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England legend Paul Merson was left exasperated and baffled when his colleague Kris Boyd unexpectedly selected Everton boss Sean Dyche as his Premier League Manager of the Season during a discussion on Sky Sports News on Sunday, May 19th. Despite the constant turmoil surrounding Everton’s ownership situation and an 8-point deduction for financial breaches, the Toffees managed to comfortably avoid relegation under Dyche’s guidance.

However, Merson, who had instead chosen Mikel Arteta as his pick, could not fathom how Boyd could consider Dyche given Everton’s lowly final league position, seemingly disregarding the extraordinary challenges and chaos Dyche had to navigate at Goodison Park.

The reaction was captured live, with Simon Thomas describing the scene: “What about Boydy? He’s gone for Sean Dyche at Everton, Sue Smith nodding in agreement with this one. Merse has got his head in his hands.”

Dyche’s omission from the Premier League’s official Manager of the Season nominees this week was unsurprising to Everton fans, who feel their club is often unfairly overlooked or disrespected by the league authorities. This sentiment was further fueled when Everton was the only club excluded from an end-of-season video released by the Premier League.

While Merson’s allegiance to Arsenal was clear in his selections, Boyd’s choice of Dyche was an astute recognition of the remarkable job the Everton manager achieved amidst highly challenging circumstances. The peculiar reaction to Boyd’s pick highlights the perception among Everton supporters that their club often finds itself unjustly ostracized, a situation they believe needs to be addressed.