Sean Dyche

Sean Dyche started off his reign as Everton manager with a 1-0 victory over Arsenal.

It was in the engine room where the game was won. Not one of the seven corners won was wasted. The goals are certain to come if he continues to get such service. They fed off second and loose balls and aimed to attack at breakneck speed. Dyche gave Everton clear orders to play on the front foot and be aggressive. Their expected goals score of 1.58 to Arsenal’s 0.81 underlined this. Yet Everton’s high-octane display deserved to be more emphatic. Dyche is all too wary of the paucity of goals Everton have scored this season. But the Blues’ performance couldn’t be further away from that assumption. However, with just five days to work with his new players at Finch Farm, the impact he’s had so far has been stark. Advertisement Everton were full value for three points as they handed the Gunners only their second league defeat of the season.

BBC pundit Alan Shearer praised Sean Dyche for his tactical change which helped them record a crucial three points over Arsenal at Goodison Park.

Ball up to him, and all of a sudden, yes, they’re both closer to him but more importantly, he wins and they’re into the final third and causing problems.” It was a sensational performance from the Toffees against a team flying high in the Premier League table, and did not record any league defeat since September, and a lot of praise will have to go to Dyche and his players for restricting Arsenal to so little goal-scoring opportunities. “There were several good things about their performance but this was one of them.

Sean Dyche got his tenure at Everton off to a winning start with a 1-0 win over Premier League leaders Arsenal, but it was the manner in which the victory ...

That’s massively vital for us - but we’ve got to give them a performance, show that we intend on delivering a performance. Their passion, the desire of this Club to not be in this situation... I said about the alignment, I said about giving our lot and it’s not that they weren’t already but maybe it diluted a little bit. They know how I work so maybe they already said to a few of the players what they can expect. I don’t work on the basis of asking players to be eyes and ears in the camp - that’s not my style. We’ve got to put layers and layers and layers on top of that.

I've long been a defender of Sean Dyche's intensive and defensive, "long-ball" style. But there's perhaps no greater victory in his entire career than ...

But it was still immensely impressive to implement all those principles of play from his very first match to such a resounding effect, and speaks to the simplicity of his approach. Dychean teams are built off organization at the back and vertical attacks through long passing immediately up the pitch, and this might just be the best way to get the best out of his current crop of players and make a surge up the table. Whether that be off the first pass or after a steady recycle backwards, the Toffees would endeavour to find a long pass forward and use Dominic Calvert-Lewin as the brilliant Target that he can be up front. Sean Dyche has the quality of depth in his squad, and will now bring more togetherness to the team than anyone else before him. In short, Dyche perfectly implemented a simple system of play, that completely allowed his players to make sound decisions in relation to ball, opposition, teammates and space. Tarkowski and Coady organized absolutely everything at the back, shuffling and shuttling without ever taking a momentary break in play to stop their train of thought. We wouldn’t expect anything less of two defensive leaders in a Dychean system, but the level of togetherness between themselves and their full-backs was indescribable. In that 4-5-1, Dyche’s team shuffled with the play in proximation to the But Sean Dyche would have relished the challenge of his first match, and would have taken all the pressure off his players to perform on the opening day. Fans might bemoan the fact that it’s not the ‘Everton way’ and only a ‘temporary solution’, but there are piles of players at the club who seem ready made for a Sean Dyche system. There’s aerial threats like Andre Onana who can arrive late into the box to receive crosses, and even former Champions League players like Idrissa Gueye who completely hold their own in a defensively-minded system. Those “needs” we mention include having a heaping conveyor belt of central midfielders, not to mention a history of managers who favoured a midfield three at the club.

Everton put in a brilliant performance against league leaders Arsenal to register a 1-0 win as some players were reborn under Sean Dyche.

After a few satisfactory performances, his weaknesses started to seep in and the Toffees were getting exposed in the middle of the park. Now, the Malian is no playmaker but Doucoure’s presence allowed Everton to switch to a 4-5-1 and have extra bodies in the midfield when Arsenal applied pressure and were going forward. Dyche did get the best out of McNeil in the past, so the hopes were high and the Englishman instantly delivered. He also had a falling out with Lampard and the former Watford man was asked to train alone. Dyche seems to have invoked a new life in some of the players. The fans were frustrated and demanded answers and planned a protest at the stadium.

Pictures of new manager Sean Dyche putting the Everton players through their paces with some intensive training sessions at Finch Farm last week appears to ...

[Everton](https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/all-about/everton-fc) charges take a bleep test, [Dyche](https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/all-about/sean-dyche) told BT Sport: “It’s not lack of fitness. The Blues ran a collective 116.4km (approximately 72 miles) when defeating the Gunners – the equivalent of going from Goodison Park to Leeds United’s Elland Road ground. This was some 3km further than their next best effort, 113.4km, posted in the 2-0 home defeat to Leicester City on November 5. It’s not some kind of bee sting, it’s a measure. The 51-year-old acknowledged he had to try and fast-track five weeks of pre-season work into just five days but the hard-running it seems paid off when it came to toppling the division’s leading team. I’ve got years of facts and stats on what the body needs to deliver. [Sean Dyche unlocks 'complete' Everton midfielder as £20m outcast finds new role](https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/everton-analysis-sean-dyche-unlocks-26159534) [Everton find new figureheard to send Goodison soaring back to its fiercest best](https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/match-reports/sean-dyche-everton-players-weapon-26157349) [Everton player ratings as James Tarkowski excellent and Amadou Onana immense in win over Arsenal](https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/everton-player-ratings-arsenal-breaking-26157323) ['Ferocious, relentless and dangerous' - National media react to Everton's win against Arsenal](https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/ferocious-relentless-dangerous-national-media-26160454) ['It's my number one rule' - What Sean Dyche won't ever ask his Everton players to do](https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/sean-dyche-everton-rule-players-26157337) [‘Gaffer’s Day’ – a gruelling test of fitness, stamina and team spirit](https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/sean-dyche-put-everton-players-26121114) with all ball work off limits. It’s a measure. [Sean Dyche has already proved that Gary Neville was right about 'The Everton Way'](https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/sean-dyche-already-proved-gary-26162303) [What Amadou Onana did at full-time after Everton beat Arsenal as Jordan Pickford taunts backfire](https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/what-amadou-onana-full-time-26161431) Some members of the Blues squad looked visibly shattered as their grinning gaffer watched on but it seems like it was a case of ‘no pain, no gain’ for them as the team subsequently put in shift to achieve their first Premier League victory since October 22 and inflict what was only the second defeat in the competition this term for Mikel Arteta’s table-topping side.

Dwight McNeil's cross is a deep in-swinger towards the back post targeting Tarkowski and Onana (blue). They beat their markers, but Saliba (yellow) is there… …

Meanwhile, Rodriguez blocks [Ezri Konsa](https://theathletic.com/football/player/ezri-konsa-AY2de7Zbj5wm7Xnk/), which creates space at the back post for Tarkowski and Mee (yellow). Again, Doucoure (white) is faking a run towards the near edge of the six-yard box, and Coady (red) is trying to block Ramsdale. Tarkowski (blue) and Onana are moving towards the back post, and Saliba (yellow) is there to defend it. Coady (red) is again blocking Ramsdale, and the only change in Arsenal’s setup is that it’s Odegaard marking Tarkowski. They listened to it intently yesterday when we were working with the team, and they have delivered a good set piece.” At the three previous corners, Saliba’s free role at the back post put a stop to Everton’s routine. Even though the Everton runners win their individual battles… Since 2016-17, only Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp’s sides have scored more goals from corners in the [Premier League](https://theathletic.com/football/premier-league/) than Dyche’s ones (40). Behind them, Calvert-Lewin and Tarkowski (blue dots) start their movement towards the near post… They beat their markers, but Saliba (yellow) is there… …but Tarkowski changes his direction to confuse Partey, who is now going in the other direction. It’s a part of the game he and his coaching staff value highly.

DOMINIC KING AT GOODISON PARK: Dyche dragged a display from his squad that propelled them head and shoulders above their opponents in 1-0 win against ...

I am willing to take time and I am willing to work with them. Dyche has not come to Goodison Park to mess around and it was significant when he stressed that a new week would mean another new start and, in turn, that meant more hard work. To accelerate his development, Dyche will set up a meeting with Onana and Steven Defour, a Belgian who shone at Burnley and was once coveted by Manchester United. The deeper point, however, was not lost on the new manager. DOMINIC KING: Superman Sean Dyche is swooping in at the nick of time to save Everton's season after their 1-0 win over Arsenal… Standing outside Goodison Park's press room, Dyche raised a wry smile when the image was shown to him.

Dyche is aware of the reputation that precedes him but is keeping his counsel after a flying start to life as Everton boss.

“We showed him the goal reels and said, ‘Look where you are where you have scored goals,’” Dyche explained. “We showed him the goal map and said to him: ‘Get between the sticks’.” Now we have to do a version of it in modern style with analytics, recruitment, science and of course organisation.” “There are a few players I have spoken to,” Dyche said. Dyche has a reputation for preferring British players but he took Steven Defour to Burnley and he will get Defour to talk to Onana. “Horse whispering, I call it.” Abdoulaye Doucoure came in from the cold, a player exiled by Frank Lampard and who Dyche had long liked, being rewarded for training well and with a smile on his face. Tarkowski marshalled the back four and served as the case for the defence of Dyche. “The hardline Sean Dyche is your rule,” he said. “I think he is a terrific player,” said Dyche, suggesting the defender could be pivotal when fully fit. “I asked the team at half-time, ‘What do you think?’ Because they have taken a lot on this week,” Dyche added. Dyche can seem a throwback in some respects; in others, the scourge of snoods presented himself as an empathetic figure. His reputation precedes him and it is [only partly of his own creation.](/sport/football/sean-dyche-everton-news-premier-league-b2275532.html) If others have an image to live up to, Dyche has [one to live down to](/sport/football/sean-dyche-everton-marmite-b2274790.html).