Column & Opinion Articles

Contributions from our editorial team and featured columnists.

“The Things We Do For Love” — Janet Royle

Becky Tallentire

A re-post for Christmas of the chapter from the 2004 book Real Footballers' Wives, featuring Janet Royle, wife of Everton playing legend and former manager Joe.

10/06/2017

Initials T.G. — Researching Tommy Jones, The Prince of Centre-Halves

William Ralph â€œDixieâ€ Dean sits unchallenged as the king of Goodison Park. Joining him in the Royal Blue dynasty is the Prince of Centre Halves: Thomas George Jones. Tommy, as his friends knew him, was so famous in his pomp for Everton and Wales that he was known merely by his initials - T.G.

30/06/2017

Strictly business? Goals not love will be lost if Lukaku leaves

Lyndon Lloyd

There has been adulation for Lukaku's feats in an Everton jersey but not as much genuine love and affection and the feeling appears to have been mutual from a player who is all business.

28/06/2017

No room for sentimentality at Barkley's crossroads

Lyndon Lloyd

At one stage an Academy starlet destined to emulate Wayne Rooney's success but for Everton instead, Ross Barkley finds himself in an awkward situation this summer.

13/06/2017

Farewell, Arouna â€” we hardly knew you

Lyndon Lloyd

As arguably the most uncomfortable legacy of Roberto Martinez's tenure returns to the club following his loan spell with Hull City, another of the Spaniard's less successful acquisitions prepares to leave Everton after four unproductive years.

09/06/2017

Harry Williams — Death of a Mascot

Rob Sawyer

Aside from the iconic Toffee Lady, Everton supporters in the 1930s also possessed two unofficial mascots. Harry Williams of Westminster Road, Kirkdale, was one.

31/05/2017

What Everton need to take the next step this summer

Gary McCarty

With a strong squad that's been bolstered by enigmatic youngsters over the season, Everton look primed to take that next step and challenge for higher standing, but what do they need to do in the summer to achieve this?

19/05/2017

Four players who should leave Everton in the summer

Gary McCarty

Evertonians will be hoping that the club are planning some major signings, which means that some of the current squad players will have to leave.

16/05/2017

Return of the Prodigal Son: What Would Wayne Rooney Do for Everton?

Gary McCarty

Sidelined at Manchester United, it's clear the future for Wayne Rooney is not at Old Trafford. Should his rumoured return to Goodison Park come to fruition, how would his arrival impact the team?

29/04/2017

32 Years, 32 Seconds: My Delirious Goodison Pilgrimage

Mike Gaynes

A ToffeeWeb denizen takes advantage of remission from cancer to make good on a longtime personal promise — to finally make the trip across The Pond to Goodison Park

18/04/2017

“Even After All These Years” — Pat Labone

Becky Tallentire

The latest chapter from Real Footballers' Wives serialised here at ToffeeWeb features Pat Labone, wife of Goodison legend Brian

13/04/2017

Neville Southall — The Winding Road from Winsford to Goodison

Rob Sawyer

How a former Everton player, George Rooney, played a small but significant part in the career of, arguably, the club's greatest-ever goalkeeper.

30/03/2017

Alex Lochhead, the Everton Wing Half from Neilston

Tony Onslow

Many Everton players over the years have been asked to make their debut in some tough â€œmust winâ€ situations but the first of these must surely be a young Scotsman who arrived in Liverpool during the November of 1891 at a time when his new club were challenging to take the football league championship away from Preston North End

29/03/2017

Everton Left Counting the Cost of Someone Else's Battle

Lyndon Lloyd

As if you didn't need another reason to hate international breaks...

25/03/2017

We'll Play With the Smell in the Second Half!

Lyndon Lloyd

Lyndon had the privilege to chat with Dr David France's wife, Elizabeth, again and solicit an independent insight into the goings on at Toffeeopolis.

21/03/2017

Joseph Davies, the Welsh International from Shropshire

Joseph Davies played for Everton during the season that they became founder members of the Football League.

21/03/2017

Hospitality, Heritage and Honours: Gwladys Street's Hall of Fame Returns

Lyndon Lloyd

ToffeeWeb was among the honourees as one of Dr David France's many initiatives returned after an eight-year hiatus

15/03/2017

One more bargaining tactic or genuinely the end of the road?

Lyndon Lloyd

So, Romelu Lukaku won't in fact be signing any new contract at Evertonâ€¦ not yet, at least.

14/03/2017

Everton' 'Hall of Fame' Events through the Decades

Rob Sawyer

[Images fixed] Friday, 10 March, 2017 sees the staging of a Gwladys Street's Hall of Fame event after an eight year hiatus. At The Hilton Hotel John Bailey, Pat Van Den Hauwe, Nigel Martyn, Ian Snodin and Kevin Campbell will join the 120-plus previous inductees in the pantheon of Blues greats.

06/03/2017

Talking Blue — Alex Young

Becky Tallentire

Talk to anybody ‘of a certain age' and their eyes will mist over as they recount how he enchanted them. They'll remind you that he was our Golden Vision. Fellow Bluenoses, I bring you Alex Young.

27/02/2017

"I Felt Like I Belonged There" — Nancy Young

Becky Tallentire

Taken from ‘Real Footballers' Wives — the First Ladies of Everton' â€¨by Becky Tallentire in 2004, Nancy Young, the wife of Everton legend Alex, recounts her story.

27/02/2017

Charlie Leyfield — Everton, Wales and England

Rob Sawyer

Charlie Leyfield had a long association with Everton as a player and trainer. He also can claim the unique distinction of being trainer to both the England and Wales national teams.

24/02/2017

Sense over sentiment should preclude Rooney return

Lyndon Lloyd

The Prodigal Son's return seems almost pre-ordained to some Evertonians but the club should resolutely look forward as it seeks to realise Farhad Moshiri's vision

22/02/2017

The Hope of Everton

Tony Onslow

The story of another Scottish import, Hope Robertson, who played for Everton between 1890 and 1892, leaving the club shortly after the move to Goodison Park.

22/02/2017

The Creativity Gap

Lyndon Lloyd

Everton are much improved in recent weeks but away from home, some of the hesitancy and one-dimensional tactics that dogged them earlier in the season persist.

17/02/2017

Winter window represents measured reconstruction

Lyndon Lloyd

Everton's January may have been quieter than hoped on the transfer front but it sets the stage for a summer of significant additions.

01/02/2017

Andrew Gibson, the Blue from Dalmellington

Tony Onslow

Drawn to the northwest of England from Scotland in the mid-1880s, Andrew Gibson eventually signed for Everton but never made a Football League appearance for the club.

31/01/2017

Magic but erratic â€” Deulofeu's departure invokes mixed emotions

Lyndon Lloyd

Gerard Deulofeu became fan favourite at Everton but he couldn't produce his magic consistently enough. He is getting a new lease on life at Milan and leaves a vacancy at Everton that Blues fans hope will be filled.

23/01/2017

Time to celebrate something

Mark Cuddy

January 22nd is a special day in the history of Everton Football Club and every year Evertonians all over the world should raise a glass to celebrate the date the greatest Evertonian there has ever been was born.

22/01/2017

Keys and Warmby â€” The Duo from Derby

Tony Onslow

The story of Jack Keys and William Warmby who played for Everton during the club's first season in the inaugural Football League

20/01/2017

The Last Reserves of Patience

Lyndon Lloyd

Evertonians are rightly growing restless at the slow pace of change under Ronald Koeman and the absence of genuine football being played under his stewardship but there is little option for fans but to draw on their dwindling reserves of patience and hope things come good in 2017.

20/12/2016

Consistently Inconsistent

Lyndon Lloyd

Yannick Bolasie's ACL hammer blow has sharpened focus on the three remaining wingers whom Koeman has been rotating for weeks searching for reliability

08/12/2016

Koeman may need fresh approach to solve lingering problems

Lyndon Lloyd

The upcoming transfer windows may provide opportunity to resolve some deep-seated issues but in the meanwhile it's incumbent upon the manager to try something different.

24/11/2016

Jack Cock — Scorer, Singer, Soldier, Superstar

Rob Sawyer

Relatively few Cornishmen have represented Everton but several have left their mark on Merseyside. However, the most remarkable life story is that of Jack Cock: international footballer, team manager, war hero and star of stage and screen.

18/11/2016

Straight Talk and Candour are Part of the Koeman Package

Alan Myers

Freelance broadcaster and former Director of Communications at Everton, Alan Myers, says that Ronald Koeman has used is recent proclamations to send a message, in my opinion, to his players, the fans and probably more importantly to Farhad Moshiri that he is serious about being successful.

18/11/2016

James Gourley of Everton and Morton

Tony Onslow

The Scot played 54 times for Everton after joining the club in 1909 before going to to forge an impressive career back north of the border with Morton

14/11/2016

Koeman's Detachment Will Mean Little If He Brings Blues Success

Lyndon Lloyd

The manager's "cold fish" demeanour may be something Evertonians will have to accept as a necessary part of the club's attempts to take the next big step forward.

10/11/2016

Bolasie is improving at Everton but is it enough?

Gary McCarty

Can Ronald Koeman get the most out of his mercurial Â£30m buy?

10/11/2016

Moshiri's Music for Evertonian Ears

Lyndon Lloyd

Farhad speaks! The conduit may have again been Jim White but the 13-minute chat was candid, revealing and should be hugely encouraging for Everton supporters.

07/11/2016

International Football arrives on Merseyside

Tony Onslow

Following the first international fixture to be played on Merseyside at Liverpool Cricket Club, Aigburth, Everton FC hosted the second at Anfield in 1889.

06/11/2016

The Good Doctor of Everton, Part II

Tony Onslow

After many years of searching, I finally managed to find a newspaper report confirming the last resting place of the Everton benefactor Dr James Clement Baxter.

17/10/2016

Does Koeman have room yet for Everton's youngbloods?

Lyndon Lloyd

Is too much being made of Ronald Koeman's apparent aversion to using young players so far or is he merely focusing on beefing up in the short term what was a struggling, unfit squad with robust, experienced players?

13/10/2016

Everton and KitAid

Rob Sawyer for EFC Heritage Society

Thanks to an act of generosity in a time of adversity, a corner of Malawi, 5,000 miles from Goodison Park, will be forever Everton.

11/10/2016

An Evening in the Bosom of the Everton Family

Lyndon Lloyd

There can be few venues as majestic and grandiose for a gathering of Evertonians than Liverpool Cathedral, the splendid setting for a very special dinner hosted by Dr David France and his lovely wife Elizabeth to mark the launch of his new book, Everton Crazy

04/10/2016

Book Review: Everton Crazy

Lyndon Lloyd

Interspersed with some wonderful comic gags, Everton Crazy charts the twists and turns of Dr David France's life, with the ups and downs of the club he fell in love with serving as an ever-present anchor, focus and obsession.

27/09/2016

Everton's reality check will have been instructive for Koeman

Lyndon Lloyd

Everton's early exit from the League Cup was as familiar as it was frustrating but the manager will hopefully have learned a lot about his squad as he continues to settle into the Goodison hot-seat.

21/09/2016

The Burden of the Past

Jim Keoghan

The struggles under Roberto Martinez last season brought back painful memories of the 1990s and the very early 2000s. With a new manager in Ronald Koeman, a new de facto owner in Farhad Moshiri, and talk of a new stadium, can Evertonians now look ahead to a new chapter and think again about what the Toffees can become?

21/09/2016

If You Know Your Historyâ€¦ Matchdays with EFC Heritage Society

Rob Sawyer

The Church of St Luke The Evangelist — better known as St Luke's — is where the EFC Heritage Society (EFCHS), founded in 2008, has been welcoming home and away supporters for the past two seasons.

11/09/2016

The Return of Gwladys Street's Hall of Fame

Lyndon Lloyd

David France's celebration of the men who have made significant contributions to the development, welfare and success of Everton Football Club and returns with four new inductees who will be selected by you, the fans, and then officially added to the pantheon of Blues greats at the next Hall of Fame Dinner in March 2017.

09/09/2016

No Sense Dwelling on Everton's Window of Missed Opportunity

Lyndon Lloyd

By leaving so much important business so late, yesterday's deadline was, in the context of high expectations, hugely disappointing for many Evertonians but there is still enough talent in Koeman's squad to propel the Blues to the next transfer window

01/09/2016

Impressive youth development another burgeoning facet of Everton' bright future

Matt Jones

Everton now reportedly possess the capital that can help them recruit a high calibre of player but, for a club still striving to bridge the gap to the genuine juggernauts of the of the English game, it's imperative the path from the Academy to the first-team is clear.

01/09/2016

Nat, King of Goals...and Bowls

Rob Sawyer (EFC Heritage Society)

The life of Jimmy â€œNatâ€ Cunliffe whose achievements, like those of many players at Goodison in the 1930s, were overshadowed by the Everton giant that is W.R. Dean. Yet his life in sport was a remarkable one.

29/08/2016

Highs, Lows and Bakayokos â€” Wimbledon 1994

Jim Keoghan

Football is a game that is defined by moments; key points where a match, a career or a season can take a different turn due to a piece of luck, a dodgy refereeing decision or an instance of individual brilliance. For Everton, two moments that would greatly impact upon the club's future fortunes occurred in the space of mere minutes in that almost fateful game against Wimbledon in May 1994.

24/08/2016

Bolasie's high-priced wizardry can bring 'x' factor to Everton

Lyndon Lloyd

As explosive and dazzling as he can be enigmatic and defeasible, Yannick Bolasie will be nothing if not unpredictable. His price tag may have been high but by taking the step up to Everton, the French-born winger has the ideal stage on which to shine.

16/08/2016

Profit over promise for Everton as Stones gets his move

Lyndon Lloyd

Fewer Evertonians will shed a tear as John Stones leaves for the â€œgreener pasturesâ€ of the Eithad Stadium than would have a year ago. It will still gnaw at the gut, however, that fans won't get to see if Stones could blossom into the Everton defensive legend many believe he could have become.

09/08/2016

Kevin Mirallas Must Take Responsibility for his Own Everton Future

Matt Jones

Ronald Koeman has shown a precedent for assisting players of Mirallas's ilk and can add the functional base to the winger's skill set that was lacking under his predecessor. But, for a player who has so many natural gifts, the time has come for him to seize control of his own destiny at Goodison Park.

26/07/2016

Archibald Leitch — The Man Who Shaped Goodison Park

Rob Sawyer (EFC Heritage Society)

It is at Goodison Park where the work of Glasgow-born architect Archibald Leitch's industrial-style design is best preserved.

18/07/2016

Restlessness setting in but Everton's new dawn needs time to break

Lyndon Lloyd

The new Premier League season still feels a long way off but in others it's alarmingly close given how little transfer action there has been at Finch Farm. It's hard not to get impatient but the sea changes occurring at Everton at the moment need time to play out.

15/07/2016

On Tour in London with Everton

Tony Onslow

As reigning champions of the Football League, Everton travelled to London and played their first match against Arsenal in 1891.

13/12/2016

With Everton at Great Lever

Tony Onslow

The short and somewhat acrimonious history of Everton's match-ups with one of their early opponents in Lancashire

22/11/2016

Everton Games Played on 27th November

Patrick Murphy

A look back at games played on this date in years gone by

25/11/2016

Koeman to mastermind Toffees victory against former club Southampton

Gary McCarty

Given time, Koeman could get Everton back to their best — and that means competing for European football. For now the Toffees need to take it one game at a time in order to rebuild.

26/11/2016

The Oxford Blues of Everton Football Club

Tony Onslow

Many of the early adherents to association football in the south of England played the game for love and not money and some of them ended up playing for Everton via Oxford University

26/11/2016

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Fan Articles are authored by outside contributors. Their views may not represent those of the site owners.

	Team	Pld	GD	Pts
13	Manchester United	11	0	15
14	West Ham United	11	-6	12
15	Leicester City	11	-7	10
16	Everton	11	-7	10
17	Ipswich Town	11	-10	8
18	Crystal Palace	11	-7	7
19	Wolves	11	-11	6