Everton Football Club

Everton Football Club is an association football (soccer) club based in Liverpool which competes in the English Premier League. Everton was founded in 1878 and was a founder member of the Football League in 1888. Though it has not won the league championship since 1987, Everton is historically one of the most successful clubs in England with nine league titles and five FA Cups. The club also won the European Cup-Winners Cup in 1985,, which remains its only success at international level. In the 2005–06 season, Everton celebrated a record 100 seasons (though not consecutive) in the top flight of English football. Everton's current run in the top division began in 1954.

The club's home venue is Goodison Park, one of the oldest stadiums in England. The team colours comprise a royal blue jersey with white shorts and socks.

Origin and early history

Everton FC was born out of St. Domingo's school in 1878, when a team bearing the school's name began to play games in Stanley Park. With a growing reputation that was attracting the best players from neighbouring parishes, the team changed their name to Everton. With rapidly increasing support, it became clear Everton had outgrown Stanley Park and needed a proper ground to call home, they moved to an undeveloped plot which they rented from a local brewer and a small stadium was erected to accommodate their new fans. The ground was called Anfield, after nearby Anfield Road.

The football league was founded in 1988 and Everton were duly invited to become founding members. They won their first league title in the 1890/1891 season. However, with their new success and fame, came trouble at home. John Houlding, who owned Anfield, demanded a large increase in rent. Everton refused to pay, prefering to leave Anfield for a new ground at Goodison Park, where they remain to this day. Left with a stadium and no team, Houlding decided to found his own football club in 1892: Liverpool, who became Everton's greatest rivals and eventually one of the world's top teams.

Recent history

The Kendall/Harvey Years (1981 - 1993)

Howard Kendall became manager in 1981 and helped to make the eighties the most successful period in Everton’s history. After winning the FA Cup in 1983-84, they completed a double in 1984-85, when they were crowned league champions as well as winning the European Cup Winners’ Cup. It was their first European trophy and their only one to date. Having finished second to their neighbours Liverpool in 1985-86, they won the league again in 1986-87.

Though they would have qualified several times for the European cup, they were prevented from competing by the "English Ban". In 1985, before the European Cup final between Liverpool and Juventus, fighting broke out on the terraces. When a group of Liverpool supporters charged the Juventus section a panic ensued. The venue, Heysel Stadium in Belgium, was already in poor repair and parts of it collapsed. 39 people were killed. After the investigation, Liverpool was exclusively blamed. However, in a sweeping act of punishment, all English clubs were banned from European competitions for five years.

It was disastrous for Everton football club who were denied two chances to compete for club football's greatest prize. Unable to compete at the highest level, they began to decline. Though the ban only lasted five years, It was to be a decade before Everton returned to Europe.

The following years were marked by instability and disappointment. Howard Kendall left following League success in 1987 to manage Athletico Bilbao. He was replaced by Colin Harvey. After a poor start to the 1990-91 season, Kendall returned to replace Harvey but he failed to return Everton to the top of the table. Kendall left the club for the second time in 1993.

The Wilderness Years (1993-2002)

The decade that followed is known by fans as "The Wilderness Years". Though they added a fifth FA cup to the trophy cabinent, the club spent almost every year battling relegation. It was a remarkable turn for the worse for a club that had, along with Liverpool, dominated the decade preceding. The trouble coincided with the birth of the Premier League. Player transfer fees and wages grew exponentially as money from gate receipts became less important than television broadcast rights money.

Mike Walker was appointed to replace Kendall in 1993. His first season in charge very nearly saw the club relegated. Only an incredible 3-2 victory over Wimbledon on the last day of the season saved Everton from ignominy and disaster. That game saw Everton recover from a two goal deficit to win and keep their place in the Premier League. It is known as the "The Great Escape" by Everton fans. It did not save Mike Walker however and after a poor start to the following season, he was replaced by Joe Royle.

In 1995-96, Everton enjoyed a brief break from their trials under Royle. He helped them to win the FA cup in his first season and the following season, Everton finished 6th in the league, narrowly missing qualification for the UEFA cup. However, after a disastrous start to the 1996-97 season, Royle made way for Kendall to return for yet another term.

Kendall’s third reign was marked by further disappointment, as Everton returned to battling relegation. The appointment did not last long and following a season in which Everton only managed nine wins in thirty-eight games he was himself replaced by Scotsman Walter Smith, who had enjoyed massive success in the Scottish Premier League with Glasgow Rangers.

Smith’s arrival coincided with a change of Everton’s ownership. Chairman Peter Johnson was bought out and replaced by the west-end mogul, Bill Kenwright.

The Smith years were characterised by a high turnover of players and continued underachievement. In 2002, as Everton struggled once more to avoid relegation, Walter Smith’s tenure at Everton ended.

David Moyes and the Peoples Club (2002 - Present)

As replacement, the young player-manager David Moyes was recruited from Preston North End despite his scant experience. In his first press conference, he described Everton as “The People Club”. He was referring to his experience that the “man on the street” in Liverpool was an Everton fan and that the club was born and supported by the community, rather than a rich commercial conglomeration. The phrase struck a chord with Evertonians and it became the official slogan and mantra of the regime.

His first task was to save Everton from relegation and he succeeded. The following season (2002-03), he built on his success, guiding Everton a 7th place finish, the highest Everton had risen since 1995-1996. For his achievement, the League Manager’s Association (LMA) voted him Manager of the Year.

His second full season, was disappointing as the team failed to find their form. Everton finished 17th amidst rumours of dressing room disagreements between Moyes and his senior players. However, Kenwright withheld the axe and Everton started their third full season under David Moyes, but in a subdued mood.

Despite the gloom and a tumultuous summer that saw the departure of their homegrown superstar, Wayne Rooney, for Manchester United and signing of low-key players like Tim Cahill and Marcus Bent, Everton surprised everybody with a sensationally successful season. They ended up 4th in the league with 62 points, qualifying for the Champions League. It would be their first time in Europe since 1995. David Moyes collected his second LMA manager of the year award. Tim Cahill Proved to be a fantastic signing, finishing as Everton’s top scorer in his first season. He has remained highly influential ever since.

The highs turned to lows once more however and the successful 2004-05 season was followed by the disappointing 2005-06 season that saw Everton finish 11th having also failed to make it past the first round of the Champions League or the UEFA cup.

The roller coaster continued next season. 2006-07 saw Everton rebound impressively, rising to 6th place in the league and qualifying for UEFA cup. The Spaniard Mikel Arteta, who had joined the club on loan in january 2005, and permanently that summer was instrumental in Everton's success.

2007-08 bucked the trend of alternating good/bad seasons and proved Everton were capable of consistent performance. With new players like Joleon Lescott arriving from Wolves and Ayegbeni Yakubu signing from Middlesborough, Everton made a strong challenge for 4th place and Champions League qualification but were ultimately disappointed by a poor run of results at the end of the season. They secured 5th place and UEFA cup qualification. With sixty-five points, they beat the total that saw them take fourth spot in 2004-06.

Nicknames

The club is commonly referred to as "The Toffees" because of a tradition of throwing sweets to children before games. During the 1980's they were known as the "School of Science" in praise of their highly developed passing stlye. Supporters also refer to Everton as "The Blues" in reference to the royal blue colour of their home strip

Everton fans can also be called "Toffees" and are often known as "Evertonians", "Blues" and "Bluenoses", especially amongst themselves.