Excuses wearing thin for Sean Dyche and Everton after latest defeat
BBC chief football writer Phil McNulty has claimed the excuses are wearing thin for Everton and Sean Dyche after losing to Luton, with poor form reflecting badly on the boss.
The journalist suggested the talk around missed chances for the Goodison Park side is starting to become more of a pattern than a one-off, with the excuse no longer viable.
McNulty claimed that Everton would have expected three points against all three of Fulham, Wolves and Luton, and the fact they ended up without any is a poor indictment on Dyche and his team.
McNulty responded to a fan during a question-and-answer session on BBC Sport [2 October, 11:19] who had asked whether Dyche was getting the best out of his players, claiming: “Not currently, Harry, not at all.
“Home defeats to Fulham, Wolves and Luton Town tell you that. Everton can tell a hard luck story about missed chances but it is wearing thin.
“These were three games Everton would have looked at and thought they could be points in the bag – especially in a season when there was every chance they would struggle. The fact they have not none from those games reflects badly on players and manager and they both should be doing better.”
Questions starting to be asked
Things looked like they may finally be heading in the right direction for Dyche and his team after they beat both Brentford and Aston Villa in the space of a week, but a defeat to Luton at Goodison Park has sent them crashing back down to earth.
The tale of Everton’s season so far has been that they just can’t finish their chances, but there comes a point where that excuse stops being a tough situation and starts to become an all-too-familiar pattern.
Ultimately, if the team are failing to score consistently, especially when playing at home, questions have to be asked about whether the manager is extracting all he can from his players. At this moment, as McNulty said, you have to accept he isn’t.
Things will need to change quickly for Everton before the pressure really begins to ramp up on Dyche. A visit from a Bournemouth side who are without a win this season should give him the opportunity, but as we’ve now seen, there are no guarantees.
In other Everton news, Dyche has revealed what he told potential new owners 777.