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Sean Dyche leaves role as Everton manager

looks on as he walks towards the tunnel at half-time during the Premier League match between Manchester United FC and Everton FC at Old Trafford on December 01, 2024 in Manchester, month after The Friedkin Group (TFG) completed their takeover of the Merseyside club, ending former owner Farhard Moshiri’s reign.

Dyche, who succeeded Frank Lampard in the Goodison Park dugout in January 2023, leaves five days after Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to Bournemouth, where Everton failed to register a shot on target.

Former defender Leighton Baines, the club’s professional development coach and Under-18s coach, took charge of Thursday night’s FA Cup third-round tie at Goodison Park alongside club captain Seamus Coleman and will continue to do so on an interim basis while a permanent replacement is found.

A club statement read: “Everton Football Club can confirm that Sean Dyche has been relieved of his duties as Senior Men’s First Team Manager with immediate effect.

“Ian Woan, Steve Stone, Mark Howard and Billy Mercer have also left the club. The process to appoint a new manager is under way and an update will be provided in due course.”

Speaking before the game with Peterborough on Thursday, Dyche, who would have been out of contract at the end of the season, admitted his position “should be” under review despite previously holding “positive” conversations with TFG.

The defeat by Bournemouth extended Everton’s winless run to five matches and meant they have failed to score in eight of their last 10 league matches.

Everton are 16th in the Premier League standings, with 17 points and three victories from their opening 19 matches of the season.

Last campaign, Dyche kept Everton in the Premier League despite the club twice being deducted points for breaching the league’s profitability and sustainability rules (PSR).

The former Chesterfield and Millwall defender began his managerial career with Watford. He spent a season in charge at Vicarage Road before joining Burnley, where he spent the best part of a decade.

Dyche led Burnley to the most successful period in its history, delivering six uninterrupted seasons of Premier League football before being dismissed in 2022.

Speaking after Everton’s 2-0 victory over Peterborough, Baines told BBC Radio 5 Live: “It’s not been that difficult. This is what we do. Players play football, coaches coach, it was just a little bit different today, the circumstances in which it happened.

“It’s never nice when a manager loses his job but everyone had to get on with their job as well, there was a game of football on.”

He continued: “Not too sure about that (what happens next) right now. Things moved so quickly today, obviously haven’t had time to think about what comes next just yet.”

Everton return to Premier League action at home to Aston Villa on Wednesday, January 15.

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‘A case of when, not if’

Dyche’s departure felt inevitable as soon as TFG arrived at Goodison — it was more a question of when, not if.

With new owners in town and Dyche’s deal up in the summer a reset was always going to come.

There was initial hope Dyche would keep the ship steady until the summer, with Premier League safety assured for the move to Bramley-Moore Dock and a parting of ways would come mutually.

But recent results and the performances have changed the mood. The dire display in the 1-0 defeat away to Bournemouth, where Everton barely laid a glove on their opponents and their limitations were laid bare, saw any remaining support for Dyche from the fanbase wilt away.

Dyche deserves credit for keeping Everton up in the last two seasons, particularly with the two points deduc

tions last season, but it was time for a change.