Everton

Everton is a football (soccer) club from England.

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Everton Football Club are an England professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. Having competed in the top division for a Football records in England 107 seasons, they have played more top-flight league games than any other English team and have won the English football champions nine times—the fourth highest of any team. Everton competes in the Premier League, being ever-present since the league was founded in FA Premier League 1992–93.

Formed in 1878, Everton were founder members of The Football League in 1888 and won their first league championship three years later. Following five league titles and two FA Cups, Everton experienced a lull in the post-war period until a revival in the 1960s, winning two league championships and an FA Cup. The mid-1980s represented their most recent period of success, with two league victories, an FA Cup, and the 1985 European Cup Winners' Cup Final—their first continental trophy. The club's most recent major trophy was the FA Cup Final.

Everton have a large fanbase and regularly attracts high attendances, averaging over 36,000, 90% of stadium capacity. Everton have a notable rivalry with neighbours Liverpool F.C and matches between the two sides are known as the Merseyside Derby. Liverpool F.C. were formed in 1892 by a breakaway group consisting of Everton's former president and several players. The dispute also resulted in Everton leaving Anfield, their original home ground. They have been based at their current home ground, Goodison Park, since 1892. Plans to move to a new 55,000 seater stadium in Kirkby on the Liverpool city border have been delayed due to a public inquiry.

The club's home colours have traditionally been blue and white, and numerous well-known footballers have donned the Everton shirt: the most notable is Dixie Dean, who scored a record 60 league goals in the 1927-28 in English football. Since 2000, Everton has annually recognised successful former players, nominating an "Everton Giant" at the beginning of each season.

History

Everton were founded as St. Domingo's 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, Everton was renamed Everton F.C. after the Everton, Liverpool, as people outside the parish wished to participate.

Everton was a founding member of the Football League in 1888-1889, winning their first Football League First Division title in 1890-91 in English football.

Everton won the FA Cup in 1905-06 in English football and the League title again in 1914-15 in English football, However it was not until 1927 that Everton's first sustained period of success began. In 1925 Everton signed Dixie Dean who, in 1927-28 in English football, 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.

Everton were relegated to the Football League Second Division two years later during internal turmoil at the club. However, Everton 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 in English football, 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 in 1932-33 in English football with a 3–0 win against Manchester City F.C. in the final. The era ended in 1938-39 in English football with a fifth League title.

The advent of World War II saw the suspension of League football, and when official competition resumed 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 in English football and did not return until 1953-54 in English football, when finishing as runners-up in their third season in the Second Division. Everton have been a top flight presence ever since.

Everton's second successful era started when Harry Catterick was made manager in 1961. In 1962-63 in English football, his second season in charge, Everton won the League title and in 1966 followed with a 3–2 FA Cup win over Sheffield Wednesday F.C.. Everton again reached the final in 1968, but this time were unable to overcome West Bromwich Albion F.C. at Wembley Stadium (1923). Two seasons later in 1969-70 in English football, Everton won the First Division, nine points clear of nearest rivals Leeds United A.F.C.. 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; Everton finished fourteenth, fifteenth, seventeenth and seventh in the following seasons. Catterick retired but his successors failed to win any Silverware (sport) for the remainder of the 1970s. Though Everton mounted title challenges and finished third in 1977-78 in English football and fourth the following season, manager Gordon Lee (footballer) resigned in 1981, after Everton slid down the table and fell further behind local rivals Liverpool.

1985 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final starting lineup.

Howard Kendall took over as manager and guided Everton to their most successful era. Domestically, Everton won the FA Cup in 1983-84 in English football and two league titles in 1984-85 in English football and 1986-87 in English football. They were also runners-up to neighbouring Liverpool in both league and cup competitions in 1985-86 in English football and were again on the losing side to Liverpool in the 1984 Football League Cup final and the 1988-89 in English football FA Cup final. Everton won their first and only European trophy in 1984–85, the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. Having also won the league title that season, Everton came very close to winning a Treble (association football), but lost to Manchester United F.C. in the FA Cup final.

The following season, 1996-97 in English football, was not as successful and Everton finished in fifteenth place. Royle quit in March. Club captain, Dave Watson, was given the manager's job temporarily and he helped Everton 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 F.C.. Former Rangers F.C. manager Walter Smith (footballer) then took over from Kendall in the summer of 1998 but only managed three successive finishes in the bottom half of the table. The current manager, David Moyes, was his replacement and delivered Everton to a safe finish in fifteenth place. 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 £27 million.

Moyes has broken Everton record for highest transfer fee paid on four occasions, signing James Beattie (footballer) for £6 million in January 2005, Andy Johnson (English footballer) for £8.6 million in summer 2006, Yakubu Aiyegbeni for £11.25 million in summer 2007, and Marouane Fellaini for £15 million in September 2008.

2006–07 saw Everton finish sixth in the league and attain UEFA Cup qualification. 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. 2007-08 saw Everton once again gain European football with a fifth place league finish, although they were eliminated from the 2008-09 UEFA Cup prior to the group stages by Standard Liege. The domestic 2008–09 in English football season saw Everton reach the FA Cup Final for the first time since 1995.

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 Everton 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.

When Everton 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 Jersey (clothing) with white shorts were first used in the 1901-02 in English football season.

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 2008-09 in English football season, the away kit is a predominantly white shirt with a navy and grey trim across the chest, accompanied with navy shorts and socks. A third kit was issued consisting of luminous yellow shirt and socks with dark blue shorts, which will also be used as an away kit in European games. Everton's goalkeepers will wear a lime green shirt with light grey shorts and socks at home and all black away.

Shirt sponsors and manufacturers

Everton's current shirt sponsors are Chang Beer. Previous sponsors include NEC, Hafnia, Danka, one2one and Kejian. For the 2008–09 season Everton became the first Premier League team to sell 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. Everton's current kit manufacturers are Le Coq Sportif, who replaced Umbro from the 2009-2010 season.

Everton currently has three megastores, one located near to Goodison Park on Walton Lane, one located at Birkenhead's Pyramids shopping centre, and, most recently opened, a store in the Liverpool One shopping complex, named 'Everton Two'.

Crest

Everton rarely incorporated a badge of any description on its shirts. An interwoven "EFC" design was adopted between 1922 and 1930 before Everton 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.

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. The word "toffee" was also slang referring to Ireland, 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.

Everton have had many other nicknames over the years. When the black kit was worn Everton were nicknamed "The Black Watch", after the Black Watch. 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 Everton "scientific" in 1928, which is thought to have inspired the nickname "The School of Science". While 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.

Stadia

Everton originally played in the southeast corner of Stanley Park, Liverpool, 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 Everton's home before they moved to Anfield, which was Everton's home until 1892. At this time, a dispute of how Everton was to be owned and run emerged with Anfield's owner and Everton's chairman, John Houlding. A dispute between Houlding and Everton's committee over how Everton should be run, led to Houlding attempting to gain full control of Everton by registering the company, "Everton F.C. and Athletic Grounds Ltd". In response, Everton left Anfield for a new ground, Goodison Park, where Everton 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.

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 Local derby 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.

Goodison Park, the first major football stadium to be built in England, was opened in 1892. 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.

On matchdays players walk out to the theme tune to Z-Cars, called Theme from Z-Cars, 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.

Everton's reserves play at Halton Stadium in Widnes.

Proposed new stadium

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, Port of Liverpool 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 Everton FC in 2003.

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

On 16 June 2006, it was announced that Everton had entered into talks with Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley and Tesco over the possibility of building a new 55,000 seat stadium in Kirkby. Everton took the unusual move of giving its supporters a say in Everton'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. However, an inquiry into the move to the Kirkby stadium was filed 6 August 2008, possibly delaying the construction by a year or more.

The Football Association's bid for the 2018 FIFA World Cup or 2022 FIFA World Cup includes a bid from the city of Liverpool to host some games. Everton have stated that without a new stadium Everton would not be able to host such matches. The majority of Everton's matchday 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, in places such as North America, Singapore, Norway, Lebanon, and Thailand. Everton also have a large supporter base in Australia, with midfield player Tim Cahill being Australian. The official supporters club is Evertonia, 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's biggest rivalry is with fellow Merseyside team Liverpool, against whom they contest the Merseyside derby. 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. The rivalry 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;

Typically for a club with a large fanbase, Everton have had a number of well-known supporters over the years, including Pete Best, Matt Dawson, Jennifer Ellison, Derek Hatton, Austin Healey, Amanda Holden, Paul McCartney, Liz McClarnon, Roger McGough, Jimmy Mulville, Simon O'Brien (presenter), John Parrott, Leonard Rossiter, Sylvester Stallone, Ed Stewart, Claire Sweeney and Norman Wisdom.

Everton F.C. has a training ground at Finch Farm providing facilities for both the first team and the Academy. A number of players have successfully graduated from the Academy to the first team.

Club officials

Coaching Staff

Notable former players

Everton Giants

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

As of 19 May 2009.

Greatest ever team

At the start of the 2003–04 season, as part of Everton's official celebration of their 125th anniversary, supporters cast votes to determine the greatest ever Everton team.

- Neville Southall (1981–97)
- Gary Stevens (1982–89)
- Brian Labone (1958–71)
- Kevin Ratcliffe (1980–91)
- Ray Wilson (footballer) (1964–69)
- Trevor Steven (1983–90)
- Alan Ball (footballer) (1966–71)
- Peter Reid (1982–89)
- Kevin Sheedy (Irish footballer) (1982–92)
- Dixie Dean (1925–37)
- Graeme Sharp (1980–91)

English Football Hall of Fame members

A number of Everton players have been inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame:

-
- Dixie Dean (2002 inductee)
- Paul Gascoigne (2002 inductee)
- Alan Ball (footballer) (2003 inductee)
- Tommy Lawton (2003 inductee)

- Gary Lineker (2003 inductee)
- Howard Kendall (2005 inductee)
- Peter Beardsley (2007 inductee)

- Mark Hughes (2007 inductee)

- Neville Southall (2008 inductee)
- Ray Wilson (footballer) (2008 inductee)
- Joe Mercer (2009 inductee)

Football League 100 Legends

The Football League 100 Legends is a list of "100 legendary association football players" produced by The Football League in 1998, to celebrate the 100th season of League football.

-
- Alan Ball (footballer)
- Dixie Dean

- Paul Gascoigne
- Tommy Lawton

- Gary Lineker
- Joe Mercer

- Neville Southall
- Alex Young (footballer)

World Cup Players

The following players were chosen to represent their country at the FIFA World Cup while contracted to Everton.

-
- Tim Cahill (2006)
- Slaven Bilić (1998)
- Thomas Gravesen (2002)
- Alan Ball (footballer) (1970)
- Brian Labone (1970)
- Gary Lineker (1986)

- Keith Newton (1970)
- Peter Reid (1986)
- Trevor Steven (1986)
- Gary Stevens (1986)
- Ray Wilson (footballer) (1966)
- Tommy Wright (1970)

- Thomas Myhre (1998)
- Nuno Valente (2006)
- Lee Carsley (2002)
- Kevin Sheedy (Irish footballer) (1990)
- Stuart McCall (1990)
- Alex Parker (1958)

- Graeme Sharp (1986)
- Niclas Alexandersson (2002)
- Tobias Linderoth (2002)
- Tim Howard (2006)
- Joe-Max Moore (2002)

Notable managers

The following managers have at least one honour with Everton:

Honours

List of English football champions
- Champions: - The Football League 1890–91, The Football League 1914–15, The Football League 1927–28, The Football League 1931–32, The Football League 1938–39, The Football League 1962–63, The Football League 1969–70, The Football League 1984–85, The Football League 1986–87
- Runners-up: - The Football League 1889–90, The Football League 1894–95, The Football League 1901–02, The Football League 1904–05, The Football League 1908–09, The Football League 1911–12, The Football League 1985–86

List of winners of English Football League Championship and predecessors
- Champions: - The Football League 1930–31
- Runners-up: - The Football League 1953–54

FA Cup
- Winners: - 1906 FA Cup Final, 1933 FA Cup Final, 1966 FA Cup Final, 1984 FA Cup Final, 1995 FA Cup Final
- Runners-up: - 1893 FA Cup Final, 1897 FA Cup Final, 1907 FA Cup Final, 1968 FA Cup Final, 1985 FA Cup Final, 1986 FA Cup Final, 1989 FA Cup Final, 2009 FA Cup Final

Football League Cup
- Runners-up: - 1977 Football League Cup Final, 1984 Football League Cup Final

FA Community Shield
- Winners: - 1928 FA Charity Shield, 1932 FA Charity Shield, 1963 FA Charity Shield, 1970 FA Charity Shield, 1984 FA Charity Shield, 1985 FA Charity Shield, 1986 FA Charity Shield (shared),1987 FA Charity Shield, 1995 FA Charity Shield
- Runners-up: - 1933 FA Charity Shield, 1966 FA Charity Shield

Full Members Cup
- Runners-up - 1989, 1991

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
- Winners - 1985 European Cup Winners' Cup Final

World Soccer Magazine World Team of the Year
- Winners - 1985

FA Youth Cup
- Winners - 1965, 1984, 1998
- Runners-up - 1961, 1977, 1983, 2002

Lancashire Senior Cup
- Winners - 1894, 1897, 1910, 1935, 1940, 1964

Liverpool Senior Cup
- Winners - 1884, 1886, 1887, 1890, 1891, 1892, 1894, 1895, 1896, 1898, 1899, 1900, 1904, 1906, 1908, 1910 (shared), 1911, 1912 (shared), 1914, 1919, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1926, 1928, 1934 (shared), 1936 (shared), 1938, 1940, 1945, 1953, 1954, 1956, 1957, 1958 (shared), 1959, 1960, 1961, 1982 (shared), 1983, 1996, 2003, 2005, 2007

Records and statistics

Neville Southall holds the record for the most Everton appearances, having played 751 first-team matches between 1981 and 1997, and previously held the record for the most league clean sheets during a season (15). During the Premier League 2008-09, this record was beaten by American goalkeeper Tim Howard (17). 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 Second World 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 football records of most goals in a season, with 60.

The record attendance for an Everton home match is 78,299 against Liverpool on 18 September 1948. Goodison Park, like all major football grounds since the recommendations of the Taylor Report were implemented, is now an all-seater and only holds just over 40,000, meaning it is unlikely that this attendance record will ever be broken at Goodison. Canada's Ontario Soccer Association, and the Football Association of Thailand where they have a competition called the Chang-Everton cup which local schoolboys compete for. Since 2006, Everton have played an annual friendly with , a team with strong ties to manager David Moyes.

Everton 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.

Everton are also establishing links with Chile's Corporación Deportiva Everton de Viña del Mar who were named after the English club. Other Evertons exist in Rosario in Colonia Department, Uruguay and in La Plata, and Río Cuarto, Córdoba in Argentina.

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