Everton are not surviving; they are decomposing

The Goodison Park escape acts have become a tragicomic ritual, but each one papers over a rotting foundation. Sean Dyche’s Everton are not resilient; they are strategically bankrupt. The numbers tell a story the table does not: an expected goals (xG) difference of -18.4, the third-worst passing accuracy in the final third, and a midfield that resembles a sieve more than a unit.

From Moyes to Martinez to Dyche: a legacy of neglect

David Moyes built his Everton on defensive solidity and a midfield axis of Thomas Gravesen and Lee Carsley — functional but fierce. Roberto Martinez tried to polish that rough stone into silk, but his sides leaked goals like a Victorian roof. Now Dyche has regressed to pre-Moyes chaos: no coherent pressing structure, no creative fulcrum, just a blunt instrument that relies on set pieces and attrition. The decline is not cyclical; it is terminal.

The midfield numbers are damning. Everton rank 18th in passes per defensive action (PPDA), meaning they allow opponents to string together an average of 13.4 passes before attempting a tackle or interception. Only Sheffield United are worse. Compare that to Dyche’s Burnley sides, which routinely ranked in the mid-8s. The pressing structure has evaporated.

The structural void in midfield: a case study in fragmentation

Everton’s midfield is a collection of mismatched parts — no partnership, no chemistry, no plan. Idrissa Gueye returned from Paris Saint-Germain as a late-career destroyer, but his passing range is limited to five-yard sideways balls. Amadou Onana offers physical presence but drifts out of games alarmingly; his 2.1 interceptions per 90 minutes are respectable, but his positional discipline is poor. James Garner is a tidy passer but lacks the athleticism to cover ground, and Abdoulaye Doucouré, when fit, is a box-crasher, not a metronome.

  • Against Brighton, Everton’s midfield was bypassed 17 times through direct passes into the channels — a record high for any Premier League side this season.
  • In the 3-2 loss to Luton, the three central midfielders completed only 63% of their passes in the opponents’ half.
  • At Molineux, Wolves’ João Gomes completed more dribbles past Everton midfielders than any other team has allowed in a single game this term.

The problem is not individual talent; it is a system that gives midfielders no coherent shape. Dyche uses a 4-4-1-1 that collapses into two banks of four when defending, but the transition between the two lines is sluggish. The distance between the midfield and defensive lines often exceeds 15 metres, creating a playground for opposition No 10s. Martin Ødegaard and James Maddison have both registered season-high key passes against Everton.

The counter-argument: Dyche’s pragmatism keeps them up. But at what cost?

Defenders of Dyche will point to points per game: since his appointment, Everton average 1.24 points per match, enough to stay up. They will note the set-piece threat — James Tarkowski and Jarrad Branthwaite have combined for 7 goals from dead balls, the second-most in the division. They will argue that the squad is relegation-quality and the manager is squeezing blood from a stone. This is true, but it misses the point. A manager who cannot build a functional midfield is a firefighter, not an architect. The relegation battles become inevitable when the structural rot is ignored.

Verdict: Everton will finish 16th or lower in 2025-26 unless Dyche rebuilds the midfield core

Sean Dyche’s contract runs through 2026. If he remains, Everton will once again flirt with relegation unless he completely overhauls the midfield. The club’s reported interest in Mandela Keita of Parma suggests they know the issue, but Keita alone cannot solve the systemic disconnect. Expect Everton to end next season no higher than 16th — and if the midfield is not rebuilt with two new starters, they will finally drop through the trap door they have been dancing around for three years.

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