AFTER quite a few Premier League seasons of high expectations and huge failings since owner Farhad Moshiri began pouring money into the club, Everton desperately needed some stability and structure if they were to avoid spending each season barely surviving in the Premier League and attempt to move forward and progress while giving the fans something positive to cheer about.

In steps Sean Dyche in February with a huge task of keeping the Toffees from being relegated from the top-flight for the first time in 70 years. Facing title-chasing Arsenal in his first game and coming off the back of one win in their previous 12 Premier League games under Frank Lampard, a customary 1-0 win to Sean Dyche’s Everton ensued, thanks to a James Tarkowski header – the player who has played the most Premier League games under the English manager (222 currently).

I say ‘customary’ in regard to the scoreline as Sean Dyche has overseen more 1-0 victories (33) in the Premier League since his first season in the competition (with Burnley in 2014-15) than any other manager – in fact, 39% of the current Everton bosses Premier League wins (33/85) have been 1-0. Of all managers with at least 50 victories in the competition, only Tony Pulis has won a higher share by that scoreline (41.8 – 41/98).

The manager went on to steer Everton clear of relegation last season by just two points (finishing 17^th), defeating Bournemouth on the final day and gaining eight points from their last five games (W2 D2 L1), which was more than the three relegated teams below managed across their final five matches combined (7).

The new season began with no win in five matches (D1 L4) amid the well documented financial troubles that have resulted in a 10-point deduction – things were looking bleak to say the least, and presumably the Everton fans were fearing the worst. With teams in and around the Toffees such as Bournemouth and Burnley each spending in excess of 100 million in the summer transfer window, the task for the Everton manager to get the most out of the squad he has to work with, while not being able to spend any money, was proving incredibly hard.

Fast forward 12 matches and what Dyche has been able to do with this Everton side is nothing short of remarkable.The Toffees have won eight of their last 12 Premier League matches (D1 L3), as many as they managed to win in their previous 44 in the competition combined (D13 L23).

Indeed, since the 23^rd September (Matchday 6), only Aston Villa (9) have won more Premier League games than Everton (8), while no team have conceded fewer goals (11) or kept more clean sheets (6) than the toffees in that time.

*Excluding 10 point deduction

The club’s recent performances have quickly erased the 10-point deduction they received, and without it, Everton would be sitting level on points with Brighton in 10^th place. This is no small feat given the struggles in recent years along with the tight-shoestring budget they have to work with in order to stay clear of anymore financial fair play offences.

After defeating Burnley last time out, Everton won their fourth Premier League game in a row without conceding a single goal – their longest run of consecutive victories in the league since a run of five in November 2002 under David Moyes. Everton have been excellent in their Premier League away games with only Tottenham (18) winning more points away from home than Everton this season (16). Indeed, the Toffees’ 16 points is already more than they won on the road in the whole of last season (15), while against Spurs this weekend they are looking to win five consecutive top-flight away games for the first time since April 1970 – a season in which they won the league title.

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