Everton have two hopes: Sean Dyche and incompetence of promoted sides

There are only five sides of the 92 in the English football pyramid that have yet to earn a point this season. There are also only two sides who have yet to score a goal. The only team to ‘achieve’ both are Everton, which raises the question: will this be the year that the Toffees finally go down?

It’s a question that has been asked in each of the last two seasons and been answered with late rescue acts, first under Frank Lampard and then Sean Dyche on the final day at Goodison Park in May.

This year feels different, with the discontent amongst the fanbase only growing after what has been a disastrous summer and an even worse opening three games, which must have fans counting the days until the international break and some respite from the ongoing misery.

The mismanagement of the club during the tenure of Farhad Moshiri has long been documented, with extremely poor spending, constant chopping and changing of managers and no direction or strategy.

READ: Premier League sack race: Dyche new favourite as Hammers’ flying start steers Moyes to safety

The late survival last time season was attained under the dark cloud of charges for alleged breaches of the Premier League’s FFP rules – the club recorded losses of £371.8m over a three-year period, way above the £105m limit, albeit the pandemic was taken into consideration.

It remains to be seen what will happen with the case set to be heard in late October, but it has resulted in a tightening of the purse strings once again, which has not been helped by the collapse of an agreement with potential new investors MSP Sports Capital.

Much-maligned and long-serving chairman Bill Kenwright also remained in his role despite an expectation and demand that he leave the club along with the rest of the board members at the end of last season.

To rubberstamp what a hole Everton find themselves on off the pitch, former manager and possibly the nicest man in football, Carlo Ancelotti, is suing the club over a dispute relating to general commercial contracts and arrangements.

In an ever-so-slight defence of Moshiri, he clearly cares for Everton given he has pumped cash into the club and is building a new stadium, but it’s all been so badly handled from the day he bought the club in 2016.

The ambition then was for the Toffees to be up towards the top of the table, competing for European spots, where their prestige and history demands they ought to be. Instead, it’s all about survival once again, and Dyche finds himself working with one hand behind his back.

Money is patently limited with centre-forwards Beto and Chermiti the only permanent signings for money, the first being picked up from Udinese for £25m after Dominic Calvert-Lewin broke his cheekbone and the latter very much one for the future (if there is one). Oh how Beto needs to hit the ground running given the club’s drought in front of goal.

Arnaut Danjuma has also arrived six months after he was expected, joining on loan from Villarreal. He and fellow loanee Jack Harrison (from fellow mismanaged club Leeds) will be expected to contribute goals from the flanks, particularly in the absence of a real No.9.

Their first of five signings was Ashley Young, who looked all of his 38 years on his return to Villa Park in a 4-0 hammering that saw fans leaving the ground with over 20 minutes left. Who could blame them? Former Everton fan and Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher was not wrong when he said being a fan of the club right now is the most miserable existence in Premier League history (post-1992).

While a loss at Unai Emery’s high-flying Aston Villa was expected, home defeats to Fulham and Wolves are the real concern for everyone connected with the club. These will be the type of games Everton need to win to survive this season, and it’s not as if either of those sides are prolific right now – Fulham have lost Aleksandar Mitrovic and Wolves had the lowest goals tally in the league last season.

Wolves were also a side being tipped to go down by many, and one who would act as the latest ‘get out of jail free’ card for Everton, having had a chaotic summer themselves, losing several big players and changing managers on the eve of their opening game. But it now seems even Wolves are a better bet to be in the top flight next season than the Blues.

So what hope, if any, is there for Everton fans this season? They would all no doubt take 17th at this point and just pray the club is sold before they succumb to the drop.

Their manager provides one hope, given Dyche has a long track record of working on smaller budgets, making the most of what he has got and being a survival specialist.

The other is the fact that of those four other sides in the English football pyramid to not gain a point yet this season, three are in the Premier League and they are the three promoted sides, albeit Luton and Burnley have only played two games with their fixture being postponed.

Outside of that, there doesn’t appear to be left to be positive about in Everton’s bid to avoid relegation for the first time in over 70 seasons. It’s set to be another long, hard campaign on the blue side of Merseyside.