My Dad would approve

I had similar experiences with mine, who took me to Goodison for my 6th birthday in 1954, he also got me in free, but with the acquiescence of the man on the turnstile. Not a very expensive present perhaps but it proved to be a valuable one over the years.
Just imagine the massive highs, never long enough, and the lows, always too long. And what has seemed like an endless period of treading water, a long winded doldrums.

Character building or what?

My sons are now infected and it is only a matter of time before Jacob, 2 and a bit, will also be inducted into the Everton Way.

So thanks Dad for me getting to see the great 60s teams and the great 80s teams, and the great players in less than great teams, Duncan McKenzie, Latchford, Thomas, Dobson in the 70s, Collins, Parker, Hickson in the 50s.

And so on. Even in fallow times there was someone to hang your hat on, that extra bit of class and character.

Respect to Everton Dads everywhere.

Always had a nice turn of phrase did the old man when talking all things Everton. Despised Lee and Bingham.

I like the bit about conducting business. That's how I like it but unfortunately in this day and age of 24-hr Sky frenzied speculation many of our fans want us to be like the rest and react to it.

So far, I'm liking the way we are conducting ourselves. Age old saying applies: I'll say something when I've got something to say.

Then to Wembley in 66 at the age of 10. Crying at half time, singing at full time!

My 3 children were born and bred in North London. I had one or two worrying moments when they were young and impressionable and wanting to support Spurs or Arsenal. But they came through that, saw the light and thankfully are now True Blues.

Again it was Ball, Kendall, Labone, Collins that he would recall as proper footballers. He'd stopped going by the time the good times started rolling again under HK, by then I'd taken up the family mantle.

Time will tell if we're about to "go" again, there's a lot of cash out there and all the clubs have got some. FFS, Watford turned down £25 million today for a decent forward who's hardly prolific if you take away his penalties.

My Dad passed in November last year. He was from a family of reds, turned blue and led me to Goodison. Now there are 3 Evertonians in the next generation, too.

He was never convinced about Martinez and I remember him always liking Koeman as a player. I think he'd be happy.

I just remember those late '70s teams bombing forward, and Goodison rocking – King, Thomas, Bob, Dobbo, scoring 4, 5 and 6, we were always involved at the top of the League. We were just scuppered by a strong Nottingham Forest and Liverpool teams.

Surely I'm not alone in these memories?

One question for the really arl arses on here; my dad always maintained (with a hint of admiration) that Jackie Coulter was the dirtiest player he'd seen play for Everton. Does anyone remember this gentleman?

Hoping that the light at the end of the tunnel isn't a train coming straight at us! (Proper Everton that would be )

My story of being a blue starts with my Pop (grandad), who is now 89 years young. Sadly, his memory and health are failing, and he isn’t the man mountain I remember from my youth, but we have renewed for the top balcony again this season, and he is determined to “get up them bloody stairs a few more times!” (his words, not mine!).

He’s hoping our new found wealth means the club can finally put in some escalators on the bottom two flights, before we move and dominate the city skyline with the ground on the river!

As I never knew my Dad, I was lucky enough to be raised by my mum, nan and grandad, so I had a mum, a Momma and one Pop! I owe them everything, and can never thank them enough, especially for making me a Bluenose.

He took me to Goodison when I was a babe in arms apparently (I was born in 1977), but I have no memory whatsoever of what game it was or the score, and Pop cannot remember, so it mustn’t have been much of a game!

He took me to a few games when we were simply the best team about, and got me my first season ticket for the title winning year of 86-87; I guess I didn’t understand how good I had it at the time. Pop always told me to enjoy it while it lasts, as if he knew the tougher times ahead.

The tragic events at Hillsborough stopped him going to the match for a number of years, and his love of football was a little diminished after that dark day, but not his love of Everton. I managed to get him back to Goodison in the late nineties, and we haven’t stopped since.

As mentioned, the years are robbing him of his faculties, as sometimes he cannot remember what he was doing yesterday, but if you get him onto the subject of Everton, a fire lights up in his eyes, the opinions start to flow and we get our old Pop back for a while.

He loves (amongst others) Kendall as a player and manager (MK1), Roy Vernon is also a favourite, Big Nev was a joint hero of ours, but he always says the best player he ever saw was T.G. Jones, and that he knocks John Stones into a cocked hat at centre half. He has no time for the “modern” footballer, and I often feared what would happen if Pop ever got his hands on Fellaini!

He saw through Senor Brown shoes and never wanted him from day one, but I am happy to say that he is very happy with Big Ron, and that will do for me!

I am so proud that we sometimes go the game together with my 5 year old son. This season there will hopefully be four of us for a few matches, as my 2 year old daughter won’t stop pestering us to come!

Thanks again for the OP Roy – it has made me realise how lucky I am.

Onward Blue Comrades!

My first one was probably Trevor Steven.

We have been spolied over the years though, Alasdair - Tricky Trev was also one of mine, but the team from the eighties was immense, and I had spells of having different members of the team as my favourite player!

My last proper hero was Joe Parkinson.

Scoring goals was not our problem then, but we conceded too many also - sound familiar? Unfortunately the rest of the team in general was not up to that standard. I would exempt from that statement George Wood in goal, and perhaps the best central cover defender of his generation, Colin Todd, whom Lee decided to play as a right back to accommodate Billy Wright. Made no sense to me then nor now.

He liked Ball & Young but maintained Duncan Edwards was the best player he ever saw play live. Also reckoned history would have regarded Tony Kay as our best post-war player had his career not been curtailed by other... er... events.

My Dad passed 4 years ago now and I was so touched at the time that all the men at the funeral at St Mary's in Woolton, including the reds among his friends bought and wore EFC ties, a tribute to a true blue.

When we went through his personal stuff, we found in his wallet ticket stubs from the EFC Inter Milan European Cup tie in 1963 and I vaguely remembered him and my Mum arguing about the cost ('we could have had a weeks holiday in Anglesey for that').

He took me to my first game against Wednesday in 1959 to my first away game against Burnley a few days before Christmas in 1960 to my first European away game against Kilmarnock in the old Fairs Cup.

A paddock season ticket turned up every year on my birthday (29/7). He sat in the Upper Gwladys with his brother and their Dad.

It took me a long time to forgive him for not taking me to the 1966 FA Cup Final but he gave my ticket to a friend, telling me his friend might not get another chance you have your whole life. He was of course right as he was about most things Everton and he would have approved greatly of our new owners way of doing business but would have reserved judgement on the owner himself and the manager. I'm afraid he had an in built mistrust of foreigners, not a dislike - they just had to work a bit harder to earn his trust.

I miss him a lot.

Incidentally, he approved of Gordon Lee 'a straight talking man who knows his own limitations' was his assessment. His all time hero - Dave Hickson.

I was glad Duncan Edwards got a mention, he along with the brilliant Tom Finney were the best British players I ever saw, what a player Edwards was, tragically killed at Munich at such a young age. Thanks for your story Roy, look forward to your next one.

I loved that late 1970s team. They should have won something. Dobson..Latchford...King...Lyons...Thomas. Magic. But we also had some very poor defenders. Darracott...Jones...McNaught...Higgins.... And also some poor goalkeepers... And in the early 70s...we had some terrible forwards......Harper...Belfitt....Pearson. Thank god we signed Bob Latchford..

Great article, takes me down memory lane. My first match was around 1968. Against Burnley. We drew. And I actually liked Burnley. I think that a very young Martin Dobson was playing that day for Burnley. He went on to be one of my all time favourite Everton players.....even to this day. He is in my all time best eleven..

PS..my over riding memory of Everton in the 1970s is the Bryan Hamilton disallowed goal. I still curse Clive Thomas and think of what could have been. But I was blessed to have been the right age to really enjoy the success of the mid eighties. I hope that our younger supporters witness the same success. COYBs.

He took me to my first match in the 70's and after one super win- Coventry 6-0? - he bought me my scarf. By the time the 80s came I was working down south so it was a few matches a season. But what wonderful times. Howard Kendall's death bought back memories and how we laughed about the title winning game against QPR in 1985 - in those days he would go to get the tickets and I phoned him to say I was coming home for the game and to go and get tickets as it would be a sell out as we hadn't won the title for 15 years(if only). His answer was 'No need - we'll leave 20 mins early than normal and we'll stroll in'. We went round the ground as all the turnstiles started to close and, with my dad starting to panic, eventually got in at the main stand as hundreds tried to do the same, some of the last ones in - we laughed about it afterwards but I doubt we'd have travelled home together if we hadn't got in. Needless to say he always went to get tickets after that!

He loved the fact that all 3 of mine are blues and we went as a family in recent years to watch them. His two sons are reds but when talking to my younger brother before the FA semi, he said he wanted Everton to win because of dad.
So back to the lovely original post. Funnily enough it was the same question my mum asked me 'Would your dad have been pleased?' and I said yes I really think he would have. Neither of us wanted Martinez from the start, he felt we were too big a club to be appointing someone who had just got a team relegated. So he would have been pleased with Koeman and pleased with Moshiri and doubly pleased that his eldest grandson was involved in that deal. He would love the fact that the future looks brighter for our team and hopefully his grandchildren can eventually feel some of the joy that winning things brings. So for the first home game next season, my children and I will get the soccer bus, have a drink in the Abbey, take our seats in the Lower Bullens as we always did with him and will think of a wonderful dad and taid when Z cars starts. I am so pleased I followed my dads team all those years ago; great memories of some great times.

As Chris says #1, respect to all Everton dads (especially yours Terry #21).

Prior to our move to Crosby in the summer of '53, we lived in Crosgrove Road in Walton, just the other side of the cemetery from the ground. I used to sit outside the cemetery gates waiting for my Dad to walk home and give me the score. Results were not good in those days.

My Mum always would recount how my Dad's Mum, my grandmother, who was an avid Blue, would encourage my Mum to go shopping on County Road on a Saturday afternoon so they could go up to the ground and go in when the gates were opened up 15 minutes before the end. I was left outside in my pram! Couldn't happen now!

My Dad used to take in a box for me to stand on against the Goodison Road wall. And there stood I in the 70,000+ crowds we sometimes got in those days. The Charlton cup replay in the late '50s stands out as a particularly dangerous night.

Lovely memories evoked by this thread
,

Forest FAC

Everton played Forest twice in January 1953 they drew 3-3 in a league match at Forest and won 4-1 in the FA Cup at Goodison. The first league meeting at Goodison ended in a 3-0 victory for the Toffees. Hope that helps!

It wasn't too bad going down, but still took over eight or nine hours, no motorways as you say. Coming back it took a lot longer, there was a thick fog and the driver got lost, an old fella on the coach had a torch and got in front of the coach and led us back on to a main road. He continued to get us back on to the correct course. After about 30 or 40 minutes we found ourselves back where he started from. Poor old fella got loads off the rest of the coach.

We eventually got home hours after we should have done. Terry, sorry to be a know-all but the goalie was Willie Duff; it is understandable to think it would be Sam Bartram as he was Charlton's keeper for years and years.

Great story and great history from Ellesmere Port, by the way your family, are they related to a great centre forward Jimmy Glazzard who played for Everton at the end of his career, he came from Huddersfield Town in the late fifties. He once scored the winning goal against PNE in a cup game then went in goal and saved a penalty taken by the great Tom Finney.

I agree about Harburn and Shackleton, they too were atrocious, so were some of the home-grown lads of that era, Sanders, Kirby, King etc. Till Bobby Collins and Alex Parker arrived, we had a very poor team.

He didn't stay long at Everton (thank God), he got injured in his own garden, his wife thought she heard someone in the garden and Peter rushed out to confront whoever was there and ran into the clothes line and nearly blinded himself. True story courtesy of the Liverpool Echo at the time.

From memory, 'Shack' was bloody awful . Do you remember Eddie Thomas, who I remember getting dogs abuse every game? I think he may have gone to Blackburn in part exchange for the great Vernon.

And all the Irish players we had early 50s. I met Jimmy O'Neil's son and he was telling me some stories about his dad. He used to queue up to get the bus after a game, and the fans would ignore him if they'd got beaten. Apparently the club arranged to get a stairlift installed in his house when he was in poor health later in life.

Brian Labone played bowls at The Hermitage when he was in the Everton team and had played for England. Chris Lawler used to sit upstairs on the No 27 bus going to Anfield when I was working in a pub on Netherfield Road.

Footballers then were part of the community. Cyril Lello used to walk round the ground from his club house and smile and chat with everyone. Autre temps ...

Didn't Eddie Thomas play in the 1960 cup final for Blackburn after Vernon came to us?

In the 1950s we seemed to specialise, in addition to small left wingers, in small wing halfs! Kenny Rea, Johnny King spring to mind. I seem to recall big Derek Kevan running over one of these at Goodison.

As Rick (#50) says, until Collins and then the wonderful Alex Parker arrived, we were a very poor team. But 1960-63 was a great time to be supporting the Blues. Attacking football (of course we could not win away) and a new signing nearly every week it seemed; Vernon, Ring, Gabriel, Young, Thomson, Bingham, West, Stevens, all culminating in the magnificent championship winning side.....great days.

Collins and Parker gave us a taste and then we feasted at the top table. A combination of bought in top class footballers and a group of up and coming home grown top class footballers, a hard nosed businessman and a tough and savvy manager.

Aah well, we can dream and hope.

When Tommy got crippled at Chelsea, Lill moved to the left for a spell until he also got crocked. Then came Bingham from memory, and then Morrisey, the hardest man I've seen play for Everton, but a whole lot more than that. He shared duties with Shirley for a while.

When playing for Grimsby Town against Liverpool at Anfield, the Grimsby goalkeeper got injured. There were no substitutes then so Jimmy went in goal and played well in a 3-3 draw...

I don't know what the score was when he went in goal.