Mark Langdon: Sean Dyche working wonders at Everton

Everton were on Friday hit with a ten-point deduction after being found to have breached the Premier League's profit and sustainability rules.

It is the biggest sanction in the competition's history and leaves the Toffees down in 19th position on a new total of just four points.

As expected, Everton immediately said they intend to appeal against the decision.

But it is testament to the work being done by Sean Dyche that even if the sanction is upheld it may not spell the end of the Toffees' Premier League stay.

Everton stayed up by two points on the final day of last season and four points in the campaign before that as they just about kept their heads above water – but this term had the potential to be much calmer if only on-field matters counted.  

Their haul of fourteen points from 12 matches before the deduction is applied does not begin to tell the whole story for the unfortunate Toffees, and they will still fancy their chances of surviving because Luton, the side now just above the relegation zone in 17th, have only six points to Everton's new tally of four.

Everton are around tenth in the expected-goals tables and "won" the xG battle in frustrating home defeats to Fulham, Wolves and Luton. Perhaps tellingly, star striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin missed two of those losses because of injury. 

The Toffees have won four of their last six matches, progressing through to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals in the process, with their only loss in that time coming at local rivals Liverpool. Ashley Young's first-half red card did not help Everton's cause at Anfield, although recent wins at West Ham and Crystal Palace as well as a battling 1-1 draw against Brighton highlighted reasons for the Goodison Park faithful to be confident ahead of a crunch run of fixtures.

Manchester United, Newcastle and Chelsea will head to Goodison in three of Everton's next four games, and they also do battle with Tottenham and Manchester City before the year is out. But they at least go into the rough schedule with a plan of how to accumulate points.

Everton's managerial appointments have been a mess since long-serving boss David Moyes packed his bags for Old Trafford more than a decade ago, with Roberto Martinez, Ronald Koeman, Sam Allardyce, Marco Silva, Carlo Ancelotti, Rafa Benitez and Frank Lampard all having their own ideas on how to improve the club's fortunes – many spending one in the process – only to leave the club in a worse state than they found it. 

Dyche isn't a trendy manager and his style of football is not to all tastes, however he knows what he wants from a team and he has given Everton fans something to believe in. 

And there is a lot to be said for such a feeling around a football club, particularly one that has endured as many depressing results as Everton in recent times.

Dyche does the simple things well. Players are selected in the right positions, there is a balance throughout the side and Everton have managed to post a threat despite some low possession statistics – 36 per cent at West Ham, 32 per cent at Crystal Palace and 20 per cent at home to Brighton.

Everton defend in a solid base and 21-year-old Jarrad Branthwaite looks a big talent, as do 22-year-old midfielders Amadou Onana and James Garner. There was a time when Everton were chasing bigger, more established names, but maybe the Joe Royle Dogs of War and the hard working teams of the Moyes era are a better fit for the club.

Dyche and Everton just feels right.

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