Sean Dyche's Everton axe clears way for David Moyes to make final journey to spiritual home
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As Everton managerial sackings go, the departure of Sean Dyche might just go down alongside the dismissal of Johnny Carey as one of the more unusual. After taking the team to a fifth-placed finish in the 1960-61 season, owner John Moores told Carey his services were no longer required as they shared a ride in the back of a London taxi.
Dyche’s ‘taxi’ moment arrived 191 minutes ahead of a third round tie in the FA Cup, the last trophy won by Everton, 30 years ago. Slightly bizarre? Yes. But when The Friedkin Group (TFG) took control of the club three weeks ago - wiping away debts, promising stability and bringing optimism where there had only been pessimism - the fanbase wanted boldness from the new ownership. And the timing of Dyche’s exit was certainly bold.
There will, no doubt, be complicated and conflicting explanations of why a manager left his post just over three hours before a big game, but the bottom line is that TFG have parted ways with a manager who many in the game saw as the man best equipped to ensure Everton’s Premier League survival. But there are only two problems with that viewpoint.
Firstly, Everton’s form under Dyche has been so uninspiring that survival was not guaranteed. Secondly, even at this early stage, the new owners are already thinking beyond survival. As they should be. When the dust settles, Everton loyalists will - or certainly should - have a sense of gratitude for the job Dyche did in twice keeping the club in the top flight amidst the crisis that engulfed it during the final stages of the Farhad Moshiri era. But that gratitude was in danger of being wiped away by a mainly dismal first half of a Premier League season that brought only three wins and 15 goals in 19 matches.
