Everton Football Club

Everton Football Club is an English football club located in the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League and have contested more seasons in the top flight of English football than any other. They are one of the top five most successful English clubs in terms of major honours, having won the League Championship nine times, the FA Cup five times and the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup once. The club's most recent major trophy was the 1995 FA Cup. Currently managed by David Moyes, the first team have made significant progress, with two European qualifications and three top ten finishes during his six-year tenure.

Everton were founded in 1878 and have a notable rivalry with Liverpool F.C., known as the Merseyside derby. Liverpool were formed after a dispute over the rent at Anfield, Everton's old ground; since then Everton have been based at Goodison Park as a result of the split. In 2006, it was announced that the club and Knowsley Council were discussing the construction of a new 55,000 seat stadium in Kirkby. The club have a large fan base and regularly attract large crowds, averaging over 36,000 (90% of capacity) during the 2005–06 season.^[1]

Numerous well-known footballers have had a career at Everton F.C. Since 2000, the club has annually recognized successful former players as "Giants" of the team. Dixie Dean, who played for the team in the 1920s and 30s, is the most prolific goal-scorer in English football history.

History

Everton were founded as St. Domingo F.C. in 1878 so that people from the parish of St. Domingo's Methodist Church could play a sport in non-summer months (cricket was played in summer). A year later, the club was renamed Everton F.C. after the surrounding area, as people outside the parish wished to participate.^[2] The club was a founding member of the Football League in 1888, and won their first League Championship title in 1890–91. They won the FA Cup in 1905–06 and the League title again in 1914–15, but it was not until 1927 that Everton's first sustained period of success began. In 1925 the club signed Dixie Dean who, in 1927–28, set the record for league goals in a single season (60 goals in 39 league games, a record that still stands to this day), helping Everton to achieve their third league title.^[3]

Everton were relegated to the Second Division two years later but won the title and thus promotion at the first attempt. On their return to the top flight in 1931–32, Everton wasted no time in reaffirming their status and won a fourth League title at the first opportunity. They also won their second FA Cup in 1932–33 with a 3–0 win against Manchester City in the final. The era ended in 1938–39 with a fifth League title. The advent of World War II saw the suspension of League football, and when official competition restarted in 1946 the Everton team had been split-up and paled in comparison to the pre-war club. Everton were relegated again in 1950–51 and did not return until 1953–54, when they finished as runners-up in their third season in the Second Division. The club have been a top flight presence ever since.^[4]

Everton's second successful era started when Harry Catterick was made manager in 1961. In 1962–63, his second season in charge, Everton won the League title and in 1966 followed with a 3–2 FA Cup win over Sheffield Wednesday. Everton again reached the final two years later, but this time were unable to overcome West Bromwich Albion at Wembley. A year later in 1969–70, Everton won the First Division, nine points clear of nearest rivals Leeds United. However, the success did not last; the team finished fourteenth, fifteenth, seventeenth and seventh in the following seasons. Catterick retired but his successors failed to win any silverware for the remainder of the 1970s. Though the club mounted title challenges and finished third in 1977–78 and fourth the following season, manager Gordon Lee resigned in 1981, after Everton slid down the table and fell further behind local rivals Liverpool.^[5]

Howard Kendall took over as manager and guided Everton to their most successful era. Domestically, Everton won the FA Cup in 1983–84 and two league titles in 1984–85 and 1986–87. They were also runners-up to neighbouring Liverpool in both league and cup competitions in 1985–86 and were again on the losing side to Liverpool in the 1984 League Cup final and the 1988–89 FA Cup final. In Europe, Everton won their first and only trophy in 1984–85, the European Cup Winners' Cup.^[6] After first beating University College Dublin, Inter Bratislava and Fortuna Sittard, Everton defeated German giants Bayern Munich 3–1 in the semi-finals, despite trailing at half time (in a match voted the greatest in Goodison Park history) and recorded the same score line over Austrian club Rapid Vienna in the final.^[7] Having also won the league title that season, Everton came very close to winning a treble, but lost to Manchester United in the FA Cup final.^[6]

After the Heysel Stadium disaster and the subsequent ban of all English clubs from continental football, Everton lost the chance to compete for more European trophies. A large proportion of the title-winning side was broken up following the ban; Kendall himself moved to Athletic Bilbao after the 1987 title triumph and was succeeded by assistant Colin Harvey. Everton were founder members of the Premier League in 1992, but struggled to find the right manager. Howard Kendall had returned in 1990 but could not repeat his previous success, while his successor, Mike Walker, was statistically the least successful Everton manager to date. When former Everton player Joe Royle took over in 1994 the club's form started to improve; his first game in charge was a 2–0 victory over derby rivals Liverpool. Royle dragged Everton clear of relegation, and also led the club to the FA Cup for the fifth time in its history, defeating Manchester United 1–0 in the final. The cup triumph was also Everton's passport to the Cup Winners' Cup — their first European campaign in the post-Heysel era. Progress under Joe Royle continued in 1995–96 as they climbed to sixth place in the Premiership.^[6]

The following season, 1996–97, was not as successful and the club finished in fifteenth place. Royle quit in March. Club captain, Dave Watson, was given the manager's job temporarily and he helped the club to Premiership survival. Howard Kendall was appointed Everton manager for the third time in 1997, but the appointment proved unsuccessful as Everton finished seventeenth in the Premiership; only avoiding relegation due to their superior goal difference over Bolton Wanderers. Former Rangers manager Walter Smith then took over from Kendall in the summer of 1998 but only managed three successive finishes in the bottom half of the table.^[6]

The Everton board finally ran out of patience with Smith and he was sacked in March 2002 with Everton in real danger of relegation.^[8] The current manager, David Moyes, was his replacement and delivered Everton to a safe finish in fifteenth place.^[9][10] After that harrowing season, Everton finished seventh, seventeenth, fourth (their highest ever Premiership finish) and eleventh. It was under his management that Wayne Rooney broke into the first team, before being sold to Manchester United for a club record fee of £23 million.^[11]

Moyes has broken the club record for highest transfer fee paid on three occasions, signing James Beattie for £6 million in January 2005,^[12] Andy Johnson for £8.6 million in Summer 2006,^[13] and Yakubu Aiyegbeni for £11.25 million in summer 2007.^[14]

2006–07 saw Everton finish sixth in the league and attain UEFA Cup qualification.^[15] In 2007, Everton completed the takeover of the Toxteth Tigers basketball team, with the rebranding of Liverpool's first ever top-flight basketball franchise, the Everton Tigers.^[16]

Colours

During the first decades of their history, Everton had several different kit colours. The team originally played in blue and white stripes but as new players arriving at the club wore their old team's shirts during matches, confusion soon ensued. It was decided that the shirts would be dyed black, both to save on expenses and to instil a more professional look. The result, however, appeared morbid so a scarlet sash was added.^[17]

When the club moved to Goodison Park in 1892, they first played in salmon shirts with blue shorts before switching to ruby shirts with blue trim and dark blue shorts. The famous royal blue jerseys with white shorts were first used in the 1901–02 season.^[17] Occasionally Everton have played in lighter shades of blue (such as 1930–31 and 1997–98) but these have proved unpopular with fans. Everton's traditional away shirt was amber with either amber or royal blue shorts and various editions appeared throughout the 60s, 70s and 80s. Recently however black, white, grey and yellow away shirts have been used.^[18]

The kit today remains royal blue shirts, white shorts and white socks although when playing teams away who also wear white shorts Everton typically wear all blue. For the 2007–08 season, the away kit is a white shirt with black shorts and socks.^[19]

Crest

At the end of the 1937–38 season, Everton secretary Theo Kelly, who later became the club's first post-war manager, wanted to design a club necktie. It was agreed that the colour be blue and Kelly was given the task of designing a crest to be featured on the necktie. Kelly worked on deciding it for four months, until deciding on a reproduction of the "Beacon" which stands in the heart of the Everton district.^[20]

"The Beacon" or "Tower" has been inextricably linked with the Everton area since its construction in 1787. It was originally used as a bridewell to incarcerate criminals, and it still stands today on Everton Brow in Netherfield Road. The beacon was accompanied by two laurel wreaths on either side and, according to the College of Arms in London, Kelly chose to include the laurels as they were the sign of winners in those days. The crest was accompanied by the club motto, "Nil Satis Nisi Optimum", meaning "Nothing but the best is good enough". The ties were first worn by Kelly and the Everton chairman, Mr. E. Green, on the first day of the 1938–39 season.^[20]

The club rarely incorporated a badge of any description on its shirts. An interwoven "EFC" design was adopted between 1922 and 1930 before the club reverted to plain royal blue shirts, until 1973 when bold "EFC" lettering was added. The crest designed by Kelly was first used on the team's shirts in 1980 and has remained there ever since, undergoing gradual change to become the version used today. Some old crests are illustrated on the right; the top is the original shirt crest, the second is the first shirt crest with beacon and laurels and the third is the first shirt crest to use the club motto.^[20]

Nickname

Everton's most widely recognised nickname is "The Toffees" or "The Toffeemen", which came about after Everton had moved to Goodison. There are several explanations for how this name came to be adopted, the most well known being that there was a business near the ground called Mother Noblett's Toffee Shop which advertised and sold sweets, including the Everton Mint, on match days. This also led to the Toffee Lady tradition in which a girl walks around the perimeter of the pitch before the start of a game tossing free Everton Mints into the crowd. Another possible reason is that there was a house called Ye Anciente Everton Toffee House near the Queen's Head hotel in which early club meetings took place.^[21] The word "toffee" was also slang referring to Irishmen, of which there was a large population in the city at the turn of the century and who tended to support Everton rather than city rivals Liverpool.^[22]

Everton have had many other nicknames over the years. When the black kit was worn Everton were nicknamed "The Black Watch", after the famous army brigade.^[23] Since going blue in 1901, Everton have been given the simple nickname "The Blues". Everton's attractive style of play led to Steve Bloomer calling the team "scientific" in 1928, which is thought to have inspired the nickname "The School of Science".^[24] When David Moyes arrived as manager he proclaimed Everton as "The People's Club", which has been adopted as a semi-official club nickname.^[25]

Stadium

Everton originally played in the southeast corner of Stanley Park, which is the site for the new Liverpool F.C. stadium, with the first official match taking place in 1879. In 1882, a man named J. Cruitt donated land at Priory Road which became the club's home before they moved to Anfield, which was Everton's home until 1892.^[26] At this time, a rent dispute led to Everton leaving the ground and to the formation of a new, rival team. The new club, Liverpool, set up at Anfield and Everton moved to Goodison Park, which has been their home ground to this day. Ever since those events, a fierce rivalry has existed between Everton and Liverpool, albeit one that is generally perceived as more respectful than many other derbies in English football. This was illustrated by a chain of red and blue scarves that were linked between the gates of both grounds across Stanley Park as a tribute to the Liverpool fans killed in the Hillsborough disaster.^[27]

Goodison Park has staged more top-flight football games than any other ground in the United Kingdom and was the only English club ground to host a semi-final at the 1966 FIFA World Cup. It was also the first English ground to have under soil heating, the first to have two tiers on all sides and the first to have a three-tier stand. Goodison is the only stadium in the world that features a church in its grounds — St Luke the Evangelist — at the corner of the Main Stand and the Gwladys Street End.^[28]

On match days players walk out to the theme tune to Z-Cars, called 'Johnny Todd', a traditional Liverpool children's song collected in 1890 by Frank Kidson which tells the story of a sailor betrayed by his lover while away at sea.^[29]

Everton's reserves play at Halton Stadium in Widnes.^[30]

New stadium

There have been indications that Everton will move to a New Goodison. In 2000, a proposal was submitted to build a 55,000 seat stadium as part of the King's Dock regeneration. This was unsuccessful as Everton failed to generate the £30 million needed for a half stake in the stadium project, and it was dropped in 2003.^[31]

Late in 2004, driven by Liverpool Council and the Northwest Development Corporation, the club was in talks with Liverpool regarding sharing that club's proposed new stadium at Stanley Park. Negotiations broke down over ownership of the new facility – Liverpool wanted to retain sole ownership of Stanley Park while Everton sought an even share.^[32] On January 11, 2005, Liverpool announced that ground sharing was not a possibility, and they continue to plan for their own stadium.^[33]

On 16 June 2006, it was announced that Everton had entered into talks with Knowsley Council and Tesco over the possibility of building a new 55,000 seat stadium in Kirkby.^[34] The club took the unusual move of giving it's supporters a say in the club's future by holding a ballot on whether or not to move to Kirkby. This ballot ended up in a yes vote (59.27% in favour) so negotiations will continue. ^[35]

Supporters

Everton have a large fan base with the seventh highest average attendance in England.^[36] The majority of Everton's match day support comes from the North West of England, primarily Merseyside and Cheshire. Everton also have many fans who travel from North Wales and Ireland. Everton also have many supporters' clubs worldwide,^[37] in places such as North America,^[38] Singapore,^[39] and Thailand.^[40] Everton also have a large supporter base in Australia, with midfield player Tim Cahill being Australian. The official supporters club is Evertonia,^[41] and there are also several fanzines including When Skies are Grey and Speke from the Harbour, which are sold around Goodison Park on match days.

Everton supporters sing several songs on match days but the most common is "It's a grand old team"; it is adopted from the version sung by Celtic supporters, making changes like "we don't care what the red side say" — a reference to red-wearing-rivals Liverpool. Also popular is singing the club name "Everton" to the tune of "Here we go". They are generally very welcoming to former players returning to Goodison while playing for new clubs. Notable exceptions include Wayne Rooney, who has become extremely unpopular with fans after he left Everton for Manchester United, having previously been pictured wearing a t-shirt declaring: "Once a Blue always a Blue"^[42] and is now roundly booed whenever he returns.^[43] Rooney claims Moyes forced him out of the club in his book, however David Moyes has taken legal action denying the claims made.^[44]

Everton's biggest rivalry is with fellow Merseyside team Liverpool, against whom they contest the Merseyside derby. This stems from Liverpool's formation after a dispute with Everton officials and the owners of Anfield (the ground Everton were using at the time). Religious differences have been cited as a division, with Everton usually placed on the Catholic side;^[45] however, both teams were founded with Methodist involvement, somewhat undermining the notion of a Catholic–Protestant split.^[45] The Merseyside derby is usually a sell out fixture and tends to be a scrappy affair; it has had more red cards than any other fixture in Premiership history.^[46]

On January 14, 2007, Sylvester Stallone was at Goodison Park to promote Rocky Balboa, and to watch Everton take on Reading in an English Premier League game. The match ended as a 1–1 draw. Stallone paraded on the field at half time adorned in a home team scarf and received a warm reception from the 40,000 fans. Stallone has claimed to be a keen football fan since filming Escape to Victory in the 1980s and now claims to be an official Everton fan.^[47]

Everton Giants

The following players are considered "Giants" for their great contributions to Everton. A panel appointed by the club established the inaugural list in 2000 and a new inductee is announced every season.^[51]

As of May 9, 2007.

English Football Hall of Fame members

A number of Everton players have been inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame:^[54]

• 2002 -  William Ralph 'Dixie' Dean,  Paul Gascoigne
• 2003 -  Alan Ball,  Tommy Lawton,  Gary Lineker
• 2005 -  Howard Kendall
• 2007 -  Peter Beardsley,  Mark Hughes

Notable managers

The following managers have won at least one significant trophy with Everton:

Honours

• (Old) First Division: 9^[55]
  • 1890–91, 1914–15, 1927–28, 1931–32, 1938–39, 1962–63, 1969–70, 1984–85, 1986–87

• (Old) Second Division: 1
  • 1930–31

• FA Cup: 5
  • 1906, 1933, 1966, 1984, 1995

• Charity Shield: 9
  • 1928, 1932, 1963, 1970, 1984, 1985, 1986 (shared), 1987, 1995

• European Cup Winners' Cup: 1
  • 1985

Records and statistics

Neville Southall holds the record for the most Everton appearances, having played 751 first-team matches between 1981 and 1997. The late centre half and former captain Brian Labone comes second, having played 534 times. The longest serving player is Goalkeeper Ted Sagar who played for 23 years between 1929 and 1953, both sides of the war, making a total of 495 appearances. The club's top goalscorer, with 383 goals in all competitions, is Dixie Dean; the second-highest goalscorer is Graeme Sharp with 159. Dean still holds the English national record of most goals in a season, with 60.^[56]

The record attendance for an Everton home match is 78,299 against Liverpool on 18 September 1948. Goodison Park, like all football grounds since the recommendations of the Taylor Report were implemented, is now an all-seat and only holds just over 40,000, meaning it is unlikely that this attendance record will ever be broken at Goodison.^[56]

Relationships with other clubs

Everton have a link with Republic of Ireland football academy Ballyoulster United based in Celbridge,^[57] Canada's Ontario Soccer Association,^[58] and the Football Association of Thailand where they have a competition called the Chang-Everton cup which local schoolboys compete for.^[59]

The club also own and operate a professional basketball team, by the name of Everton Tigers, who compete in the elite British Basketball League. The team was launched in the summer of 2007 as part of the clubs' Community programme, and play their home games at the Greenbank Sports Academy.^[60]