<b>Everton sticking by Frank Lampard for now as survival specialist Sean Dyche lurks in the background</b>
<I>The Toffees’ hierarchy are working on January loan moves as they try desperately to improve a side heading for another relegation battle</I>
Under-pressure Frank Lampard retains the backing of Everton’s hierarchy, who are working on January loan moves that are months in the making to help solve the team’s chronic lack of goals.
Whether that faith endures if results continue to flat-line is open to question.
Farhad Moshiri has burned through six managers since becoming Everton majority shareholder in 2016 and no one can confidently predict what will happen if he relinquishes the backseat view he’s taken of club matters in 2022.
But for now, with trips to Manchester City on Saturday and Manchester United in the FA Cup next Friday sandwiching a critical home clash with Brighton on Tuesday, Lampard is working closely with director of football Kevin Thelwell on short-term solutions to ensure the team aren’t dragged deeper into the sort of trouble that they only narrowly escaped from last season.
Everton’s woes worsened with a Boxing Day defeat to fellow strugglers Wolves, played out in front of a flat Goodison Park that was a million miles away from the bearpit atmosphere whipped up when it looked like relegation was a real possibility in the last campaign.
The issues were familiar: profligacy in front of goal, a lack of fluency, and errors at key moments that allowed their opponents to swipe the initiative.
They have just 12 goals and the worry is how little has changed, despite an overhaul of personnel and Lampard having enough time to stamp his authority on the club.
Last Monday was a deeper cut because of the general feeling that Wolves were there for the taking and it continued a worrying trend of losing to teams around them in the survival fight.
Defeats to Leicester (18th at the time), Bournemouth (16th) and Wolves (20th) have sent alarm bells ringing and fans scouring for possible Lampard replacements.
Everton are holding firm for now, with sources pointing out the practical, tangible changes made as a result of a root-and-branch review of football operations launched 12 months ago that they feel will bear fruit soon.
But the availability of survival specialists like Sean Dyche, willing to work on a shoestring budget, will hold appeal to those who feel Everton remain simply far too easy to beat.
These are the sort of dilemmas that crack apart consensus in a club. Lampard was a unifying force 12 months ago but risks becoming increasingly divisive if results don’t turn.
These problems strike at the heart of how the club want to move forward.
Do they respond to short-term issues and make a change, risking the building that is going on behind the scenes, or persevere in the belief that constant managerial churn is part of the longer-term issues? Can you really back a manager in the transfer market, then sack him a few weeks later?
The hope among decision-makers is that Lampard conjures the sort of results which make these questions irrelevant and next month is being viewed as a litmus test of progress and intentions.
After City and Brighton come Southampton at home and West Ham away. Today is the steepest challenge but at least one win from that quartet is surely essential.
There is a budget to work with but loans look more likely. As i reported last week, a new long-term deal for Anthony Gordon has been wrapped up while Alex Iwobi is also expected to commit to a new contract.
There is an acceptance that new faces are critical, though, and Everton know something much change soon.
https://inews.co.uk/sport/football/everton-frank-lampard-sean-dyche-2056631
