Roared on by a passionate Goodison crowd the home side enjoyed periods of healthy pressure in the first half but clearcut openings were limited. Dyche was unable to name a full complement of nine substitutes even with two goalkeepers among them. The paucity of Everton’s options was further demonstrated by their bench. With no decent striker available because of Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s latest hamstring problem it fell to Demarai Gray to lead the attack. With every recognised full-back out injured, Dyche deployed Dwight McNeil and James Garner as makeshift wing-backs. He has had to contend with an array of issues since replacing Frank Lampard in January and his team selection for the final day was a reflection of Everton’s poor recruitment strategy over several years.Ġ1:58 Everton stay in Premier League and send Leicester down: managers' reaction – videoĪ five-man defence for a must-win fixture appeared a negative move from the manager but he had little alternative. This time Goodison reverberated to chants of “Sack the board” as fans again made their feelings clear over the appalling mismanagement of Everton under the ownership of Farhad Moshiri and stewardship of the chairman, Bill Kenwright.ĭyche captured the mood perfectly in his post-match press conference when warning there are no quick fixes at Everton and a change in culture was needed at a club that have not acted big for some considerable time. The final whistle sparked a pitch invasion that the PA announcer had warned against before and during the game, but it was nothing like the outpouring of joy that greeted last year’s escape against Crystal Palace on the penultimate game. There are only so many times you can play with fire without getting burned.
And, as the fans and Dyche himself made clear afterwards, the time has come for seismic change at Everton or these desperate scenes will be back again.
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