Everton F.C.

Everton
	Everton's crest
Full name	Everton Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Toffees, The Blues
Founded	1878
Ground	Goodison Park, Liverpool
Capacity	40,260
Chairman	English Bill Kenwright CBE
Manager	David Moyes
League	FA Premier League
2004-05	Premier League, 4th
Home colours	Away colours

Everton Football Club are an English football club from the city of Liverpool, founded in 1878. They are one of the most successful clubs in English football, having played more seasons in the top division (103 of a possible 107) and won more points in the top division than any other team.

Their home ground, known as Goodison Park, has a capacity of 40,260. Their fans are known as Evertonians. The club's nickname is the Toffees, and Everton have also recently adopted the motto "the people's club" after it was quoted by manager David Moyes on his arrival at Everton.

History

Origins

The club's roots lie in an English Methodist congregation called New Connexion, which decided to build a new chapel in the Liverpool area in 1868. The following year, the church bought some land on Breckfield Road North, between St. Domingo Vale and St. Domingo Grove. This was located near the district of Everton, which had become part of the City of Liverpool in 1835.

St. Domingo Methodist Church's new chapel was opened in 1871 and six years later, Rev B.S. Chambers was appointed Minister. He was responsible for starting a cricket team for the youngsters in the parish. Because cricket can only be played in the summer, they had to find something to play during the other seasons as well. So a football club called St. Domingo F.C. was formed in 1878.

Many people outside the parish were interested in joining the football club so it was decided that the name should be changed. In November 1879 at a meeting in the Queen's Head Hotel, the team name was changed to Everton Football Club, after the surrounding district.

Ground

Everton originally played in the southeast corner of Stanley Park 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 for a couple of years before moving onto Anfield in 1884 which was Everton's home until 1892 when a rent dispute led to Everton leaving the ground and to the formation of a new, rival team. The new club, which was named Liverpool F.C., set up at Anfield and Everton moved onto Goodison Park where they remain to this day. Ever since those events a fierce rivalry has existed between Everton and Liverpool, albeit one that is generally perceived as being more respectful than many other "derbies" in English football.

Goodison Park has staged more top-flight football games than any other ground in the country and became the only English club ground to host a

semi-final. It was also the first English ground to have undersoil heating, two tiers on all sides and a three-tier stand. Goodison is the only ground 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.

Crest

At the end of the 1937-38 season, club secretary Theo Kelly, who later became The Toffees first post-war manager, wanted to design a club necktie. It was agreed that the colour should be blue, but Kelly was given the task of designing a crest to be featured on the tie.

Kelly put thought into the matter for four months until deciding on a reproduction of the "Beacon" which stands in the heart of the Everton district. "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 Heraldry and Arms in London, Kelly chose to include the laurels as they were the signs of winners in classical times. The crest was accompanied by the club motto, "Nil Satis, Nisi Optimum", which means "Only 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.

Interestingly however, the club rarely incorporated a badge of any description on its shirts. An interwoven "EFC" design was adopted between 1922-1930 before reverting back to plain royal blue shirts until 1973 when bold "EFC" lettering was used. The crest designed by Kelly was first used on the teams shirts in 1980 and has remained ever since, undergoing gradual change to become the version used today.

Colours & Nicknames

During the first decades Everton had several different colours and nicknames. The team originally played in blue and white stripes but these were soon turned into a mess when new players wore their old team's shirts during matches. Soon it was decided that the shirts would be dyed black to both save on expenses and look more professional. During this time, Everton were nicknamed "The Black Watch", after the famous army brigade.

When the club moved to Goodison Park, they played in salmon stripes with blue shorts before switching again to ruby shirts with blue trim and dark blue shorts. The famous royal blue jerseys with white shorts were first used in 1901-02 which is obviously the origin of the familiar nickname "The Blues". The attractive style of play employed by the team led to Steve Bloomer calling the team "scientific" in 1928 leading to the name "The School of Science".

The most widely recognised nickname which continues to be used even now came about after Everton had moved to Goodison, when they became known as "The Toffees" or "The Toffeemen". There are several possible explanations for how this name came to be adopted, the most well known is that in those days, 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 will walk 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. And finally, 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.

Recent Events

Due to all English clubs being banned from playing in European competitions following the Heysel Stadium disaster, the 1990s were a difficult time for the Toffeemen, with financial difficulties and several end of season escapes from relegation. The highlights of the decade were an FA cup triumph in 1995 and finishing 6th in the 95/96 season under Joe Royle.

Since the appointment in March 2002 of a new manager, David Moyes, they improved greatly and despite continued lack of money finished the 2002-2003 season in seventh place, narrowly missing qualification for the UEFA Cup. However in the 2003-2004 season they finished 4th from bottom, the lowest league position to avoid relegation, with the lowest season points total in the club's history.

Another key factor in Everton's recent revival was the emergence of a rising young star, Wayne Rooney. In one of his first games for the club, in October 2002, he entered football folklore by scoring a sensational last-minute winner against the then League champions Arsenal, consigning them to their first league defeat for almost a year. He has also figured prominently in recent England international matches, after having become the youngest ever player to play for England, in a friendly against Australia, in February 2003. Rooney went on to establish himself as a true superstar at Template:Ec2. Despite stating "Once a Blue, always a Blue," Rooney requested a transfer on August 27 giving the reason that he wanted to play European football on a regular basis, which wasn't happening at Everton; on August 31, 2004, he moved to Manchester United in a deal that may eventually be worth between £20 million and £27 million (the final amount will depend on both United and Rooney's success).

Everton started the 2004-2005 season in surprisingly good form, having been tipped by many in the media to be relegated this year. After an opening game 4-1 loss to champions Arsenal, they embarked on a remarkable run (including a win over Liverpool, their first since 1999, thanks to a strike by Lee Carsley) which eventually led them to a fourth-place finish and a spot in the third qualifying round for the Champions League, though they went out after a 4-2 aggregate loss to Villarreal. This was a controversial result after Pierluigi Collina surprisingly disallowed a goal for Everton which would have took the aggregate score to 3-3, with Everton holding the upper-hand in the balance of play at that point of the game. However the goal did not stand, and Diego Forlan scored a late goal to seal the tie for Villarreal.

Late in 2004, the club was in talks with Liverpool regarding sharing that club's proposed new stadium at Stanley Park. Among the more contentious terms in the negotiations was ownership of the new facility - Liverpool wanted to retain ownership of Stanley Park while Everton wanted an even share. On January 11, 2005, the clubs announced that they were abandoning the groundshare plan.

The 1930s: The Dixie Years

Quite simply, "Dixie" Dean was the greatest scoring machine that the English game has seen, or ever is, likely to see. After averaging a goal a game for Tranmere Rovers, prolific striker Dean, was lured across the River Mersey to play for Everton. In his first season for the Toffees, the 1925-26 season, Dean netted 32 league goals in 38 games (getting his first two on his debut), scored 21 in 27 the next year, and made history in 1927-28: in a seasonal performance that is unlikely to ever be bettered, Dean hit 60 league goals in 39 matches, setting a record that has stood ever since and almost single-handedly gifting Everton the league title.

In a turn of events that seems unbelievable today, Everton were relegated into the second division two years later. Predictably, Dean was on top form in the secondary league, hitting 39 goals in 37 games and lifting the Toffees to promotion at the first time of asking.

The following season, Dean hit 45 goals and Everton regained the league title. In 1933, they won the FA Cup, Dean becoming Everton's first ever number 9 in the 3-0 final win against Manchester City. The number 9 would become synonymous with commanding and high-scoring strikers at domestic and international level football, something Dean embodied.

The nickname "Dixie" has ambiguous origins, but it is thought that it was given to Dean because his curly hairstyle was similar to that sported by many people of African ethnicity, popularly nicknamed "dixies" at the time. Dean is said to have disliked but reluctantly accepted the tag. He played his last match for Everton on 11 December 1937 and died at a Merseyside derby at Goodison in 1980, leaving behind a legacy of 383 goals in 433 matches overall.

In the 1938-39 season Everton with Joe Mercer, the classy T.G. Jones and Tommy Lawton won the Football League Championship again. Lawton scored 34 goals in this season at the age of 19. Sadly the outbreak of World War II interrupted the careers of this team for six years which otherwise might have dominated for several years.

The 1940s and 1950s: The barren years

Although the nineties have been regarded as a poor decade, this era was worse. The great pre-war team were quickly split up in 1946. Tommy Lawton was restless and joined Chelsea, Joe Mercer disagreed with the manager Theo Kelly and was sold to Arsenal, and they tried to sell T.G. Jones to A.S. Roma. Soon only Ted Sagar was left.

Under the management of the uninspired and under-financed Cliff Britton, Everton were relegated after the 1950-51 season for only the second time in their history to the Second Division. This time it took three seasons before Everton were promoted in 1954 as the runners-up. The final match of the season decided promotion when the Everton beat Oldham away 4-0.

The era nevertheless had some notable players such as Dave Hickson and Bobby Collins.

The 1960s: The "School of Science" again

After the barren period of the 1950s, Harry Catterick took charge of the Everton in 1961. The team were soon to be dubbed the "School of Science" after their methodical approach in the tradition of the Everton team in the 1920s who were first given this name. In Catterick's first full season as manager Everton conceded fewer goals than any other team and finished fourth.

The following season, the Toffees lost just six of their 42 matches and took the title, with the striking partnership of Roy Vernon and Alex Young scoring 46 goals between them (the last time two Everton players have scored more than 20 goals each in one season).

In 1966, the same year the English international team won the World Cup, Everton took home the FA Cup after overturning a two-goal deficit against Sheffield Wednesday in the final to win 3-2. Everton went on to reach the 1968 final, but were unable to overcome West Bromwich Albion at Wembley.

A year later in the 1969/70 season, Everton won the Championship again thanks in part to the scoring sensation of one Joe Royle, who would later manage the club to FA Cup success in 1995. The success of the team could be seen from the number of points won (one short of the record) and nine clear of Leeds United.

The 1970s: A few highs but no trophies

Harry Catterick's team of 1969/70 seemed destined for greatness but declined quickly. The team finished 14th, 15th, 17th and 7th in the following seasons. The stress of an under-performing team was said to be a factor in Harry Catterick's poor health and eventual resignation in 1974. Everton were on course to win the Championship in the 1974/75 season under Billy Bingham (some bookmakers had even stopped taking bets at Easter) but some surprising losses to lowly opposition ended the challenge and they finished 4th. After two relatively poor seasons (11th and 9th), Bingham left in 1977. During the interregnum, Everton reached the League Cup final in 1977 losing late in extra time of the replay. Bob Latchford scored 30 league goals in the 1977-78 season.

Under Gordon Lee Everton finished third in 1977/78 and fourth in 1978/79 after looking title contenders for much of these seasons, but expectations were high given the success of Liverpool and so Lee departed in 1981.

The 1980s: A Golden Era

Everton were strong contenders in the 1980s as one of Europe's top footballing sides thanks to the efforts of manager Howard Kendall and his impressive, though cheap, playing squad which included the likes of Neville Southall, Gary Stevens, Trevor Steven, Kevin Sheedy, Andy Gray and Peter Reid. Gary Lineker also graced Goodison for a season and hit 40 goals in all before moving on to Barcelona in 1986.

Domestically, Everton won the FA Cup in 1984 and league title in 1985 and another league title in 1987. They were also league title/FA Cup runners-up to neighbouring Liverpool in 1986 and were again on the losing side to Liverpool in the 1984 League Cup final and the 1989 FA Cup final.

Significantly, European success at last reached Goodison in 1985 in the shape of the European Cup Winners' Cup. After going through two-legged rounds against 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 scoreline against Austrian club Rapid Vienna in the final.

1985 was the year in which Everton almost recorded the "treble". They managed to capture the league title and the Cup Winners' Cup but were defeated by Manchester United in the FA Cup Final thanks to Norman Whiteside's extra-time goal. Nevertheless, it was arguably the club's most successful season since its creation and has not been equalled by future Everton teams since.

It is widely believed that the 1980s Everton team would have gone on to win even more European silverware after their 1985 Cup Winners' Cup success were it not for the banning of all English clubs from continental competitions by UEFA after the Heysel Stadium disaster (involving, darkly ironically, Liverpool fans). However, this claim can never be substantiated, as by the time the ban was lifted Everton were no longer the team they were in 1985.

Kendall left in 1987 to hand over the reins to assistant Colin Harvey.

The 1990s: Few Highs and Many Lows

The 1990s was perhaps the least eventful decade of the 20th century in the history of Everton football club. It began on a low note in November 1990 when Colin Harvey, who had never proved himself as a top manager, made way for the returning Howard Kendall - but the return of the great manager made little difference to the club's playing fortunes. He quit again in 1993-94, when Everton narrowly escaped relegation from the Premier League, and his successor Mike Walker lasted less than a year. By now, the great squad of the 1980's had been effectively eroded - only Neville Southall and Dave Watson remained. Instead, Everton's squad was made up of ungainly players like Brett Angell and Matt Jackson.

For a while it looked like new manager Joe Royle, appointed in October 1994, was in the process of re-establishing Everton as a footballing force. In 1995 Everton recorded one of their greatest cup achievements, conceding only one goal (from the penalty spot) en route to winning the FA Cup for the fifth time, defeating Manchester United 1-0 in the final. But Everton's sub-standard league form returned in 1997 and he left to make way for Howard Kendall, whose third and final spell as manager ended after just one season in which Everton avoided relegation only on goal difference.

Two more years of monotony, under new manager Walter Smith, followed until the decade, mercifully for Everton, ended. Smith, who had won seven successive Scottish titles with Glasgow Rangers - including two doubles and a treble, had initially been expected to bring back success to Goodison but was unable to do so for the hampering of financial constraints and frequent injuries to players. It seemed Everton would never again reach their former giddy heights.

The New Millennium: Moving Forward?

Smith was dismissed in March 2002 after four traumatic seasons as manager which had seen a side full of ungainly players fail to finish any higher than 13th place in the Premiership.

Since then, promising new manager David Moyes has started to move the club forward. They surprised all the observers in 2002-03 by finishing seventh in the Premiership and just missing out on a UEFA Cup place, in a season which was dominated by the emergence of brilliant 17-year-old striker Wayne Rooney.

Everton suffered a setback in 2003-04, missing relegation by just one place (although this time their safety was confirmed with several games of the season left), and it was feared that the club's half-century stay in the top level of English football could be over when Rooney was sold to Manchester United in August 2004 for a fee which could eventually rise to £27million.

However, Everton's now-diminutive squad pulled together in the 2004-05 season, thanks greatly to the five-in-the-midfield tactic of Moyes and the galvanising presence of Danish midfielder Thomas Gravesen. Despite Gravesen's sale to Real Madrid halfway through the season, Everton managed to finish fourth in the table and achieve Champions League qualification ahead of Liverpool and Bolton Wanderers. In this amazing season, Everton also recorded their first victory of the new millennium over Liverpool, thanks to a long-range strike by Lee Carsley, and their first win over Manchester United, after a Duncan Ferguson header, since the 1995 FA Cup final. Unfortunately Everton's Champions League campaign ended in the qualifying stages when they were controversially defeated by Spanish side Villarreal, mostly thanks to a ludicrous decision by Italian referee Pierluigi Collina to disallow a perfectly legitimate Everton goal late in the second leg. However, Evertonians were give some consolation by their automatic entry into the UEFA Cup.

With the new challenge of the European football to add to the Premiership demands on his limited resources, Moyes tried to strengthen the squad in the summer of 2005. Simon Davies, a right-sided midfielder, was signed from Tottenham, Mikel Arteta (midfield) transferred from Real Sociedad following his successful loan spell, Danish international centre-back Per Krøldrup arrived from Udinese, longtime Man United defender/midfielder Philip Neville was signed, and Portuguese international Nuno Valente arrived at Goodison for an undisclosed fee from Porto, as did Italian centre-back Matteo Ferrari on a year-long loan from A.S. Roma with a view to a £3.7m deal in the summer of 2006. Inter Milan's Dutch international winger Andy van der Meyde also arrived for an undisclosed fee on transfer deadline day.

When the transfer window shut, Moyes was thought to have built Everton's best squad in years, troubled only by failure to improve in the attacking department. However, the 2005-06 league season began disastrously, with Everton at the bottom of the table at the end of September.

On 23rd October 2005, Everton stopped Chelsea's nine match winning run with a 1-1 draw in a 'top v bottom clash' and with decisive 1-0 victories over Birmingham City and Middlesbrough F.C. to follow close after, 80's Everton veteran Andy Gray has tipped the Toffees to bounce back despite a lacklustre start to the season.

After a shocking 4-0 reverse at West Brom on 19th November 2005, Everton bounced back to beat Newcastle 1-0 on 27th November 2005 after Joseph Yobo scored the winning goal. This gave Everton their 4th 1-0 win of the season, and with a 2-0 win over Blackburn Rovers on 3rd December 2005, the revival continued.

Major honours

Football League Championship: 1890-91, 1914-15, 1927-28, 1931-32, 1938-39, 1962-63, 1969-70, 1984-85, 1986-87 (9)
FA Cup: 1906, 1933, 1966, 1984, 1995 (5)
Charity Shield: 1928, 1932, 1963, 1970, 1984, 1985, 1986 (shared), 1987, 1995 (9)
European Cup Winners' Cup: 1985 (1)

Records

Record League Victory: 11-2 v Derby, 1890
Record Cup Victory: 7-0 v Manchester United, FA Cup, 5th Round, 19 January 1890
Record League Defeat: 0-7 v Arsenal, Premiership, 11 May 2005

Most League Goals: 349 Dixie Dean, Division 1, 1925-1937
Most Goals in a Season: 60 Dixie Dean, Division 1, 1927-28
Most Capped Player: Neville Southall, 86 Wales
Most League Appearances: Neville Southall, 494 1981-1995

Youngest Ever Player to play in a league match: James Vaughan, 16 yrs and 271 days old, 4-0 v Crystal Palace, 10 April 2005
Youngest Ever Player to score in a league match: James Vaughan, 16 yrs and 271 days old, 4-0 v Crystal Palace, 10 April 2005 (i.e. he is also the second youngest player to score in a league debut beaten only by Jason Dozzel)

Everton have amassed more points in the top division in England (including both the old Division One and the Premiership), than any other club.
They have scored more goals in the top division than any other club.
They hold the unusual distinction of being reigning League champions for the longest time. They won the championship in 1915 and thus remained reigning champions until the 1919-20 season due to the World War One league cancellation. They were also champions in 1939, and again remained reigning champions until the league resumed in 1946-7 after World War Two.
Everton have produced the leading goalscorer in the top flight in 12 seasons, more than any other club.
They were champions in 1987 by a margin of 13 points ahead of second-placed Liverpool, an English top flight record.

Squad list

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	ENG	Richard Wright
2	DF	DEN	Per Krøldrup
3	DF	SCO	Gary Naysmith
4	DF	NGA	Joseph Yobo
5	DF	SCO	David Weir
6	MF	ESP	Mikel Arteta
7	FW	ENG	Marcus Bent
8	FW	ENG	James Beattie
9	FW	SCO	Duncan Ferguson
10	MF	WAL	Simon Davies
11	FW	SCO	James McFadden
12	MF	CHN	Li Tie
13	GK	SCO	Iain Turner


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
14	MF	EIR	Kevin Kilbane
16	MF	EIR	Lee Carsley
17	MF	AUS	Tim Cahill
18	DF	ENG	Phil Neville
19	DF	POR	Nuno Valente
20	DF	ITA	Matteo Ferrari
21	MF	ENG	Leon Osman
22	DF	ENG	Tony Hibbert
23	DF	ITA	Alessandro Pistone
25	GK	ENG	Nigel Martyn
27	MF	NED	Andy van der Meyde
29	FW	ENG	James Vaughan
30	GK	ENG	John Ruddy

Managers

W.E. Barclay 1888-1889
Dick Molyneux 1889-1901
William C. Cuff 1901-1918 (Director, secretary and eventually chairman)
W.J. Sawyer 1918-1919
Thomas H. McIntosh 1919-1935 (Club secretary & manager)
Theo Kelly 1936-1948 (Club secretary and first full time manager from 1939)
Cliff Britton 1948-1956
Ian Buchan 1956-1958
Johnny Carey 1958-1961
Harry Catterick 1961-1973
Billy Bingham 1973-1977
Gordon Lee 1977-1981
Howard Kendall 1981-1987
Colin Harvey 1987-1990
Howard Kendall 1990-1993
Mike Walker 1994
Joe Royle 1994-1997
Howard Kendall 1997-1998
Walter Smith 1998-2002
David Moyes 2002-

Notable former players

Listed according to year of Everton first-team debut (year in parentheses):

1900s: Leigh Richmond Roose (1904).
1910s: Sam Chedgzoy (1910).
1920s: Dixie Dean (1925), Ted Sagar (1929).
1930s: Joe Mercer (1933), T. G. Jones (1936), Tommy Lawton (1937).
1950s: Dave Hickson (1951), Brian Labone (1958).
1960s: Roy Vernon (1960), Alex Young (1960), Ray Wilson (1964), Tommy Wright (1964), Colin Harvey (1965), Alan Ball (1966), Joe Royle (1966), Howard Kendall (1967), Keith Newton (1969).
1970s: Bob Latchford (1970), Mick Lyons (1971).
1980s: Kevin Ratcliffe (1980), Graeme Sharp (1980), Gary Stevens (1981), Neville Southall (1981), Kevin Sheedy (1982), Peter Reid (1982), Derek Mountfield (1982), Andy Gray (1983), Trevor Steven (1983), Gary Lineker (1985) Dave Watson (1986), Tony Cottee (1988).
1990s: Andrei Kanchelskis (1995), Gary Speed (1996) Kevin Campbell (1999).
2000s: Thomas Gravesen (2000), Paul Gascoigne (2000), Tomasz Radzinski (2001), Wayne Rooney (2002)

Trivia

Everton were the first club to install undersoil heating in their stadium. They were also the first club to install a net behind the goalposts and bar.
They were the first team to wear the numbers 1-11 on their shirts in a football match. The match was the 1933 FA Cup Final against Manchester City, who wore numbers 12-22. Everton won 3-0, and Dixie Dean was the first ever number 9.
They appeared in the first live, fully televised football match, against Arsenal in 1936
Goodison Park, built in 1892, was the world's first complete purpose-built football ground.
Goodison Park was ajudged to be of such a high standard in 1966 that it was the only English club ground to host a semi-final in the 1966 World Cup. After playing all their matches at Goodison in 1966, the Brazilian national team were so impressed with the facilities at Everton's Bellefield training ground they took photographs and measurements and copied a similar format back in Brazil.
Everton, along with Tottenham Hotspur, were invited to participate in a tournament in Argentina in 1909 to help encourage the fledgling Argentinian game.
Everton were the first English club to appear in European competitions five seaons running (1962-63 to 1966-67).
Former player Dixie Dean and former manager Harry Catterick, both Everton legends, both passed away at Goodison Park, in 1981 and 1985 respectively.

Everton are the only club to have played 100 seasons in the top flight, and were one of the 12 founding members of the Football League in 1888, and have spent only four seasons outside the highest division since then, the last being in 1953-54. Only Arsenal have had a longer unbroken run in the top flight. During the club's remarkable top flight run, their top three positions have been as follows:

1st: 9 times
2nd: 7 times
3rd: 7 times

Everton are the only founder member of the Football League never to have been relegated below the second level of English football.

External links

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