Everton Football Club () is an English professional
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
club based in
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
that competes in the
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
, the top tier of
English football
Association football is the most popular sport in England, where the first modern set of rules for the code were established in 1863, which were a major influence on the development of the modern Laws of the Game. With over 40,000 association f ...
. The club was a founder member of the
Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
in 1888 and has competed in the top division for a
record 119 seasons, having missed only
four top-flight seasons (
1930–31,
1951–52,
1952–53 and
1953–54). Everton is the second-longest continuous serving club in English top flight football and ranks third in the all-time points rankings. The club has won nine
league titles, five
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
s, one
European Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...
and nine
Charity Shields.
Formed in 1878, Everton won their first League Championship during the
1890–91 season. After winning four more League championships and two FA Cups, the club experienced a post-
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
lull until a revival in the 1960s. A period of sustained success came in the mid-1980s, when Everton won a further two League championships, one 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 colloquially known as "Evertonians" or "Blues". Everton's main rivals are
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
, whose home stadium at
Anfield
Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892. ...
is just under one mile away from Everton's home at
Goodison Park
Goodison Park is a football stadium in the Walton area of Liverpool, England. It has been the home stadium of Premier League club Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892. Located in a residential area 2 miles (3 km) north of Liverpool ...
; the two clubs contest the
Merseyside derby
The Merseyside derby is the association football, football matches between Everton F.C., Everton and Liverpool F.C., Liverpool, the two primary clubs in Liverpool, England. Named after the county of Merseyside, in which Liverpool is located, it ...
. Everton have been based at Goodison Park since 1892, having moved from their original home at Anfield following a disagreement over its rent. The club's home colours are royal blue shirts with white shorts and socks.
History
![Everton fc 1887](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e3/Everton_fc_1887.jpg)
Everton was founded as St. Domingo's FC in 1878
so that members of the congregation of St Domingo Methodist New Connexion Chapel in Breckfield Road North,
Everton could play sport year round –
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
was played in summer. The club's first game was a 1–0 victory over Everton Church Club.
The club was renamed Everton in November 1879 after the local area, as people outside the congregation wished to participate.
The club was a founding member of the
Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
in 1888–89 and won its first
League Championship title in the
1890–91 season. Everton won the
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
for the first time in 1906 and the League Championship again in
1914–15. The outbreak of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
in 1914 interrupted the football programme while Everton were reigning champions, which was something that would again occur in 1939.
![Everton FC League Performance](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/Everton_FC_League_Performance.svg)
It was not until 1927 that Everton's first sustained period of success began. In 1925 the club signed
Dixie Dean from
Tranmere Rovers
Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ado ...
. In
1927–28, Dean set the record for top-flight league goals in a single season with 60 goals in 39 league games, which is a record that still stands. He helped Everton win its third League Championship that season. However, Everton was relegated to the
Second Division
In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
two years later during internal turmoil at the club. The club quickly rebounded and was promoted at the first attempt, while 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 its status and won a fourth League Championship at the first opportunity. Everton also won its second FA Cup in 1933 with a 3–0 win against
Manchester City
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...
in the final. The era ended in
1938–39 with a fifth League Championship.
The outbreak of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
again 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 team. Everton was relegated for the second time in
1950–51 and did not earn promotion until
1953–54, when it finished as the runner-up in its third season in the Second Division. The club has been a top-flight presence ever since.
![Everton seasons 1955-2011](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/Everton_seasons_1955-2011.png)
Everton's second successful era started when
Harry Catterick
Harry Catterick (26 November 1919 – 9 March 1985) was an English football player and manager. As a player Catterick played for Everton and Crewe Alexandra, in a career that was interrupted by World War II, but he is most notable as a manager. ...
was made manager in 1961. In
1962–63, his second season in charge, Everton won the League Championship. In 1966 the club won the FA Cup with a 3–2 win over
Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...
. Everton again reached the final in 1968, but this time was unable to overcome
West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...
at
Wembley
Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...
. Two seasons later in
1969–70, Everton won the League Championship, finishing nine points clear of nearest rivals
Leeds United
Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...
. During this period, Everton was the first English club to achieve five consecutive years in European competitions – covering the seasons from 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 despite finishing fourth in
1974–75 under manager Billy Bingham, third in
1977–78 and fourth the following season under manager
Gordon Lee Gordon Lee may refer to:
*Gordon Lee (comic store owner) (1958–2013), American comic book store owner charged with distributing obscene materials
*Gordon Lee (congressman) (1859–1927), U.S. congressman from Georgia
*Gordon Lee (footballer) (193 ...
. Lee was sacked in 1981.
Howard Kendall
Howard Kendall (22 May 1946 – 17 October 2015) was an English footballer and manager.
Kendall joined Preston North End as an apprentice and stayed with the club when he turned professional. He was a runner-up in the 1964 FA Cup with Preston, ...
took over as manager and guided Everton to its most successful era. Domestically, Everton won the FA Cup in 1984 and two League Championships in
1984–85 and
1986–87. In Europe, the club won its first, and so far only, European trophy by securing the
European Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...
in
1985.
The European success came after first beating
University College Dublin
University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...
,
Inter Bratislava
FK Inter Bratislava () is a football club based in Bratislava, Slovakia, temporarily playing its home matches in Stupava.
History
Inter Bratislava was founded in 1940 by the Apollo refinery (later renamed Slovnaft). Following the end of World Wa ...
and
Fortuna Sittard
Fortuna Sittard (; li, Fortuna Zitterd ) is a football club in Sittard, Netherlands. The club currently plays its football in the 12,500 capacity Fortuna Sittard Stadion and features in the Eredivisie. The club was established through a merger ...
. Then, 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
Rapids are sections of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep gradient, causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence.
Rapids are hydrological features between a ''run'' (a smoothly flowing part of a stream) and a ''cascade'' ...
in the final. Having won both the League and Cup Winners' Cup in 1985, Everton came very close to winning a
treble, but lost to
Manchester United
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
in the FA Cup
final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
.
The following season,
1985–86, Everton was the runner-up to Liverpool in both the League and the
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
, but did recapture the League Championship in
1986–87.
After the
Heysel Stadium disaster
The Heysel Stadium disaster ( it, Strage dell'Heysel ; german: link=no, Katastrophe von Heysel ; french: Drame du Heysel ; nl, Heizeldrama ) was a crowd disaster that occurred on 29 May 1985 when mostly Juventus fans escaping from a breach by ...
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
Athletic Club ( eu, Bilboko Athletic Kluba; es, Athletic Club de Bilbao), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao or just Athletic, is a professional Association football, football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Basque Country (autonomous com ...
after the 1987 title triumph and was succeeded by assistant
Colin Harvey
James Colin Harvey (born 16 November 1944 in Liverpool, England) is an English former footballer who is best known for his time as a player, coach and manager with Everton.
Playing career
Harvey was born in Liverpool and joined Everton as ...
. Harvey took Everton to the
1989 FA Cup Final, but lost 3–2 after extra time to Liverpool.
Everton was a founding member of the
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
in 1992, but struggled to find the right manager. Howard Kendall had returned in 1990, but could not repeat his previous success. His successor,
Mike Walker, was statistically the least successful Everton manager to date. When former Everton player
Joe Royle
Joseph Royle (born 8 April 1949) is an English football manager and former footballer. In his playing career as a striker, he debuted for Everton at the age of 16 and went on to play for Manchester City, Bristol City, Norwich City, and the ...
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 and led the club to the FA Cup for the fifth time in its history by defeating Manchester United 1–0 in the
final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
. The cup triumph was also Everton's passport to the Cup Winners' Cup, its first European campaign in the post-Heysel era. Progress under Royle continued in
1995–96 as the team climbed to sixth place in the Premiership.
A fifteenth-place finish the following season saw Royle resign towards the end of the campaign, and he was temporarily replaced by club captain
Dave Watson
David Watson (born 20 November 1961) is an English football manager and former professional footballer.
As a player, he was a defender from 1980 to 2001. He played his entire career for Norwich City and Everton. With the Toffees he played in ...
.
Howard Kendall was appointed Everton manager for the third time in 1997, but the appointment proved unsuccessful as Everton finished seventeenth in the Premiership. The club only avoided relegation due to its superior
goal difference
Goal difference, goal differential or points difference is a form of tiebreaker used to rank sport teams which finish on equal points in a league competition. Either "goal difference" or "points difference" is used, depending on whether matches ar ...
over
Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...
. Former
Rangers manager
Walter Smith
Walter Ferguson Smith (24 February 1948 – 26 October 2021) was a Scottish association football player, manager and director, primarily associated with his two spells as manager of Glasgow club Rangers.
A defender, Smith's playing car ...
then took over from Kendall in the summer of 1998, but only managed three successive finishes in the bottom half of the table.
The Everton board finally ran out of patience with Smith, and he was sacked in March 2002 after an FA Cup exit at
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area.
Until the early 1800s, the a ...
and with Everton in real danger of relegation. His replacement,
David Moyes, guided Everton to a safe finish in fifteenth place.
In
2002–03 Everton finished seventh, which was its highest finish since 1996. It was under Moyes' management that
Wayne Rooney
Wayne Mark Rooney (born 24 October 1985) is an English professional football manager and former player, who is the manager of Major League Soccer club D.C. United in the United States. He spent much of his playing career as a forward while ...
broke into the first team before being sold to Manchester United for a club record fee of £28 million in the summer of 2004. A fourth-place finish in
2004–05 ensured that Everton qualified for the
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
qualifying round. The team failed to make it through to the
Champions League group stage and was then eliminated from the
UEFA Cup
A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...
. Everton qualified for the
2007–08 and
2008–09 UEFA Cup competitions, and was the runner-up in the
2009 FA Cup Final. During this period, Moyes broke the club record for highest transfer fee paid on four occasions: signing
James Beattie for £6 million in January 2005,
Andy Johnson for £8.6 million in summer 2006,
Yakubu Yakubu is an English transliteration of a West African name and is a cognate of Jacob and James. Notable people with the name include:
;Given name
* Yakubu (born 1982 as Yakubu Ayegbeni), Nigerian footballer
* Yakubu (Gobir ruler), historical ruler ...
for £11.25 million in summer 2007, and
Marouane Fellaini
Marouane Fellaini-Bakkioui (born 22 November 1987) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Chinese club Shandong Taishan.
Born in Etterbeek to Moroccan parents, Fellaini played youth football for Anderlecht, R.A.E.C. ...
for £15 million in September 2008.
At the end of the 2012–13 season, Moyes left his position at Everton to take over at
Manchester United
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
, bringing in staff from Everton to join him in July (assistant manager Steve Round, goalkeeping coach Chris Woods and coach Jimmy Lumsden), with Everton players
Phil Neville
Philip John Neville (born 21 January 1977) is an English football manager and former player, who is the head coach of MLS team Inter Miami CF. He is also the co-owner of Salford City, along with several of his former Manchester United teamma ...
and
Marouane Fellaini
Marouane Fellaini-Bakkioui (born 22 November 1987) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Chinese club Shandong Taishan.
Born in Etterbeek to Moroccan parents, Fellaini played youth football for Anderlecht, R.A.E.C. ...
also leaving for United, the former joining the coaching staff. Moyes was replaced by
Roberto Martínez
Roberto Martínez Montoliu (born 13 July 1973) is a Spanish football coach and former professional player, currently as head coach of the Portugal national team.
Martínez played as a defensive midfielder and began his career at Real Zaragoza ...
, who led Everton to 5th place in the Premier League in his
first season while amassing the club's best points tally in 27 years with 72. The following season, Martínez led Everton to the last 16 of the
2014-15 UEFA Europa League, where it was defeated by
Dynamo Kyiv
Football Club Dynamo Kyiv (, ) is a Ukrainian professional Association football, football club based in Kyiv. Founded in 1927 as a Kyivan football team of republican branch of the bigger Soviet Union, Soviet Dynamo Sports Club, Dynamo Sports Soc ...
, whilst domestically finishing 11th in the Premier League. Everton reached the semi-finals of both the
League Cup
In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
and the
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
in 2015–16, but was defeated in both. After a poor run of form in the Premier League, Martínez was sacked following the penultimate game of the season, with Everton lying in 12th place.
Martínez was replaced in the summer of 2016 by
Ronald Koeman
Ronald Koeman (; born 21 March 1963) is a Dutch professional football manager and former player. He is the younger brother of his former international teammate Erwin Koeman and the son of former Dutch international Martin Koeman. Koeman was cap ...
, who left
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
to sign a three-year contract with Everton. In
his first season at the club, he qualified for the Europa League, but a poor start to the 2017–18 season left Everton in the relegation zone after nine games, and Koeman was sacked on 23 October following a 5–2 home defeat to
Arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
.
Sam Allardyce
Samuel Allardyce (; born 19 October 1954), colloquially referred to as Big Sam, is an English football manager and former professional player.
Allardyce made 578 league and cup appearances in a 21-year career spent mostly in the Football Lea ...
was appointed Everton manager in November 2017,
but he resigned at the end of the season amid fan discontent at his style of play.
Marco Silva
Marco Alexandre Saraiva da Silva (; born 12 July 1977) is a Portuguese former footballer who played as a right-back, currently manager of club Fulham.
He played for a variety of Portuguese clubs, finishing his career with a six-year spell at ...
was named Everton manager in May 2018. In November that year, the club was banned from signing academy football players from its youth clubs for two years. Silva led Everton to finish 8th in his first season in charge, but after a poor start to the following season which left the team in the relegation zone on 14 points, he was sacked on 5 December 2019.
His last league match was a 5–2 loss to Liverpool at Anfield. Former player and first-team coach
Duncan Ferguson stepped in as caretaker manager for the next three games before his replacement,
Carlo Ancelotti
Carlo Ancelotti , (born 10 June 1959) is an Italian professional football manager and former player who is the manager of La Liga club Real Madrid. Regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time, Ancelotti is the most decorated manager ...
; Ferguson stayed as assistant manager.
Ancelotti left the club in June 2021 to rejoin former club
Real Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid.
Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...
as manager, having led the club to a 10th place finish in his only full season at the club. Former Liverpool manager
Rafael Benítez
Rafael Benítez Maudes (born 16 April 1960) is a Spanish professional football manager and former player who most recently managed club Everton.
Benítez joined Real Madrid's coaching staff at the age of 26, going on to work as the under- ...
was appointed as his replacement, subsequently becoming only the second person to manage both Liverpool and Everton. He was dismissed in January 2022 following 9 losses in his last 13 games in charge at the club, and was replaced by former Chelsea boss
Frank Lampard
Frank James Lampard (born 20 June 1978) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the manager of club Everton. He is widely regarded as one of Chelsea’s greatest ever players, and one of the greatest midfielder ...
.
Colours
Everton's traditional home colours are royal blue shirts, white shorts and white socks. However, during the first decades of its 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 its 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. However, the kit appeared morbid, so a scarlet sash was added.
When the club moved to Goodison Park in 1892, the colours were salmon pink and dark blue striped shirts with dark blue shorts. The club later switched to ruby shirts with blue trim and dark blue shorts. Royal blue jerseys with white shorts were first used in the
1901–02 season.
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 in
1930–31 and
1997–98). The home kit today is royal blue shirts with white shorts and socks. The club may also wear all blue to avoid any colour clashes.
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 1970s and 1980s. Black, white, grey, and yellow away shirts have also been used.
Crest
![Everton Lockup 2019-1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Everton_Lockup_2019-1.jpg)
At the end of the
1937–38 season, Everton secretary
Theo Kelly
Theo Kelly (17 January 1896 – 30 April 1964) was manager of Everton Football Club from 1939 to 1948.
Biography
Theo Kelly was born Louis Alford Theodore Kelly in Liverpool, Lancashire, England, on 17 January 1896. His father, Louis Theophilus ...
, 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. He worked on it for four months until deciding on a reproduction of
Everton Lock-Up
Everton Lock-Up, sometimes referenced by one of its nicknames such as Prince Rupert's Tower or Prince Rupert's Castle is a village lock-up located on Everton Brow in Everton, Liverpool. The 18th-century structure is one of two Georgian lock-up ...
, which stands in the heart of the
Everton district.
The Lock-Up has been inextricably linked with the Everton area since its construction in 1787. It was originally used as a
bridewell
Bridewell Palace in London was built as a residence of King Henry VIII and was one of his homes early in his reign for eight years. Given to the City of London Corporation by his son King Edward VI for use as an orphanage and place of corre ...
to incarcerate mainly drunks and minor criminals, and it still stands today on Everton Brow. The Lock-Up was accompanied by two laurel wreaths on either side and, according to the
College of Arms
The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional Officer of Arms, officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the ...
in London, Kelly chose to include the
laurels
''Laurus nobilis'' is an aromatic evergreen tree or large shrub with green, glabrous (smooth) leaves. It is in the flowering plant family Lauraceae. It is native to the Mediterranean region and is used as bay leaf for seasoning in cookin ...
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".
The ties were first worn by Kelly and the Everton chairman, Mr. E. Green, on the first day of the
1938–39 season.
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, while undergoing gradual change to become the version used today.
In May 2013, the club launched a new crest to improve the reproducibility of the design in print and broadcast media, particularly on a small scale. Critics suggested that it was external pressure from sports manufacturer
Nike, Inc.
Nike, Inc. ( or ) is an American multinational corporation that is engaged in the design, development, manufacturing, and worldwide marketing and sales of footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories, and services. The company is headquartered ne ...
that evoked the redesign as the number of colours had been reduced and the radial effect was removed, which made the kit more cost efficient to reproduce. The redesign was poorly received by supporters, with a poll on an Everton fan site registering a 91% negative response to the crest. 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. Shortly afterwards, the Head of Marketing left the club. The latest crest was revealed by the club on 3 October 2013. After a consultation process with the supporters, three new crests were shortlisted. In the final vote, the new crest was chosen by almost 80% of the supporters that took part and began being used in July 2014.
File:Everton FC Crest (2000–13).svg, Monochrome Everton crest (2000–2013)
File:Everton F.C. (2013).svg, 2013–14 season crest
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 with the best known being that there was a business in
Everton village, between Everton Brow and Brow Side, named Mother Noblett's, which was a
toffee
Toffee is a confection made by caramelizing sugar or molasses (creating inverted sugar) along with butter, and occasionally flour. The mixture is heated until its temperature reaches the hard crack stage of . While being prepared, toffee is ...
shop that 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.
Everton has had many other nicknames over the years. When the black kit was worn, the team was nicknamed "The Black Watch" after the
famous army regiment. Since going blue in 1901, the team has been given the simple nickname "The Blues". Everton's attractive style of play led to
Steve Bloomer
Stephen Bloomer (20 January 1874 – 16 April 1938) was an England international footballer and manager who played for Derby County – becoming their record goalscorer – and Middlesbrough. The anthem " Steve Bloomer's Watchin'" is played at ...
calling the team "scientific" in 1928, which is thought to have inspired the nickname "The School of Science". The battling 1995 FA Cup winning side was known collectively 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.
Stadium
![John Houlding](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/John_Houlding.jpg)
Everton originally played in the southeast corner of
Stanley Park
Stanley Park is a public park in British Columbia, Canada that makes up the northwestern half of Vancouver's Downtown Peninsula, surrounded by waters of Burrard Inlet and English Bay. The park borders the neighbourhoods of West End and ...
. The first official match took place in 1879. In 1882, a man named J. Cruitt donated land at Priory Road which became the club's home. In 1884 Everton became tenants at
Anfield
Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892. ...
, which was owned by John Orrell, a land owner who was a friend of Everton F.C. member John Houlding. Orrell lent Anfield to the club in exchange for a small rent. Houlding purchased the land from Orrell in 1885 and effectively became Everton's landlord by charging the club rent, which increased from £100 to £240 a year by 1888 – and was still rising until Everton left the ground in 1892.
The club regarded the increase in rent as unacceptable.
A further dispute between Houlding and the club's committee led to Houlding attempting to gain full control of the club by registering the company, "Everton F.C. and Athletic Grounds Ltd". Everton left Anfield for a new ground,
Goodison Park
Goodison Park is a football stadium in the Walton area of Liverpool, England. It has been the home stadium of Premier League club Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892. Located in a residential area 2 miles (3 km) north of Liverpool ...
, where the club has played ever since. Houlding attempted to take over Everton's name, colours, fixtures and league position, but was denied by
The Football Association
The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the ...
. Instead, Houlding formed a new club,
Liverpool F.C
Liverpool Football Club is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Liverpool, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founded in ...
.
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
The 1966 FIFA World Cup was the eighth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in England from 11 July to 30 July 1966. The England national football team defeated West Germany 4-2 in the ...
. It was also the first English ground to have under-soil heating and 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 Howard Kendall Gwladys Street End.
On match days, in a tradition going back to 1962, players walk out to the tune "
Johnny Todd", played in the arrangement used when it was the theme song for ''
Z-Cars
''Z-Cars'' or ''Z Cars'' (pronounced "zed cars") is a British television police procedural series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, near Liverpool. Produced by the BBC, it debuted ...
''. It is a traditional Liverpool children's song collected in 1890 by
Frank Kidson
Frank Kidson (15 November 1855 – 7 November 1926) was an English folksong collector and music scholar.
Career
He was born in Leeds, where he lived for most of his life.Palmer (2004). He worked briefly with his brother in an antique busine ...
and tells the story of a sailor betrayed by his lover while away at sea. On two occasions in 1994, the club walked out to different songs. In August 1994, the club played
2 Unlimited's song "
Get Ready For This
"Get Ready for This" is a song recorded by Belgian/Dutch music group 2 Unlimited. It was released in 1991 as the lead single from their debut album, ''Get Ready!'' (1992). Originally, the single was produced as an instrumental, titled the "Orche ...
". A month later, the club used a reworking of the
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Creedence Clearwater Revival, also referred to as Creedence and CCR, was an American rock band formed in El Cerrito, California. The band initially consisted of lead vocalist, lead guitarist, and primary songwriter John Fogerty; his brother, ...
classic "
Bad Moon Rising
"Bad Moon Rising" is a song written by John Fogerty and performed by Creedence Clearwater Revival. It was the lead single from their album '' Green River'' and was released in April 16, 1969 four months before the album. The song peaked at No. ...
". Both songs were met with complete disapproval by Everton fans.
Training facilities
From 1966 to 2007, Everton trained at
Bellefield
Bellefield, in West Derby, Liverpool, is Everton FC's former training ground.
Bellefield had been Everton FC's training ground since 1946. It was purchased in 1965 and officially opened on 12 July 1966.
The Brazil national football team used ...
in the
West Derby
West Derby ( ) is an affluent suburb of Liverpool, England. It is located East of the city and is also a Liverpool City Council ward. At the 2011 Census, the population was 14,382.
History West Derby
Mentioned in the ''Domesday Book'', Wes ...
area of Liverpool. The club moved to the
Finch Farm
Finch Farm is the training ground for Everton F.C., in Halewood, in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Merseyside within the Liverpool City Region.
The School of Science is the nickname given to the complex by some supporters, referring to a ...
training complex in
Halewood
Halewood is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley in Merseyside, England. It lies near the city of Liverpool's southeastern boundary, bordered by the suburbs of Netherley, Hunt's Cross and Woolton.
Historically a part of Lancashire, ...
in 2007. The training ground houses both the Everton first team and the youth academy.
Everton 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, but in 2000 a proposal was submitted to build a 55,000-seat stadium as part of the
King's Dock regeneration. This proposal was unsuccessful as Everton failed to generate the £30 million needed for a half stake in the stadium project, and the city council rejected the proposal in 2003. Late in 2004, driven by the Liverpool Council and the Northwest Development Corporation, the club entered talks with
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is a professional football club based in Liverpool, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Founded in 1892, the club joined the Football League the following year and has p ...
about sharing a proposed stadium on
Stanley Park
Stanley Park is a public park in British Columbia, Canada that makes up the northwestern half of Vancouver's Downtown Peninsula, surrounded by waters of Burrard Inlet and English Bay. The park borders the neighbourhoods of West End and ...
. However, negotiations broke down as Everton failed to raise 50% of the costs. On 11 January 2005, Liverpool announced that ground-sharing was not a possibility and proceeded to plan its own Stanley Park Stadium.
Following a unanimous approval by Liverpool City Council to grant planning permission in July 2021, work by contractors, Laing O'Rourke, began on the new stadium on 10 August 2021. The first phase involved infilling the dock with 500,000 cubic metres of sea-dredged sand, and so 2,500 vertical concrete piles have been inserted. Its capacity will be 52,888. It is due to open for the start of the 2024-25 season, replacing Goodison Park.
Supporters and rivalries
Everton has a large fanbase, with the eighth-highest average attendance in the Premier League in the 2008–09 in English football, 2008–09 season. The majority of Everton's matchday support comes from the North West of England, primarily Merseyside, Cheshire, West Lancashire and parts of Western Greater Manchester along with many fans who travel from North Wales, Ireland, and Scotland. Within the city of Liverpool, support for Everton and city rivals Liverpool is not determined by geographical basis with supporters mixed across the city. Everton also has many supporters' clubs worldwide in places such as North America, Singapore, Indonesia, Lebanon, Malaysia, Thailand, India, and Australia. Paul McCartney of Beatles (band), The Beatles is one of the more recognizable Everton supporters. The official supporters club is ''FOREVERTON'', 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.
![Luis Suarez runs at Distin 3](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/Luis_Suarez_runs_at_Distin_3.jpg)
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 S.L. Benfica, Benfica, which was its largest ever away crowd in Europe since the 1985 European Cup Winners' Cup Final.
Everton's biggest rivalry is with neighbours
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
, against whom the club contests the
Merseyside derby
The Merseyside derby is the association football, football matches between Everton F.C., Everton and Liverpool F.C., Liverpool, the two primary clubs in Liverpool, England. Named after the county of Merseyside, in which Liverpool is located, it ...
. The rivalry stems from an internal dispute between Everton officials and the owners of Anfield, which was then Everton's home ground. The dispute resulted in Everton moving to Goodison Park and the subsequent formation of Liverpool F.C. in 1892. Following these events, a fierce rivalry has existed between Everton and Liverpool, albeit one that is generally perceived as more respectful than many other Local derby, 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. The derby is usually a sellout fixture and has been known as the "friendly derby" because both sets of fans can often be seen side by side dressed in red and blue inside both
Anfield
Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892. ...
and Goodison Park. Recently, on the field, matches have tended to be extremely stormy affairs; the derby has had more Fouls and misconduct (association football), red cards than any other fixture in Premier League history.
Coaching staff
First team
Under-21s and Under-18s
Players
First-team squad
Out on loan
Reserves and Academy
Notable former players
''See also List of Everton F.C. international players.''
Everton Giants
The following players are considered "Giants" for their great contributions to Everton. A panel appointed by the club established the inaugural list in 2000 and a new inductee is announced every season.
![Dixie Dean Monument](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/61/Dixie_Dean_Monument.jpg)
;Player of the Year
Winners of the club's end of season award
* 2005–06 Mikel Arteta
* 2006–07 Mikel Arteta
* 2007–08 Joleon Lescott
* 2008–09 Phil Jagielka
* 2009–10 Steven Pienaar
* 2010–11 Leighton Baines
* 2011–12 John Heitinga
* 2012–13 Leighton Baines
* 2013–14 Séamus Coleman
* 2014–15 Phil Jagielka
* 2015–16 Gareth Barry
* 2016–17 Romelu Lukaku
* 2017–18 Jordan Pickford
* 2018–19 Lucas Digne
* 2019–20 Richarlison
* 2020–21 Dominic Calvert-Lewin
* 2021–22 Jordan Pickford
;Greatest ever team
At the start of the 2003–04 season, as part of the club's official celebration of its 125th anniversary, supporters cast votes to determine the greatest ever Everton team.
* Neville Southall (1981–97)
* Gary M. Stevens, Gary Stevens (1982–89)
* Brian Labone (1958–71)
* Kevin Ratcliffe (1980–91)
* Ray Wilson (English footballer), Ray Wilson (1964–69)
* Trevor Steven (1983–90)
* Alan Ball (footballer), Alan Ball (1966–71)
* Peter Reid (1982–89)
* Kevin Sheedy (Irish footballer), Kevin Sheedy (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), Alan Ball ''(2003 inductee)''
* Pat Jennings ''(2003 inductee)''
* Tommy Lawton ''(2003 inductee)''
* Gary Lineker ''(2003 inductee)''
*
Howard Kendall
Howard Kendall (22 May 1946 – 17 October 2015) was an English footballer and manager.
Kendall joined Preston North End as an apprentice and stayed with the club when he turned professional. He was a runner-up in the 1964 FA Cup with Preston, ...
''(2005 inductee)''
* Peter Beardsley ''(2007 inductee)''
* Mark Hughes ''(2007 inductee)''
* Neville Southall ''(2008 inductee)''
[Southall was inducted along with Liverpool F.C.'s Steven Gerrard at a special European night to celebrate Liverpool, the city's successful European Capital of Culture bid.]
* Ray Wilson (English footballer), Ray Wilson ''(2008 inductee)''
* Joe Mercer ''(2009 inductee)''
*
Harry Catterick
Harry Catterick (26 November 1919 – 9 March 1985) was an English football player and manager. As a player Catterick played for Everton and Crewe Alexandra, in a career that was interrupted by World War II, but he is most notable as a manager. ...
''(2010 inductee)''
* Peter Reid ''(2014 inductee)''
* Gary Speed ''(2017 inductee)''
;Football League 100 Legends
The Football League 100 Legends is a list of "100 legendary association football, football players" produced by the
Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
in 1998 to celebrate the 100th season of League football.
* Alan Ball (footballer), Alan Ball
*
Dixie Dean
* Paul Gascoigne
* Tommy Lawton
* Gary Lineker
* Joe Mercer
* Neville Southall
* Alex Young (footballer born 1937), Alex Young
Honours
Domestic
League
*List of English football champions, First Division/
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
**Champions (9): 1890–91 Football League, 1890–91,
1914–15,
1927–28,
1931–32,
1938–39,
1962–63,
1969–70,
1984–85,
1986–87
*List of winners of English Football League Championship and predecessors, Second Division/EFL Championship, Championship
**Winners (1):
1930–31
Cups
*
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
:
**Winners (5): 1906 FA Cup Final, 1905–06, 1933 FA Cup Final, 1932–33, 1966 FA Cup Final, 1965–66, 1984 FA Cup Final, 1983–84, 1995 FA Cup Final, 1994–95
*EFL Cup, Football League Cup
**Runners-up (2): 1977 Football League Cup Final, 1976–77, 1984 Football League Cup Final, 1983–84
*FA Community Shield, FA Charity Shield
**Winners (9): 1928 FA Charity Shield, 1928, 1932 FA Charity Shield, 1932, 1963 FA Charity Shield, 1963, 1970 FA Charity Shield, 1970, 1984 FA Charity Shield, 1984, 1985 FA Charity Shield, 1985, 1986 FA Charity Shield, 1986 ''(shared)'', 1987 FA Charity Shield, 1987, 1995 FA Charity Shield, 1995
*Full Members Cup:
**Runners-up (2): 1989 Full Members' Cup Final, 1989, 1991 Full Members Cup Final, 1991
*Football League Super Cup
**Runners-up (1): 1985–86
European
*
European Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...
**Winners: (1): 1985 European Cup Winners' Cup Final, 1984–85
Doubles
* 1984–85 in English football, 1984–85: Football League First Division, League and European Cup Winners' Cup
European competitions
Overall record
Ownership and finance
Everton F.C. is a limited company with the board of directors holding a majority of the shares. The club's most recent accounts, from May 2014, show a net total debt of £28.1 million, with a turnover of £120.5 million and a profit of £28.2 million. The club's overdraft with Barclays Bank is secured against the Premier League's "Basic Award Fund", which is a guaranteed sum given to clubs for competing in the Premier League. Everton agreed to a long-term loan of £30 million with Bear Stearns and Prudential plc in 2002 for a duration of 25 years. The loan was a consolidation of debts at the time as well as a source of capital for new player acquisitions.
Goodison Park
Goodison Park is a football stadium in the Walton area of Liverpool, England. It has been the home stadium of Premier League club Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892. Located in a residential area 2 miles (3 km) north of Liverpool ...
is secured as collateral. On 27 February 2016, it was announced that Farhad Moshiri (businessman), Farhad Moshiri would buy a 49.9% stake in the club.
Figures taken from 2013 to 2014 accounts.
Shirt sponsors and manufacturers
Since the 2020-21 season the club's primary shirt sponsor has been Cazoo, after the club announced the early termination of the previous deal with SportPesa in February 2020.
The sponsorship does not extent to the club's Everton F.C. (women), women's team, who for the first time are able to sign their own shirt sponsor.
Previous sponsors include SportPesa (2017–20), Chang Beer (2004–17) Hafnia (1979–85), NEC (1985–95), Danka (1995–97), one2one (1997–2002) and Kejian (2002–04). For the 2008–09 Everton F.C. season, 2008–09 season, Everton sold junior replica jerseys without the current name or logo of its main sponsor Chang beer, which followed a recommendation from the Portman Group that alcoholic brand names be removed from kits sold to children.
Everton's current kit manufacturers since the 2020–21 season are Hummel International, Hummel, after a previous deal with Umbro was terminated early by the club. Umbro have been the club's kit manufacturer four times (1974–83, 1986–2000, 2004–09, and 2014–20). Other previous manufacturing firms are Le Coq Sportif (1983–86, 2009–12), Puma SE, Puma (2000–04) and Nike, Inc, Nike (2012–14).
The club currently has two 'megastores': one located near Goodison Park on Walton Lane named 'Everton One' and one located in the Liverpool One shopping complex named 'Everton Two', which gives the second store the address 'Everton Two, Liverpool One'.
Managers
The club's current manager,
Frank Lampard
Frank James Lampard (born 20 June 1978) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the manager of club Everton. He is widely regarded as one of Chelsea’s greatest ever players, and one of the greatest midfielder ...
, is the twentieth permanent holder of the position since it was established in 1939. There have also been four caretaker managers, and before 1939 the team was selected by either the club secretary or by committee. The club's longest-serving manager has been
Harry Catterick
Harry Catterick (26 November 1919 – 9 March 1985) was an English football player and manager. As a player Catterick played for Everton and Crewe Alexandra, in a career that was interrupted by World War II, but he is most notable as a manager. ...
, who was in charge of the team from 1961 to 1973 for 594 first team matches.
The Everton manager to win the most domestic and international trophies is
Howard Kendall
Howard Kendall (22 May 1946 – 17 October 2015) was an English footballer and manager.
Kendall joined Preston North End as an apprentice and stayed with the club when he turned professional. He was a runner-up in the 1964 FA Cup with Preston, ...
, who won two Football League First Division, First Division championships, the 1984 FA Cup Final, 1984 FA Cup, the 1985 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final, 1985 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, and three FA Community Shield, FA Charity Shields.
Records and statistics
![NevilleSouthall](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/NevilleSouthall.jpg)
Neville Southall holds the record for the most Everton appearances with 751 first-team matches between 1981 and 1997. The late centre half and former captain Brian Labone comes in second with 534 matches. The longest serving player is goalkeeper Ted Sagar, who played for 23 years between 1929 and 1953. This tenure covered both sides of the World War II, Second World War and included a total of 495 appearances. Southall also previously held the record for the most league clean sheets during a season with 15. However, this record was beaten during the 2008–09 Premier League, 2008–09 season by American goalkeeper Tim Howard, who ended the season with 17 clean sheets. 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, English national record 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. Remarkably, there was only one injury at this game, which occurred when Tom Fleetwood was hit on the head by a coin thrown from the crowd whilst he marched around the perimeter and played the cornet with St Edward's Orphanage Band. Goodison Park, like all major English football grounds since the recommendations of the Taylor Report were implemented, is now an all-seater and only holds just under 40,000, meaning it is unlikely that this attendance record will ever be broken at Goodison.
Everton's record transfer paid was to Swansea City for the Icelandic midfielder Gylfi Sigurðsson for a sum of £45m in 2017. The sale of Romelu Lukaku to
Manchester United
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
was for an initial sum of £75m, a record fee between two English clubs and the largest sum Everton has received for a player.
Everton holds the record for the most seasons in England's top tier (Division One/Premier League), with 119 seasons out of 123, as of completion of the 2021-22 season (the club played in Division 2 in 1930–31 and from 1951 to 1954). It is one of six teams to have played in every season of the Premier League since its inception in August 1992 – the others being
Arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
, Chelsea F.C., Chelsea,
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
,
Manchester United
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
, and Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur. Everton against Aston Villa is the most played fixture in England's top flight. As of the 2012–13 season, the two founding members of the Football League have played a record 196 league games.
Everton's community department
Everton's community department, Everton in the Community (EitC), is a charity that provides sports and other social activities for the local community including for people with disabilities. EitC represents the club in the European Multisport Club Association.
Relationships with other clubs
Everton is connected to many other sports clubs and organisations. It has links with Irish football academy Ballyoulster United in Celbridge, the Canadian Ontario Soccer Association, and the Thai Football Association of Thailand, Football Association (where there is a competition named the Chang-Everton Cup, competed for by local schoolboys). The club also has a football academy in the Cypriot city of Limassol and a partnership agreement with American club Pittsburgh Riverhounds.
Everton has links with Chilean team Everton de Viña del Mar, who were named after the club. On 4 August 2010, the two Evertons played each other in a friendly match at Goodison Park named the "Copa Hermandad" to mark the centenary of the Chilean team. The occasion was organised by the Ruleteros Society, which was founded to promote connections between the two clubs. Other Everton clubs also exist in Colonia Department, Colonia in Uruguay, La Plata and Río Cuarto, Córdoba, Río Cuarto in Argentina, Elk Grove, California, Elk Grove in the U.S. state of California, and Cork (city), Cork in Ireland. There was also a team named Everton F.C. (Trinidad and Tobago), Everton in Trinidad and Tobago. There was an Everton club in Auckland, New Zealand from 1907 to 1915 named because of the first FA Cup win.
The club owned and operated a professional basketball team by the name of the Everton Tigers, who competed in the top-tier British Basketball League. The team was launched in the summer of 2007 as part of the club's Community programme and played its home games at the Greenbank Sports Academy in Liverpool's Mossley Hill suburb. The team was an amalgam of the Toxteth Tigers community youth programme, which started in 1968. The team quickly became one of the most successful in the league by winning the BBL Cup in 2009 and the play-offs in 2010. However, Everton withdrew funding before the 2010–11 season and the team was re-launched as the Mersey Tigers.
In popular culture
Film and TV
Ken Loach's 1969 television film ''The Golden Vision'' combined improvised drama with documentary footage to tell the story of a group of Everton fans for whom the main purpose of life—following the team—is interrupted by such inconveniences as work and weddings. Everton forward Alex Young (footballer, born 1937), Alex Young, whose nickname was also the title of the film, appeared as himself.
Paul Greengrass's 1997 television film ''The Fix (1997 film), The Fix'' dramatised the true story of a match-fixing scandal in which the club's newest player Tony Kay (played by Jason Isaacs) is implicated in having helped to throw a match between his previous club
Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...
and Ipswich Town F.C., Ipswich Town. The majority of the story is set during Everton's 1962–63 League Championship winning season, with then-manager
Harry Catterick
Harry Catterick (26 November 1919 – 9 March 1985) was an English football player and manager. As a player Catterick played for Everton and Crewe Alexandra, in a career that was interrupted by World War II, but he is most notable as a manager. ...
played by Colin Welland.
In the 2015 Rocky (film series), ''Rocky'' film ''Creed (film), Creed'', Goodison Park serves as the venue of the climactic fight scene. Footage of the stadium and crowd during a home game against West Bromwich Albion was used for the scene. Liverpool-born boxing champion Tony Bellew, a lifelong Everton fan, plays Creed's opponent and wore the Everton badge on his training gear and shorts.
Music
The club entered the UK singles chart on four occasions under different titles during the 1980s and 1990s, when many clubs each released a song to mark reaching the FA Cup Final. "The Boys in Blue", released in 1984, peaked at No. 82. The following year, the club scored its biggest hit when "Here We Go" peaked at No. 14. In 1986, Everton released "Everybody's Cheering the Blues", which reached No. 83. "All Together Now", a reworking of a song by Liverpool band The Farm (British band), The Farm, was released for the 1995 FA Cup Final and reached No. 27.
By the time the club reached the
2009 FA Cup Final, the tradition had largely been abandoned by all clubs and no song was released.
See also
Notes
References
Sources
*
*
*
External links
*
Everton News – Sky SportsEverton F.C. – Premierleague.com
{{Authority control
Everton F.C.,
1878 establishments in England
Association football clubs established in 1878
FA Cup winners
Football clubs in England
Football clubs in Liverpool
The Football League founder members
Former English Football League clubs
Premier League clubs
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup winning clubs