Bournemouth 1-0 Everton: Three Takeaways | Dyche Serves up More Dismal Fare

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The Blues again fall flat on their faces at the Vitality Stadium

The Formula Is Not Working

The gameplan under Sean Dyche has not changed from the moment he arrived and the chances of it doing so, in however long the manager has left at the club, are remote — nil, actually. The former longtime Burnley incumbent settled on his approach a long time ago, and nothing about the man suggests an experimenter, someone who'll shake things up if the familiar methods are no longer working, despite assurances from some to the contrary. The game against Bournemouth went as anticipated, with the visitors making an aggressive start, failing to attain a serious breakthrough and being dominated for the remainder. After 20 minutes the only question was whether Everton would be able to escape with a 0-0 result.

The constant references to the past are legion: his years in management, anecdotes about ex-Nottingham Forest players who plied their trade in the 1970s, what he did with the Clarets, how the likes of Amadou Onana should be taking advice from his old players, a preference for veterans and for those with lots of Premier League experience. All of this reeks of a man who looks backward, to where he came from, rather than casting his eyes forward, challenging old assumptions and evolving.

Dyche's aim is to first and foremost stop the opponent playing and to do this requires working diligently on team shape, disciplined defending, protecting key areas of the pitch, congesting central areas, individual commitment and getting plenty of bodies behind the ball. Attacking play, scoring goals and winning games is of secondary importance — if not by intent, then as a consequence of the excessive focus on defence. The concept is to reduce the number of clear chances in a game, with the anticipation that clean sheets will result, minimizing the number of defeats and hoping that the occasional victory will appear.

This approach has served Dyche well through his career - primarily in keeping Burnley, a club with little financial power - in the Premier League. In this limited role, he was generally successful, but the question always was whether he had more strings to his bow, if offered a bigger opportunity at a club with a little more ambition. Two years in at Everton, the answer is a resounding "no". Not that the current squad is fantastic, but it's shown itself to be reasonably competitive, ending the summer in better shape than it started it. But rigidity from the manager is not getting the maximum from the playing assets he has available.

Everton's xG (Expected Goals) has not exceeded 1.0 in any of their last seven outings, since they attained 1.2 in a goalless draw with Brentford back in late November. Against Bournemouth at the weekend it was a meagre 0.7 — with more than half of that resulting from a headed effort by teenage substitute Harrison Armstrong, which didn't actually appear all that threatening. The team has only posted solid xG totals in three matches this season: against the Cherries (1.8) during that infamous collapse at Goodison Park in August and two promoted outfits, in Ipswich Town (1.7) and Southampton (1.6).

Last season's excellent defensive unit of left back Vitaliy Mykolenko and centre half pairing James Tarkowski and Jarrad Branthwaite have been unable to replicate the same levels. An ageing midfield is not providing the same degree of protection, leaving the Toffees overly reliant on the excellent Jordan Pickford to keep the ball from hitting the back of the net. A combination of an average defence and misfiring attack has left the Blues on the wrong side of the equation, leading to increased difficulty in securing those all-important victories. The luck which Dyche's system relies on, to an extent, is not going in Everton's favour.

What Are Our Limitations?

The team he sent out against Bournemouth surprised nobody and neither did the shape —the overly stolid 4-5-1 which he's reverted to recently, but the upshot is that the balance is still wrong, as it has been all season. The wingers are far too deep, acting as supplementary defensive players, rather than attackers. As usual, Iliman Ndiaye's attempts to run through multiple opponents was the only thing to excite watching Everton fans. The 24-year-old succeeded in five of his eight dribbles, but was unable to have any real effect on the game in the final third — he received just one progressive pass and took no shots.

Jesper Lindstrøm tried hard, before exiting the game after 45 minutes, courtesy of a knock he picked up late in the half, but had little impact. That Dyche chose to push Ashley Young forward as his replacement on the right, rather than to introduce Jack Harrison shows where both players stand in the manager's estimation currently. The veteran led the team in touches in the final third (24), though failed to connect on any of his nine crosses, or to create a chance. He's performing capably, but his days as a winger are long past and it's alarming that he's on course to eclipse the near 2,300 league minutes he racked up last term.

The team's only route forward was the patented long ball (38 from Pickford alone in this match), which comprised a dismal 25% of their passing on Saturday. With zero on target efforts from the Toffees, if that doesn't indicate how futile this method of progression is, then I don't know what will. Despite enjoying reasonable possession (42%), the Blues attempted just 13 crosses (8% accuracy), whereas the Cherries rained 33 in (21% success), demonstrating how much pressure Everton were put under. One routine, but poorly-defended ball in from wide achieved the breakthrough for the hosts, at which point it was game over, essentially.

So, where are the major problem areas in the squad, which need to be addressed this month? Left back is an obvious need and after watching forgotten man Sergio Reguilón impress as a second half substitute for Tottenham at the weekend, I'm convinced Everton should try for him. The Spaniard managed 49 touches, received five progressive passes, completed four of his own, combined for five tackles and interceptions, won seven of nine ground, and three of five aerial, duels. Despite barely featuring for Spurs this season, he looked fit and sharp and is obviously a major low-cost upgrade on Mykolenko.

Add in a quick, natural right winger - if Everton's surely inevitable new manager plans to play a back four - and energy in the midfield. The three fielded by the Toffees on the South Coast are either in physical decline (Abdoulaye Doucouré), overtaxed and ageing (Idrissa Gueye — who still managed a combined nine tackles and interceptions), or a possession player (Orel Mangala) shunted into a system which doesn't want the ball. Despite being by far the youngest of the trio, the Belgian is not an active defender. With James Garner and Tim Iroegbunam nowhere near returning, the club needs a young addition, who can cover distance and pressure the opposition.

Calm, or Overly Relaxed?

What exactly is going on with Dyche in press conferences? Ignoring the unchallenging, in-house snippets he does for the club, which are what they are, it's almost as if he's going out of his way to be deliberately obtuse and borderline rude in pre-game and post-match duties. The exchange with Joe Thomas, of the Liverpool Echo, after Saturday's non-event, in which the reporter asked a reasonable question regarding what needs to change, for Everton to start hitting the target with shots was particularly irksome, with Dyche's response (paraphrasing) being: "We need to change the amount of shots on target, the amount of goals we score. That's what needs to change."

His take on the game left something to be desired: "A tight game, which they edged. The first half a close affair. We weren't where we wanted to be, so I made changes for the second half and thought we were stronger. We get into key areas and that's been a challenge since I've been at the club, finding that last moment. We've been trying to do that for two years. It's difficult to find players with that cutting edge." When challenged: "It was close in scoreline. I didn't say in terms of performance. We were a long way off in the first half. I changed that and we were slightly better. I thought I'd made that clear. We looked more offensive, whilst still defending properly."

Then there was the already meme-worthy: "It's not a bad run if you add some wins to it." I can understand people saying unwise, even off-the-wall things in the heat of the moment, when under pressure, but Dyche shows little outward sign that he's feeling the heat, or is even overly invested in the situation Everton finds itself in. In fact, he's seems quite relaxed, even a bit amused by it all. I think it's safe to assert that is not not how the bulk of Everton fans are feeling right now, with the club hovering dangerously above the drop zone halfway through the campaign, unable to score goals and with just three wins all season.

I don't doubt that the manager wants to turn things around and that he and his staff are giving it their all at the training ground, and in preparation, like the professionals they are. But his attitude, evident since the beginning of the campaign, has been one of shaping the narrative of his time on Merseyside: that of a man battling against the odds, against unseen foes. Entering into his final contract year, it's been a constant theme coming from him of "before my time", "I could write several books about the goings-on here", "you can't coach scoring goals" and publicly pointing the finger at the failings of his players, and away from himself.

So is Dyche just preparing the ground for his post-Everton career? Does he really care that much about the club, or the fans — or is this just a job, albeit a handsomely paid one? Most of the domestic national football media, and ex-professionals working as pundits, appear to still believe that he's exactly the kind of manager a beleaguered team such as the Toffees needs, that he's performing miracles and that it'd be madness to consider sacking him. But how many of these supporters watch the Blues on a regular basis? Considering how bleak a spectacle just about every Everton game is, I doubt many do.

For all of his limitations as a manager, Frank Lampard undoubtedly cared about the club and wanted to do right by the fans. Compare and contrast his post-defeat press conferences, to Dyche's. It's night and day. Lampard, a man who'd played at top level and who you'd imagine was not a fragile character, was beaten down by the weight of responsibility. Even Rafa Benítez, a highly experienced and far more successful manager than Dyche will ever be, showed clear signs of stress as events spiralled out of control. Dyche comes off like some neutral TV pundit, as if none of this has much to do with him, relaxed, a bit chippy and sarcastic; confidence apparently undented.

Maybe it's unfair to take a shot at him over his demeanour. Maybe he's just someone who processes stress in an atypical way. Football management is inherently stressful and if he's able to regulate that by detaching himself emotionally, then perhaps he's found a healthy route, and if so then that doesn't deserve criticism. But I want to see an Everton manager who displays at least some degree of attachment to the club, even if their exterior in the face of terrible form is calm and collected. I don't think this is too much to ask. It is time for a change, whatever TFG's ideal-world preference may be.

Statistics provided courtesy of fbref.com, fotmob.com and sofascore.com