Like an ancient Sumerian God, there is a name that is evoked in times of footballing trouble. When a manager has departed. When nothing is working. When the inexorable slide down the table is in full effect. There is a name spoken first in a whisper, then in a shout. Two words that send fear into players and fans alike: Sean Dyche.
The gruff but genial coach is as well-known for his press conference comedy routines as he is for his achievements at Burnley. Dyche is linked with jobs big and small. One minute he’s touted as Gareth Southgate’s successor in the England dugout. The next minute he’s being fitted for a parachute to swoop in and rescue a misfiring second-tier club. But, since Burnley sacked him in April 2022, no club has actually ignited the Dyche-signal.
READ MORE:
The fact Dyche remains out of work might be something to do with the hysterical and pompous reaction he receives when linked with a vacancy. England’s most fanatical support actually stopped criticising Southgate long enough to express distaste for Dyche. Everton fans have sneered at the thought, while producing lists featuring Zinedine Zidane and Thomas Tuchel as potential replacements for faltering Frank Lampard.
This staggering lack of self-awareness is perhaps best typified by Norwich City. Fans of a club notorious for yo-yoing in and out of the Premier League are disgusted by the thought of hiring a manager who took Burnley up and kept them there for six consecutive seasons. To put that into context, it was Burnley’s longest stint in the top tier since their 1971 relegation.
But when Dyche’s name is brought up, it quickly sparks a debate about his football. Rough, ready and effective, Dyche’s old-school approach is anathema to fans of this generation. Since Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona taught us possession is everything, even fans of perennial strugglers think they should be playing tiki-taka. West Ham United used to be mocked for their “West Ham Way”, an ill-defined style that apparently defined the club. But now every club is at it. What even is “The Everton Way” or “The Norwich Way”? And why would Dyche not be the right fit?
In Everton’s case it is the fact the fans are yet to adjust to their current status. This is not the Everton who scraped the ceiling under David Moyes, playing European football and daring to dream. Last season saw them fighting a relegation battle. This season sees them being dragged into another. They don’t need Zidane, they need someone who has been here before. It might not be pretty, but neither is going down to the Championship.
Norwich fans’ aversion to hiring Dyche is even harder to understand. Admittedly, Dean Smith’s football has been vocally criticised by the Carrow Road faithful. But are the Canaries really in a position to be picky? They sit fifth in the Championship with three defeats in their last four games. Get their next managerial appointment wrong and their chance at the play-offs will quickly diminish.
Like Everton fans and their fanciful list of Champions League winners, Norwich have ideas that feel a touch above their station. While betting favourite Scott Parker feels sensible, some supporters have brought up Marcelo Bielsa and Bruno Lage, which feels unrealistic. Even Ralph Hassenhuttl feels like a bit of a stretch. But it is this sense of entitlement, of deserving something more, something aesthetically beautiful and competitively unbeatable, that clouds the judgement.
Does Dyche guarantee you great football? It depends on your perception of greatness. But he doesn’t play in the attacking, possession-based way football fan groupthink favours. He does, however, have a proven track record of getting out of the Championship and of keeping a team in the Premier League, all done on a modest budget. He’s a chairman's dream. If fans of clubs like Everton, Norwich and others were more realistic, he’d be their dream too.
*18+ | BeGambleAware | Odds Subject To Change
