A look at how the national media reacted to Everton’s dramatic final-day victory over Bournemouth to retain their Premier League status.
‘One sweet swish of a boot’ - Daily Mail
Ian Ladyman of the Daily Mail vividly detailed the moment Abdoulaye Doucoure rescued Everton from the brink. He wrote: “After all the hurt, anger and darkness, it took just one sweet swish of a boot to haul Everton back from the threat of oblivion and into the sunshine.
“Coming to the end of his third season at Everton, Abdoulaye Doucoure had only previously contributed eight Premier League goals. Costing £20million back when Carlo Ancelotti was manager, the Mali midfielder has typified what has been wrong at Goodison Park. Not terrible, not great. Just a bit 'So what?'
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“Here, amid all the tension and fear, he was for almost an hour part of an Everton performance far too high on emotion and nowhere near heavy enough on intelligence. With Leicester winning at home 100 miles away, Everton were going down.
“When Doucoure steadied himself to drive a right-footed shot with the laces of his boot from 20 yards, the power alone was enough to beat goalkeeper Mark Travers to his left and give Everton a glimpse of what everybody had come here hoping to find. For a couple of minutes, time was almost suspended as Everton supporters lost themselves in the anticipation of possible salvation.”
Praise for Dyche’s points return
Sean Dyche received credit from Independent writer Richard Jolly for steering the Toffees to safety following his January appointment. Everton were 19th and two points from safety when the former Burnley boss took charge.
“Goodison Park, which first staged top-flight football in 1892, will do so again in its final fixture in 2024 before Everton move to a new ground at Bramley-Moore Dock,” he wrote. “Everton will make it 70 consecutive seasons in either the old Division 1 or the Premier League.
“But the jubilation had not lasted long before a chorus of 'sack the board'. Once again, Everton have stumbled towards crisis, only to somehow spare themselves. The £600m of spending in the transfer market during Farhad Moshiri’s ownership has produced a team that only procured 36 points. Dyche did well to take 21 from his 18 matches in charge.”
Doucoure ‘epitome’ of Dyche’s Everton
Doucoure personifies the Toffees’ turnaround under Dyche - his future having been in doubt in January after issues with Frank Lampard. Chris Bascombe of the Telegraph wrote: “From exile to immortality, Abdoulaye Doucoure joined the ever-expanding roll call of Everton saviours. With respect, he and everyone associated with the Merseyside club will hope he is the last of his kind.
“For Barry Horne against Wimbledon in 1994, read Doucoure against Bournemouth in 2023, midfielders considered among the least likely to smash 22-yard volleys which stave off relegation and transform agony into euphoria. Doucoure was sent to train alone by Frank Lampard last January after a bust-up which would have facilitated his Goodison departure had the manager not left first.
“Now he has a new contract and the certainty of being remembered as the epitome of Sean Dyche’s modern ‘dogs of war’ thanks to one of the most consequential goals in Everton history. Doucoure’s winner seemed to signify how and why Dyche was able to lead Everton to safety - the manager and his team somehow finding enough golden nuggets when it mattered amid the debris of another terrible campaign played amid the usual dramas of sackings, fans’ unrest, and a boardroom so unpopular its members had to watch the excruciating finale unfold on television.”
Time for change at Everton
Another key theme was how avoiding relegation cannot mask the truth about wider issues at the club. It was touched on by several outlets, but was the main thurst of the ECHO's front page piece from Joe Thomas.
Joe wrote: "Survival cannot be seen as vindication of the decision-makers at Everton. It does not require forensic investigation to show the severity of the problems that have emerged on their watch."
His piece added: "Whatever happens it is difficult to see progress without an acceptance that change, in some format, is needed in the corridors of power. What is a certainty is the club cannot be ignorant to the enormity of the challenge ahead and the dangers of failing to act with competence. It was lucky to receive a second chance last year. It is extremely fortunate to get a third.
"Humility and a change in attitude will be a necessity. Everton’s supporters are its greatest asset and little that is worthwhile can be achieved without them. If the relationship between the club and its fanbase is to have a chance of being repaired then those with the greatest responsibility must make the first move and acknowledge their role in the crises that led Everton to the brink of disaster. The supporters have twice done everything in their power to help to save the club. But they cannot do everything. They, the fans, clearly deserve better."
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