After suffering a painful 10-point deduction early on in the season for breaching the Premier League’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations, Everton languish at the bottom of the English top flight. However, their current position of 17th tells a story not entirely comprised of the truth.
Sean Dyche in many ways hasn’t received his flowers for his tenure of nearly a year. He took over the club on January 30th of last year, with his side sitting two points adrift of safety in 19th. Fast-forward to the end of the season and he had secured survival for the Toffees in the Premier League, flipping the narrative and finishing two points clear of the relegation zone. Although not a world-beating achievement, Dyche can look back on the 2022/23 Premier League campaign with fondness knowing that he achieved what was required of him.
Having always been a manager favouring efficiency over flair, Dyche will again be pleased with the job he is doing, slowly but surely guiding his side clear of relegation danger. Without this 10-point deficit, Everton would be 12th, and in much more promising territory.
What’s more, even this mid-table occupation serves as a representation of underperformance. The expected goals (xG) table has the Toffees in 8th place, ahead of the likes of Manchester United, Tottenham and West Ham. Dyche’s Blues have been one of the best teams in England both in chance creation and limiting the opposition.
Not much has been altered from Dyche’s successful Burnley tactic - certainly not in terms of style of football. His Everton side ranks first in the Premier League for long passes per game, while simultaneously ranking third from bottom for short passes. Along with this, Everton’s 20 attempted crosses per match ranks second. This shows an overwhelming emphasis on getting the ball forward. Quickly.
Despite no longer favoring a 4-4-2 formation, instead shifting towards a sort of 4-4-1-1, his direct, counter-attacking approach to football rings through this team. Below is the starting lineup used against Chelsea in a 2-0 win last month:
The team shown here has largely been Dyche’s favoured starting 11. They operate somewhat asymmetrically, with Young playing high on the right side as a result of Jack Harrison cutting inside, and Mykolenko proving to be a defensive rock. At times in the season, Dwight Mcneil on Everton’s left flank has acted in an auxiliary winger come wing-back role, retreating deep to help defensively.
This is highlighted in Everton’s player position chart from the same match:
This graphic illustrates the slanted nature of the team and is particularly interesting regarding Ashley Young’s (number 18) positioning, soaring forward on the right flank. As a team frequently operating without the ball (27.9% in this match and an average of 38.7% across the season), the two central defenders sit very deep on the pitch, sweeping up chances rather than trying to catch players offside.
The man who has been emblematic of Sean Dyche’s style of play, and the man who most Everton fans would name as their player of the season thus far has undoubtedly been James Tarkowski. Tarkowski played under Dyche for five and a half seasons at Burnley. In a short period if time at Everton, he is managing to replicate the same successful relationship.
The 31-year-old central defender tops the Premier League for blocks per game with 1.5, while also ranking in the 94th percentile for aerial duels won. He also ranks near the top of the league in both clearing and intercepting stats, showing his absolute defensive dominance. Interestingly, tackling is the one defensive area in which Tarkowski ranks in the lower half of European defenders. However, this doesn’t indicate a poor ability in the challenge but rather an adept nature at reading the game.
Although Tarkowski is a rather aggressive player, which tends to translate to higher tackling numbers, it is his anticipation that makes him so impressive. This is emulated in most of his defensive numbers. In Everton’s system, in which the right-sided defender (typically Ashley Young) is expected to charge forward and provide a wide presence, space is often open on the right side of defence. In many ways this is Sean Dyche’s way of inviting the opposition to play more elaborate balls into this position. Tarkowski, as both a brilliant aerial defender and a capable stopper is able to position himself in preparation for this inevitability.
The images below illustrate how this might play out in a game:
These are taken from late on in their 2-0 win against Chelsea. In the first image, right-back Nathan Patterson (substituted on for Young during the game) can be seen over-committing, allowing Chelsea winger Mykhailo Mudryk to ease his way past him. The supporting winger Lewis Dobbin is covering the inside of the pitch, trying to condense the center of the field, and therefore Mudryk is allowed down the line.
Tarkowski’s initial position in the first image is of note. He stays wide and slightly more advanced than the other center-back, ready to capitalize on a player dribbling or passing down the line. In this case, Mudryk beats his initial defender but is met by a firm challenge by Tarkowski in the wide area, closing him down quickly and efficiently.
Tarkowski frequently mans this position, between center-back and full-back, particularly in the few times when Everton find themselves in defensive transition. Much of what allows him to do this is the robust left side of the Everton defence. While Ashley Young will certainly come under criticism for his lackluster performances at right-back, Branthwaite and Mykolenko have been superb. At just 21 and 24 years of age respectively, the pair have locked down the Everton left in what has been a breakout season for both young stars.
Mykolenko ranks second in the Premier League for tackles completed per game on 3.5 and ranks above the 95th percentile among defenders in both interceptions and clearances. While he has demonstrated limited ability when going forward, he tucks in perfectly as a defensive full-back enabling Tarkowski to shift across frequently and be more aggressive. Jarrad Branthwaite at the heart of the defence has impressed as a physical specimen. At 6-foot-5 he towers over most opposition attackers, while his long legs enable him to cover ground quickly - the perfect sweeper in Dyche’s defence.
Aerial dominance seems to be a theme throughout this Everton side, with Dyche repeatedly favouring physically dominant players. This is represented in their set-piece statistics. Everton currently rank joint-top in the Premier League (alongside Arsenal) for set-piece goals - a statistic made even more impressive by the limited number of open-play goals that they have managed. Their 11 goals from set-pieces make up 46% of their total goals during the campaign.
Everton are a side centered on aerial excellence which is signified by their attacking talisman Dominic Calvert-Lewin. The English striker ranks 4th in the Premier League for aerials won per game (players with a minimum of six starts). The 5.4 that he wins per 90 indicates not only Dyche’s direct attacking style of play but also Calvert-Lewin’s own impressive ability.
However, his campaign has largely been overshadowed by a lack of competence in front of goal. No striker in the Premier League has more expected goals (4.41) in their last 10 matches but in this time Calvert-Lewin has managed just one goal. His underperformance has been in large part the responsible factor for Everton’s lame league position. This becomes a greater trend when looking at his past seasons. In each of his eight Premier League campaigns, Calvert-Lewin has underperformed on his xG, with no sign of improvement in sight in this regard. In fact, his finishing seems to be getting worse. In his last two Premier League seasons he has underperformed in this metric by the most in his career and by more than four goals in each season.
This leaves Sean Dyche with a dilemma. Calvert-Lewin is clearly an effective player and a nuisance to opposition defences, with his aerial prowess and ability to create chances for himself making him invaluable in this Everton side. At the same time, he appears the obvious weakness and certainly the liability that is easiest to point out when considering Everton’s poor performances this season. His lack of quality in front of goal, alongside the meek performances put up by backup striker Beto this season may cause Dyche to target a striker in the coming windows.
In the absence of a real goalscoring striker, attacking midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure has been the man to step up for the Blues. One of the few players in the squad who is outperforming their xG, Doucoure has six Premier League goals for the season - double the second-best player in the squad. All of this has come while operating from the center of midfield.
Although certainly taking on a more attacking role than he has at other points in his career, Doucoure is still a midfielder. When defending, he drops deep into Everton’s half, forming a midfield three with Garner and Onana (or Gueye). However, he is the one player given licence to roam and attack. At times he has acted as a shadow-striker, playing close to Calvert-Lewin or causing chaos with his late runs into the box.
Doucoure scored from one of these runs in a win against Newcastle.
Initially taking up a defensive position, Doucoure drops back in order to support his midfield. But when Trippier makes a mistake, giving the ball away to Jack Harrison cheaply, Doucoure springs into action making a darting forward run and tucking the goal away after being found from the cutback.
Another physically authoritative player, Doucoure’s endless energy and sense of timing allow him to show up unmarked in attacking positions. In a free role in this Everton side he is allowed to shine.
Everton’s season thus far has been defined by financial misconduct and missed chances but there’s time yet to avenge this. In many ways, they look set up to rise through the league table. Their defensive foundation is one of the best in the league, with a combination of speed, physicality, and aggression often carrying them through games. The one chink in the defensive armour has been at right-back where the lack of a two-way defender to play in that more aggressive full-back role has left the Toffees exposed at times.
The midfield is built on tenacity. Centrally, Dyche prefers defence-minded players, who take up space in the midfield and feed the ball to the more creative wingers. Here energy takes precedence, as it did in Dyche’s Burnley side, with willing, fit runners prioritized. As mentioned, Calvert-Lewin remains an enigma: crucial to the direct nature of Dyche’s attack but ultimately letting his side down as a striker.
Dyche, with limited financial aid and a ten-point deduction has performed miracles on an Everton side that have seriously been battling relegation for two seasons now. In the immediate future, it would be no surprise if Everton rose to a mid-table position. If they manage to keep hold of Dyche, and provide him with cash to spend in the summer, Everton fans could expect big things in the coming campaigns.
References:
Whoscored.Com, 2024, https://www.whoscored.com/Regions/252/Tournaments/2/Seasons/7811/Stages/17590/TeamStatistics/England-Premier-League-2023-2024. Accessed 11 January 2024.
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