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[Season Diary]

October 2003

If it happened and it was Everton-related, it's right here in the comprehensive Season Diary.
Items are in reverse chronological order (more recent first). 

Navigate to previous months and seasons using the links directly below:



 October 2003


News Headlines & Features


18th Birthday Bash
30 Oct - Colm Kavanagh comes out with full backing for David Moyes's stance over the razzmatazz surrounding Wayne Rooney's 18th birthday party at Aintree this weekend. The glitz and glamour provided by Paul Stretford's Pro-Active Sports Management agency — a suspect force in the game that Colm has no time for — is viewed as the main threat and pontentially fatal distraction from the bright future we all wish for our Wayne.

Linderoth heads Everton into Round 4
29 Oct - Everton are through to the 4th round thanks to a goal by Tobias Linderoth, his first for the Blues and the team's first for four matches, on 42 minutes. Wayne Rooney's left foot volley from a Tony Hibbert cross cannoned off the bar and the Swedish midfielder was on hand to stoop and head home from close range. It was no more than the Blues deserved after having the better attacking moments in the first 45 minutes during which Alex Nyarko received a great reception from the home faithful. The second half saw plenty of attacking by Charlton as they searched for an equaliser with Euell and Hreidarsson guilty of missing good chances. At the other end, Wayne Rooney fired a shot against the post and unfortunately put the rebound into the side-netting as Moyes's side threatened to pad their lead.

Ten Games, Ten Points
27 Oct - Saturday was Everton's third game in a row in which they failed to score — but Martyn did keep a clean sheet again, so that's a positive, eh?  But Nick Armitage suggests that there really is little to be encouraged about: this is relegation form.  It has been all season.  At least Moyes finally gave Rooney a full game, but the persistent failures in midfield effectively nullified that move. Just what can Moyes do to pull the team out of this stultifying torpor?

Moyes's Boys draw another blank
25 Oct - Birthday Boy Wayne Rooney was restored to the starting line-up alongside Kevin Campbell but while the 18 year-old had another poor game matched by the majority of his teammates, it was his strike partner who came closest to scoring in a dour game. Campbell planted a header against the crossbar midway through the first half and that was the Blues' best effort all afternoon. Villa also rattled the woodwork in the first half through Pete Whittingham. Moyes, as blinded by the Duncan Ferguson myth as his predecessor, threw the Big Yin on with 20-odd minutes to go but there was no further excitement despite a late flurry by both sides.

The Untinkable? No thanks!
24 Oct - Even in this era, it still takes a while for the news to get Downunder.  Although it is the Boy Wonder's birthday today, Andy McNabb adds his voice to those who believe that £35M would somehow benefit Everton for the loss of this fantastic young prodigy.  And all this comes despite repeated assurances again today from both Kenwright and Moyes that it ain't gonna happen.

Wright gets Reserves outing
22 Oct - Richard Wright played 90 minutes for Everton Reserves tonight as they earned a 1-1 draw in Solihul against Birmingham City.  Moyes's first-choice keeper has spent six weeks on the sidelines recovering from a knee injury sustained against Charlton.  A 35-yard thunderbolt by Alex Nyarko in front of the watching David Moyes earned a point after the home side had take a second half lead.

Dismal Everton are going nowhere
19 Oct - Everton returned to action after the International break but little has changed over the interval on the evidence of a poor goalless draw with Southampton who could easily have stolen all three points with better finishing. With Rooney, Ferguson and Radzinski all out, Campbell and Jeffers were reunited up front, and it was that pairing along with James McFadden that provided the few bright spots for the Blues.  Campbell fired wide in the first half after a trademark turn-and-shot and he, McFadden and Watson all had the ball in the net at different stages but all three "goals" were ruled out for infringments. McFadden had Everton's best chance of the second half, scewing a shot across goal before his manager had another bout of the Walter Smiths and withdrew him again for Kevin Kilbane. Match report by Lyndon Lloyd

Rhino
16 Oct - Picking up on the news that Everton are looking to give David Unsworth a contract extension, Nick Armitage takes a look at the characteristics of the rhinoceros family and concludes, sadly, that this one should probably be put out to forage for grass-shoots on the windy sandhills of Formby.

Second string battling West Brom
15 Oct - Leon Osman returned to the Reserve team line-up in Southport tonight, as Alan Irvine stands in as manager of the squad facing West Bromwich Albion.  Francis Jeffers and Li Tie started the game, making a shout for inclusion in Sunday's televised game against Southampton.  The Reserves started in style, when the Moogan cousins, Brian and Alan, combined well to give Everton the lead after just 6 mins.  The Baggies reponded strongly, and eventually equalized in the 53rd minute, after Chadwick had limped off with a hamstring injury.  Report from Steve Milne

Rooney to negotiate a new contract
14 Oct - Everton will start negotiations with Wayne Rooney (and his agent!) on a new five-year contract before Christmas.  Wayne truns 18 next week and the apparent restriction on long-term contracts goes away, so Bill Kenwright is looking to secure the services of his special Blue Boy for as long as he can.  And Kenwright added: "You never really hear of Wayne Rooney actually being sold to any club, because I think the world knows that he's a blue, he's an Evertonian and he's going nowhere." The words have been well marked....

CD Everton win promotion
13 Oct - Los Ruleteros, our Chilean Evertonian counterparts, are justifiably celebrating: CD Everton of Viña del Mar, have won promotion to Chile's Primera A Division, after 5 years in the B Division.  Despite going down 3-0 at home to the bottom club Lota Schwager in the first half, CD Everton ralied to win the game 5-3 and clinch promotion.

Naysmith on the Scots Blues
12 Oct - Gary Naysmith provides the Sunday Herald with some interesting perspectives on the burgeoning Scottish contingent at Goodison Park, and the Bellefield training ground, where youngsters like Rooney and McFadden currently use the second or juniors changing room.

Rooney starts for England
11 Oct - Wayne Rooney was named in the starting England XI for the critical pot-boiler in Istanbul.  He had and created a couple of good oppportunities in the first half, which featured an incredible penalty miss by Beckham.  The second half was more nerve-jangling for England but Rooney played well overall, coming off after 73 mins, as England held on for the draw they needed to qualify automatically for Portugal in 2004.

Rooney can handle it
10 Oct - Wayne Rooney is fully expected to start the crucial England game in Turkey on Saturday.  He can be assured that David Unsworth, a big fan, will be cheering him on.  Meanwhile, a rare print of Wayne Rooney in action (pictured), and signed by the Boy Wonder, is being put up for sale by its current owner, Gary Thomas. Send him an e.mail if you are interested.

Scapegoat In The Making
9 Oct - He may have been a little quiet for the last few weeks, but Colm Kavanagh has also been thinking about the recent and likely upcoming treatment of Wayne Rooney by our loveable media hacks, and needless to say, he is not without some apposite words on the subject. [Link is now fixed — Sorry!]

The mendacious media muppets
8 Oct - In today's ToffeeWeb feature, Everton fan John Coyne draws attention to the fact that the anticipated media backlash against Wayne Rooney has already started to take shape, following the Boy's silly outburst of frustration at White Hart Lane after he was thrown on late by David Moyes to chase a lost cause.

Chadwick: hit & miss
7 Oct - Nick Chadwick will be kicking himself after failing to score from two penalty decisions awarded Everton's way in an eventful reserves match against Manchester United at Haig Avenue tonight.  But on the flipside, Chadwick opened the scoring and then grabbed Everton's third on the hour mark, with Kevin Campbell slotting home in between against the high-profile opponents who lost their 'keeper to a red card for the second penalty.  But United ralied in the final quarter, scoring from the third penalty of the game, and then adding a second to give the Blues a nervous final run-in.  Francis Jeffers did not play, presumably because of continuing injury problems.

Sorry Everton lose all momentum
4 Oct - Proving that the 4-0 demolition of Leeds was just a flash in the pan, a two-minute spell of appalling defending allowed Tottenham to pad their lead out to 3-0 after Freddie Kanoute had sent the revived home side into the break a goal up with a 35-yard wonder strike on 43 minutes.  The second half wasn't even a minute old when Gus Poyet was given all the space he needed to glance home Spurs' second and then when David Unsworth (why was he playing, again?) dallied in front of goal, Robbie Keane robbed him before firing easily past Nigel Martyn.  Everton showed nothing up front — between a pondorous Ferguson, an ineffective Radzinski and an unfortunate Rooney they rarely looked capable of scoring. 
Reports by Lyndon Lloyd and Julian Cashen.

 

Snippets & Rumours


Cancelled China tour on for 2004
31 Oct - Buried at the bottom of this report on the AGM is a note that Everton hope to re-organise the tour of China that was cancelled after the SARS outbreak for next year. Don't hold your breath...! [ouch! — Ed]

No cheque-writing for Gregg
31 Oct - Newly re-elected Everton Director and business magnate Paul Gregg confirmed to Everton Shareholders that he won't be underwriting any new transfer deals for the Blues.

Schumacher gets Carlisle opportunity
31 Oct - Highly-rated 19 year-old midfielder Stephen Schumacher has been loaned out to Carlisle United in order to gain league experience as David Moyes grooms him for the Everton first team.

Official report on Everton AGM
30 Oct - Over 300 Everton Shareholders attended the AGM at Goodison on Thursday evening.  Sir Philip Carter responded to questions prepared by the Shareholders Association, before Keith Tamlin and Paul Gregg were re-elected to the Board of Directors.

Osman penalty earns Reserves draw
30 Oct - Leon Osman, who still can't get a game in the first team despite our pathetic midfield (let's hope now that he's fit he'll get a look-in), scored from the spot as a young Reserves team held Blackburn to a 1-1 draw. Read Steve Milne's report.

Wright to go under the knife again
30 Oct - Richard Wright will be sidelined again by further exploratory surgery on his injured knee. A previous operation revealed no visible damage but after resuming training the goalkeeper suffered a relapse and faces at least another 3 weeks out.

EFC — Annual General Meeting
30 Oct - The AGM for shareholders in Everton FC Co Ltd will be held at Goodison Park tonight.  A positive spin is already evident in the media, despite significant concerns over the Kings Dock fiasco, the transfer deadline-day dash, the lack of action on the new academy, and the perennial question: Where is the money going to come from?

Nyarko plays his part
30 Oct - The overall reaction to Alex Nyarko's reappearance in an Everton shirt was positive following the good perfromance he put in as part of a much improved Everton display against Charlton.

Cup Draw: Back to The Riverside
29 Oct - Everton have been drawn an away tie against Middlesbrough in the Carling League Cup 4th Round. The Blues lost 1-0 in the Premiership at The Riverside earlier this season.

Irvine sleights the fans
29 Oct - Commenting on Alex Nyarko's chances of playing tonight against Charlton, Alan Irvine made the unfortunate statement that "We have no grudge to bear with Alex anyway because we weren't here when it all happened."  No Alan... but we, the long-suffering fans, were here.  And we are still here, in case you hadn't noticed.

Radzinski on the mend
28 Oct - David Moyes is hopeful that Tomasz Radzinski will be fit to play a leading role in the Carling League Cup tie with Charlton on Wednesday.

Yobo will be missed
28 Oct - Joseph Yobo has been named in Nigeria's squad for the African Nations Cup, confirming the unwanted prospect of losing his services for up to six weeks in January and February of next year.

Pistone returns to Bellefield
27 Oct - Alessandro Pistone returned from having hernia surgery in Italy and expects to be playing for the Reserves within a couple of weeks.

Special away shirt up for grabs
27 Oct - The Everton Former Players Foundation (BlueBlood) have for auction a unique white away shirt as worn by a former player in the pre-match Old Boys game before the Colin Harvey Testomonial game against Bologna. The shirt was specially produced for the game. Proceeds go to charity number 1080101. Bid now.

Farewell to an lifeflong Evertonian
27 Oct - An Evertonian who played for the club during the Second World War and later served as a groundsman at Goodison Park, Sidney Simmons passed away on Saturday evening.  RIP.

Li Tie a boost for Kejian
27 Oct - This article from the BBC tells a lot about the business of Kejian's Everton sponsorship that revolves around Li Tie.

Nostalgia from Brian Viner
27 Oct - Brian Viner indulges in a touch of nostalgia, remembering the atmosphere surrounding Andy King's great derby-winning goal of 1978.

Heroes or Villains?
27 Oct - Our new columnist, Olly Wilkins ruminates over another less than inspiring game and wonders how David Moyes might go about changing things...

Watson knocked for six!
26 Oct - As if things weren't bad enough for the lacklustre Everton squad, Steve Watson will now be out of action for at least six weeks following a double hernia operation.  Osman?  Nyarko??  SOMEBODY!!!

Pascucci on the mark again
25 Oct - Young Italian hot-shot Patrizio Pascucci scored his third goal in as many games as the Everton U-19s beat Bolton Wanderers 2-0.

Rooney's birthday pictorial
24 Oct - A nice assembly of Rooney pictures (with the exception of a nasty red kopite's naked arse) from Sky Sports to celebrate the lad's coming of age.

Rooney's feet on the ground
24 Oct - The Official Everton website features some comments from birthday boy Wayne Rooney, showing that despite all the hype and nonsense written about him, the young man is a realist with his feet firmly on the ground. "I just get on with playing football. I'm not interested in anything else."

Happy Birthday, Wayne!
24 Oct - The Boy Wonder reaches the magic age of 18 and suddenly turns into a man! Queue a right gushing from our show-biz Vice-Chairman, Mr Bill Kenwright!

Steve Watson interview
23 Oct - It is rather Geordie-centric, but Steve Watson has earned the title of honourary Evertonian and so this interview is of interest.

Moyes still protecting Rooney
23 Oct - David Moyes talks again about the growing pressures facing Wayne Rooney on the eve of his young prodigy's 18th birthday, and describes some of the frustrations that may be affecting the lad's game so far this season. Not that we should question Moyes's judgement, but having to watch crap football from the bench, and getting just half-an-hour on the field when we are 3 down can't be the most calming experience for him, surely?  Will Roondog start the game on Saturday at Villa Park... or will he be suffering a hangover???

Everton unveil Cblue
23 Oct - Everton announced the launch of Cblue, a unique new Corporate supporters' club, at the home game against Southampton at the weekend.

Back to full strength up front
23 Oct - David Moyes will have his full complement of strikers to choose from against Aston Villa following the return to fitness of Tomasz Radzinski and Duncan Ferguson, but James McFadden faces a race to overcome a foot injury in time.

Moyes on Rooney, drugs and Goodison
22 Oct - In an interview by phone with Big Soccer Radio in the US, David Moyes gave his thoughts on a variety of topics, including Wayne Rooney. He suggested that there is an amount that would tempt the club to sell the Wunderkind  but that only Chelsea have that kind of money!

Player of the Month: September
22 Oct - A little belatedly, we invite you to cast your vote for September's Player of the Month. Click here to take part.

Moyes wants clubs to do tests
21 Oct - David Moyes maintains that clubs should have the power to perform random drug and alcohol tests on their own players.

Pascucci scores again
21 Oct - Patrice Pascucci was on the scoresheet again at the weekend, this time for Everton's Under-19s in the FA Academy Youth League.  Click the link to read Steve Milne's report.

Carsley joins the injury list
20 Oct - Lee Carsley suffered knee ligament damage in the clash that caused his substitution against Southampton; he could be out for a month.

Niclas Alexandersson returns
20 Oct - Niclas Alexandersson chose not to extend his one-month loan deal at West Ham for personal reasons, and has returned to Everton.

The Honeymoon is long over
20 Oct - In his second weekly column, Olly Wilkins expresses some well-founded concerns after witnessing Everton's dire performance against Southampton, but direct criticism of David Moyes remains muted.

The Ferguson moneygoround
19 Oct - This article from today's Sunday Times  focuses heavily on Duncan Ferguson's money, as wel as the usual litany of old stories the Big Yin.

Moyes defends Rooney against all comers
18 Oct - This article in The Independent  summarizes the tensions and dilemmas that David Moyes must deal with as he strives to manage all the conflicting forces tugging at his young prodigy: Wayne Rooney.

SFA drop McFadden nonsense
17 Oct - The Scottish FA have shown some belated wisdom (maybe they've finally twigged?) and said they will not be doing anything about the Shirty McFadden Affair.

This Bud's for us
16 Oct - Everton have agreed a sponsorship deal with American brewing conglomerate Anheuser-Busch that makes Budweiser (a name they stole from the Czech original ) the Club's "Official" beer.

Stubbs's injury not that bad
16 Oct - Alan Stubbs may force himself into contention for Sunday's game against Southampton after recovering rapidly from a groin strain.

Gazza in training with Wolves
16 Oct - No doubt petrified of what he will do with his life after football is no longer a viable proposition, Paul Gascoigne strives to stay in the game...

The Sun starts the Chelski bidding
16 Oct - Chelsea have been talking to Rooney's people preparing for a £35M bid in January, so says The Sun, in a story denied by ProActive Sports Management as pure fabrication.  No surprise there, then, but no doubt a foretaste of what we can expect over the next three months, though we can rest assured of Bill Kenwright's pledge: He will never sell Rooney.

Unsworth next for contract talks
15 Oct - It's all go for the Everton legal team as another contract negotiation gets under way, this time with David Unsworth.  Strange, when many fans believe we have seen the best of Dave, and he is starting to look more like a liability than an asset... Maybe he's being given a pay-cut!

Poor old Len — out of touch again
15 Oct - Len Capeling blathers on about the role Wayne Rooney will play in Sunday's upcoming game against Southampton.  I wonder if anyone will get around to telling him that Wayne won't be playing any part in this one — he's suspended!

Osman gets a new contract
15 Oct - Everton have given Leon Osman a new 12-month contract, extending to the end of next season.  Hopefully this is an expression of faith in the lad's Everton future, and not just a mechanism for securing a larger fee when he eventually leaves...

The Evertonian - out now
14 Oct - Vastly improved since it changed format from tabloid tat to a glossy high-quality magazine, this month's Evertonian  looks ahead to Wayne Rooney's 18th birthday, and features a look bak to the heyday of Bernie Wright.

A lesson in officious stupidity
14 Oct - Don't you just love how the powers that be seem to revel in their own officious stupidity?  James McFadden is now the target of police and security firm criticism for having the gall to question establishment wisdom and risk onrushing crowds through the reckless and provocative act of trying to give his Scotland shirt to wheelchair-bound Motherwell fan, Stephen Reside, aged 9, who suffers from cerebral palsy. 

Ferguson hit by virus
14 Oct - David Moyes could be without Duncan Ferguson as well as suspended Wayne Rooney for Sunday's match-up with Southampton as the big Scot is not training this week because of a chest infection.

Turner earns improved contract
14 Oct - Everton's promising young goalkeeper, Iain Turner, has had his progress rewarded with an improved contract. Boss David Moyes explained that the club felt his existing deal "wasn't good enough".

Rumble in the Tunnel
13 Oct - Hopefully we won't be hearing too much more (from Uefa!) about Wayne Rooney's involvement in the half-time rumpus outside the changing rooms in Turkey after Alpay had been goading Beckham following his penalty miss.

Sad memories for Billy Kenny
12 Oct - In a reminder of how easily great football talent can go to waste, Billy Kenny recounts in the Sunday Times  his fall to temptations of drink and cocaine that ruined his promising Everton career.

More accolades for McFadden
12 Oct - Another determined performance for Scotland by Jamie McFadden has been applauded by one of this teammates, Stevie Crawford.

Other International Evertonians
11 Oct - In the Euro 2004 Qualifiers, Gary Naysmith and Jamie McFadden are in Scotland's starting line-up facing Lithuania; Kevin Kilbane starts for Ireland in Switzerland, with Carsley on the bench; Thomas Gravesen will play for Denmark in Sarajevo; and Tobias Linderoth is on the bench for Sweden who are a goal down at home to Latvia.  Tomasz Radzinski is in Finland playing in a friendly for Canada.

EFC Finances in better shape
10 Oct - Everton's Annual Report to shareholders will show an operating profit of £5.6M against an £11M loss the previous year. More TV and gate money are given is the main reasons for the improvement.

Injuries hit the defence
9 Oct - Allesandro Pistone and Alan Stubbs are both being ruled out of action for the next month with hernia / groin strain problems, respectively.

School of Science
9 Oct - A new book detailing the 125-year history of Everton, and written by one-time fanzine editor James Corbett is due to be published on 20 October, copying the somewhat unoriginal title of Mark Platt's 1996 book, School of Science.

New Anfield not for sharing
8 Oct - Plans submitted for the Reds' new Anfield stadium would appear to shut the door on any further nonsense about stadium sharing .

Reserves play Man Utd
7 Oct - Everton Reserves play Manchester United at Southport tonight, with the Liverpool Echo  claiming that Kevin Campbell and Francis Jeffers will be reunited in attack.

Groin strain for Ferguson
6 Oct - Duncan Ferguson and Alan Stubbs are both suffering groin strains after Saturday's game at Spurs.

A Week in Blue
6 Oct - In what we hope will become a regular column on ToffeeWeb, Olly Wilkins looks back over the dismal events of the weekend.

Worst performance of the season
5 Oct - At least David Moyes was watching and pulls no punches in a cutting assessment of his players' performance yesterday.  Let's hope he has some way of turning this into motivation for the Southampton game...

5th Yellow gets Rooney Suspended
4 Oct - Another stupid yellow card for talking back at the ref after some over-exuberant tackling by the young star now means Wayne Rooney will miss the Southampton game.

Marine 0 - 2 Everton XI
3 Oct - An Everton XI comprised of reserves and Academy players advanced to the final of last season's (!) Liverpool Senior Cup following a 2-0 win at Rossett Park last night, with goals from Paul Hopkins and Michael Symes.  Click the link for the team line-up and a brief report from Steve Milne.

Spurs game on telly overseas
2 Oct - Displaced Evertonians in foriegn parts will have another opportunity to watch Everton on TV this weekend, with the visit to Spurs being carried on Canal+ Zap in Europe, SuperSport 5 in South Africa, and on Fox Sports World in the USA, where it will be tape-delayed until 4pm EDT/1pmPDT.

Not playing to his heed
1 Oct - David Moyes has made it clear he does not want Everton playing the long-ball game whenever Duncan Ferguson is in the team.

Media stoke Rooney fires
1 Oct - The media are intruding once again into decisions over when Rooney should play for his Club.  Let's leave it to Mr Moyes, please; he knows best.

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