Under-pressure managers like Dyche and Ten Hag should not be for life, but at least until Christmas.
I was once interviewing an under-pressure manager at a Midlands club and he made some comment about the state of one of the training ground pitches to a passing groundsman, who responded dismissively. When the manager bridled, the groundsman replied, “Well, I’ll be here next week, it doesn’t look like you will be.” And he was right. Media stories about the manager’s future weren’t unfounded speculation. I had to file the interview quick. The manager was sacked a fortnight later.
A transfer window for managers is totally unworkable but at times it does feel as if teams would be helped if speculation about a manager’s future was placed on hold until January or the summer. At Everton, Sean Dyche is currently being put through the fans’ and media mill. Results are bad, defence vulnerable, entertainment minimal, they can’t hold on to leads and new owners The Friedkin Group are incoming. I do a podcast with Everton fans and the majority are Dyche Out. These weren’t the snipers from afar on social media. These were diehard Evertonians, home and away, and many had seen enough.
I tried to argue that Dyche is the man for a difficult period, as shown during Everton’s darkest moments of points deductions. Some credit for Dyche should surely carry over from last season where he calmly led them to safety. Everton finished 14 points above the drop zone. Dyche’s most important defender, Jarrad Branthwaite, could make a welcome return this weekend against Crystal Palace. Dominic Calvert-Lewin is fit this season. Jordan Pickford stayed (although there were strangely few suitors for an experienced, reliable keeper). Dyche has some good players.
I hope Dyche gets the chance to take Everton into the new stadium or at the very least see the season out, keep them up again, and depart with thanks and a pay-off. And yet if they lose to Palace and then to Newcastle United next weekend, both at Goodison, the speculation will intensify around Dyche. International breaks are prime moments for managerial exits.
All the talk about his future must annoy Dyche, who never feels he’s properly appreciated anyway. More significantly, the uncertainty can’t make preparing players for games any easier. Some players may look at him as that Midlands groundsman did his manager.
It’s very easy to argue a manager should go but suggesting a capable, available replacement is another issue. Has Julen Lopetegui proved an immediate success as successor to David Moyes at West Ham United? Many fans wanted Moyes out. Would Gareth Southgate be the answer at Everton? Would Maurizio Sarri? Dyche deserves the chance to prove himself to TFG.
Along the M62 at Manchester United, the game-by-game judging of Erik ten Hag continues apace, and is accelerated further by social media. In? Out? How loud were the boos from fans inside Old Trafford? Is he trending? Should he go for results? Performances? Unconvincing public utterances?