Sean Dyche sacked by Everton
Manager dismissed hours before FA Cup match against Peterborough
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Against the odds last season, Sean Dyche kept his Everton side in the Premier League despite being deducted eight points. The Toffees eventually finished 14 points above the drop zone but they now find themselves in another relegation fight.
They sit just a point above Ipswich in 18th and only Southampton with 12 have scored less than their 15.
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As a Burnley fan I think I can say I’ve seen this one before. Wrong decision then, wrong decision now.
Archie
Phil McNulty
BBC Sport chief football writer on BBC Radio 5 Live
It has been coming.
The new owners, the Friedkin Group probably would have liked to see the season through with Sean Dyche in charge and then have a total reset when his contract runs out when the new stadium kicks in.
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Sean Dyche had to go. The number of fans who said they'd refuse to go back to Goodison until Dyche had gone was growing by the week.
Mike, Hampshire
Sean Dyche, thank you for your hard work in pulling Everton from relegation in 2023, and for a decent season last year. We'll always be grateful. But this season has been a disaster, and we clearly need new ideas and a new impetus. Best of luck in your next job.
Rob, Ely
Jose Mourinho has not managed in the Premier League since 2021, when he was sacked by Tottenham.
After leaving the London club he took the top job at Italian giants Roma, and for a while things went rather well. The Special One ended his first season by winning the Uefa Conference League, ending the club's 11-year trophy drought.
The following season he led Roma to the final of the Europa League, where they lost out to Sevilla on penalties.
After back-to-back sixth place finishes in Serie A, Roma began the 2023-24 campaign poorly, and Mourinho was sacked in January 2024 after a poor run of results.
Mourinho left Rome having won 68 of his 138 matches in all competitions, with 31 draws and 39 defeats. His win percentage was 49%.
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Dyche steadied the ship. A net spend of minus £73m in his two seasons there. He's the reason they're still Premier League no matter how awful the football was. Mourinho back in the Premier League would be gold dust if only for his scrutiny of our awful implementation of VAR.
Jon, Stourbridge
Image source, Getty ImagesJose Mourinho may be the bookies' favourite to replace Dyche, but a relegation fight might not be his cup of tea.
Speaking to Sky Sports in October, after joking he would be open to a return to England providing the club he went to does not feature in Uefa’s European competitions, Mourinho said fighting down at the bottom of the English top-flight was "too hard".
He added: "Honestly, that has to be the hardest thing, much more difficult than to play for titles. It’s very, very hard emotionally because it’s something that changes lives. You know, you stay in the Premier League or you’re relegated, it changes lives, changes lots of things. Brave guys that do it."
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Sacking Dyche hours before the FA cup game is harsh, but was perhaps inevitable at this point. They have to win this game and it needs to be a confidence boost, so perhaps it’s a good time to start again. But it’s dangerous, I had trust in Dyche.
Anon
Phil McNulty
BBC Sport chief football writer on BBC Radio 5 Live
It is not often that Everton can take you totally by surprise, given some of the antics in recent years.
But sacking a manager a couple of hours before a game is a new one, even for them.
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I think it’s absolute madness to sack their manager three hours before a game, I think they won’t stay up after this madness!
James W, in Birkenhead
This is how it stands in the bottom half of the Premier League. Everton are 16th, only one point above the relegation zone after 19 of 38 matches, although they do have a game in hand on all the other sides in the bottom half.
Their last game in the Premier League was a 1-0 loss to Bournemouth, their eighth league defeat this season.
Sean Dyche gave his news conference earlier this week looking ahead to tonight's FA Cup third-round tie at home to League One Peterborough United.
He said not winning enough games and not meeting expectations comes down to him "without a shadow of a doubt".
He confirmed he has had talks with The Friedkin Group and "they want a better outcome in winning games but there is a reality to the situation and they are up front and open about it".
Dyche went on to say he had not been told if they have been speaking to any other vacant managers but accepts that if they are "it is succession planning" which is normal for every business.
This is what he had to say...
Sean Dyche on his future at Everton
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Sean Dyche sacking just three hours before a game with no-one in charge and seemingly no-one in place is the Everton of old. I thought the Friedkin Group were going to bring stability? My guess is Jose Mourinho.
Paul
A couple of Everton legends take interim charge.
Image source, Getty ImagesWere Everton right to dismiss Sean Dyche? Thumbs up for yes, thumbs down for no.
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As ever, we want your thoughts on Everton sacking Sean Dyche. Was it the right decision or should he have been given time?
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Incredibly, the news comes roughly three hours before Everton take on Peterborough in the FA Cup third round.
Who will be in the Everton hot seat tonight then? Seamus Coleman and Leighton Baines.
Image source, Getty ImagesEverton have released the following statement:
"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 underway and an update will be provided in due course.
"Under-18s Head Coach Leighton Baines and Club Captain Seamus Coleman will take charge of first-team affairs on an interim basis."
Huge news coming out of Merseyside is that Everton have sacked manager Sean Dyche.
