National media respond to Everton's 4-0 home victory over Wolves
Idrissa Gueye, number 27 of Everton F.C., stands at full time during the Premier League match between Everton and Wolverhampton Wanderers at Goodison Park
Idrissa Gueye, number 27 of Everton F.C., stands at full time during the Premier League match between Everton and Wolverhampton Wanderers at Goodison Park(Image: MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Everton’s thrashing of Wolverhampton Wanderers ended the Blues’ goal drought and shifted the pressure from Sean Dyche to Gary O’Neil.
Indeed, amid the surprise at the hosts’ new-found prowess, the main theme drawn from last night’s game in the national newspapers was on the Wolves’ supporters dismissive chants of their struggling manager.
While Wolves collapsed in what felt like a relegation six-pointer Everton, as Dominic King wrote for the Mail, “soared”. To many, this was the latest example of Dyche doing exactly what is required of him in difficult circumstances - finding the wins just when he needs them.
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That was the tone of Paul Joyce’s verdict in The Times. He wrote: “Whatever flaws Sean Dyche has possessed during his tumultuous Everton reign, he retains the happy knack of conjuring a result when desperately in need of one. Restless natives have shown signs of locating the end of their tether in recent weeks but a performance brimming with vibrancy and threat brought a timely, and long overdue, reward.
“Overcoming a shambolic Wolverhampton Wanderers team, whose soft underbelly was all too apparent, will not mean the scrutiny on Dyche totally disperses, especially with the Merseyside derby to come on Saturday. However, a first victory since mid-October allowed Everton to establish a five-point buffer to the relegation zone, and the glare of an unwanted spotlight trained itself instead on his hapless counterpart Gary O’Neil, with Wolves susceptible at every set piece.”
Chris Bascombe went on a similar trajectory in the Telegraph: “In his staunchest defence of his reign, Dyche can remark that Everton tend to win the games they should – especially when at their neediest – and lose those which everyone beyond Goodison Park expect. He has never had the resources to make Everton greater than the sum of their parts. The fact Everton are still in the Premier League is because of Dyche’s work, not despite it.”
King, as above, reached the same conclusion - that pulling victories out at the right time is a specialty that tends to allow Dyche to achieve what is asked of him. He wrote: “This had been billed as a relegation battle but the truth of it was only one team looked threatened by that particular outcome and it wasn't the one in blue and white. When Everton are this physical, they are formidable and it actually makes you wonder why they ever find themselves in difficult.
“Is it a question of attitude? You can draw your own conclusions on that point but, in this contest, nobody could be faulted on that respect… No team in the country walks a dividing line like Everton: go behind and the rage broils from all sides; poke their noses in front and there is a palpable release of tension. It would have been easy for Dyche's men to fall into the darkness here but, to his relief, they started to soar.”
They soared through the sudden discovery of the finishing touch - as Chris McKenna wrote for the Mirror. He said: “Everton didn’t score in the month of November. They only got three in October, too. But last night they found their touch in front of goal to get a much-needed first win since October 19 and ease pressure on boss Sean Dyche as they moved five points clear of the bottom three.
“After a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Manchester United and with rivals Liverpool to come on Saturday, this was a big win in a tough month for the Toffees.”
Much of the above came into the report from the ECHO, which mused on how this was a rare night where everything went right for Everton. The gloss came at the end with an impressive debut cameo from Armando Broja adding to the four goals scored and the impressive work of Dominic Calvert-Lewin to provide hope that this improvement in front of goal may be sustainable.
Upcoming games are still set to be challenging but, Joe Thomas wrote, for now: “Dyche can leave Goodison Park with the hope that he has not one but two strikers who look to have discovered their menace.
"He will also leave L4 with the weight of pressure on him having lifted, for now at least. This was a big win for Dyche at a time of growing scrutiny. By his own admission the Blues have not enjoyed a good start to the season and a club in paralysis as it awaits a change in ownership was in danger of collapsing into another survival fight. That is still a danger - this has still been a bad start to the campaign, Wolves missed a host of big chances and the fixture list is still a daunting one over the coming weeks.
"But this win opened up a five-point gap to Wolves and the bottom three. It provided Dyche much-needed respite at the same time as it heaped further pressure on Gary O’Neil in the dugout next to him. As Everton supporters tasted victory, he was subjected to renditions of “sacked in the morning” and “you don’t know what you’re doing” by his own supporters.”