Sean Dyche would often march into his Everton press conferences armed with a notepad full of his scribblings.
One time it was a few bullet points to help him explain the complexities of the Toffees’ financial woes and subsequent points deductions. The next week it was a scrunched up piece of paper akin to a shopping list with a tally of Everton’s injured players, which at the time ran into double figures.
On another occasion, he sat above an A4 piece of paper which was a briefing to the assembled media. It contained a strong statement backing Dyche as boss despite some bizarre quotes from John Textor, who was trying to buy Everton at the time, discussing his job security, or lack thereof.
The point here is that the 54-year-old never experienced a dull day at Goodison Park so he, more than most potential candidates, is ready for the hurly burly that will come with working in the world of Evangelos Marinakis on the banks of the River Trent.
Looking back on Dyche’s two years at Everton and his decade of vying for promotion and battling relegation at Burnley, it is clear that this is a man with ‘crisis management’ as a vital skill on his CV, a coach who knows how to steer a ship through troubled waters.
And that is exactly what he will have to do at Nottingham Forest, after signing an 18-month contract on Tuesday to return to the club where he played as a youngster, alongside City Ground heroes Ian Woan and Steve Stone, his long-standing, trusted backroom committee.
Sean Dyche has been appointed Nottingham Forest manager until June 2027
Dyche will be joined in the City Ground dugout by former Forest heroes Steve Stone (centre) and Ian Woan (right)
If anyone knows how to battle the turbulent head winds from above, with Evangelos Marinakis a passionate and hands-on owner, it is Dyche
He takes over Forest, the club of the great Brian Clough – whom Dyche idolises and worked under while a kid in the academy in the late 1980s – in a very similar position to Everton, on the pitch at least. The Toffees were 19th when he took charge in January 2023 and Forest are 18th now, with both big clubs in need of direction.
The difference here is that Dyche has almost a full season to work his magic, starting with Thursday’s visit of Portuguese giants Porto, his first European outing since the biggest regret of his managerial career, while still with Burnley, in 2018.
Back then, Dyche rested some of his key men for a Europa League qualifying tie at Olympiacos, and lost 3-1. Dyche complained post-match about officials from the Greek club allegedly queuing up outside the referee’s room at half-time, having seen defender Ben Gibson sent off in the second half and Burnley concede two goals which eventually knocked them out.
The next day, the Burnley Express published an apology letter to a certain ‘Mr Marinakis’ for alleging the Forest and Olympiacos owner had ‘stormed into the referee’s room at half-time’.
In Burnley, where they named a local pub The Royal Dyche in his honour for getting them into Europe, that error in team selection was the moment they started to doubt the boss who had led them to two promotions and their highest league finish for over 40 years.
Forest fans will not take kindly to any such antics in Dyche’s early weeks at the City Ground. Dyche has received a largely positive welcome but this is a fanbase hungry for much better, especially after the lofty heights of last season.
To paraphrase one of Clough’s great quotes, after winning the Anglo-Scottish Cup in 1977, Forest have had a sip of champagne, they quite liked the taste and now want more.
That applies to both fans and players. Good job, then, that Dyche’s way of thinking matches up somewhat to Nuno Espirito Santo, the man who took Forest from a team fighting relegation to one with European dreams once again.
One big regret of Dyche’s Burnley reign was his team selection for their Europa League qualifying tie against Olympiacos
But he is still a hero at Turf Moor, having led Burnley from the Championship to Europe
His teams have been set-piece kings – during his Everton tenure they were on par with the oft-heralded Arsenal – and a huge 41.9 per cent of the Premier League goals his sides have scored have come from dead-ball situations.
They are also defensively solid and the Kettering-born boss loves an industrious midfield. His football will be far more direct than Ange Postecoglou’s, and should be a far better fit for a squad of players built for Nuno’s style. Dyche’s teams have played 21.2 per cent of their passes long – Postecoglou’s figure is six per cent.
It was Dyche who turned Forest forward Chris Wood from a Championship striker to a trusted Premier League marksman and, at Everton, took the likes of Abdoulaye Doucoure to new heights.
He has a better history with young players than some might think. Jarrad Branthwaite, for example, was a fresh-faced defender who had been sent out on loan to Blackburn and PSV when Dyche first encountered him but he soon moulded him into an England international and a player Manchester United nearly signed.
Dwight McNeil is another success story and James Tarkowski became a reliable defender under Dyche (the pair played for him at both Burnley and Everton). Jack Cork and Nick Pope became England internationals on his watch, while 54-cap Kieran Trippier developed enormously under him.
Forest’s squad is definitely more suited to Dyche’s pragmatic methods than Postecoglou’s front-foot, high-line style — though it will be interesting to see how he manages gifted forwards like Morgan Gibbs-White, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Dan Ndoye.
One thing that frustrates Dyche is that he is often criticised for being a defensive coach. He believes that kind of manager should be heralded not vilified. His idol is Clough but one modern-day inspiration is Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone.
‘If you get the results playing the “wrong way”, you are a genius for playing the wrong way,’ he once said, when quizzed about his so-called negative tactics. ‘The highest exponent of that is Simeone. He was absolutely smashed to bits for years at Atletico, by the media and everyone. Then he was pushing to win the Champions League and winning La Liga, then he’s a genius.
Dyche turned Chris Wood from an EFL journeyman into a proven Premier League striker
Jarrad Branthwaite flourished under Dyche at Everton, becoming an England international
Can Dyche get Morgan Gibbs-White flying again after a disappointing start to the season?
‘When I was at Burnley, I would have really loved to see Simeone come to the Premier League. If he was losing he would have been battered, if he won he would be lauded as a revolutionary. I’m not putting him above Pep Guardiola, I’m just saying there’s different ways to succeed.’
Dyche, whose son plays for League One Northampton Town, is compassionate and allowed some players periods of leave at his former clubs for mental health reasons. But he left Everton on a sour note in January after telling new owners The Friedkin Group he had taken the club as far as he could, and was relieved of command three hours before an FA Cup time at home to Peterborough United.
In truth, he was right in his assessment – and the subsequent months have proven that, with David Moyes leading Everton up the table. Dyche had come in to keep the Toffees up and achieved that, arresting a slide set in motion by previous boss Frank Lampard but mainly by ruinous ownership from Farhad Moshiri.
Keeping Everton in the Premier League despite being deducted eight points in one season, and while operating on a shoestring budget, was nothing short of exceptional. Not quite the I Believe in Miracles of Clough, but relegation and financial ruin were a very realistic possibility.
Evertonians had seen enough by around this time last year. Before Dyche’s exit, the Toffees were flirting with relegation again. His dull style was tolerated when it brought results but Everton would often go on long winless runs and fans grew tired, eventually calling for his head. Given their ownership crisis, Dyche’s job was kept safe by no one really being in a position to sack him.
As we know from Postecoglou’s 39-day tenure, Mr Marinakis will not wait to pull the trigger if results are not on track — though the two managers before that, Nuno and Steve Cooper, were both given time.
Fans thought Dyche did not help himself in press conferences, giving blunt answers and sometimes denying news stories that were most certainly true. Some folk questioned whether he understood how big a club Everton are, others played ‘Dyche bingo’ with his repeated buzzwords.
He was also criticised for seemingly having favourite players and being reluctant to bed in new signings, such as Jake O’Brien – who has played nearly every game under Moyes. This could be a problem with Forest’s large squad.
Dyche’s tactical approach should be similar to that of Nuno Espirito Santo and fit the players he has at his disposal
Ange Postecoglou’s style did not suit the squad he had, and he lasted just 39 days in charge
‘Managing here is like juggling sand,’ he used to say at Everton, along with comparing the job to sticking his fingers in a dam to stop a flood. A bit of a wordsmith, clearly, and someone who has a few one-liners up his sleeve.
A big music fan and gig-goer who lives on the outskirts of Nottingham, Dyche will fit right in – especially as he has always held Forest in his heart from those academy days and is often spotted at games at the City Ground. Dyche, Woan and Stone are regulars at curry-houses together and will soon be picking out their new local.
One key criticism of Postecoglou in his 39 days was how he would hark back to his Tottenham achievements and never refer to Forest as ‘us’ or ‘we’. Dyche, who ditched smart clothes in favour of a club tracksuit at Everton to make him seem less authoritarian to players, can certainly get a few easy wins by wearing the iconic Forest badge or talking about his fond memories of the club.
Given the financial woes at Everton, it always felt like there was a ceiling on what Dyche could achieve – and he got near to that. The ceiling is higher in Nottingham but the floor is just the same. He must only look up.
