1996 was the light at the end of a long tunnel for Everton. The preceding year had brought the end of the cup drought (and the start of a worse one), but it had come amid a season of struggle – something which had become the norm. Joe Royle’s revolution came to fruition in the […]
There are more than a few iconic photographs from Everton’s history, ones which speak a thousand words. So above is a picture about which I will now write a thousand (or more) words. It is a scene that portrays adrenaline-fuelled ebullience at its purest; a joyous pile-on, with a beaming Tim Cahill punching the air. […]
Everton and Chelsea have taken part in some spectacular clashes in recent years. Only three of their last 35 meetings have finished goalless, and there have been some classics among the rest. A dramatic 3-2 Chelsea win at Goodison in 2006 and a 3-3 draw at Stamford Bridge three years later stand out. Tim Cahill’s […]
The list of players who have scored hat-tricks for Everton is voluminous and littered with famous names from across the Blues’ long history. Alex McKinnon, who claimed the first in October 1888. Dixie Dean – just the 37 hat-tricks for him. Pre-WWI hero Bobby Parker with the second-most trebles – seven. Tommy Lawton. Yakubu. Jack […]
In the 2004/05 season, Everton broke through the glass ceiling. David Moyes’ unfancied Toffees had finished fourth, ahead of Liverpool, and had defied the doubters – of which there were many. From being tipped for relegation by most bookies, punters and pundits in the summer of 2004, twelve months on Everton were ready for their […]
The game was entering the final minute of normal time, and David Moyes was incredulous. Everton, with the chance to go fourth, had contrived to lose. They had dominated the game, but the visitors, Tottenham Hotspur, had stood firm. What’s more, they had nabbed a goal, and were set to celebrate a smash-and-grab victory. The […]
Every football club has a ‘bogey team’. There is (at least) one side who cause a sense of impending dread when the time to play them rolls around again. A couple of years ago, the Telegraph crunched the numbers and worked out each of the Premier League clubs’ most feared opposition. Arsenal’s was Chelsea. Chelsea’s […]
Of all the sides Everton could potentially face in the third qualifying round of the Europa League, only one was a familiar sight. As it happens, it is SK Brann Bergen that Ronald Koeman’s Blues will face, if the Norwegian side are able to overcome MFK Ruzomberok. The class of 2017, bolstered by the likes […]
Romelu Lukaku scored a total of 87 Everton goals in his four years at the club. A number of them were matchwinners. But while the Manchester United forward’s maiden Blues goal was one, it was just one of many intriguing details in a topsy-turvy match best remembered for some Leighton Baines magic. West Ham was […]
David Moyes won 218 of his 518 games in charge of Everton – arguably, it was win number 100 that was his best. It was November 2007, and Sunderland had come to town looking for three important points in their relegation scrap. They left with their tails firmly between their legs, having been given an […]