The comparisons with David Moyes began soon after Sean Dyche became Everton’s manager earlier this year.
Yes, the ginger hair. But on a more fundamental level, Dyche seemed to emit a similar aura around the club; the same sense of calm in turbulent times.
The former Burnley boss had been thrust into a challenging situation at Everton.
At the time of his appointment in late January, they were second-bottom in the league and in desperate need of reinforcements. Within days, though, they had sold Anthony Gordon to Newcastle to balance the books. A replacement was not found, further weakening an already stretched squad battling relegation.
Challenges remain, including ongoing financial uncertainty and November’s 10-point deduction for a breach of Profitability and Sustainability rules but, in the last six months, Dyche has made significant headway in his bid to get Everton back on an even keel.
Victory over Chelsea on Sunday made it three successive wins — the first time Everton have achieved this since March 2021 under Carlo Ancelotti.
Everton have taken 22 points from their last 11 league games, a tally only bettered by Aston Villa, Liverpool and Arsenal. Events out of their control may have left them just four points off the relegation zone, but the sense of transformation is clear.
It was not so long ago that Everton started the season with just one point from their first five games — a run that included home defeats to Fulham, Wolves and Arsenal and a 4-0 thrashing at Aston Villa.
In different circumstances — perhaps even certain moments earlier in Farhad Moshiri’s tenure as owner — Dyche could conceivably have been under pressure to save his job.
But even then, the word from Goodison was that he retained their backing. They had seen enough in the performances and underlying metrics to suggest he would come good. And come good he has.
Dyche is viewed internally as a smart cultural fit for Everton. A ‘roll your sleeves up’ kind of manager for a club based in a working-class part of Liverpool.
Publicly to media and supporters — and privately in the dressing room — he transmits the same messaging. He is demanding of his players, with a strong expectation of how they behave both on and off the pitch, a legacy of his upbringing under Brian Clough at Nottingham Forest. “Sweat on the shirt”, “minimum requirement is maximum effort” and “the hard yards” are three of his favourite phrases.