Contributions from our editorial team, featured columnists and readers.
Hunter Hart served Everton with distinction on the field in the 1920s and behind a desk in the 1930s but, unfortunately, his association with the club he loved was to end prematurely, as was his life.
Ronald Koeman's primary objective this summer should be to keep hold of the forward, and restructure the squad around him.
Ozan Tufan isn't exactly a household name in European football just yet... but he will be. The Turkey international has attracted plenty of attention in the transfer window from a number of Premier League clubs but the Toffees may be about to pip the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur to the Fenerbahce man.
While it would have been nice to see either or both of the Blues' young Englishmen excel on the world stage, they were better off having played no part in Hodgson's mess.
“Nothing will be the same†is the promise of Everton's latest marketing slogan. By happy accident rather than clairvoyant design, it has turned out to be remarkably prescient as the promise of the Farhad Moshiri era begins to flower with the arrival of Ronald Koeman.
Now 28 but with just 38 league starts in four-and-a-half years, Darron Gibson's new two-year deal represents his last chance to make his name at Everton.
Despite being tipped as a future Barcelona or Arsenal boss, Ronald Koeman has been described as one of the most underrated managers in Europe. As he stands on the brink of replacing Roberto Martinez at Everton, is he finally ready to fulfil that rich promise at the top level?
There's a fair bit of restlessness creeping into the collective Evertonian psyche as June approaches with no hint if a managerial appointment to replace Roberto Martinez but the magnitude and importance of the decision mean that the club is right to take their time.
The departing Ajax boss is among the leading candidates to replace Martinez this summer. Four Dutch titles earned him a stellar reputation but has he sullied it over the past two years?
The Belgian's publicly declaration that he has "made his decision" over his future reek of arrogance and are disrespectful to Everton and the fans.
Unai Emery is the latest big name to be linked with the Everton job. He has a history of stabilising and improving struggling teams and has now won the Europa League three times in succession. Would he be a gamble or just the ticket to turn the Blues around?
David Unsworth's team blended of youth and experience and exhibited welcome tempo and tenacity as they ended 2015-16 on a real high with a 3-0 win over Norwich.
McCarthy opened the scoring for a vibrant and revitalized Everton side, Baines adding a perfectly taken penalty, Mirallas pilfering the third.
The chop when it finally came was painfully overdue but there can't be an Evertonian left who didn't feel that by the end, it was the only merciful thing to do to relieve Roberto Martinez of his managerial duties before the final home game with Norwich City.
A story where one of the most famous games in Everton's history, the FA Cup Final of 1966 when Everton beat Sheffield Wednesday 3-2, was just a part.
A conservative approach in finding Roberto Martinez's successor is the wrong one. Everton need someone to motivate the squad and enliven a fanbase that's been dulled by the multitude of galling moments in recent years.
An account from the unveiling of a gravestone commissioned by the Everton Heritage society to honour Jeremiah (“Jerryâ€) Kelly, a member of Everton's championship winning team of 1927-28.
The new Premier League Champions in full party mode, with Everton somewhat reluctant guests at the big party, Vardy scoring after 5 mins, King adding another, and a dubious penalty converted by Vardy before he smashed another spot-kick over the bar. Mirallas scored Everton's consolation.
For the second away game in succession, Everton were shockingly inept, gutless and directionless. The Blues not only formed the guard of honour for the new Champions, they pretty much lay down and became the blue carpet over which Claudio Ranieri's men trampled towards lifting the trophy.
Roberto Martinez's utopian vision is wholly at odds with Everton's dystopian present
An article not intended to either praise or condemn John Houlding for the role he played in the decision made by Everton Football Club to move away from Anfield but an effort to try and throw some light on this “larger than life character†who played a big part in the establishing the game of Association Football in his home town of Liverpool.
Everton scored early through Cleverley but almost immediately surrendered the lead in a fashion that was typical of the season; Baines eventually restoring the lead.
The Catalan breezed into Everton on a wave of positivity and with an identifiable plan to take the club back to the top. Three years on, he has sadly lost his way and much of the belief in this vision from the players and fans is long gone.
With a second successive season of failure about to be consigned to the history books, Roberto Martinez's future at Everton is squarely under the microscope. A look at some potential candidates whom the club could look at if he is dismissed in the coming weeks.
By his own admission, football is a results-based business. The Catalan's horribilis sabbati should be his final curtain call.
Fellaini scored, De Gea saved Lukaku's penalty before Deulofeu forced a Smalling own goal. Everton fought well but couldn't stop Martial scoring in added time.
Roberto Martinez promised to make Evertonians proud before the Merseyside derby. Instead, Blues fans were served up utter humilation in the worst arena possible, his Everton side disgraced at the home of rivals Liverpool.
The strange story of how Daniel Amokachi decided to come on as sub for Paul Rideout in the 1995 FA Cup Semi-Final, where he went on to score two fantastic break-away goals that secured Everton's place in the Final, and went on to beat Manchester United.
Everton's aimless drift towards Roberto Martinez's latest date with destiny continues after much of his second string served up 90 abject minutes of directionless football that was somehow enough to earn a point.
A decent enough point in the context of Everton's poor run of form but the search for pre-Wembley momentum goes on.
The ingredients for success in cup football are a few shades removed from what's required to thrive in the domestic, week-to-week grind of the Premier League and it's on the latter score that the manager has struggled for two seasons.
Hardly an inspiring warm-up for a possible reunion in the FA Cup Final. For long periods, it was an untidy and uninspiring tussle between two teams drifting in mid-table.
McCarthy pilfered a goal but a needless corner was turned in by Watford, and Lukaku fluffed a chance to win it at the end.
Why romantic comparisons between the present and Howard Kendall's transformative third full season in charge are misleading and an FA Cup triumph shouldn't buy Roberto Martinez more time unless it's accompanied by huge improvement over the last eight League games.
Do Everton have to now become accustomed to the fact that they will probably have to say goodbye to the their stand-out star of the current season and, if so, whom should the club target as his replacement?
A unconvincing Everton display ended in a barely warranted win for the home side, with Jagielka denied by the crossbar and De Gea.
On the evidence of this third straight League defeat, Roberto Martinez's Everton are a shadow of the side that ended a 21-year winless run at Old Trafford in December 2013.
In May 50 years ago Everton celebrated one of the greatest days in the club's history with a thrilling win at Wembley in the 1966 FA Cup Final.
Another international break, another problematic media interview involving one of Everton's Belgian contingent. Are the paving stones being laid for Romelu Lukaku's painful exit from Goodison Park or can the striker be persuaded to stay?
The current Everton manager's record may not be anywhere near as bad as his predecessor but there are some disappointing similarities between the two men.
If the 21-year-old can recapture the form that made him the most sought-after young defender in the country, he could improve Martinez's struggling team.
Everton hit a new low in a season littered with painful home defeats with a comprehensive 2-0 reverse at the hands of Arsenal.
A bright Everton start is snuffed out by an early Arsenal goal from Welbeck.
Two cup semi-finals and the chance of finishing in the top eight with a strong end to the Premier League season suggests that Everton's 2015-16 season might not end up being so bad.
Paul Traill attended the Everton's exclusive unveiling of the new season ticket video, Nothing Will Be The Same at FACT Liverpool
The covetous eyes of the biggest clubs from the Premier League and Europe will be on Romelu Lukaku this summer but if Everton have no imperative to sell, perhaps only the whims of the Belgian himself could see him leave Goodison Park.
The Belgian produced a moment of brilliance and followed it up with a second well-taken goal fire the Blues to a semi-final date at Wembley.
Two tremendous goals from Romelu Lukaku preceded a well earned red card for Diego Costa as Chelsea finally imploded.
Making the case for the beleaguered Blues boss and what he is trying to achieve with the best Everton squad in a generation.
Fifty-six years to the day before our 12 March 2016 FA Cup tie with Chelsea, Everton took on the Londoners at Goodison Park in the First Division and thumped them for six.
The Peter Johnson episode in Everton's history offers a cautionary tale. Everything Farhad Moshiri represents, Johnson once did too. In relative terms, he was every bit as ‘messiah-like’. Is cautious optimism the best the club can expect from supporters as inured to hope as we can be?
Discussing the post-mortem of sorts that has followed the 3-2 defeat to West Ham on Saturday.
Roberto Martinez needs to look closer to home to amend some clear systemic problems that are producing games like Saturday's defeat.
Galled by a naive substitution in the home defeat to West Ham and troubled by his blaming of Romelu Lukaku's missed penalty for the resulting pendulum shift, the writer and lifelong Blue asks the manager to look into his soul to discover if he is a man of humility
Lukaku opened the scoring but Mirallas saw red, yet Lennon got a second but Lukaku missed a penalty and the Hammers scored three to win it.
It was Groundhog Day at Goodison Park – again – as Everton threw away another two-goal advantage and lost 3-2 to West Ham.
Everton never really got going but still beat the struggling Midlanders convincingly behind goals by Funes Mori, Lennon and Lukaku
As with any new chapter in the clubÂ’s history, Farhad Moshiri's investment in Everton is a step into the unknown that requires faith and patience but it could mark a turning point at the club in all the right ways.
He's the homegrown talent who is shrugging off a disappointing second full season in the Premier League and emerging as a bona fide star in Everton's promising attacking team. Ross Barkley is the jewel in the Goodison crown.
The story behind the very first Merseyside derby that took place in 1894, two years after the schism that saw Everton leave Anfield for Goodison Park, and Tam McInnes who scored the first goal between the two clubs.
The Belgian is a special talent and while heÂ’s already one of the finest goalscorers in the English game, the potential is there for him to become so much more.
Robles saves a first-half penalty. After the break, Barkley scored a deflected goal, then Lukaku sealed a 6th Round berth from a corner.
Everton redeemed themselves to a large degree for November's capitulation on Bournemouth's turf in the Premier League with a 2-0 win and passage to the FA Cup Quarter Finals.
Roberto Martinez has been relying increasingly on bad luck as the explanation for a season of stark under-achievement build but there is only so far that that crutch will take him as the inquests into his team's failings build.
Having fine young players isnÂ’t inextricably linked to success at this level; footballers need to be guided, organised, nurtured and motivated. While Tottenham and Leicester are showing the way, that process doesnÂ’t seem to be in motion at Everton.
West Brom go ahead off a corner looping in at the far post, Blues unable to penetrate in 80 minutes of resolute defending
Ahead a tribute evening dedicated to Derek Temple, Dr Everton recounts his most vivid recollections of Everton's hero of the 1966 FA Cup Final and vital part of the Toffees' 1960s side in general.
Everton atoned for the two prior meetings with Stoke and took another step back towards the right area of the Premier League table.
A quick break created by a brilliant Barkley back heel set Cleverley off and he won a soft penalty off Butland, Lukaku converting from the spot. This was fooled by a superb header from Coleman off a great Cleverley corner before the half-hour. Lennon the scoreda superb solo goal to put the Blues 3 up at the break.
If Roberto Martinez continues to set Everton up in the style which worked so effectively against Stoke City, then the the swell of angst against him in recent weeks will quickly dissipate.
Was Bill Kenwright's hope of achieving success by replacing the more pragmatic David Moyes with the more buccaneering Roberto Martinez been in vain?
It's galling to hear Martinez flatly deny that Everton are under-achieving this season and to insist that it's impossible to expect them to achieve at all given how "new" the team is. Because, by almost all measurement, they are under-achieving and have been for the last 18 months.
Everton's hopes of ending a 21-year trophy drought were extinguished by Manchester City in controversial and yet predictable fashion at the Etihad Stadium leaving Roberto Martinez's hopes for redemption resting on the FA Cup.
More frustration and disappointment this season suggests that lessons are not being learned under Roberto Martinez.
Ultimately, the type of football on show will be mirrored in the fanbase and at the moment the fans have a right to be unhappy as the Toffees are languishing in 12th position in the Premier League.
Everton have slipped into reverse under Roberto Martinez who must surely be on borrowed time where it comes to convincing the fanbase that he is capable of evolving away from the approach that scuttled Wigan.
Besic hit the post then went off with a hamstring injury. A horrible back-pass from Stones led to Howard conceding a ridiculous penalty, converted by Sigurdsson. But smart work by Barry off a corner gave Everton a somewhat undeserved equalizer. But Ayew fired Swansea ahead with a deflected shot off Stones. Everton were better in the second half but could not finish.
As long as mental frailties continue to blemish performances, Everton will continue to falter. Given the shelf life of this side, potentially very short if European juggernauts come calling in the the summer, itÂ’s imperative a consistent defensive focus is discovered.
After an even first half, two goals came thanks to brilliant crosses from Leighton Baines, the first converted inadvertently by Terry, the second a superb volley on the turn from Mirallas. But a dreadful mix-up between Howard and Jagielka let Chelsea back in, and they were soon level off a deflection. After resisting further onslaught, Funes Mori put Everton back into the lead in the 91st minute, only for Terry to steal a draw in the 8th minute of added time.
Everton came within seconds of a season-igniting victory at Stamford Bridge but were denied by horrendous officiating that will ensure that what was already an extraordinary game of football will live long in the memory.
In conversation with Dr Everton's better half, Elizabeth France, about Bill Kenwright, his legacy and the future of the club.
A result that will probably prove more useful in terms of psychology for the second leg of the Capital One Cup than Everton's derailed charge for the top four but a hugely creditable draw nonetheless.
Everton have been playing some exciting football all season, but the team arenÂ’t getting the results needed as consistently as they should. Poor defending is letting the team down but Roberto Martinez has said he will not dip into the transfer market this winter, but is this a big mistake?
Ross Barkley's Everton career is back on track after a difficult second season in 2014-15 but he continues to attract criticism from some supporters who are frustrated with the Blues' lack of progress overall.
The story of the man who scored the first goals for Everton in the Football League.
Everton were totally outplayed in the first half but somehow scored a fantastic opening goal with their first real attack, Lennon firing in a superb half-volley past Lloris. After hitting the woodwork twice, Route One finally paid off for Spurs, Dele Alli smashing in a fantastic long ball from Alderweireld before the break. Incredibly, no more goals despite a fantastic second half.
Everton stopped the rot after successive home defeats to Leicester and Stoke but they still couldn't hold onto a winning position.
ThereÂ’s a sense that support for MartinezÂ’s utopian vision has seeped away lately and unless some uncharacteristically decisive action is taken in the weeks to come, the swell against the manager will only gather more momentum.
If the Bournemouth draw bore the hallmarks of the kind of result that Martinez might have referred back to at the end of the season as a psychological blow from which his players never recovered, the manner in which his charges won this game will hopefully feel like redemption and a new lease on life in terms of morale.
The manager's suspect game-management and the continuing softness of his back line contributed to another three points being swept away in a torrent of goals.
The story of Jack Angus and the events of Christmas 1888 when the then20-year-old Scot made his debut for Everton.
Everton are far too nice at this juncture and if this team is to progress as we all hope it does, Martinez and his players must show some backbone.
Peace on earth, goodwill to all men does not extend to gifting goals to the opposition. Please try to remember that as you make your team selections in the coming weeks.
The Blues dominated play but Funes Mori got caught out and Mahrez converted from the spot. Everton replied with a fine goal for Lukaku after Barkley's shot was cleared off the line. But another penalty came for the Foxes in the second half, despite Everton dominance, and a third goal by Okasaki sealed it, despite Mirallas's late consolation.
It was billed as a battle between two of the Premier LeagueÂ’s most dangerous attacking partnerships but the Jamie Vardy-Riyah Mahrez double-act came out on top, as did Leicester who deepened the demoralisation in the blue half of Merseyside by plundering all three points.
His name in Catalan translates to "God made him" and you'd be hard-pressed to find an Evertonian who disagrees. Gerard Deulofeu is creating magic this season in his adopted home and is transforming Everton's prospects.
Recent results where Everton have thrown away vital points have shown that changes in approach are needed lest a chance to capitalise in a wide open Premier League passes the Blues by.
The Blues' window of opportunity in an unpredictable Premier League season narrowed further with two more points frittered away from a winning position.
Everton made only one change, with Leighton Baines returning at the expense of Brendan Galloway. A brilliant cross from Deulofeu saw Lukaku head in superbly at the far post on 15 mins but there should have been at least five more before the break, and Norwich predictably drew level immediately after the break, denying The Blues another two points.
EvertonÂ’s style has gone from bereft of impetus to breathless. ItÂ’s not perfect, as was evident against Palace; thereÂ’s clear progress to be made which makes it a little easier to look beyond frustrating results and at the bigger picture.
Sixth place and a berth just two points behind the top five beckoned if the Blues could fashion a win. Instead, frowned upon by Lady Luck up front, they found themselves forced to chase a game again after falling behind.
A tight and highly competitive game, tremendous attacking from Everton throughout, hitting the woodwork three times, but vulnerability on corners saw Dann power home a header to give Palace the lead. Everton replied minutes later when Lukaku finally converted one of many Deulofeu crosses.
Everton's young attacking side had been thrilling supporters in recent weeks but a lack of leadership and communication was exposed at Bournemouth in the 3-3 draw.
After a difficult start Everton scored their first goal from a set-piece, an excellent header from Ramiro Funes Mori. Then, a brilliant strike from Lukaku off a great ball from Deulofeu. Bournemouth pulled one back and then equalized in a poor second half for Everton. Barkley got what looked to be the winner in stoppage time, but Stanislas powered in another equaliser in the 98th minute.
Tracing the location where Everton FC briefly played their football off Priory Road in Anfield between 1883 and 1884.
A result that represents another surefire sign that this is a young team and a young manager who have recognised their errors and are slowly starting to set them right.
The Goodison faithful were left toasting another sumptuous exhibition of attacking football and three important points to kick off what the manager has identified as a dozen crucial games in Everton's season.
On 16 mins, a very fluid move from deep saw a shot from Deulofeu, parried by Guzan and tapped in at the far post by Barkley for a very nice opening goal. Lukaku casually nodded home Coleman's perfect pulled-back cross to make it 2-0 before the half-hour, and Barkley snapped up his second before the break. The best goal came on the hour mark, Lukaku finishing a superb passing move.
Tony Kay, a member of Everton's glorious 1962-63 Championship-winning side, responds to a recent article in the Liverpool Echo in which allegations made by Albert Dunlop about substance abuse in that team were republished.
The Blues struggled to find at extra gear to lift themselves above West Ham once the Hammers had lost their chief inspiration in Dimitri Payet,
Orchestrated magnificently in midfield by Gareth Barry – on any other day he would have been a shoo-in for player of the match – aided by the greater license to get afforded to McCarthy and then executed by a forward line of Deulofeu, Kone and Lukaku that was simply irresistable at times, it was an attacking exhibition to savour.
Deulofeu was the first to strike after being released by a great ball from Kone, who then finished with an excellent strike after a nice one-two with Lukaku. Defoe pulled one back on the stroke of half-time. Sunderland got level off a crossed header that Howard failed to move for, but Deulofeu forced an own-goal to restore the Everton lead, soon followed by Lukaku then two more from Kone to complete his hat-trick.
As with any cup game, the important thing is to get through, sometimes by whatever means are necessary. On this occasion, that meant relying on a goalkeeper seizing his chance to shine and finding enough impetus from the substitutes to find a route back into the match.
We had a grandstand finish but a goal would not come for either side so once again we leave Arsenal without a win yet again.
Everton were better than last week but they still had Howard in goal and two unclaimed crosses meant two goals in two minutes before the break. A deflected goal off a determined strike from Barkley kept the Blues in with a chance but they couldn't do it despite a somewhat better second-half display.
A result that carried a depressing air of inevitability about it as Everton were punished for slack defending, indecisive goalkeeping and a continuing inability to put together two halves of decent football in the same game.
He may have left us but the legacy of Howard Kendall's transcendent and unmatched achievements at Everton Football Club as a player and manager will forever endure.
Rob Sawyer in conversation with the Goodison folk hero who etched his name into Everton's history books with 138 goals in a seven-year spell, 30 of them in one memorable 1977-78 season.
An extract from Talking Blue, the 2000 book that answers all those nagging questions that have bothered Evertonians for years in the most candid and forthright collection of interviews ever given by the royal blue heroes of past and present, like Howard Kendall.
A eulogy to mark the passing of a true Goodison great from a man who got to know the real Howard Kendall as they worked on his 2013 autobiography.
Dr Everton in tribute to a legendary Everton player and the club's most successful manager, Howard Kendall.
Everton were boosted by the return from injury of Seamus Coleman and John Stones but gave up the first goal all too easily off a poorly defended corner inside 20 minutes. It got a lot worse 4 mins later, Herrera heading easily past Howard. Everton responded well after the break until a Jags gift was pounced on and Rooney fired in United's third.
Kevin Mirallas's best year at Everton thus far coincided with Martinez's first season. 2015-16 is already bearing similarities but to date the Belgian has played a mere bit-part. Can he re-find his form?
Evertonian eyes will naturally focus on what this result means in terms of a reality check on the Blues' resurgence but the level of performance put in by Louis Van Gaal's men went a long way to influencing Everton's own dismal showing.
Everton 1 - 1 Liverpool: Naismith and McCarthy were denied by great saves from Mignolet. Ings scored easily from a corner but Lukaku lashed home a loose ball before the break. The second half was a damp squib.
Another derby, another draw; honours even and bragging rights postponed for another day.
Everton complete a memorable recovery at The Hawthorns, fighting back from 2-0 down to win 3-2 and move up to fifth in the table after seven games.
22 September 2015 marks the 50th anniversary of the death of Ian Buchan who, oversaw Everton's first team for a shade over two seasons. Often overlooked, his posthumous pen portraits have been cursory. So who was Ian Buchan?
To coincide with the release of Bob Latchford's autobiography, the incomparable Mrs France offers some memories of the legendary striker who lit up a decade that was "an incredible adventure of disappointment and elation."
An almost perfect away performance by the Blues was let down by Romelu Lukaku's lack of conviction in front of goal
Steven Naismith could not reproduce his Chelsea form despite getting a rare start, and Lukaku had a poor display as the main striker. Total Everton dominance was rewarded only with a rather silly red card for late sub Kevin Mirallas.
Besic was forced off after a tough challenge at the start, Naismith replacing him. And almost his first involvement was to score a brilliant header after playing the ball out to Galloway for a top class cross. He then made it 2-0 with an excellent low shot from distance. Matic got one back when given too much space. Chelsea fought to get back into the game but it was sewn up with a tremendous hat-trick goal from Naismith.
The loan window for Football League clubs is now open and it could be the ideal time for some of EvertonÂ’s youngsters to head out for first-team experience.
Steven Naismith's hat-trick capped an excellent home performance against the reigning Premier League Champions
Everton's summer transfer window promised much but even though the club spent over £18m, in the absence of either Roberto Martinez's much-vaunted "No.10" or a marquee creative signing to transform attacking midfield it doesn't feel as though the squad has enough to support a top-four challenge.
With a bit more adventure, more cohesion in the final third and that elusive play-maker already embedded in the side, Everton might be sitting in a more favourable position heading into the first international break of the 2015-16 season.
Decisive half-time changes eventually turned this Capital One Cup second round tie in Everton's favour as Gerard Deulofeu and Ross Barkley provided the catalyst.
City were superior but also fortunate and the margins on the day in front of of the respective goals were slim. Sometimes fortune favours the brave but Martinez played it frustratingly safe.
An unchanged Everton line-up were overawed by a confident Manchester City, Lukaku scoring a good goal that was given marginally (wrongly?) offside. He also clipped the bar with a late free-kick. Kolarov finally beat Howard at the near post, with Nasri chipping Howard easily to secure the points.
Accepting a ten-fold profit on a player snapped up for £3million may make sense to some, but Everton are still able to hold their own among the elite and are focused on the present but building for the future.
Part II of an in-depth look into the life of a man who was Everton's first manager in the modern sense of the word.
Four points from two games; so we are two better off than this stage last season. It was heartening the way we played today but of course to get where we would like to be we will need todayÂ’s attitude and level on a consistent basis. If we do get the two players and of the class that the manager is talking about, then our outlook for the season will surely seem brighter.
Looking ahead to Southampton following the acquisition this week of Mason Holgate from Barnsley
What a difference a week makes. Few Evertonians would have expected what unfolded on the south coast today but the travelling Blues were treated to an excellent display a handsome 3-0 win over highly-fancied Southampton.
One game doesn't make a season but this one certainly perpetuated a trend firmly established last season, one which clearly illustrated the priorities for the summer. Fail to find those missing pieces and, on the evidence of today, you feel that Everton are doomed to another season of mediocrity.
After the early exchanges, it was Watford who took the lead when a cross set up nicely off Jagielka for Layun to fire in. Barkley lashed home a fantastic equalizer after sustained second-half pressure. But Watford snatched a second in a rare foray, Kone replying straight away with a great finish to snatch a point.
"IÂ’m no Happy Jack, but IÂ’d rather live and die trying than just fade away but IÂ’ll probably just get fooled again as this is one love thatÂ’ is for keeping."
Previewing Everton's 2015-16 Premier League campaign, one that promises to be a challenging but defining one for Roberto Martinez on whom the jury remains out after two contrasting seasons.
The vagaries of the opening day; very often the performance or even the result doesnÂ’t necessarily herald the dawn of a glorious new era or end the hopes of an entire season.
Paul was at Elland Road to see a young side beaten 2-0 by Leeds.
Paul Traill attends a round-table interview with Duncan Ferguson ahead of his testimonial on Sunday when Everton will host Villarreal in the final pre-season friendly
Everton
Rob Sawyer in conversation with the last Everton captain to lift a trophy and one of the few Toffeemen for whom the title "legend" is irrefutably apt.
As the giant roof goes up on our neighbours' new main stand and further highlights the demise of our own football club, it's perhaps worth trying to catalogue the culture of failure on Everton's part when it comes to the stadium.
What goes around comes around. (Perhaps it might come around again...) I used to think of us in terms of a sleeping giant. Comatose is now probably more accurate. Perhaps the footballing gods have written ‘Do not Resuscitate’ on the wall chart and we just can’t see it.
Chelsea have played their first card in what will probably a summer-long game over John Stones but if Everton harbour any ambitions of challenging for the top four again, then the club simply has to hold onto him unless Roman Abramovich offers silly money.
Everton kicked off the Barclays Asia Trophy against Stoke City with a goalless draw but won the exhibition game with a perfect record from the spot in the shootout. Phil Jagielka hammered home the winning kick after Tim Howard had saved from Marco van Ginkel.
The only (long-term) way forward is to develop your own youth and try to sign up young prospects. We know that Martinez is very keen on developing young players and has done so at previous clubs. So, maybe this is his real underlying strategy for getting us to "the next level".
The story of Thomas Norse, selected for three Everton reserve games in the spring of 1903 and another candidate for the roll of honour of the Everton players who died in the two World Wars.
Pre-season was an exercise in fitness and opportunity for Roberto Martinez's youngsters but much of last season's frustrations remain. How can Everton avoid a repeat of 2014-15?
Another frustrating draw in this maddeningly frustrating season, though performances similar to that of the second half against Manchester City will more than give us a chance of progressing to the Capital One cup final.
All in all a rocky journey but most I spoke to were happy with a point after that first half. A quirk of football is shown when you consider we have played Spurs twice and all square in both games yet they are 4th and we are 11th and they have drawn as many as us, maybe the word consistency covers it.
The trip to Northern Spain was prompted by my birthday treat to myself, a journey I have being trying to make for the last 10 years if the truth be known, because I have heard so much about the Basque region and San Sebastian in particular.
Over the course of our proud history, Everton have had just 14 Africans on our books. Some became club legends, some gained unwanted infamy, and some (most actually!) were just downright useless. This is their story...
An end-of-season affair where neither team was much to write home about but Everton ended a run of seven Premier League games without a win.
Despite a few uncomfortable moments from Bournemouth, we got over the line with three points. We've survived!
No player is bigger than the club, no manager is bigger than the club, and no shareholder is bigger than the club. If you really are a 'true blue' with only the club's best interests at heart, then do what is best for the club, no-one else. #MartinezOut.
With barely 3 days to go before the start of the season, Everton find themselves in the now usual position of approaching the big kick-off with essentially the same squad as the previous season, arguably weaker.
As a 45-year-old man who has lived through the agony of supporting Everton but who has also seen what I believe was a world-beating side in the 80s I am actually in a fairly good place with my beloved Blues.
The gulf between the sides was evident and our players were playing with an intensity that suggested someone is at last starting to take notice that fans only grumble and groan when the fare on show is both tepid and weak. Today was up and at ‘em, with the travelling faithful responding in kind.
Goodison was not a happy place at the end with voices of anger raised. Out of the ground and down Spellow lane the anger and animosity toward our present manager reached levels I have not heard before and it seemed unanimous. This is not a good situation with the FA Cup game at home looming. The faithful are turning.
An in-depth look back at the events of the summer of 2004, which centred around boardroom ructions, a short-lived CEO appointment and the controversial sale of one Wayne Rooney.
A lousy day all round with the news of Howard then that display that makes me think that after such performances fans should have the ticket price repaid!
A take on why we canÂ’t seem to get it right and what needs to change to get to grips with the problem.
Apart from the obvious conclusion that Roberto needs to leave, considering who should play a part in our future and who has nothing left to contribute with is an interesting one.
This nonsense is happening far too regularly now and has to be stopped one way or the other.
Have we missed the boat? Was this season the golden opportunity, or was it the makings of a new footballing dawn? Will we return to the days of 'anyone can win it?'
A big disappointment today for me as it wasnÂ’t so much the score as the lack of nous from players and manager for being unable to respond to the game plan of the home team in the second half. This also suggests we are not yet ready for Champions League
We head to the Etihad knowing what we have to do, and what a chance to get to Wembley. What a chance to win a trophy. Bring it home Everton. It's been far too long.
Thanks to an impressive performance that blended patience, tenacity, skill, organisation and a heavy dose of character the Blues will take a slender but precious lead to the Etihad in three weeks' time.
As a positive Everton fan, I'd like to see a lot of experimentation in the last few games — however as the manager is hoping to keep his job, I fear we might see the same old system.
What a great way to finish a game and the players should be buzzing as we head to the Britannia on Saturday. A win there and who knows, maybe we could salvage something from the league this season yet.
What Leicester and to an extent Spurs have proven is that there are no excuses. Yes, financial clout matters, but of greater significance is the ability to mould a group of players into a sum greater than their parts — the polar opposite of our desperate performances in recent times.
Making a case against The Blue Union who, in this author's eyes, have no clear blueprint or strategy as to how they will achieve any sort of positive change at Everton Football Club.
The time has come for a substitution in the managerial sense. ItÂ’s fitting, because much of the ire from Saturday focussed on another poor showing on this front.
If we win on Saturday, I’m prepared to forget the other stuff, at least for now. I’m prepared to push the other stuff under the carpet and deal with at a later date, if we can go all the way to Wembley and enjoy a day I’ve personally only experienced once in my time supporting Everton – a trophy
Certainly the ability to learn and adapt, traits that seem to be worryingly absent in Roberto Martinez. The manager is compounding that by not listening to his players which could be a prescription for things to only get worse.
I'm glad Roberto Martinez did the fans justice by resting the correct players, whilst still giving much-needed game time to some of the fringe players, and also accommodating a couple of younger players. The perfect balance found from Roberto.
Overall a decent day out with a result that ensures both fans and players have a spring in their step for the WBA game. From the last three games we have scored nine goals, none against, without Howard or Stones. Can anything be read into that?
Playing against a team as limited as Dagenham, who came only to frustrate, it would be hard to find much we learned football-wise except Kone is off the boil in the conversion stakes.
It was like we had learned very little from the last campaign as, whilst watching, it was easy to think we were still in last season.
Throwing cash at the squad, however bare it is, might not be the solution to the root cause of our issues. The squad does indeed need padding, but we must learn how to play effectively first.
We desperately need to embrace other styles of play. We are far too easy to play against and, given the fixtures ahead, we could be in for some bumpy ride.
Can Everton take 11 points from their December fixtures (seven home, four away) that will put us in a strong position going into a busy January?
For months now, the rumours and conjecture have abounded of Everton finally securing outside investment into the club but with official information scarce in the public domain, there is increasing demand from supporters for the club to clarify whether this comes in the form of a takeover or simply an additional interest into an already convoluted and complicated ownership structure.
"We are consistently conceding goals through defensive frailties linked to the lack of a strong goalkeping presence. My internal conflict is who is most to blame here Tim Howard, or Mr Martinez?"
With some Evertonians already talking about the next manager as if it's a done deal, some thoughts on the hiring strategy for Roberto Martinez's potential successor.
I get the feeling we are sliding towards a comfortable mid-table finish, which means our better players will once again be courted by the offer of Champions League football. If you were a young inspiring player, wouldn't you be tempted?
We are one of just five clubs that can win the FA Cup next month. The outcome of the semi-finals and the final may be decided by the finest of margins. A team surrounded by, to use the words of a key player, "a lot of negativity" will have the smallest chance.
An amazing performance from Everton and a richly deserved win. This was surely Roberto MartinezÂ’ finest hour as Everton manager.
All told, a good day out. It was as good a display as I have witnessed for some time.
Paul reports from what he saw of the match at the Etihad after getting caught in the traffic jams on the M62.
Sky have reconfigured football's clock and that means great things are in store for Everton within just a couple of years!
I would like you to imagine that Roberto Martinez gets the sack this afternoon. First thing tomorrow morning the Board meets to draw up it's list of managers that it would like to approach in order to replace Martinez. By the mid morning coffee break, they have come up with two lists.
Our corners are so bad it's almost laughable. What isn't almost laughable is Roberto Martinez' continued insistence on not making substitutes when it's clear they are needed.
All in all a cracking night out, a thrilling game and some good performances from our lads.
A frustrating night out watching a poor Blues display but in the cup a win is a win and passage to the next round.
A feeling of frustration and two dropped points but credit to Palace who look set up to do very well this season and they probably deserved a point for how well they defended
Wouldn't it be awesome if Everton had a go at teams for a change? Just go for it, Everton. Make it fun again.
This one won't be easy, it seldom is with Everton, but come on Blues, it's time now to turn potential into results.
How can a team keep continuously shooting itself in the foot when in such a commanding position, and how much is down to the naivety of the young players involved, and how much is due to the DNA of the manager?
Another embarrassing display where our team folds like a deck of cards after conceeding a goal with comic cuts defending of a free kick with a shambolic wall and a keeper who jumped the wrong way. Had he stood his ground the ball would have hit him. Unbelievable!!
Could and should a newly renovated Goodison Park or a new Everton stadium re-introduce standing areas for supporters?
Assessing Roberto Martinez's transfer record during his time as Everton manager and where Ronald Koeman will need to concentrate his focus in the short term.
We are playing some of the best joined-up footy I have seen for many a year and have some of the most coveted young players in the league, which is a complement to our present manager. But on the flip side we are unable to handle high pressure moments to see games out.
An in-depth fans-eye assessment of the former Dutch international star and departing Ajax manager who has emerged as a strong contender to replace Roberto Martinez at Everton.
Everton are incapable of defending corners and crosses which is almost the sole reason to why they are dropping a criminal amount of points in recent weeks.
Romelu Lukaku deserves to be on the end of crosses the likes of which Bayern delivered last night. Perhaps Martinez could adapt his philosophy to play to these strengths when passing our way through teams is ineffective. It could get the best out of this talented group of players.
Roberto Martinez stands accused of many crimes against the core values of the vast majority of Evertonians. He has made a shambles out of the last two seasons
Despite a dreadful opening 20 minutes or so the match really entertained and we were treated to some excellent goals.
After Tuesday this was a much better performance and although there were some excellent bits other bits need working on especially in the back four.
From a first half of dominance, coming off I felt as though we were lucky to get a point. It was a crazy game but one the manager and players need to work on and eliminate the crazy.
Despite being a club that prides itself on its inspiring history and its community standing, Everton's management don't seem to have the vision of the benefits that accrue from a thriving young fanbase following the Under-21s. Surely there are alternative venues for these matches than Haig Avenue, that better reflect Everton's status in the game?
Overall it was a day out and the chance to see fringe players and academy hopefuls. The disconnect between manager and many fans is growing but there was no organised protest today.
Although it is not nice to hear boos at your home ground you have to concede that match-going fans paying out for season tickets and others matchday tickets but only seeing draws and losses after being told by many that this is our best squad since we last won the league can be forgiven for showing their discontent.
Playing against a West Brom team performing poorly at home, what could go wrong? "This is Everton" I said... "We always mess things up just when things are looking rosy". And so it proved.
Some say there is only a fine line that between genius and insanity. Which side of the line is Roberto on?
what do Everton FC need regarding their playing staff and how much "tinkering" is required from the new manager and new major shareholder?
Just as we seemed poised to make a move up the table, the West Brom game happened. We had no Plan B. We did nothing different when it clearly wasn't working and our substitutions only made it worse.
I've never known such apathy towards an impending derby. There's no anticipation, no alehouse natter. It's almost as though nobody is even arsed this time around... and I don't like it. The derby game is still important to me and I absolutely hate the fact we always roll over for them.
On the need to balance vocal and visible criticism of the club so that it doesn't affect performances on the field.
I think many who thought a point would be a result would have changed their minds after watching the game as we truly did create many, many chances and we could have expected at least one to be snapped up. It is no wonder that strikers who can consistently take one out of three chances go for the money they do.
It was quite a turgid encounter from the start really. I guess you can accept a little rustiness when that many changes are made to the team but we really struggled to put anything meaningful together throughout, whilst Southampton passed up a plethora of chances.
Goodison Park has been a fortress time and again over the years and to win only four at Goodison Park this season, with an abysmal EIGHT defeats is just woeful, especially with the players we have.
Currently our team is not a team that is able to "Bayern" / "Barcelona" our opponents, nor should it be expected to dominate/win games just by free-flowing attacking football alone. Without the basis of a solid defence, without players instructed and committed to carrying out the basics (closing down, set piece organisation, tracking back), attacking football is only a good as providing the occasional play-of-the-day goal, the odd 3-0 result, rather than a sustained run of wins and most importantly, points.
Something is wrong. Will the new owner notice we are going backwards with such talent and perhaps determine to find out why?
Señor Martinez should have one way, and one way only, of saving his job. That is to win the FA Cup, pure and simple. The time has come to show that he can justify his position as manger of Everton football club, rather than live off the relative and undeserved acclaim that the position affords him.
We have the best squad of players for years, but a less than average team. Martinez cannot deliver at the highest level and his persistence with trying to out score the opposition is fundamentally flawed.
The teams of the 1990s and mid-2000s may have lacked quality but they didn't lack fight and spirit. What's happened to the passion at Everton under Roberto Martinez?
Many may regard Everton as a sleeping giant, once hailed as one of the big five along with Spurs, Arsenal, Man United and that other team across the park. Are we in danger of slipping into a coma and never waking up?
The reason for this article is to ask what purpose are the protests serving? What good is it doing? I do not support the Board and I wish for a different regime as much as anyone but there has to be a better way than acting like a bunch of vigilantes running around throwing stones and shouting names. It all feels a bit childish and I have always felt that fans of Everton Football Club were a bit better than that.
Considering both teams' displays and a goal for each side that was worthy of winning a match, then I suppose you can say a draw was a fair result.
The point of my article is actually about silly season so, if you aren't interested in who I think we should buy as what's the point until they are signed, then stop reading now.
A positive end to a poor campaign then, but the performance of the younger players certainly offers hope as we head into an intriguing summer with a new manager to arrive and surely several players both coming and going.
There was a difference in the mood of fans. It was as though a weight had been lifted and replaced by hope and expectation. The chat was upbeat as we considered when things may start moving. I can only hope our club makes the right moves.
Is there no future? — you may ask. The key in my previous paragraph is 'right now'. Not ever or in a million years! What we need is value and an angle. Also, an observation: No future investors will touch us with a bargepole unless we are seen to have a loyal, supportive, and engaged fanbase. Sorry, guys, but protests, subversion, and militancy are massive turn-offs for a new investor and perhaps more importantly for the ones already on the Board.
My dad was a lifelong fan who attended his first match in 1946. AJ, as he was called, attended regularly throughout the late forties (taking in the 1948 record attendance derby), the dire days of the fifties, up to the mid-1990s when his health started to deteriorate.
It's Roberto's inability to learn and stubbornness with team selections which kills me the most. We've one heck of a squad there and it's not being utilised, instead the same players are being selected week in-week out.
Not the best way to start the festivities and made worse by the fact that we managed to gift the opposition their win with sheer sloppiness. I know Christmas is the time for giving gifts but not like that
If you're adverse to those highly speculative, theoretical (read: Championship Manager) type pieces, then look away now. Having given myself half-an-hour's procrastination time before I do some less important work, I thought I would lay out my vision of an Everton team to fill up the trophy cabinet over the next decade.
It says something when you get home and you're actually relieved you didn't lose by more than four. I genuinely expected to find we'd lost by five or six.
Not many Evertonians who were at Goodison Park on that fateful day in May 1994 will ever forget the changing fortunes that came so close to seeing Everton lose their place in the Premier League.
Whilst we all want to win every game, perhaps there is a place for a little perspective in analysing whether we are doing things wrong that need changing, or whether in fact we are on track and right to persist with things that seem to be working.
If Roberto Martinez lifts the FA Cup in May, it will be mission accomplished. And if you want to blame anyone for Everton becoming a cup team, don't blame Roberto Martinez. He's a cup manager; blame the man who hired him — Bill Kenwright.
Bill Kenwright runs our club like a family business — he needs to run it like a PLC. He needs to apply pressure to the manager in respect that we are underachieving, not meeting expectations.
A weekend in which Everton's name had been erased from the calendar turned out to be a game changer in the history of the club, with the Mersey Millionaires becoming the Mersey Billionaires and, to make the weekend even sweeter, Liverpool lost the League Cup Final on the Sunday.
"It's the hope that kills you. Why on God's green earth I keep putting myself through the torture of being an Evertonian I will never know."
So many good players under-performing and, worse still, showing little fight or intensity. LetÂ’s hope they get it together for Wednesday. Today they were all expensive Fur Coat but no knickers!
Ken reports from a rousing night in the Midlands as the Blues overturn West Brom's 2-0 lead to win 3-2.
Pulling no punches about the current Everton manager, described here as " distinctly average football manager" with the stats to back it up.
Three home wins all season and only six overall wins tells it's own story. Time and time again we shoot ourselves in the foot. Time and time again we let ourselves down.
Arguing that criticism of Romelu Lukaku is perhaps indicative of a wider problem of impatience and a lack of perspective among supporters.
Roberto Martinez has failed to progress. He is now dangerous, if we go another 10 league games with only one win, we will be in a relegation fight. It is now a season and a half of under-achieving and it should be so much better.
Who's running the rest of the club from a footballing perspective? It's not apparent from the club's website or elsewhere, at least to me, but hopefully Everton has individuals still in place with departmental responsibility.
Reminiscing that glorious day at the old Wembley when Everton ended Joe Royle's first season in charge by lifting the FA Cup for the fifth time.
Why do Everton sometimes take so long to get going in matches? Is it a slight hangover from last season when we were often exposed at the back or a general trait of Roberto Martinez's sides?
Overall, we did what we had to do and I thought we had some decent performances on show. Barkley seems to be growing game by game, if he could get a bit more confident in himself and have that edge that says ‘I am the go to man’ then what a player we will have.
Many years later, approaching his dotage, my grandfather could not be drawn on his footballing days. Dixie Dean, with whom he played alongside at Everton, is one of English football's true legends. My grandfather summed him up in a single, biting appraisal: “He never passed to anyone and he never bought a round.â€
Many of us were disappointed but, in the cold light of day, the better team had won but only with two goalkeeping errors.
Roberto Martinez's rhetoric has gone from striking the right chord to borderline antagonistic in the eyes of some fans. Is he capable of delivering on the promise of his hugely talented squad, starting with success in the cup?
No other Club would have allowed Martinez to continue; Wednesday wasn't the worst – it was preceded by so much crap previously that, however bad, it shouldn't have been happening because Martinez should have been already long gone. How he can be in charge today defies credulity...
Patience with Roberto Martinez is running out and it's become clear that a fundamental change to his approach is needed if. If he won't bring it out, is it left to Bill Kenwright to make the tough decision to remove him?
History looks set to repeat itself with Everton in danger of losing its best talent to clubs that are better able to give them success.
Match Report: Everton 1 - 1 Liverpool
Fans barracking players who are not performing well is nothing new, as this piece unearthed by Patrick Murphy shows from early in Everton's 1956-57 season.
Well thatÂ’s this seasons home Derby out of the way with bragging rights shared from a game that was frustrating and lacking in craft and guile.
It was truly gutting and the team didn't deserve that. Everton out. "It's never us" said Ste at full time. I couldn't put it better. We never fluke these things. We never fluke anything.
How realistic is a fourth-place finish for Everton this season? Extrapolating out our form so far shows that the next 12 games are indeed going to be crucial and that the Blues are going to need a very strong return from those fixtures.
Without investment, we cannot survive in the Premier League. Before a ball was kicked this season, realistically we were looking at a top-half finish, with an outside chance of top six. This is not good enough.
Poor defending cost us yet again and this will go down as yet another game we should have got more from this season and let slip away.
Overall quite a disappointing afternoon and made worse when you look back on other losses and remember our present manager telling us they must learn game management, correct defensive positions and not to be bullied after each one. If his milkman is reading this, give him a knock will you and ask him how he thinks it is going because we fans are just not seeing it.
Obviously 14 years ago our current Chairman believed that Everton were falling behind their rivals, as he acknowledges from this article by Andy Hunter back in 2001. What has changed in the interim period?
If we want to progress in the league, Roberto Martinez must learn how to win games from winning positions. Can he adapt or are we are doomed to more results like Stoke and the chances of winning a cup being down to the draw rather than performances?
Lots of ifs and buts, but there is going to be a massive amount of change in the coming months whether we like it or not and most of it will surely be for the better. So let's make our feelings known re Martinez in the last few games to ensure he's gone and then enjoy what's to come.
A concerned fan asks what has happened to a team that finished fifth two seasons ago and yet now, superior in personnel, is languishing in the bottom half of the Premier League table.
When is top four really top four... or not?
Is there too much style over substance at Everton under Roberto Martinez?
Making the case for what the Catalan is trying to achieve and that, in the absence of genuinely viable alternatives, giving him until Christmas to sort things out.
More and more, Roberto Martinez's public comments are being used against him as he struggles to fulfil his promise of building a winning team at Everton.
The ‘Wiganisation’ of Everton has been touched on in these pages before. It feels like death by a thousand cuts and it has probably damaged Martinez beyond repair in the eyes of many Blues.
The case for the board acting now to install a new manager with the right experience and know-how, "before the battle is lost".
On the benefits of the window being open after the season has started, the John Stones saga and the hopes for one big signing before Tuesday's transfer deadline
The better team won, no doubt about that, but we'll never know what would have happened, but it's Martin Atkinson and we shouldn't be at all surprised.
Please, Mr Moshiri — no more “Nil Satis Nisi Secundusâ€, let's have a bit of “Nil Satis Nisi Optimum†moving forward and appoint the best new manager we can get.
If Martinez is left in charge for our game against Bournemouth this weekend, then I dread to think how bad Goodison will be. For me that is him being hung out to dry. Unless the Club come out an back him wholeheartedly, or sack him, then next weekend is going to be a sticky situation.
With the new ownership coming in to place I would like to see the Everton Manager being held to account for performance. There's nothing wrong of having a target of qualifying for the Champions League and then being held to account if this is not achieved!
A non-Scouse Evertonian's view on a tragedy that devastated the city of Liverpool and brought rival fans together in unprecedented fashion.
When it comes down to it, do we have to be balanced about Roberto Martinez? Yes, he has flaws, but donÂ’t forget all heÂ’s brought to the club as well.
The Everton Academy does not get the credit it deserves as making the best of what they have and producing decade after decade after decade.
Hardly a vintage Everton performance, though I'm pretty sure we took our foot off the gas at 2-0.
Taking a magnifying glass to Roberto Martinez's comments in the wake of the semi-final defeat to Manchester City and the lead up to the FA Cup tie at Carlisle
A great win which puts us into seventh place as we march on to Bournemouth.
As a popular terrace chant of the 1980s suggested, Jesus Christ may have been an Evertonian. When it comes to Duncan Ferguson, there is no doubt.
Overall a strange game to watch as it was so one-sided, however the standard of football from Everton was a joy to watch and there now seems to be partnerships forming throughout the team which is always a good sign.
Overall it was an unspectacular game that I am sure I was not alone in thinking that with a bit more of a joined up team effort we could have got the points with a bit to spare. We have the players to do it as we have witnessed it on a few occasions but never with a consistency that should get the rewards. Game after game we wonder which Everton will turn up. Game after game we seem semi prepared for a loss. And we all end up where we started Game after game we ask what the manager is doing about it.
ItÂ’s apparent that not a lot seems to have been learnt from last season. WeÂ’re still over-passing the ball. WeÂ’re not shooting on opportunity. Though perhaps most worrying of all was the alarming regularity that Villarreal were able to cut through us and create opportunities.
I enjoy most sports but being Canadian IÂ’m a huge hockey fan. The Montreal Canadiens are my team win or lose and always will be. IÂ’d like to thank Toffeeweb for running such a great site and thank those who post and comment on this site for teaching me about our club.
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