Sean Dyche is set to become the next Everton manager after Frank Lampard was sacked earlier this week. Dyche and Marcelo Bielsa were the final two contenders for the vacant role at Goodison Park and after extensive talks, the former Burnley manager is set to take over the reins at Everton.
After a horrible run of games, EFC finally parted ways as two losses against direct relegation rivals Southampton and West Ham United. Everton looked soulless for quite some time and looked a stagnant side, incapable of winning games. Sitting 19th after 20 games meant that it was the last straw for Lampard and the Englishman was relieved of his duties.
The search for a new manager began immediately as names like Dyche, Bielsa, Marcelino, Wayne Rooney, Davide Ancelotti and many others were floated. At the end it came down to Dyche and Bielsa as Everton wanted to have a manager instilled at the helm by the weekend.
The Toffees next play league leaders Arsenal on the 4th of February and having a new manager by the end of this week allows the boss to evaluate the squad and instill his ideas into the team to a certain extent. It also gives the new manager about five odd days to communicate about potential transfer targets with the Everton director of football and the board.
Why Everton chose Sean Dyche over Marcelo Bielsa
Yesterday, news emerged that both Dyche and Bielsa were the frontrunners for the vacant role and would continue to hold extensive talks in London. Today, it was confirmed by Sky Sports editor Alan Myers that EFC will go ahead with the appointment of Dyche as the next manager after talks with both candidates.
Perhaps, the reason why the Merseysiders are going ahead with Dyche instead of Bielsa is that the Argentine manager had a proposal that didn’t look feasible given the current situation. The 67 year old flew to London to held talks and outlined his plan that he needed at least seven weeks to analyze the squad and make sure that all the players are ready to adapt to his methods, as per The Times.
The former Leeds United manager wanted to bring eight backroom staff members and preferred to work with the U-21s and the academy kids until the end of the season, giving him enough time to even evaluate the first team squad. Bielsa would then take charge of the first team in the summer.
However, the feasibility of this project was questionable as EFC desperately want a manager who can inspire them now and save them from the drop to the Championship. Bielsa is a master tactician who is known for his distinct methods and choosing to work with the U-21s is certainly something that one would expect from the Argentine.
Dyche on the other hand will take over the reins immediately and given his experience of building a team on a tight budget, one can expect the Englishman to work out something at Goodison Park. The former Burnley man will have his work cut out and guiding Everton to safety will arguably be one of the toughest tasks for him as a manager given how disjointed the team is right now.
Will Sean Dyche guide EFC to safety?