Sean Dyche hypocrisy comes back to haunt him after what he did at Everton U21s game
Everton manager Sean Dyche was made to rue his comments about fans leaving early during an Under-21s match against Tranmere Rovers.
Reporting live from Prenton Park (20 August), Liverpool Echo journalist Chris Beesley posted on X to say that Dyche had “seen enough”, leaving the stadium as the Blues entered the last 10 minutes 1-0 down.
Goalkeeping coach Billy Mercer also departed with the Toffees boss, with assistant Ian Woan staying put as Beto scored a brace and Martin Sherif scored another in the latter stages to give his side a 3-1 win.
Dyche leaving the match early despite full-time being on the horizon – and with first-teamers like Beto playing – is a highly hypocritical move for the 53-year-old to make, given his comments in recent days.
After the Toffees’ 3-0 opening day loss to Brighton (17 August), Dyche was asked by the BBC about empty seats at Goodison Park, saying: “It feels like reality at this football club – if you’re not doing well and you’re not winning, that’s what happens.”
Sean Dyche hypocrisy shows he must turn Everton around himself
Leaving an Under-21s match just 10 minutes before the full-time whistle is hardly the best show of support that Dyche could have provided his fringe players with, especially after an opening-day loss.
Beto in particular will be crestfallen to find out that Dyche missed his quick-fire hat-trick in the closing stages, and couldn’t have done much more to stake a starting claim in the first team.
Given just 14 minutes off the bench at Goodison Park on 17 August – with the Toffees already two goals down and a player light after Ashley Young’s red card – the Portuguese’s treble was a perfect response.
Furthermore, Dyche was also keen to give pre-season minutes to several academy products over the summer, making his decision to leave the match and miss their late comeback all the more irrational.
Dyche’s siege mentality united players and fans behind the club amid difficult circumstances last season, and if he wants to do the same this time around, the Toffees boss has to change his approach quickly.
In other Everton news, John Textor has reportedly travelled to Liverpool as a possible takeover from Farhad Moshiri edges closer.
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