Many happy returns to Sean Dyche who is 53 today but while the music-loving Everton manager might be balancing a busy transfer period with another trip to the Glastonbury festival, what could his birthday wishes be?
Here’s a look at what the Blues boss could ask for – other than a new tie (will he ever revert to the more formal look after the success in his tracksuit?) – on this landmark occasion.
Birthday goals
For all the miracles that Dyche worked last season in what was a campaign based around defensive stability – only runners-up Arsenal (18) could top Everton’s total of 13 clean sheets – finishing still proved a major headache at times, especially in the early games when the Blues’ dominance in matches wasn’t been displayed in results and the manager himself felt compelled to reference the expected goals (xG) statistic. The Blues’ 40 goals scored in 38 Premier League games was an improvement on the previous year’s paltry total of 34 but other than rock bottom Sheffield United who finished with just 16 points, it was the lowest in the division.
Everton also have a current transfer quandary over Dominic Calvert-Lewin, last season’s top scorer with eight goals and one of only four players to net 50 times or more for the club in the Premier League. A proposed move to Newcastle United fell through earlier this week with the Magpies unwilling to meet the Blues’ asking price but the 27-year-old is about to enter the final 12 months of his current contract despite being offered a new deal.
Dyche could already do with adding some extra firepower or at least improving the supply line to his strikers in his team, hence the pursuit of Iliman Ndiaye and interest in Yankuba Minteh. However, if Calvert-Lewin was to go, given the financial restraints at the club right now, the Blues would struggle to replace him with a striker of a similar pedigree.
Fitness in the squad
After Everton’s first friendly under Dyche last July – a 2-1 win literally across the road from UEFA’s headquarters against Swiss second tier side – a fixture that had followed a week-long training camp by the shores of Lake Geneva, James Tarkowski told the ECHO: “We want to be the fittest team in the league going into this season, that’s certainly a title that the manager wants for us and something that we want for ourselves.” The centre-back was certainly good to his word as he delivered a second consecutive ever-present season with the Blues but with circumstances dictating that Dyche will have another relatively small squad to work alongside, it’s imperative that they can stay fit.
Soon after being appointed Everton manager, he vowed to leave no stone left unturned when it came to curing Calvert-Lewin’s injury woes and after what the striker described as a “factory reset” last summer when it came to his fitness, the policy with the player who had been restricted to just 17 outings in both of the previous two seasons, turned out 39 times. Hopefully with the likes of club captain Seamus Coleman and Ashley Young both having signed new deals and Jack Harrison – who didn’t arrive until August 14 last year and didn’t play until late September – already securing his loan return, more of the group can get themselves ‘Dyche fit’ by being put through their paces in a full pre-season programme, including the iconic ‘Gaffer’s Day’ when there is no ball work but just pure conditioning.
