, as Dyche indicated in his response.

“I take it as the reality of the job here at Everton,” he said.

The former Burnley manager was as ever putting a brave face on the club’s 0-1 defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers, arguing the performance didn’t match the result.

“We were miles off it last weekend but we got back on it today [Saturday] with a good performance. It’s a performance that should win and it doesn’t, so we’ve got to take responsibility for that,” he continued.

“We’ve created enough quality chances. We did against Fulham and their keeper is man of the match and today [Saturday] their ‘keeper is man of the match, and that’s very frustrating because we’ve got to put it in the net.

“The stats will be good about the effort of the team and everything [on Saturday] actually apart from the stat that counts and that’s losing 1-0, and that’s the bit we’ve got to change.”

If Everton fans thought they might have heard these words from Dyche before they’d be right.

In April 2022, after losing 1-4 to Newcastle United the Everton boss was also answering questions about an exodus of fans before the full-time whistle and was keen to stress he thought the humiliating scoreline was not truly reflective.

“In the first half, it was a really good performance. Goals change games, not just the scoreline but the feel of the performance,” he said back then.

The truth is gloom surrounding Goodison Park really shouldn’t be there at this time of year

It’s August, a mere three games into the season, a time for hope and optimism about what opportunities lie in wait.

But the undercooked strategic approach the blue half of Merseyside suffers from means the long-term problems that have blighted the club show little sign of abating.

Ill-advised spending sprees on expensive and, in many cases talented, players who’ve failed to properly form a unit still burden the club and there is a new stadium to be paid for.

In short, transfers will not provide an escape from Everton’s predicament.

“People keep telling me why haven’t you signed two centre-forwards. It’s not rocket science; we’ve wanted to but it costs money,” Dyche said of the club’s current status in the transfer market.

“We’re trying to construct deals that work in our favor and we’re getting closer to ones that can help,” he added.

The choice of Dyche as manager is far from inspirational or exciting, sure, fans can appreciate what he preaches about work ethic, but he’s hardly a coach where it feels like momentum can be built for something spectacular.

His hire has always had the air of ‘needs must’-but that reliance on firefighter appointments is part of the problem.

Awaiting a ‘fashionista’

What is so disheartening about Dyche repeating his mantra about the team playing well but not getting what it deserves is that, between the two seasons, he claimed to have identified the problems that needed to be addressed.

He described the 1-0 against Bournemouth which kept the club in the Premier League for one more year at the end of the 2022/23 campaign as “a horrible day for all concerned.”

“There is no joy in it for me, other than getting the job done. I came in here to change a mentality and I think there have been signs of that. There is still more to go. I said to the players, ‘We shouldn’t be here. Enjoy this today but it has got to change,’” he continued.

“There is no point in sitting on it and saying, ‘Look how great we are!’ because it is not like that. There is loads to change here and a lot of work to be done but it was a big step to secure it. Work on next season started the day I got in here. Don’t think I thought this was an easy fix because it is not.”

The trouble is, having had a full pre-season to begin to instill this mentality, everything looks rather similar.

In some respects, the ‘mentality’ Dyche describes is in fact a lowering of expectations and a reminder that the basics need to be achieved before higher aspirations can be introduced.

It’s rare for managers to openly discuss asking people to expect less, especially at a historically successful club like Everton, but Dyche’s words have indicated he thinks such a shift needs to occur.

“I’ve tried to be realistic since I’ve been here but the problem with realism is not many people want it because it sounds boring,” said Dyche after survival was achieved

‘At the end of the day, it is time for that. There was a time when this club went from, “Let’s just do everything” but there is a time for realism. We need to get the fans connected to what we are as a team, to what I am as a manager. Then there will be a day when a fashionista can come in and we’ll have a beautiful product but what we need now is a rawness, a heartbeat Evertonians can grip to.”

The question Everton fans could rightly ask is does this ‘realism’ and ‘rawness’ actually work?

Because the evidence is that it produces similar results to the unrealistic complication that apparently proceeded it.

More frustrating still is watching clubs like Brentford or Brighton manage to deliver their fanbases, who have historically had a tenth of the expectations of Evertonians, a vision for progression far more optimistic.

Brighton in particular provides a constant reminder to clubs across the country that accepting the team cannot compete or has to resort to throwback soccer to survive in the Premier League is simply not true.

A strong strategy and determination to adhere to a project is more effective than hiring the next coach promising to steady the ship.

The trouble is such change goes beyond the manager and involves a fundamental shift from within the club’s hierarchy.

If Everton is to break this feedback loop which ends with it scraping survival the club will need to make bigger changes than just jettisoning Sean Dyche.