The People's Forum: Don't think it comes down to luck

Dyche was and is very good at defensive tactics, and when things are going well, isn't averse to releasing the handbrake. That was great for Burnley for a long time, and great for us when we were in complete disarray due to off-pitch issues.

He deserves huge credit for the season and a half steering us away from the rocks, but like Captain Bligh, he was better in adversity.

The pressure was off at the start of this season, and we did take more risks - Bournemouth and Villa saw us play some good attacking football but the back-to-back capitulations made him revert to type, and it just got worse and worse.

Towards the end, it was some of the worst football I have ever seen Everton play, and I don't say that lightly. It was the right time for him to go, we definitely can't complain and his reputation is intact. Good luck to the guy - seems a decent man and a decent manager in the final analysis.

Previous Message

I admit that I was one of those who questioned whether Moyes, or indeed any manager, would be able to get any more out of the current squad of players than Dyche.
I thought he did a fantastic job given the circumstances he was landed with. But I also agree that he got to a stage where he approached every game, prioritising not getting beat over trying to attack the opposition from the start of a game. It lead to boring football.
Moyes appears to have completely changed the mindset of the players, made a couple of significant tweaks to the formation of the team and has successfully navigated his way through 11 league matches and got enough points to make us safe for next season.
I am absolutely delighted to have been proved wrong.
However, I was thinking, how unlucky Dyche was during his tenure.
Apart from having to sell-some of his best attacking players, he has had a significant number of injuries to important players.
He has been particularly unlucky in the number of penalties that have been denied to the team. Fouls on DCL, Doucoure and Young not to mention the fact that Beto is never given a foul despite the fact that defenders climb all over him on a weekly basis. Fouls have been given against Tarkowski whenever he wins a header against a goalkeeper even though he has hardly touched him.
On the other hand, we have been given the benefit of the doubt regarding Tarkowski and Harrison decisions over the last couple of weeks.
Maybe Moyes is a luckier manager. If so, long may it continue.