Sean Dyche is as entertaining in press conferences as he is to watch on the sidelines.
He was particularly animated against Chelsea, stalking his technical area, questioning decisions and bellowing instructions at his players. One highlight was a magnificent arch of the back in the first half as Demarai Gray came within a whisker of stealing the ball from last defender Wesley Fofana. Dyche knew how big that chance would have been.
But on Saturday, Dyche was perhaps most interesting in his pre-match press conference. He offered genuine insight into his and Ellis Simms’ relationship by discussing a conversation they had just days before the trip to Stamford Bridge over Simms’ desire to improve. He appeared baffled at claims James Tarkowski had sought off-the-ball ‘retribution’ and, above all else, reacted with complete bemusement to a query about his players’ boots. These are some of the highlights from the press box following a valuable draw in west London.
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'Amazing?' - Dyche responds to footwear question
Two Everton players changed their boots in the first half against Chelsea. Just minutes in, Dwight McNeil made a quick run to the technical area where he swapped his boots in a short pitstop. Soon after, Alex Iwobi needed to change his and did so. This led to Dyche being asked about his players’ boots issues in the post-match press conference.
The Blues boss often greets such questions with bemusement and this time was no different. When it was pointed out a few players appeared to have footwear issues, he simply responded: “Yeah, I have no clue about that. I don’t know how you want me to answer that one… amazing?”
‘Was there?’ Dyche responds to James Tarkowski ‘retribution’ claims
Another incident brought up in the post-match discussions was one in which Tarkowski brought down Joao Felix off the ball. It followed Felix stealing the ball from the centre back on the halfway line and sparking a move that developed down the opposite side of the pitch. As Felix was making a dart to the back post he went down under an outstretched arm from Tarkowski just outside the area.
Referee Darren England either did not see it, or dismissed it as irrelevant, incensing Felix. Dyche was asked whether he thought Tarkowski had engaged in an act of ‘retribution’. Instead he appeared baffled by the question and simply said: “I can’t remember that.” When told it occurred in front of him, he added: “I can’t remember that… I know I haven’t seen it, I must have been focusing on something else.”
Home fans sing for Frank
Everton and Chelsea now have Frank Lampard in common - though the former boss of both teams did not make it to Stamford Bridge while in charge of Everton. His departure was met with a sense of frustration at the Blues’ predicament and an acknowledgement he had been undermined by the problems he inherited when he was appointed on Merseyside, though results and performances in his final month made his exit inevitable.
There is little ill-will from Everton supporters after Lampard built a strong rapport with the fanbase and led the side to Premier League survival last season. At Stamford Bridge there remains a far deeper love for a player who won everything during his long career with Chelsea, however. That was clear in the early stages with sections of the home crowd bursting into chants of ‘Super Frank Lampard’ in what felt like a surreal twist to an already extraordinary season.
Talent and targets on the bench
Graham Potter has a wealth of talent at his disposal after Chelsea’s vast spending over recent transfer windows. A reminder of this was clear not just on the pitch, where more than £200m of new talent for this season was on show in the shapes of Wesley Fofana, Enzo Fernandez, Kalidou Koulibaly, and Benoît Badiashile, but on the bench too. Chelsea paid almost £90m for Mykhailo Mudryk in January - and he did not even make it on to the pitch.
Last summer feels like a long time ago now, when Mudryk was a target for Everton. His former team Shakhtar Donetsk said Everton made a £26m bid for the young winger that was rebuffed by the Ukrainian side. Also on the bench, though he did get on, was Conor Gallagher. Gallagher has been another Everton target over the past 12 months, the midfielder coveted by Lampard and reportedly the subject of late January interest.
Dwight McNeil was not Reece James’ biggest rival down the Everton left
Reece James had a peculiar night. His elaborate fall after the slightest of touches from Demarai Gray sparked frustration on the Everton bench, as did the call to award Chelsea a penalty when he went down under pressure from Ben Godfrey and James Tarkowski. He was engaged in an intriguing battle with Dwight McNeil down the Everton left but in the first half his biggest rival appeared to be fourth official Craig Pawson.
With McNeil and James in combat in front of the tunnel and technical areas, Chelsea won several throw-ins and throughout this period James was urging Pawson to give him the spare match ball at his disposal so he could quicken the pace of Chelsea’s play rather than wait for the one in use to find its way back to him. Pawson never relented.
Kai Havertz teases Jordan Pickford but Everton get the last laugh
Kai Havertz has an interesting history with Everton. He was engaged in a battle of frustration at Goodison Park last season in a game that saw Yerry Mina succeed in winding him up. The sight of Mina falling to the floor after Havertz approached him was one of the most entertaining of a game that was crucial in Everton’s Premier League survival campaign.
Havertz thought he had one over Everton at Stamford Bridge when he coolly scored the second half penalty that restored his side’s lead. After sending Jordan Pickford the wrong way he gestured towards the England number one and stuck his tongue out before celebrating in front of the home supporters. At the end of the game it was Everton’s players celebrating at that end, however, Amadou Onana in particular leading the reaction to a valuable point in this season’s relegation battle.
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