Jamie Carragher has now been left baffled by what he has been hearing in recent weeks about one former Everton manager.
The Sky Sports pundit was in the studio on Monday night for Everton’s away trip to face the in-form Sunderland.
Although David Moyes’ side were able to return to Merseyside with a hard-fought draw, Carragher was not overly impressed.
After the game, Carragher tore into James Tarkowski’s defending, with the veteran sitting way too deep for his liking.
The Toffees will feel that the game was there for the taking, and Granit Xhaka even admitted Sunderland were fortunate not to concede more than one.
Moyes will be desperate to turn his recent run of form around at the weekend, but it is something one former Everton boss is being praised for that Carragher cannot understand.
SK Sturm Graz v Nottingham Forest FC - UEFA Europa League 2025/26 League Phase MD4
Photo by Jure Makovec/Getty Images
Jamie Carragher stunned by praise for former Everton boss
Sean Dyche has now been appointed as the new manager of Nottingham Forest following his Everton exit back in January.
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Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim hailed Dyche as ‘very smart’ ahead of their meeting last weekend.
Writing for The Telegraph, Carragher has admitted he does not agree with the fresh praise the likes of Dyche are receiving for their direct style of play.
“Because of the dominance of direct play, those once pilloried as dinosaurs are now being re-positioned as innovators,” said Carragher.
Man City v Liverpool in 2019 was the highest quality Premier League game we’ve ever seen. Pep’s team won the PL, Klopp’s won the CL.
It was about false 9’s, inverted full backs & fast attacking football.
This season has been about corners & long throws
https://t.co/6RjOocYYqd
— Jamie Carragher (@Carra23) November 7, 2025
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“An idea is taking root that Tony Pulis, Sam Allardyce and Sean Dyche were visionary, modern thinkers all along. Let’s not rewrite history.
“Castigating any manager for preferring one style over another is wrong, but let’s not pretend it is more attractive or tactically clever, seeing defenders launch long throws to cause mayhem in a penalty area.”
In recent weeks, James Garner took a swipe at Dyche for the way in which he had Everton playing during his time on Merseyside.
Set pieces have quickly become the trend in the 2025/26 campaign, and that was something which Dyche had Everton doing to a decent level.
Sean Dyche defended his reliance on set pieces at Everton
Going back almost a year to just a few weeks before the 54-year-old was sacked by the Friedkins, only Arsenal had scored more from dead-ball situations than Dyche’s Everton.
“Now everyone has re-realised that set-pieces matter! For a long, long time a rough figure is that 25 per cent of goals are from set-pieces. So why wouldn’t you use them?,” Dyche said last year.
Sean Dyche’s Everton Total
Set-piece goals % 44%
% Long passes 17.5%
Average possession 39%
James Tarkowski thinks Dyche is an underrated manager and he is returning to the game at a time when his tactics could actually prove effective for Forest.
However, it is a style of football that is still coming under scrutiny from the likes of Carragher.
Everton struggled to deal with Tottenham’s set pieces just the other week as Micky van de Ven scored two headers from corners.
If you can’t beat them, you may have to join them.