One thing was clear from observing Sean Dyche on the touchline during his first game as Everton manager, here was someone who was going to kick every ball and challenge every decision with the same passion as those in the stands at Goodison Park. As a youngster growing up in Northamptonshire, Dyche was a self-confessed Liverpool fan from afar but nobody who saw him against Arsenal could now question his True Blue credentials.
Everton of course picked up their first three points since October 22 in defeating the Premier League leaders 1-0 and Dyche’s battling qualities could be just what they need in the weeks ahead as they look to avoid a first relegation in 72 years. The new gaffer’s demonstrative actions are in sharp contrast to the understated reaction of one of his predecessors, Carlo Ancelotti, during a dramatic Goodison goal glut on this day in 2021.
Only two years have passed since that day but Dyche – following on from Rafael Benitez and Frank Lampard – is of course already the third subsequent incumbent of the Everton home dugout since then and another telling factor in the space of just 24 months has been the rapid turnover of players too. Dominic Calvert-Lewin is the only Blues scorer from their 5-4 extra time FA Cup fifth round victory over Tottenham Hotspur to still be at the club with Richarlison, who netted twice; Gylfi Sigurdsson and match-winner Bernard having all since departed and the number nine was one of three in the starting line-up that night to retain their spot against the Gunners, alongside Abdoulaye Doucoure and Alex Iwobi.
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In normal circumstances, ‘The Grand Old Lady’ would have been shaking to the rafters when Bernard netted the decisive ninth goal in extra time but with fans kept out due to the coronavirus pandemic, the defining image of the game was instead Everton manager Ancelotti calmly blowing into his cup of tea while those around him went berserk. As is the fashion in the third decade of the 21st century, Ancelotti’s cool reaction to the dramatic winner quickly became a social media meme with the Blues boss superimposed against backgrounds depicting the sinking of the Titanic, eruption of Krakatoa and even the impending doom of the asteroid hurtling towards the Earth that would cause the extinction of the dinosaurs.
At the time, Evertonians, forced like all other football supporters, to watch the action from television at home, revelled in the Italian’s relaxed response. As Ancelotti’s own son and assistant Davide acknowledged when asked what he admired most about his father’s managerial style, it was his ability to remain balanced in stressful situations.
After all, here was a super-coach who had secured major honours in all five of Europe’s big leagues, who had taken charge of three Champions League-winning sides (now four) – and the only man not to have achieved that feat with a single club. Ancelotti had seen and done it all in the biggest and best dugouts of the continent and Everton fans were delighted to have him.
Unlike Farhad Moshiri’s previous appointments, his arrival was unanimously endorsed by the fanbase and almost instantly he had his own terrace anthem ‘Carlo Fantastico, Carlo Magnifico.’ Despite seeing his previous stint in England abruptly cut short by Chelsea – at Goodison before he’d even left the ground after a 1-0 defeat to Everton just a year after steering the Londoners to a Premier League and FA Cup double – Ancelotti had penned a four-and-a-half year contract with the Blues which he’d publicly declared he’d like to extend to lead the club into their new stadium.
But before Goodison had even had to chance to play host to another capacity crowd, Ancelotti had gone, returning to one of his previous posts at Real Madrid. Perhaps the lure of European football’s most-successful club side was always going to prove too great or maybe at 62, after seeing his side plummet from being second on Boxing Day and still fifth in March with the chance to jump into the Champions League places if they won their game in hand, to ultimately finishing 10th, Ancelotti figured that time was not on his side when it came to this project?
What this tie did show though was that after some dour, half-baked contests in the early days of football behind closed doors, some games in empty stadia could still produce a thrilling tempo at times.
The ECHO’s Phil Kirkbride wrote: “Three goals in seven first-half minutes (Dominic Calvert-Lewin, 36, with a half volley too hot to handle; Richarlison, 38, a low drive from just outside the area and Gylfi Sigurdsson, 43 penalty after Calvert-Lewin was fouled) suddenly had Everton in a 3-1 lead, having conceded in the third minute when Davison Sanchez profited from generous defending that would linger in the air like a bad smell.
“But the chaos was turned up a notch when more slapstick work at the back allowed Erik Lamela to make it 3-2 just before the break. Three-two became 3-3 when Sanchez scored from another corner but with just over 20 minutes left, and with Everton missing the injured Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Richarlison produced a sublime finish to make it 4-3.
“Defend the lead, protect the lead, keep things tight.....sadly, it wasn’t yet the night for that. Harry Kane forced the game into extra-time with seven minutes left.”
With legs tiring, those in reserve were making a difference and Kirkbride added: “It was beginning to look like a battle of the benches. But it was the change that probably seemed the least likely to make a difference, who made the biggest: Bernard.
“Sigurdsson delivered a sumptuous ball over the ball, Bernard (97) brought it down and volleyed it home. Everton had 23 minutes to protect what they had but this time they did in ‘relatively comfortable’ fashion.”
Spurs boss Jose Mourinho, who when in charge of Chelsea back in 2004 and derided Arsenal’s 5-4 north London Derby win over his future employers as “a hockey score” and “disgraceful” in an 11-a-side match, would actually leave his post before Ancelotti, sacked on the eve of the League Cup final against Manchester City who’d also ended Everton’s FA Cup interest in the next round. Although hugely popular while here, it seemed that Ancelotti provided Everton with more thrills than they brought him but perhaps now in Dyche, loyal but long-suffering Blues have a manager on a more similar wavelength to themselves.
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