Dyche 1.17ppg with Toffees 

©TM/IMAGO

After 132 years at their beloved Goodison Park, Everton will have a new home next season. The new ‘Everton Stadium’ on the Bramley-Moore Dock is set to be the home ground for the Toffees from the 2025/26 season. However Everton could be staring down the barrel of beginning life at their new stomping ground in the Championship. The Toffees have never been relegated from the Premier League since its inception in the 1992/93 season, but have finished 15th, 17th and 16th in the last three seasons, and don’t have a single point from their first four matches this campaign. They head to Leicester on Saturday in what is already looking like a match that could have big ramifications on the relegation zone.

When asked if keeping Everton in the Premier League last season was his greatest achievement as a manager, Sean Dyche told the BBC: “It certainly is my biggest one, to lead a group [from] where it was [to] where it is. It was different last season, but this season has been incredibly tough to see through the feeling and noise at times.” Everton suffered two separate point deductions last term (the first team to ever be docked points twice in one Premier League season) losing a total of eight points last campaign. They would have finished as high as 12th without the deductions last campaign. However, after a very underwhelming summer transfer window, this time around they might not be so lucky to avoid the drop.

Could Everton be relegated from the Premier League for the very first time?

As you can see in the graphic above, Everton are one of only six teams to have participated in every Premier League season since its inception in 1992. In fact if we go back further, the Toffees have been in the English top-flight for 71 years. They were last promoted in 1953 and only Arsenal have been in the top division of English football longer (since 1913). But there is now serious fear that Everton’s long and tumultuous relationship with the Premier League could be coming to an end next May. It’s the club’s worst start to a season in 66 years.

This summer Everton made €83.65m from player sales, including €59.35m from selling star midfielder Amadou Onana to Aston Villa. The club spent just €50.2m on new arrivals, with defender Jake O’Brien their most expensive signing at €19.5m. It was a summer where many fans felt plenty of recruitment was needed, but with uncertainty remaining around the club’s ownership, and financial issues, it was an underwhelming window. The Toffees currently have the 16th most valuable squad in the Premier League with a squad market value of €349.1m – only Fulham (€342m) and the three promoted clubs have a lower market value. 

On the pitch itself, Everton made history for all the wrong reasons last Saturday. They became the first team in Premier League history to surrender a two goal lead to lose the game in consecutive game-weeks, as they were beaten 3-2 at Villa Park. Those collapses followed, a 3-0 defeat at home to Brighton on the opening day, and a 4-0 defeat at Tottenham, leaving Everton rooted to the bottom of the table, with a -9 goal difference. It is of course way too early in the season to be dooming a team’s fate, as the old folklore goes – ‘never look at the table until 10 games in’. But there are genuine causes for concern at the club. They have the worst record of all the 96 teams in Europe’s top five leagues.

Last season Everton scored just 40 goals from their 38 league games – only bottom-placed Sheffield United (35) scored less. Relegated Burnley (41) and relegated Luton (53) both scored more than Everton. Creativity has long been an issue at Goodison Park, but Dyche’s excellent defensive record got them out of trouble last term. Last season, only the top three in Manchester City (34), Arsenal (29) and Liverpool (41) conceded less goals than the 51 Everton shipped. However, the early signs this term suggest that rigidity and compactness has fallen by the wayside, with Everton conceding 13 goals in their opening four games. The game against Leicester at the King Power this Saturday already feels like it could be a relegation six-pointer. 

Why Sean Dyche is the man to lead Everton to Premier League safety

“I can promise everybody that there is no stone being left unturned in terms of trying to rectify our current situation. He [Dyche] is working under very difficult circumstances.” the club’s director of football Kevin Thelwell said this week. “We still have ownership and financial situations to resolve so that makes it very difficult for a manager when we want to take that next step.” he added. And it’s true that Dyche has one of the most difficult jobs in top level football right now. A restricted budget, no certainty over the ownership or direction of the club, and a depleted squad. 

Since Dyche arrived at Everton he has a points per game record of just 1.17ppg. It is far from a satisfactory record for a club with a history like Everton’s, but the conditions which he is having to work in must be taken into account. And there’s not many better managers at working with the bare bones. Dyche kept Burnley in the Premier League for five consecutive seasons, often against the odds and without spending a lot of money. In six seasons under Dyche, Burnley spent just €188.69m on signings, whilst recouping €115.55m from player sales in that same period. That means in six seasons surviving in the Premier League, the club had a net spend of just €73.14m.

If Everton are to beat the drop this season they must show complete faith in Dyche. Burnley sacked Dyche when they were struggling and then ultimately went down that season. And Dyche will need to get his team back to being defensively solid. Keeping striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin fit and available may also be key to their hopes of staying up. Dyche has done this before and there’s no reason to believe he can’t do it again, but it’s without doubt going to be a nervy season for the Blue half of Merseyside.