Everton Football Club
Everton Football ClubIntroductionA Religious Found
Everton Football Club
Introduction
Everton Football Club was founded in 1878, and since then, the club has gone on to become one of the most successful teams at domestic level in English football history. The club share a bitter rivalry with city rivals Liverpool, but the blue half has consistently shown over the years that it can more than match its neighbours. The team have also been playing their home games at Goodison Park since 1892.
A religious foundation
St Domingo Church Sunday School formed a football team in 1878, deciding that the young members of the parish needed a form of physical recreation to play in the winter, in addition to cricket in the summer months. The team name was changed to Everton Football Club in 1879 as membership expanded, and the club originally played in black shirts with a scarlet sash.
Everton were also one the founding members of the Football League in 1888, and had a fairly respectable first season, finishing in 8th position. Dick Molyneux took charge as Secretary-Manager in 1889 and enjoyed instant success as Everton boss. After guiding the Toffees to runners-up in his first season, Everton were crowned Division One Champions in the 1890/91 season.
Continuing their good form during the club’s early years, Everton fired their way to the final of the FA Cup in 1893. However, this was sadly to end in disappointment, as they lost 1-0 to Wolverhampton Wanderers. The team came back from this defeat, however, and finished as Division One Runners-up in the 1894/85 campaign. Another strong season in 1986/87 rewarded Everton with another FA Cup final appearance. Luck once again proved to be on their opponents’ side, as they lost 3-2 in a closely fought game with Aston Villa. Molyneux then took the decision to leave the club in 1901, to be replaced by William C. Cuff.
Success under William C. Cuff
Cuff’s impact at Goodison Park proved to be instantaneous. He moulded a team of skilled, competitive footballers who wore their heart on their sleeve every time they played in an Everton shirt. Incidentally, the shirts were one of the first features of the team to be changed during Cuff’s time at Everton. The old shirts were scrapped, and instead it was decided that the team would play in their traditional royal blue colours.
This rejuvenated Everton side finished their first full season under Cuff, as Division One Champions in 1901/02. The Toffees also finished as runners-up in the 1904/05 season, before finally tasting success in the FA Cup. After two previous defeats, Everton eventually got their hands on the coveted silverware in 1906, after defeating Newcastle United at Crystal Palace. The following season saw Everton back once again in the FA Cup final. However, they were unable to repeat their previous win, and lost 2-1 against Sheffield Wednesday.
Success continued under Cuff, as Everton went on to finish as Division One runners-up in the 1908/09 and 1911/12 seasons, before finishing as Champions in 1914/15. World War One then intervened to break up Everton’s sustained period of domestic dominance, and William C. Cuff left the club during the war in 1918.
Following the conclusion of the war, Thomas H. McIntosh took charge of Everton in the Secretary-Manager role.
The legendary ‘Dixie’ Dean
Dixie Dean moved to Everton from city rivals, Tranmere Rovers, in 1925. An amazing return of 60 goals in 39 matches secured Everton’s place as Division One Champions in the 1927/28 season. Indescribably, Everton were relegated to Division Two, two seasons later. Dixie Dean was soon back to his prolific best, scoring 39 times in 37 games to fire Everton back into Division One at the first attempt. Against all expectations, the Toffees then went on once again to be crowned Division One Champions in 1931/32, during a season in which Dean weighed in with 45 goals.
In 1933, Everton won the FA Cup for the second time, after a 3-0 victory over Manchester City. This was the last trophy that Everton won under the management of Thomas H. McIntosh. After a career spanning 16 years at the club, McIntosh decided to leave Everton in 1935. Theo Kelly was the next manager to attempt to take Everton forward, after being appointed in 1936. Dean played his final game for Everton on 11th December 1937. Although many thought this would signal the end of the club’s relentless quest for trophies, Everton finished the 1938/39 season as Division One Champions. This Everton team had genuine promise, and it was widely believed that more trophies could have been won. However, the Football League was suspended in 1939, and sadly we will never know.
Post war period
Unfortunately for the club, Everton suffered badly after the conclusion of the war. Theo Kelly was unable to produce the results that had preceded the war, and he eventually left the club in 1948. Cliff Britton took charge, and oversaw a distinctly dire period in Everton’s footballing history. The club were undeniably flirting with relegation for a number of seasons, before the inevitable happened in the 1950/51 season, and the Toffees slipped into the second tier of English football.
After a couple of seasons spent in Division Two, Everton were rightly promoted back to Division One, after finishing the 1953/54 season as runners-up. After Cliff Britton chose to leave Everton in 1956, Ian Buchan and Johnny Carey temporarily came to the clubs for short stints as manager. However, neither was able to improve the team’s performance significantly. On the other hand, Everton’s fortunes did change for the better after the appointment of Harry Catterick in 1961.
Catterick is regarded by many Everton fans as being one of the club’s best managers to date. Everton were crowned Division One Champions in the 1962/63 season, with Roy Vernon having a considerable impact on the pitch. This led to Everton competing in the European Cup for the first time, during the 1963/64 campaign. Everton also won their third FA Cup in 1966, after defeating Sheffield Wednesday. This win was all the more significant, as they had come back from two goals down, to win 3-2. The Toffees were aiming to win their fourth FA Cup after reaching the final in 1968. However, they faced a strong West Bromwich Albion team, who eventually came away victorious.
After assembling a glittering squad, including Howard Kendall and Alan Ball, Everton became Division One Champions for a seventh time in the 1969/70 campaign. Catterick saw his team slump down the table after winning the league, and this, combined with the decline of his personal health, left him with little choice but to resign in 1973. Billy Bingham took over for a few years, but 4th place was the highest that Everton ever finished in the league under him. Gordon Lee took charge in 1977, and the Toffees performed well, with the team finishing 3rd and 4th in consecutive seasons. The season that followed almost saw Everton relegated, and Lee left Everton in 1981.
Howard Kendall years
With a team now including stars such as Neville Southall, Peter Reid and Andy Gray, Everton were in a very strong position to progress and add more trophies to their already vast collection. The Toffees won the FA Cup for the fourth time in 1984, and also finished as FA Cup runners-up in both 1985 and 1986. Everton became the Division One Champions in the 1984/85 and 1986/87 seasons, during a period of almost total dominance in English football at that time. Everton’s superiority over their opponents had now spread into European competition, as they defeated Rapid Vienna in the final of the European Cup Winners’ Cup. The team was so rampant during the 1980’s, that it was hard to see how this dominance could ever end.
However, nobody could have predicted the terrible events of the Heysel stadium disaster, which led to a ban on all English teams from competing in European competitions. It was at this time that Howard Kendall ended his time as manager of Everton, and the job was given to Colin Harvey.
The team were nowhere near as successful under Harvey, but they did finish as FA Cup final runners-up in 1989, and finished as runners-up in the Simod Cup in the same year. Everton’s form began to slip, and Harvey was subsequently sacked on 1st November 1990. Howard Kendall then came back to the club to manage for a second time. He failed to inspire the players, or get the results required to succeed. Realising that he was not the man to take Everton forward, Kendall resigned at the end of 1993.
Breakaway of the Premiership
Everton were still strongly regarded as a big team in English football, even though they were no longer consistently competing for major honours. Mike Walker took charge in 1994, before being sacked soon afterwards after a poor run of results. Joe Royle took over as the new manager of Everton, and made his name after he watched his newly acquired team beat city rivals Liverpool 2-0. That season, Everton made it all the way to the final of the FA Cup and went on to defeat the much fancied Manchester United 1-0. The club were unable to build on this success significantly, and after a disappointing 1996/97 campaign, Joe Royle resigned.
Howard Kendall returned for an emotional third spell at the club in 1997. He successfully maintained Everton’s Premiership status on goal difference in the 1997/98, and left soon afterwards.
Walter Smith soon filled the managerial vacancy at the club, with many feeling that this appointment could lead to better times ahead for the club. Disappointingly, what followed was the exact opposite. The club struggled in all three seasons that Smith was in charge, and he was sacked in March 2002. David Moyes was drafted in, having had previous success at Preston North End. The early years after Moyes’ appointment were marked by the emergence of a young Wayne Rooney, who had previously performed at a phenomenal level in the youth team, and was instrumental in the team’s recent Youth Cup success.
Everton’s first team narrowly missed out on European qualification in Moyes’ first season in charge. Rooney burst onto the Premiership scene after scoring the winning goal against Arsenal at Goodison Park. Despite almost inexplicably being relegated the following season, and cashing in on Wayne Rooney for £27,000,000, the Everton board stuck by David Moyes, and this proved to be a wise move. After finishing 4th in the 2004/05 season (notably above Liverpool), Everton qualified for the Champions League.
The 2005/06 season started disappointingly for Everton, after they were quickly eliminated from the Champions League and UEFA Cup. Goal-scoring proved to be Everton’s biggest problem during this season, as they had failed to find an adequate strike partner for James Beattie. This led to a distinctly below par 11th place finish for the Toffees.
Just before the start of the 2006/2007 season, the club had successfully managed to prise Andrew Johnson away from Crystal Palace, with Johnson and Everton believing that the move would be mutually beneficial. This certainly proved to be the case as Everton looked as if they would finish in the top four throughout the season. However, they were made to settle for 6th place and another season in the UEFA Cup.
Everton have since made a number of important acquisitions including Stephen Pienaar, Yakubu Aiyegbeni and Leighton Baines, and Thomas Gravesen has also been brought back to the club. Everton’s strikers struggled early on, but have since found their goal-scoring boots in the Premiership and in the UEFA Cup. Tim Cahill has proved to be a revelation since returning from injury, and it seems that just at the moment, the only way is up for Everton.
Club Honours
- Football League Division One Champions: 1890/91, 1914/15, 1927/28, 1931/32, 1938/39, 1962/63, 1969/70, 1984/85, 1986/87
- Football League Division One Runners-Up: 1889/90, 1894/95, 1901/02, 1904/05, 1908/09, 1911/12, 1985/86
- Football League Division Two Champions: 1930/31
- Football League Division Two Runners-Up: 1953/54
- FA Cup Winners: 1906, 1933, 1966, 1984, 1995
- FA Cup Runners-Up: 1893, 1897, 1907, 1968, 1985, 1986, 1989
- Football League Cup Runners-Up: 1977, 1984
- League Super Cup Runners-Up: 1986
- Simod Cup Runners-Up: 1989
- Zenith Data Systems Cup Runners-Up: 1991
- European Cup: 1963/64, 1970/71
- European Cup Winners’ Cup: 1966/67, 1984/85 (Winners), 1995/96
- European Fairs Cup: 1962/63, 1964/65, 1965/66
- Champions League: 2005/06
- UEFA Cup: 1975/76, 1978/79, 1979/80, 2005/06, 2007/08
Club Records
- Record League Victory: 9-1 v Manchester City, Division One, 3 September 1906. 9-1 v Plymouth Argyle, Division Two, 27 December 1930
- Record Cup Victory: 11-2 v Derby County, FA Cup 1st rd, 18 January 1890
- Record Defeat: 4-10 v Tottenham Hotspur, Division One, 11 October 1958
- Most League Goals: 121, Division Two, 1930/31
- Highest League Scorer in Season: William Ralph ‘Dixie’ Dean, 60, Division One, 1927/28 (All-time League record)
- Most League Goals in Total Aggregate: William Ralph ‘Dixie’ Dean, 349, 1925-1937
- Most League Goals in One Match: 6, Jack Southworth v West Bromwich Albion, Division One, 30 December 1893
- Most Capped Player: Neville Southall, 92, Wales
- Most League Appearances: Neville Southall, 578, 1981-1998
- Youngest League Player: James Vaughan, 16 years 271 days v Crystal Palace, 10 April 2005
- Record Transfer Fee Received: £27,000,000 from Manchester United for Wayne Rooney, August 2004
- Record Transfer Fee Paid: £8,500,000 to Crystal Palace for Andrew Johnson, June 2006
Longest Sequences
- Longest Sequence of League Wins: 12, 24/3/1894 – 13/10/1894
- Longest Sequence of League Defeats: 6, 26/12/1996 – 29/1/1997
- Longest Sequence of League Draws: 5, 4/5/1977 – 16/5/1977
- Longest Sequence of Unbeaten League Matches: 20, 29/4/1978 – 16/12/1978
- Longest Sequence without a League Win: 14, 6/3/1937 – 4/9/1937
- Successive Scoring Runs: 40 from 15/3/1930
- Successive Non-scoring Runs: 6 from 3/3/1951