Everton FC correspondent Joe Thomas was at Finch Farm for the first press conference of The Friedkin era
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Sean Dyche, manager of Everton, looks on prior to the Premier League match between Everton FC and Wolverhampton Wanderers FC at Goodison Park on December 4. Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images
Sean Dyche, manager of Everton, looks on prior to the Premier League match between Everton FC and Wolverhampton Wanderers FC at Goodison Park on December 4. Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images
(Image: Getty Images)
“Hopefully you will stop asking me questions about the takeover”, Sean Dyche joked in the first press conference of Everton’s new era.
It may have been a light-hearted remark but there were serious undertones. For the entirety of his near two year stint at Finch Farm he has had to front a chaotic operation fighting to stay afloat.
Whatever your view on his long-term future, no-one should be unwilling to acknowledge his job has taken place against the most difficult of circumstances and that he has had to be the public face for problems that have not been of his making but that have made his job so much harder.
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One of the most notable features of the reaction to the takeover of Everton being rubber-stamped this week has been the sense of relief. No flashy statements, no punchy jibes to rivals and no commitments to an immediate return to glory. It has been professional, sober and mature. Everton supporters are so used to the chaos that just the prospect of a club that can pay its bills, comply with regulations and operate with coherency is a mark of progress.
That is the baseline of the Friedkins’ offer to them and all of a sudden a weight has lifted from the collective shoulders of those who have held responsibility for this club’s survival. We will see this at Goodison Park on Sunday when a fanbase can support their side without caveats. When the siren rings out the roar will come from nearly 40,000 Everton fans who will have been relieved of the existential fear for their club that has lingered through recent years.
A similar sentiment was palpable at Finch Farm on Friday afternoon. An atmosphere of calm had descended on the place. Yes, there were a few more journalists than normal - that was to be expected given the seismic events at Everton in the previous 24 hours. And yes, the questions from those reporters focused on off-the-pitch matters.
But, as Dyche himself pointed to, once the dust has settled on the takeover then the club should be stable enough to, for the first time in an age, not be THE story. He will be able to conduct a press conference that is about football and football only. No more pressure to soak in the loaded questions about complex issues behind the scenes that are not within his remit. Understandably, he cannot wait.
One thing that is clear, however, is that with that focus on football restored, the pressure to deliver results will be clear. Dyche said on Friday that managers are always having to prove themselves, that doing so is an ongoing process that never really ends.
That hasn’t quite been true at Everton, where some of the more troubling spates of form that he has overseen - particularly the club record winless Premier League streak that Everton began this year amid - did not lead to the repercussions that could typically be expected because of the issues at the very top of the club.
Dyche said his first meeting with a senior Friedkin figure, his chat with new executive chairman Marc Watts, had left him clear that he had the support of the owners - a big boost for someone who would like his hard work to be rewarded with him leading Everton out at the new stadium. Finally, the football figures should be able to focus solely on football and it will be interesting to see what that new freedom brings.
For all the hope that comes with this new opportunity, Dyche is far from ignorant to the challenges that will also follow, however. He has never shied away from the reality that he will be judged on results. The difference now is that, for the first time in a long while, if he doesn’t get them, he knows there will be people in high places who will not just be watching closely, but who will be empowered to act according to their judgement.