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| Full name | Everton Football Club |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Toffees, The Blues, The School of Science, The People's Club |
| Founded | 1878 as St Domingo's F.C.[1] |
| Ground | Goodison Park, Liverpool (capacity: 40,157[2]) |
| Chairman | Bill Kenwright |
| Manager | Roberto MartÃnez |
| League | Premier League |
| 2012–13 | Premier League, 6th |
http://www.evertonfc.com/
Players
Current squad
- As of 25 July 2013.[65]
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Everton Football Club is an English Premier League football club based inLiverpool. The club has competed in the top division for a record 110 seasons and have won the League Championship nine times.[3]
Formed in 1878, Everton were founding members of The Football League in 1888 and won their first league championship two seasons later. Following four league titles and two FA Cup wins, Everton experienced a lull in the immediate post World War Two period until a revival in the 1960s which saw the club win two league championships and an FA Cup. The mid-1980s represented their most recent period of success, with two League Championship successes, an FA Cup, and the 1985 European Cup Winners' Cup. The club's most recent major trophy was the 1995 FA Cup. The club's supporters are known as Evertonians.
Everton have a rivalry with neighbours Liverpool and the two sides contest theMerseyside Derby. The club have been based at Goodison Park since 1892.
The club's home colours are royal blue and white. Everton player Dixie Dean scored a record 60 league goals in the 1927–28 season.
History
For more details on this topic, see History of Everton F.C..
Early Years (1878-1945)
Everton was founded as St Domingo's in 1878[4] so that people from the parish of St Domingo's Methodist Church in Everton could play sport year round —cricket was played in summer. The club was renamed Everton a year later after the local area, as people outside the parish wished to participate.[5]
The club was a founding member of The Football League in 1888–1889, winning their first League Championship title in the 1890–91 season. Everton won the FA Cup for the first time in 1906 and the League title again in 1914–15. The outbreak of the First World War in 1914 interrupted the football programme while Everton were champions, something that would again occur in 1939.[6][7]
It was not until 1927 that Everton's first sustained period of success began. In 1925 the club signed Dixie Dean from Tranmere Rovers who, in 1927–28, set the record for league goals in a single season with 60 goals in 39 league games, a record that still stands to this day. Dean helped Everton to achieve their third league title.[8]
Everton were relegated to the Second Division two years later during internal turmoil at the club. However, the club was promoted at the first attempt scoring a record number of goals in the second division. On 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. Everton also won their second FA Cup in1933 with a 3–0 win against Manchester City in the final. The era ended in 1938–39 with a fifth League title.[6][9]
Mixed Fortunes (1945-1981)
The outbreak of the Second World War again saw the suspension of League football, and when official competition resumed in 1946 the Everton team had been split and paled in comparison to the pre-war team. Everton were relegated for the second time in1950–51 and did not return until 1953–54, finishing as runners-up in their third season in the Second Division. The club have been a top flight presence ever since.[10]
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 in1966 the FA Cup followed with a 3–2 win over Sheffield Wednesday. Everton again reached the final in 1968, but this time were unable to overcome West Bromwich Albion at Wembley. Two seasons later in 1969–70, Everton won the League championship, nine points clear of nearest rivals Leeds United. During this period, Everton were the first English club to achieve five consecutive years in European competitions—seasons 1961–62 to 1966–67.
However, the success did not last; the team finished fourteenth, fifteenth, seventeenth and seventh in the following seasons. Harry Catterick retired but his successors failed to win any silverware for the remainder of the 1970s. Though the club mounted title challenges finishing fourth in 1974–75 under manager Billy Bingham, and under manager Gordon Lee, third in 1977–78 and fourth the following season. Manager Gordon Lee was sacked in 1981.[11]
Most Successful Era (1981-1992)
Howard Kendall took over as manager and guided Everton to their most successful era. Domestically, Everton won the FA Cup in 1984 and two league titles in 1984–85 and1986–87 and the club's first and so far only European trophy securing the European Cup Winners' Cup in the 1985 final.[12]
The European success came after first beating University College Dublin, Inter Bratislavaand 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 over Austrian club Rapid Vienna in the final.[13]
Having won both the league and Cup Winners Cup in 1985, Everton came very close to winning a treble, but lost to Manchester United in the FA Cup final.[12] The following season, 1985–86, Everton were runners up to neighbours Liverpool in both the league and the FA Cup, but did recapture the league title in 1986–87.
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 assistantColin Harvey. Harvey took Everton to the 1989 final, but lost 3–2 after Extra time to Liverpool.
Premier League Years (1992-Present)
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, leading 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 in1995–96 as they climbed to sixth place in the Premiership.[12] A fifteenth place finish the following season saw Royle resign towards the end of the campaign, to be temporarily replaced by club captain, Dave Watson. 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.[12]
The Everton board finally ran out of patience with Smith and he was sacked in March 2002 after an FA Cup exit at Middlesbrough, with Everton in real danger of relegation.[14] David Moyes, was his replacement and guided Everton to a safe finish in fifteenth place.[15][16] In 2002–03 Everton finished seventh, their highest finish since 1996. A fourth place finish in 2004–05, ensured Everton qualified for the Champions League qualifying round. The team failed to make it through to the Champions League group stage and were then eliminated from the UEFA Cup. Everton qualified for the2007–08[17] and 2008–09 UEFA Cup competitions and they were runners-up in the2009 FA Cup Final.
Moyes has broken the club record for highest transfer fee paid on four occasions, signing James Beattie for £6 million in January 2005,[18] Andy Johnson for £8.6 million in summer 2006,[18] Yakubu for £11.25 million in summer 2007,[19] and Marouane Fellainifor £15 million in September 2008.[20] It was under David Moyes's management that Wayne Rooney broke into the first team, before being sold to Manchester United for a club record fee of £28 million.[21]
At the end of the 2012–13 season David Moyes left his position at Everton to take over at Manchester United. He was replaced byRoberto MartÃnez.[22]
Colours
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| Everton's second home colours |
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| Everton's first home colours |
During the first decades of their history, Everton had several different kit colours. The team originally played in white and then 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 instill a more professional look. The result, however, appeared morbid so a scarlet sash was added.[23]
When the club moved to Goodison Park in 1892, the colours were salmon pink and dark blue striped shirts with dark blue shorts then 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.[23] The club played in sky blue in 1906, however the fans protested and the colour reverted to royal blue. Occasionally Everton have played in lighter shades than royal blue (such as 1930–31 and 1997–98).[24] In 1901, Everton became the first team ever to officially play in blue and white, and in the 1933 FA Cup Final, became the first club to employ kit numbers (1–11) on the back of the player' shirts.
Everton's traditional away colours were white shirts with black shorts, but from 1968 amber shirts and royal blue shorts became common. Various editions appeared throughout the 70s and 80s. Recently however black, white, grey and yellow away shirts have been used. The away shirt for the current season, commencing August 2011, has been reverted to an amber shirt with navy blue shorts.[25]
| Period | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
|---|---|---|
| 1974–79 | Umbro | none |
| 1979–83 | Hafnia | |
| 1983–85 | Le Coq Sportif | |
| 1985–86 | NEC | |
| 1986–95 | Umbro | |
| 1995–97 | Danka | |
| 1997–00 | One 2 One | |
| 2000–02 | Puma | |
| 2002–04 | Kejian | |
| 2004–09 | Umbro | Chang |
| 2009–2012 | Le Coq Sportif | |
| 2012– | Nike[26] |
The home kit today remains royal blue shirts, white shorts and blue socks although when playing teams away who also wear white shorts Everton typically wear all blue. Everton's goalkeepers will wear a green shirt with green shorts and socks at home and all black away.
Shirt sponsors and manufacturers
Everton's current shirt sponsors are Chang Beer. Previous sponsors include Hafnia, NEC, Danka, one2one and Kejian. For the 2008–09 season Everton sold junior replica jerseys without the current name or logo of its main sponsor Chang beer, following a recommendation from the Portman Group that alcoholic brand names be removed from kits sold to children.[27] Everton's current kit manufacturers are Nike, who replaced Le Coq Sportif from the 2012–13 season. Everton recently signed a new kit deal with Nike, who will begin to produce kits for the 2012/13 season.[28]
The club currently has two 'megastores', one located near to Goodison Park on Walton Lane named 'Everton One' and a store in the Liverpool One shopping complex, named 'Everton Two', giving the second store the address 'Everton Two, Liverpool One'.[29]
Crest
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At the end of the 1937–38 season, Everton secretary Theo Kelly, who later became the club's first 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 it for four months, until deciding on a reproduction of Prince Rupert's Tower, which stands in the heart of theEverton district.[30]
The Tower has been inextricably linked with the Everton area since its construction in 1787. It was originally used as a bridewell to incarcerate mainly drunks and minor criminals, and it still stands today on Everton Brow in Netherfield Road. The tower 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. The crest was accompanied by the club motto, "Nil Satis Nisi Optimum", meaning "Nothing but the best is good enough".[30]
The ties were first worn by Kelly and the Everton chairman, Mr. E. Green, on the first day of the1938–39 season.[30]
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 1972 when bold "EFC" lettering was added. The crest designed by Kelly was first used on the team's shirts in 1978 and has remained there ever since, undergoing gradual change to become the version used today.
The latest version of the crest, launched in May 2013, was a move by the club to improve the reproducibility of the design in print and broadcast media, particularly on a small scale.[31] Critics[who?] suggested that it was external pressure from sports manufacturers Nike, Inc. that evoked the redesign as the number of colours has been reduced and the radial effect have been removed, making the kit more cost efficient to reproduce.[citation needed] The redesign was poorly received by supporters, with a poll on an Everton fan site registering a 91% negative response to the crest.[32] A protest petition reached over 22,000 signatures before the club offered an apology and announced a new crest would be created for the 2014-15 season with an emphasis on fan consultation.
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 best known being that there was a business in Everton village, between Everton Brow and Brow Side, named Mother Noblett's, a toffee shop, which advertised and sold sweets, including the Everton Mint. It was also located opposite the lock up which Everton's club crest is based on.
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 symbolises the connection. Another possible reason is that there was a house named Ye Anciente Everton Toffee House in nearby Village Street, Everton, run by Ma Bushell. The toffee house was located near the Queen's Head hotel in which early club meetings took place.[33]
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 regiment.[34] 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".[35] The battling 1995 FA Cup winning side were known as "The Dogs of War". When David Moyes arrived as manager he proclaimed Everton as "The People's Club", which has been adopted as a semi-official club nickname.[36]
Stadium
For more details on this topic, see Goodison Park.
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.[37] At this time, a dispute of how the club was to be owned and run emerged with Anfield's owner and Everton's chairman, John Houlding. A dispute between Houlding and the club's committee over how the club should be run, led to Houlding attempting to gain full control of the club by registering the company, "Everton F.C. and Athletic Grounds Ltd". In response, Everton left Anfield for a new ground, Goodison Park, where the club have played ever since. Houlding attempted to take over Everton's name, colours, fixtures and league position, but was denied by The Football Association. Instead, Houlding formed a new club, Liverpool F.C.[38]
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.[39]
Goodison Park, the first major football stadium to be built in England, was opened in 1892.[40] 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 undersoil heating, the first to have two tiers on all sides.
The church grounds of St Luke the Evangelist are adjacent to the corner of the Main Stand and the Gwladys Street Stand.[41]
On matchdays players walk out to the theme tune to Z-Cars, named Johnny Todd,[42] 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.[43]
Training facility
For more details on this topic, see Finch Farm.
The School of Science is the nickname given to the Finch Farm training complex by some supporters, referring to a long-standing nickname for Everton. The training ground houses both the Everton first team and the youth academy. The first team squad officially moved to the complex on 9 October 2007, some time behind the target date of pre-season. .
Proposed new stadium
Main article: The Kirkby Project
There have been indications since 1996 that Everton will move to a new stadium. The original plan was for a new 60,000-seat stadium to be built, but 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, with the city council rejecting the proposal in 2003.[45] Late in 2004, driven by Liverpool Council and the Northwest Development Corporation, the club entered talks with Liverpool F.C. about sharing a proposed stadium on Stanley Park. Negotiations broke down as Everton failed to raise 50% of the costs.[46] On 11 January 2005, Liverpool announced that ground-sharing was not a possibility, proceeding to plan their own Stanley Park Stadium.[47]
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, expandable to over 60,000, in Kirkby.[48] The club took the unusual move of giving its supporters a say in the club's future by holding a ballot on the proposal, finding a split of 59% to 41% in favour.[49] Opponents to the plan included other local councils concerned by the effect of a large Tesco store being built as part of the development, and a group of fans demanding that Everton should remain within the city boundaries of Liverpool.[49]
Following a public inquiry into the project,[50] central government rejected the proposal.[51] Local and regional politicians are attempting to put together an amended rescue plan. Liverpool City Council have called a meeting with Everton F.C. with a view to assess some suitable sites they have short listed within the city boundary.[52][53]
Liverpool City Council Regeneration and Transport Select Committee meeting on 10.02.2011, proposes to open the eastern section of the Liverpool Outer Loop line using "Liverpool Football Club and Everton Football Club as priorities, as economic enablers of the project".[54] This proposal would place both football clubs on a rapid-transit Merseyrail line circling the city easing transport access.
Supporters and rivalries
For more details on this topic, see Everton F.C. supporters.
Everton have a large fanbase, with the eighth highest average attendance in the Premier League in the 2008–09 season.[55] The majority of Everton's matchday support comes from the North West of England, primarily Merseyside, Cheshire, West Lancashireand parts of Western Greater Manchester along with many fans who travel from North Wales and Ireland. Within the city of Liverpool support for Everton and city rivals Liverpool is not determined by geographical basis with supporters mixed across the city. However Everton's support heartland is traditionally based in the North West of the city and in the southern parts of Sefton. Everton also have many supporters' clubs worldwide,[56] in places such as North America,[57] Singapore,[58] Indonesia, Lebanon, Malaysia,[59] Thailand, and Australia.[60][61] The official supporters club is Evertonia,[62] and there are also several fanzinesincluding When Skies are Grey and Speke from the Harbour, which are sold around Goodison Park on match days.
Everton regularly take large numbers away from home both domestically and in European fixtures. The club implements a loyalty points scheme offering the first opportunity to purchase away tickets to season ticket holders who have attended the most away matches. Everton often sell out the full allocation in away grounds and tickets sell particularly well for North West England away matches. In October 2009, Everton took 7,000 travelling fans to Benfica,[63] their largest ever away crowd in Europe since the1985 European Cup Winners' Cup Final.
Everton's biggest rivalry is with neighbours Liverpool, against whom they contest the Merseyside derby. The Merseyside derby is usually a sellout fixture, and has been known as the "friendly derby" because both sets of fans can often been seen side by side red and blue inside the stadium both at Anfield and Goodison Park.
Recently on the field, matches tend to be extremely stormy affairs; the derby has had more red cards than any other fixture in Premiership history.[64] The rivalry stems from an internal dispute between Everton officials and the owners of Anfield, which was then Everton's home ground, resulting in Everton moving to Goodison Park, and the subsequent formation of Liverpool F.C., in 1892.
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