Dyche hit with touchline ban as Everton face champions this weekend
This is the latest in a seemingly never-ending series of adverse decisions that have impacted Everton and we're still only just over halfway through the campaign.
So far this season the Toffees have had a ten point penalty deduction imposed upon them in November for breaching the Premier League's PSR, the only club ever to receive such a punishment and the biggest single points deduction in English football history.
The club now face a second investigation within less than a year with the possibility of yet further penalties if another breach is found, including perhaps even more points being deducted. All of which could lead to administration and then yet more deductions!
This is partly because the club are still wating to hear if the proposed takeover by 777 Partners is to be allowed after the US group agreed to buy out Farhad Moshiri in September.
If the takeover doesn't get approval, Everton will be left without an owner who is willing and capable of financing the club's day-to-day costs as Moshiri isn't it seems prepared to do so, and huge debts, including to 777 themselves, for the loans they have provided since September.
Meanwhile, the Blues are challenging the original FFP punishment and will apparently find out if their appeal has been successful, later this month.
As if all this behind-the-scenes adversity and uncertainty wasn't bad enough, on the pitch the Toffees have faced a succession of controversial and debatable decisions since the season's start that have compounded their misfortunes.
A series of almost weekly VAR-related decisions, both fouls and penalty shouts, have gone against the team and even Dyche himself - who has remained diplomatic and supportive of the technology and the process around it - is perhaps beginning to lose patience.
Everton remain the only Premier League club not to be awarded a penalty so far this campaign, an incredible situation given the succession of incidents that have occured in their games.
Just two recent examples of highly controversial decision-making include the defeat at Tottenham on 23rd December when Dominic Calvert-Lewin's goal was ruled out for a highly debatable foul by Andre Gomes, and the draw at Fulham when a very good claim for a penalty wasn't given.
No doubt other clubs supporters would make similar claims, and certainly Everton are not the only side to have perplexingly inconsistent decisions go against them in the Premier League.
But the number of adverse decisions and incidents involving the Blues is extraordinary and I would argue is difficult to dispute objectively.
As Dyche points out, all this controversy creates a great deal of tension and frustration - a natural part of football anyway - and leads to managers' making their feeling known, sometimes very forcefully!
Well now, with this latest decision the Toffees now face a massively tough game at the Etihad against the current champions without their manager being on the touchline to bark instructions at them.