Goodbye Sean Dyche
one of the Premier League's most enjoyable managers
It’s happened. You know my reaction
What do I love about Sean Dyche
-the win vs Liverpool late in the season last year to end Liverpool’s title dreams
-the constant obsession with blocking shots, which I don’t think many other managers talk about at all. Nearly every interview he talks about “getting your blocks in” as a key metric from his defenders. Pretty much every year his teams led the league in block% or were right at the top.
-the Dyche Zone, a brilliant spot by the brilliant John Muller
-a 7th place finish with this Burnley squad: Jack Cork played the most minutes on the squad, statistically probably the worst PL player I can ever remember. Johann Berg Gudmundsson, Stephen Ward, Matthew Lowton, Ashley Barnes and Jeff Hendrick were other key men over 2k minutes alongside the ever present Tarky/Ben Mee. Took the team through 3 playoff rounds and gave us a Burnley v Olympiacos match…how can you be a fan of the global game and not love that matchup
-consistently keeping Burnley and chaotic Everton as reasonable forces in the PL for 7.5ish consecutive seasons.
-having a masterclass
-Tarky. He always backed Tarky to be on the national team, played him 90 minutes every single week through thick and thin and injury and Burnley and Everton, and got rewarded with years of CL level performance from a guy who probably could have transferred to a fancy play-it-out-the-back side and burnished his England credentials but was happy to constantly lead the way by blocking shot after shot after shot (top 2 for 5 years in a row I believe) and keeping teams without much talent in the middle of the PL table for many years. Tarky being used so effectively as an offensive weapon on set pieces was a serious marginal gain not every manager would have utilized as well.
-putting together a legit mid-table performance last season with the 3rd-least possession (horrific finishing) by being a CL level team on set pieces overall and blocking a league-best 35% of opponent shots. Abdoulaye Doucoure, James Garner, Ashley Young, Vitalii Mykolenko and Jack Harrison played starter minutes on a team who finished 10th in overall performance. Turning players who are smart, physical and give effort on both sides of the ball into reliable PL performers no matter their weaknesses is a sign of a good coach.
-his obvious and unabashed glee at organizing brutal running sessions in preseason
-playing field position in a way few teams did, Dyche teams make sure opponents rarely got the ball in easy field position, makes them have to work a long way up the pitch to get a shot and the shot will come through traffic a lot. Only Arsenal and Man City were in better field positions on average than Everton last year.
-the unabashed directness with the ball. Pressing to win the ball to try and get a shot quickly, firing crosses in way too fast to try and get a shot quickly, hitting long balls from the back to try and get a shot…when it goes wrong it can be ugly but there was a clear and defined ethos that at least makes sense and seems directly related to winning (which not all managers do: see Martin, Russell and Kompany, Vincent at Burnley).
-being stubborn, having belief in himself and having a clear idea that differed so much with the style of play around him stands out to me. Central midfielders never passing to each other and center backs never passing to central midfielders is probably not the ideal way to play the game, but I love the idea that in soccer you have multiple approaches to good results. Everyone playing bend but don’t break defense and safe, solid buildup of possession sounds like the modern NBA to me, and Dyche’s uniqueness and ability to have his team work hard and deliver solid results from it made the entire league a much better place.
I always wondered what he could do if he had say a Forest front three behind an aerial winning forward, but we’ve got years of great performances and grindy, deserved 0-0 draws against teams with enormous talent gaps. If this is it Sean, all I have to say is thank you for adding enjoyment, color, confidence and uniqueness to a league that benefited from it.