Everton v Bournemouth - Saturday 7th October 2023

Dyche Programme Notes

Fortunately, after disappointment in football, there is always another game around the corner to try to correct that feeling - and that is exactly where we are today.

There is no getting away from the frustration of last weekend’s defeat to Luton. On the back of two consecutive away wins and excellent performances in quick succession, we earned the right to go out and play with our shoulders back, play with confidence in front of our home crowd and continue building momentum.

But, as has been the story for too much of the early part of our season, while we dominated proceedings, we failed to take our chances and went on to concede two soft goals and that’s a bad combination, especially in the Premier League where the margins are fine.

As I mentioned in my last set of programme notes, it feels like there’s been a negative noise surrounding the Club for a couple of years now and the squad, my staff and I remain determined for that story to change - the only way to do that is by consistently delivering through our actions on the pitch, but we didn’t step up last weekend.

We started brightly enough but we lacked the killer edge in front of goal that we showed at Brentford and Aston Villa, and credit to Luton for making us pay for those missed chances. It wasn’t a terrible performance statistically - we had 23 shots on goal and had control of the game - but the team mentality has to get better to deliver all of the ugly side of the game. A nearly performance is not enough; we have to do all of the details all of the time especially at both ends of the pitch. That starts in training and goes through into the games.

For whatever reason, we’ve looked so free away from home and we must - quickly and then consistently - convert that feeling to when we’re playing here at Goodison.

Today is another opportunity.

This is a fantastic place to play football. Pulling on an Everton shirt and playing in front of 40,000 fans at Goodison Park is an honour for any footballer and, as long as you do the right things, Evertonians will make you feel 10-feet tall with their backing.
You - the supporters - have been fantastic since I arrived. We want to be playing here and we want to reward your support with goals, performances and, most importantly, wins.

The key to that and one of my consistent messages to the players is: be the difference. Go out there and be the one to make something happen and when you do that, it becomes infectious to those around you.

Today we welcome Andoni Iraola, his staff, players and everyone connected to AFC Bournemouth.

Like us, we know they head into today’s game on the back of a disappointing result and they will no doubt be raring to go this afternoon.

Bournemouth invested heavily in some talented players over the summer and we know they will pose a threat.

But we must come into today with confidence and determination to be better than we were last weekend, there is no doubt about that. We want that winning feeling back and to go into the international break with a positive feeling after a strong performance.

I will end my notes by reiterating my full support for the Premier League’s No Room For Racism campaign, with this weekend’s matches dedicated to the important initiative. Reinforced by Everton’s All Together Now campaign, everyone at the Club celebrates diversity on and off the pitch and backs the ongoing work to eliminate any form of discrimination in football. Our game is for everyone.

Thank you for your continued support and enjoy today’s game.

Sean

Everton FC