Everton FC is a professional football club from the city of Liverpool, which was formed as St Domingo's FC in 1878, in order so that the people of the parish of St Domingo's Methodist Church had an activity in the winter to sit alongside their cricket in the summer.
The following year, the name Everton FC, after the local district, was adopted after a meeting at the Queen's Head Hotel. Barker and Dobson, a local sweet manufacturer, introduced "Everton Mints" to honour the club.
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| Hill Dickinson Stadium - Photo: John Jobber |
Everton started out playing on an open pitch in the southeast corner of the newly laid-out Stanley Park. John Houlding's house backed onto the pitch, and he noticed the large crowds attending matches, so he became involved with the club. Mr. J. Cruit offered Everton a new enclosed ground at Priory Road, but after a couple of years, he asked them to move out because of the large crowds and noise.
'The Toffees' or 'The Blues', as they are nicknamed, moved to Anfield in 1884, renting from John Orrell, who was a friend of Houlding, who was by now the club president, and he bought Anfield a year later. The club made a donation to a local hospital in place of rent, before they started paying rent to their own president!
Anfield was quickly made into a good venue and was soon to stage an international game. Everton became founder members of the Football League in 1888, and they lifted their first title in 1890-91 with Dick Molyneux in charge of the team after finishing runners-up the previous season. The team also reached the final of the FA Cup, losing 1-0 to Wolverhampton Wanderers at Fallowfield in Manchester.
A bitter conflict was soon around the corner as Houlding had dramatically increased the rental fee. His friend Orrell had adjacent land and wanted to legally build a road where the Main Stand stood. The Everton committee asked Houlding to work out a deal for them, but he refused to give them a contract of lease.
In 1892, Houlding attempted to set up a new company called Everton FC and Athletic Grounds Ltd and take over the club fixtures. The officials at the Football Council refused to recognise the new company as Everton, so Houlding changed its name to Liverpool FC and Athletic Grounds Ltd to form Liverpool FC.
The Everton
committee decided enough was enough, and they abandoned their substantial home
to move to Goodison Park in the other corner of Stanley Park. The side ended as
league runners-up in 1894-95 in their new surroundings. Another FA Cup final appearance followed in 1896-97 as Aston Villa won the tie 3-2 at Crystal Palace.
Will Cuff had taken over as manager when Everton ended as
league runners-up in 1901-02 and again in 1904-05. A goal from
Sandy Young was enough to defeat Newcastle United at Crystal Palace as Everton
lifted the FA Cup for the first time in 1905-06. The team reached the final
again in 1906-07, where they lost 2-1 to The Wednesday.
The near misses continued as Everton finished as league runners-up in 1908-09 and 1911-12 before a second title was lifted at Goodison in 1914-15. The club was crowned as league champions again in 1927-28 after the appointment of Thomas H. McIntosh as manager. A hero lit up the club for many years in the shape of William Ralph Dean, better known as Dixie, who scored a remarkable sixty league goals in the 1928-29 season.
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| My drawing of Goodison Park, along with several Toffees kits. Click on the images if you want a closer look. |
Unbelievably, the club was relegated the following season. Everton were
promoted at the first attempt as Second Division champions in 1930-31 with Dean
scoring thirty-nine times. The run carried on in 1931-32 as the club won its
fourth league title.
This was backed up with a second FA Cup win in 1932-33 as Manchester City were defeated 3-0 at Wembley, as a James Stein goal was added to a brace from Dean in the first final, where both teams wore numbers. The 1938-39 season saw league title number five accrued, with Joe Mercer and Tommy Lawton starring.
Goalkeeper Ted Sagar remained constant throughout the eventful decade
in which Theo Kelly took charge before he was replaced by Cliff Britton in
September 1948. The 1940s
and 50s proved barren years for Everton. They were relegated in 1950-51 and
spent three years in the second tier before reclaiming their place in the first
division as Division Two runners-up in 1953-54.
Harry
Catterick took over the managerial reins in 1961, after spells from Ian Buchan
and then Johnny Carey, to watch over a golden era where the club was dubbed
"The School of Science". Catterick’s side
added league championships in 1962-63 and 1969-70, as well as the FA Cup
against Sheffield Wednesday following a remarkable comeback from being two
goals down. To watch the highlights in colour, click here.
The side in
the sixties contained many club legends, including Gordon West, Brian Labone, Jimmy
Gabriel, Tommy Wright, Alex Young, and Ray Wilson. The team was added to as they
were crowned as league champions in 1969-70, as the "Holy Trinity"
midfield of Colin Harvey, Alan Ball, and Howard Kendall, along with forward Joe
Royle, wooed the fans.
Billy
Bingham couldn’t repeat the success after taking over in 1973 as the successful
side aged. Gordon Lee was appointed as manager in February 1977, but his style
of football didn’t endear him to the Goodison faithful, especially as
Liverpool were dominating English football at the time.
Everton still had many good players, including Bruce Rioch, Mike Lyons, Bob Latchford, and Dave Thomas, who helped the side reach the League Cup final in 1976-77 when they lost in a second replay to Aston Villa. Former fans' favourite Howard Kendall took over the managerial reins in 1981, but didn't find things easy to begin with.
Fans were losing patience before he transformed the side, bringing in Peter Reid to marshal the midfield with Andy Gray up front, around lots of young talent, and the commanding Neville Southall in goal. Everton won the FA Cup in 1983-84 against Watford with goals from Graeme Sharp and Gray, with the team also reaching the final of the League Cup the same season before losing to Liverpool in a replay.
The Blues were on a roll, winning their eighth league title in 1984-85 as well as going on to lift the European Cup Winners' Cup. Rapid Wien were beaten 3-1 at De Kuip in Rotterdam with goals from Gray, Trevor Steven, and Kevin Sheedy after a classic match in the semi-final second leg at Goodison against Bayern München. To watch, click here.
Gary Lineker
spent the 1985-86 season at the club to replace Gray. Despite his goals, the
campaign would end in disappointment as Everton blew a lead at the top of the
table to finish runners-up to Liverpool, who also beat the Blues 3-1 in the FA
Cup final at Wembley. Everton
recovered to lift yet another title in 1986-87.
Kendall departed
for Athletic Bilbao, and the momentum dropped off despite Colin Harvey leading
the side to the 1988-89 FA Cup final. The emotional post-Hillsborough match
ended in an extra-time defeat to Liverpool. Kendall
returned in November 1990 but could not rekindle past glories before Mike
Walker was appointed in January 1994.
His side went on to win a highly controversial
game against Wimbledon to save themselves from relegation. Former
forward Joe Royle arrived as manager in November 1994, taking Everton to
another FA Cup triumph in 1994-95 as a Paul Rideout goal defeated Manchester
United as the self-styled "dogs of war" side was assembled. However,
the success was not built upon.
Kendall returned
for a third spell, taking charge of the team for the 1997-98 campaign, which
ended in a narrow escape from relegation before the highly respected Walter
Smith was recruited as manager in August 1998, which allowed Paul Gascoigne to shine. Performances
improved before David Moyes arrived as manager from Preston North End in March
2002.
This proved to be one of Everton’s better appointments at a time when
the club was struggling off the pitch with finances and the ageing Goodison
Park. Theatre
impresario Bill Kenwright took over as Chairman as Moyes continued to work
wonders on the pitch with limited resources, which forced him to sell starlet
Wayne Rooney to Manchester United.
The club
tried to put together a move to Kirkby, which caused a volatile reaction from
many Evertonians, as it is outside the Liverpool City boundaries. The deal involved help from Tesco, which would get a huge store on the site. The club was advised by the authorities that planning permission would not necessarily be granted, so it went no further.
Fans continued to protest as Moyes tried to
impress with the tools he was given. The side
finished fourth in 2004-05, which was considered a remarkable achievement, managed by players such as Nigel Martyn, David Weir, Alan Stubbs, Alessandro
Pistone, Kevin Kilbane, Leon Osman, Tim Cahill, Marcus Bent, Duncan Ferguson, and James McFadden.
The sides’
progress was always going to be difficult owing to the lack of finances caused
by the limitations of Goodison Park. Each time a decent run was produced, an
important player, such as Thomas Gravesen, was sold to balance the books. However, Moyes consistently found replacements and moulded a new side.
The likes of
Phil Neville and Nikita Jelavic starred, as the Toffees reached the FA Cup semi-final
in 2011-12, going out to their neighbours Liverpool. Moyes
departed in the summer of 2013 to join Manchester United. His replacement was
the Wigan Athletic boss Roberto Martinez, who quickly became popular with fans, as his side played with an attacking flair.
However,
some became frustrated with the lack of investment in the side and the lack
of progress on the new stadium. The team finished in eleventh place in 2014-15, with the goals of Romelu Lukaku keeping the faithful happy. Martinez and
the board managed to fight off the advances of Chelsea for the star young defender
John Stones in the August 2015 transfer window.
The season ended with Martinez
departing despite Everton reaching the semi-finals of both domestic cups.
Ronald Koeman arrived as his replacement as Stones was sold for a huge fee to
Manchester City. The Dutch manager took his side to the Europa League places at the end of the 2016-17 campaign. However, his second season in charge started badly, leading to his sacking in October 2017.
Former player David Unsworth took the reins in a
caretaker capacity before Sam Allardyce became permanent team boss. Allardyce’s
appointment wasn’t popular with fans, which in part led to him being replaced for the
2017-18 campaign by Marco Silva. Further plans for a new stadium on the
waterfront at Bramley-Moore Dock were announced in December 2018.
Silva lasted
until December 2019 before he was replaced by Carlo Ancelotti. The Italian oversaw an
improvement with some excellent signings, such as Abdoulaye Doucouré and James
Rodríguez, who were added to a talented squad including Bernard, Lucas Digne, Gylfi
Sigurðsson, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, and long-serving skipper Séamus Coleman.
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| Hill Dickinson Stadium - Photo: John Jobber |
In February
2021, the Bramley-Moore Dock development was given the go-ahead as work commenced. Ancelotti departed in June 2021 to take the Real Madrid job. The unpopular choice among fans saw Rafael Benítez replace him. He lasted until January 2022 before Frank Lampard was appointed in his place.
The
team was struggling and only just managed to stay up at the end of the 2021-22
season.
Lampard was dismissed in January 2023, with Sean Dyche
arriving as the new Everton manager. This time, the team stayed up on the final
day by defeating AFC Bournemouth. While the new stadium development was coming
on leaps and bounds, there were more pressing issues off the pitch.
Owner Farhad Moshiri desperately tried to find new buyers for the club after severely overspending and a series of mismanagement. The club
received a 10-point deduction in November 2023 for breaching Premier League
financial rules. Dyche's side overcame another deduction after the previous amount was reduced, while the club entered into talks over new ownership in the summer of 2024.
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| Hill Dickinson Stadium |
In December 2024, the Friedkin Group received approval from the Premier League to become the new owners of the club. In January 2025, David Moyes was appointed as the manager of Everton. The team finished comfortably, with the last men's game at Goodison Park being played on Sunday, 18th May, against Southampton.
The club announced that it would be preserved and become the home stadium of the women's team. The new arena was renamed Hill Dickinson Stadium in a sponsorship deal with a local company.
Everton FC will play in the Premier League in the 2025-26 season.
My visits
Everton 2
Middlesbrough 1 (Tuesday 9th February 1988) FA Cup Round Four
Second Replay (att: 32,222)
I
was a postman back in the day, and I finished work early each afternoon. A good
Boro mate, Doomie, knew an Everton fan based in Scarborough who wanted to go to
the game, so he agreed to drive through in terrible conditions with heavy wind and snow showers.
We
were pushing it to make kick-off, and we at last managed to find somewhere to
park before we sprinted around to the Gladwys Street turnstiles and forced our
way onto the terracing behind the goal. I was immediately impressed by the
tradition and grandeur of Goodison Park.
The Gladwys
Street End was terracing downstairs, where we were, with a deck of seats above
us. The corner cut away where St Luke's church stood before giving way to the
magnificent Main Stand had terracing at the front, before two large seating
decks, with the third tier having an incredible rake to it.
The far Park End was seated
at the back before giving way to a smallish terrace for the visiting fans. This
stand once had the terrace going further back, but safety measures had
restricted the capacity. The final side was taken up by the Bullens Road Stand, which joined up with the Gladwys Street End. This had terracing at the front
with a converted seated paddock behind it. A further seating deck rose above
it.
At the time, it was still considered quite risky to be thought of as being in the wrong areas
of a stadium, and we had similar accents to the evening’s visitors from
Teesside, or at least we would to a suspicious Scouser looking for trouble, so
we kept quiet.
We need not
worry. Everton went ahead through Graeme Sharp from a Peter Reid pass after Adrian Heath had squandered an earlier great chance, and we got pushed around in the general crush. Stuart Ripley equalised for Boro after being set up by a Paul Kerr cross, with several around us applauding the goal along with the 5,000 away fans!
The Blues went
on to win the match seven minutes from time when Tony Mowbray put a low Gary Stevens cross into his own net.
Everton: Neville Southall, Gary Stevens, Pat Van den Hauwe, Dave Watson,
Ian Snodin, Neil Pointon, Peter Reid, Trevor Steven, Paul Power (Wayne Clarke),
Adrian Heath, Graeme Sharp.
Middlesbrough: Stephen Pears, Gary Parkinson, Dean Glover (Mark Burke), Brian Laws, Colin Cooper, Tony Mowbray, Gary Pallister, Gary Hamilton, Paul Kerr, Stuart Ripley, Bernie Slaven (Alan Kernaghan).
Monday 18th
October 2010
I was on
Merseyside for my second of three days of groundhopping, socialising, and
sightseeing. The previous day had seen Everton defeat their deadly rivals
Liverpool two-nil in a packed pub in Crosby, and as luck would have it, I'd booked a Goodison Stadium Tour a few weeks previously.
I caught the
bus from Lime Street station, and I passed Prince Rupert's Tower, which is
depicted on the club crest, before jumping out on County Road. It looked strange
but mightily impressive seeing the huge rear of the Main Stand down the old
terraced streets.
On entering
the reception, I encountered others on my tour as well as many smiling club
staff. Our guide was bullish in the extreme and obviously very proud of his
club. He refused to mention Liverpool FC by name and referred to their owners
as "The Cowboys".
We were
taken around the various hospitality suites and the boardroom. There were many
interesting souvenirs and mementos on show, including some of Dixie Dean's old
possessions.
We went into the changing rooms, which I thought were OK without being remarkable,
before we lined up and walked up the steps and onto the side of the pitch with
the club's 'Z Cars' theme tune booming out. Although Goodison was not as modern
as a lot of stadiums, it still oozed class and character.
Since my previous visit, it was now all seated. The only
structural change was the Park End Stand, which was now a large single tier of
seats replacing the old stand. Everywhere, including the pitchside track, which was
blue.
Our guide kept saying how the club needed to move to allow the manager funds for players that could be generated from a newer stadium with more facilities. He thought a shared stadium with his friends from over the park could be the solution!
I said my
goodbyes and popped back to County Road to use an internet cafe before
returning to Goodison Street, where The Wimslow pub was sadly closed because I
wanted to have a look inside to see if it had any souvenirs on show.
Instead, I made do with a
mammoth portion of pie and chips from the local chippy before I walked round to
have a look at the Dixie Dean statue.
I walked
through Stanley Park, clutching my lunch and trying to keep warm as I reflected
on the history between two huge clubs that were such close neighbours. I went on
my way to the Arkles pub and awaited my tour of Anfield, where I heard a very
different slant on the story of both clubs!
Everton 2
Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Sunday 9th December 2012) FA Premier League (att: 36,494)
I had been
alerted by fellow Scarborough Athletic fan Matt Lawson about a website used by
Everton called Stubhub, where fans with tickets who couldn't attend a game
would sell them at a fair price. With the day off work, I had been looking for various options for attending a game,
but transport prices were high.
However, the previous Friday, I had
attended a funeral with several fellow cricket pals of Terry Abbott, a
wonderful man who loved watching sport. We went for
drinks to remember the great man, where football was also on the agenda.
Spurs fan John Jobber was musing about whether to travel to Everton for the game.
His car was giving him some trouble, and it was in the garage pending repairs. I
told him to give me a shout if the car passed its fitness test, and he decided
to go. John was in touch the following day with the news that he was heading to Merseyside on his own.
I quickly snapped up a ticket for the family enclosure for £24, which was £7
cheaper than face value. We arranged to meet at Stanmore at 9am the next day.
Going to matches with others wasn't a regular occurrence for me, but I really
enjoyed it. John provided excellent companionship; we'd previously had days out while on Ashes tours together, so it
was good to meet up again.
It was great to hear stories of travelling away as
we sped up the motorways passing The Ricoh Arena, Villa Park, and Bescot Stadium
along the way. John's car was certainly in good condition, as we had made excellent
time. As someone
who'd made the journey many times before, he knew exactly where to go when we
arrived in Liverpool.
He kindly drove up to the Bullens Road ticket office at Goodison Park while I collected my ticket before heading back to the Stanley Park car park. A few
minutes later, we were in The Arkles along with the growing number of visiting
fans, and before long, we were joined by Nigel, a mate of John's who'd
moved to Southport from London some years previously.
The Spurs fans were keen to get into a singing mood as they aired a full repertoire, as well as some unflattering tributes to Arsene Wenger and the fact that Chelsea were out of the Champions League. We had an enjoyable few drinks watching Man Utd go two-nil up at Eastlands in the big derby game before heading off at about ten past two.
The walk across the park, going past Anfield, took around fifteen minutes. I said goodbye to my pals as I walked through the crowds to find my turnstile towards St Luke's Church. My seat was in the paddock at the front of the huge Main Stand, but before I took to my position, I stood at the rear as I enjoyed some much-needed nourishment.
Graeme Holmes, a friend of mine on Facebook, was a
regular at Goodison, and he recommended the scouse pies. As I'm always keen to
try the local fare, I needed no second invitation and was soon getting stuck into the pastry, which was filled with meat, potato, carrot, and swede. It was
that good, I had a second!
It was now time
to get into position, and I was delighted to have a great view among the
many parents and their kids. It was a really pleasant atmosphere, with the away
fans across the pitch and the more vocal home fans to my left. The teams took
to the field to a great ovation and the famous old Z Cars theme tune.
Much was expected of the game with both teams around the much-valued fourth place, with Everton three points behind Tottenham. The first half was of high quality, with Spurs playing the more controlled football, but Everton playing with a high tempo, looking forward to spring Nikica Jelavic and Kevin Mirallas.
My Spurs
mates had told me that Everton fans were well known for whining at the refs,
but I thought it was probably just them exaggerating. To be fair, they weren't
far from the truth, as referee Kevin Friend was booed off at halftime, despite thinking he was doing fine.
The second
period followed a similar vein, with Spurs having more quality possession. I
was struggling to see how Everton were going to score. Jermaine Defoe and Clint
Dempsey were having fine games, while Moussa Dembele was bossing the midfield.
With just fourteen minutes of normal time remaining, Dempsey scored with a
deflected shot to make the visiting fans even happier.
They had
made the most noise all game, giving the Everton fans plenty of stick along
the way. Although the home fans were outshouted, I liked the way they
concentrated on supporting their team rather than hurling abuse. Their reaction
to the Salvation Army, the pre-match presentations, and the kids’ halftime choir
had been exemplary.
The Toffee
fans were to get their reward. They urged their team forward, and the noise and
atmosphere lifted. Spurs boss Andre Villas-Boas took off Dembele and Defoe, and
Everton seized their opportunity. Finally, Seamus Coleman put in a telling cross, which Steven Pienaar converted
with a flying header.
The place went berserk, and the noise was lifted even
higher as the announcement was made that there would be an additional four
minutes to be played. The fans
seemed to believe that a winner was possible, and so did the team. Another cross
came in, and substitute Apostolos Vellious attempted an overhead kick which he
sliced, but poacher Jelavic followed it up and rifled the ball home as bedlam
broke out.
The away
fans began leaving, while the Blues in the Park Lane stand next door
reminded them of the score. It was a fantastic end to a game, and seconds later, Mr. Friend blew his whistle.
I ran around
as fast as I could through the crowds and sneaked into the Park Lane stand for
a photo of the Main Stand, before meeting John and Nigel. I consoled them and
said that I thought that Tottenham had been the better of the two good teams. They
took the defeat far better than I would have done and reflected on the game like
proper football fans as we walked back to the car.
John did the
business on the way home, and I was back in my flat in Kingsbury at just gone
half past nine. I love going to grassroots football, but I would definitely
continue going to the occasional big game as well. There's nothing like the
buzz in the pub before a game and the atmosphere inside some grounds. It does
help if it’s in a fantastic traditional stadium like Goodison Park.
Everton 1 Hull City 1 (Wednesday 3rd December 2014) FA Premier
League (att: 34,645)
This fixture
suited me perfectly as I was on a couple of days off work following night
shifts, and I could visit my pal Paul Jones at the Wrexham v Bristol Rovers game
the evening before.
My room at
the Lord Nelson Hotel was fantastic and just what I needed; it was warm, in the
town centre, and had Freeview TV so I could listen to some of the Sri Lanka v
England ODI around a siesta. The power shower soon woke me up and ready to try
some pubs.
My
destination was Dale Street, where the Ship and Mitre, Excelsior, and Rigbys were
perfect, especially the middle one, which showed the cricket and an England
victory. The beers were also bang on.
I returned
to the hotel where I'd left my match ticket in error and then jumped aboard the
6.55 train from Central Station to Kirkdale, before walking down to Goodison.
It was everything I missed about the days I grew up watching the game.
The walk
in the big crowds down terraced streets, past pubs, schools, bookies, and
takeaways before the stadium emerged was pure magic, aided by it being at
night. I went to the Albany pub on route, but it was too packed to get served.
The walk
around to the far side took a bit of time as the crowds queued out onto the
street to get into the home stands. Everton had a fine display of moments in
their club history on the rear walls of the stands, which caught my attention.
City only
sold just over 400 tickets, so we were only allocated the lower tier in the
Bullens Road stand. The stewards were excellent, allowing us to sit where we
wanted and showing common sense regarding those who wanted to stand up.
Despite the
low turnout, it was good to see some older school lads there who were
determined to make a noise rather than some of the tourist fans that had
apparently blighted the previous Saturday's outing at Old Trafford.
Everton took
a deserved lead against a Hull side who liked making easy, pretty passes but did
little of the hard graft and pressing that was required as the excellent Kevin
Morallas set up the ever-dangerous Romelu Lukaku.
At the break, I commented on Facebook that it would be a miracle if City stayed up. They were
already in the bottom three following the previous evening's results. It looked
to be getting worse as the season's best player, Mohamed Diame, hobbled
off.
The shock of all
shocks came six minutes later as substitute Sone Aluko made Sylvain Distain
look static before beating Tim Howard at his near post. The home fans were not
a happy bunch, but it should have been worse for them.
Their former hero, Nikica
Jelavic, missed a great chance with a header for the Tigers. Fair play to the
Evertonians who'd given him a great ovation as the teams had been read out.
City sniffed
that there was a real opportunity for a win as they actually fought like tigers
in midfield. Everton were kept well at bay. The only noise coming from their
fans was booing. As it turned out, a draw was about the right result.
It was
interesting to hear the home fans on the way back to the station. They felt
that their squad was too lightweight. Distain and Howard were not at the top of their
Christmas lists.
The train
proved to be a good idea. I was back at Moorfields and in the pub before 10.20.
I settled for a German beer in Rigby's and a fine effort from the Roosters
Brewery in the Ship and Mitre before ending off with a nightcap in the Richard
John Blacker to lubricate my impending takeaway.
I really
enjoyed my short time in a magnificent city. I never tired of our fantastic
northern cities with warmth and pride oozing from everywhere. The beers and an
away point also helped!
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