ClaphamFox

Most likely I'd say. Either now or in the summer.

If the club is responding to our current situation by sacking people but none of those people are Ruud, it suggests they don't think the problem is him. I suspect Ruud has asked for this to happen because he wants to bring his own people in during the summer.

Clearing the decks for Ruud to bring his own staff in during the summer?

In recent years, Bournemouth and Fulham have done it. Brighton started out as a counter-attacking side when they were promoted but when it was clear that wasn't working, they sacked Hughton and appointed Potter to play a more possession-based game. It was at that point they began the upward trajectory that has taken them to where they are now. So three of the recent blueprints for success for Championship clubs have been possession-based sides. Against this, Forest have adopted a very different approach and have also done very well. Football is evolving all the time and ideas about tactics change constantly. But let’s be clear: In Dyche’s most recent job he was miserably failing to get a tune out of a group of players that have averaged two points a game since Moyes returned. He’s a dinosaur and we shouldn’t let him anywhere near our club.

Speak for yourself. If Southampton get Rohl and we get somebody like Dyche or Gary O'Neil, I will literally vomit.

That would be sickening.

I don't think anybody is expecting him to leave at this stage of the season. He might be more approachable in the summer, however.

The transformation of Everton under Moyes (who isn't himself exactly renowned for playing attractive football) is very damning on Dyche. Everton were awful under Dyche - tactically predictable and plodding, characterized by ageing workhorses and a complete lack of flair or attacking intent. His tactics have become obsolete in the modern game and he hasn't adapted. Under Dyche, Ayew and BDCR would 100% be getting in the side ahead of Buonanotte and Mavididi and the football would be turgid beyond belief. Haven't we suffered enough in recent times without picking a manager who would make it even worse?

Exactly. If we still had a realistic chance of staying up and needed a temporary fix to get us over the line, there would be a case to be made for Dyche. But as we’ll definitely be playing in the Championship next season and will desperately be in need of a complete fresh start, we will need a tactically intelligent manager with a long-term blueprint. That clearly rules Dyche out.

Why? They’re probably not going up this season. Why would it be impossible to get him?

How do you know this?

Apparently the cost of getting rid of Ruud would be very small.

Speak to any Everton fan - the things they were saying about Dyche before he was sacked were very similar to what our fans are saying about RVN: baffling team selections, bizarre tactics, no real identity, chronic inability to score goals. Yes, they were better defensively than we are, but apart from that they were awful. Then Moyes walked in the door, clicked his fingers and they’re suddenly a completely different side. It’s difficult to believe that that anybody who actually cares about our football club’s future could possibly want Dyche as our manager.

Trust your previous judgment - you were right before! No matter what our situation is, Dyche is not, and never will be, the answer.

We may not be able to afford to sack RVN now, but it wouldn’t surprise me if there is a clause in his contract that enables us to get rid of him cheaply if we get relegated. So he may cling on until that is confirmed. Martin would be an incredibly unpopular appointment and I just can’t see the club going out of its way to further piss off a very unhappy fanbase. Who that leaves us with I have no idea…

You laugh but I absolutely think Top would go for Enzo again if he’s sacked by Chelsea before the summer.

If losing all our remaining games and finishing below Southampton makes our owners realise what an absolute shit show we’ve become and forces them to do something about it then personally I’m here for it.

We should just forget about this season. It’s done. There’s no point in trying to recruit a new manager now when the options are so limited. Dyche would not keep us up this season then we’d be lumped with him next season before he inevitably got sacked in October/November. Hopefully there is a clause in RVN’s contract that allows us to dismiss him at little cost in the event of relegation. Then we can cast the net and hopefully land somebody decent.

No wonder they recently decided to keep PSR for at least another year. If it ain’t broke…

No.

I’ve tried to give him the benefit of the doubt because he’s been dealt a very poor hand and there is much to like about him. But you’re right: he’s done absolutely nothing yet to suggest he’s a good football manager. On a run of horrendous run of form like ours, a good manager would try something different. RVN’s persistence with the same players, formation and tactics suggests he just does not have the tactical intelligence or flexibility to manage at this level. It’s a shame, but that’s the reality.

A rebuild implies a fresh start. Are you actually suggesting we hand responsibility for managing that to somebody who has just stunk the place out at Everton?

He would have lost the dressing room within weeks, the results would have been terrible and he’d have been sacked. It’s a different world now: player power has eclipsed manager power. No way our current squad would accept being told to run up and down sand hills.

When was the last time we sacked a manager immediately after a terrible result rather than 1-3 days later?

Yes. They had to be separated.