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Season › 2018-19 › Opinion

Fan Articles

Contributions from ToffeeWeb readers

Fly the Nest: what now for the Under-23 stars?

Martin O'Connor
With two Premier League 2 titles in 2016-17 and 2018-19, David Unsworth and his team have been doing a good job at Under-23 level. But as always, the question is what is the main aim for the Under-23s?
26/06/2019

Soccer Boss? You”re Joking — I Want to be an Undertaker

Rob Sawyer
This article, adapted from the original, published in Lancashire Soccer Annual (1970), underlines Ray Wilson's candour and honesty — and his pride at having played for Everton FC
24/06/2019

“Rags”: The Life of Cuthbert Tatters

Rob Sawyer
Few footballers' names are more evocative of bygone times in the Goodison lexicon than Cuthbert Tatters.
18/05/2019

Choose Your Glass

Martin O'Connor
Is yours half-full or half-empty after Everton finished in 8th place for the second season running?
14/05/2019

Dad

Joseph Walsh
Sadly, Dad (Joe Walsh) passed away earlier this week aged 72. He was part a little piece of Everton history on 14th May 1966, almost 53 years ago to the day.
11/05/2019

Please... not this summer

Martin O'Connor
The team is not yet ready for the challenge of Europe as well as a domestic campaign. The Blues need another full pre-season and domestic campaign under Marco Silva. This will lead to a European spot at the end of next season and it is then when Everton will be ready to tackle European competition again.
24/04/2019

Harold Uren and His Sporting Dynasty

Rob Sawyer
Harold Uren holds the distinction of being the first footballer to transfer directly from Liverpool to Everton. His sons Harold and Dick would go on to have notable careers in sport of their own.
20/04/2019

What Rhino Did Next

Martin O'Connor
What David Unsworth has achieved this season has outshone his title-winning 2016-17 season. This PL2 title win is testament to the work he has done with the Under-23s, who are also in the quarter-finals of the Premier League 2 Cup with a home tie against Blackburn Rovers — a League and Cup double could well be on the cards. Which leads us to the questions: "What Next for David Unsworth? Has he taken the Under 23s project as far as he can?"
18/04/2019

Tommy White — A Player of Many Parts

Rob Sawyer
Tommy White was Everton's ‘Mr Versatile' in a decade of service, which saw the club win two First Division titles, a Second Division Championship and the FA Cup.
10/04/2019

Harry Grundy – An Everton Winger

Tony Onslow
The Shropshire-born player briefly represented Everton and Lincoln City in the early 1900s and went on to fight in World War I and was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal
06/04/2019

Kissing The Badge, Part 2 — A Little Latin

Pete Jones
All of us know at least one bit of Latin: Nil Satis Nisi Optimum; moreover we can translate it. But how come a modern football club on Merseyside has a motto in a language that hasn't been spoken as a native tongue for 1,500 years?
04/04/2019

“We Were Treated Like Royalty”

Becky Tallentire
The latest chapter of the 2004 book, Real Footballers' Wives, features Annette Scott, wife of 1960s winger Alex who won the FA Cup and League Title with the Toffees.
22/03/2019

Ron Saunders — The Toffee Years

Rob Sawyer
Ron Saunders is best remembered for moulding the Aston Villa team which won the League Cup in 1975 and 1977, the Football League championship in 1981 and the European Cup in 1982. Less reported is the fact that he began his life in football as an Evertonian.
19/03/2019

The Charlie Parry Grave Event — 1st March 2019

EFC Heritage Society
Everton Heritage Society were joined by Everton FC ambassadors to unveil a headstone at the grave of former player Charlie Parry at Oswestry Cemetery
07/03/2019

Treasured Memories of a Bygone Age — Part 1

John McFarlane [Senior]
I was recently asked how many matches I have attended in my 70 years of following Everton. This question, together with the recent death of Gordon Banks, prompted me to think of all the players I must have seen and the impression they made on me.
03/04/2019

What A Good Coach Does...

Paul Tran
In my view, there are too many coaches over-complicating the game with stats, theory and terminology. The best managers, in any walk of life, understand their trade and attach equal importance to communication; they've honed their ability to squeeze the maximum out of their staff.
24/02/2019

Treasured Memories of a Bygone Age — Part 2

John McFarlane [Senior]
To continue my memories of players I have seen play at Goodison Park since 1948, and who have left a lasting impression on me.
23/04/2019

One stray pass and the honeymoon is over

Darren Hind
Something has troubled me for years at about our club, well it more than troubles me, it drives me mad. Why do a certain section of our fanbase react so negatively to players who either grow up coming through the ranks, or join our academy in their late teens?
21/02/2019

“Flicka” — The Life of Graham Williams (1936-2018)

Rob Sawyer
The "small but stockily-built" winger who was signed as a promising 19-year-old from Bradford City in 1956 and spent three years with the Blues, passed away last November aged 81.
21/02/2019

John McPherson and the Kilmarnock Connection

Tony Onslow
Hailing from the same locale as his one-time Everton team-mate, Sandy Dick, John McPherson would briefly represent the Toffees as an amateur in 1887
21/02/2019

Fred Pickering — A Tribute

Rob Sawyer
The Everton legend passed away yesterday in his home town of Blackburn aged 78.
10/02/2019

Time for the manager to stand up and be counted

James Pirie
Although time is needed for any manager, there is no reason at all as to why some of the issues should not be addressed right now. Not in one year, not after a couple of transfer windows, but now.
03/02/2019

Moshiri's Monument to Mediocrity

Gerard McKean
Silva, and anyone who succeeds him, is being hung out to dry by the complete absence of professional support and street smart know-how in the present set-up at Everton Football Club.
28/01/2019

Silva 'needs time'? Will it make any difference?

Garry Corgan
At the moment the standard line from the media is that Marco Silva "needs time". For what? You give somebody time when you see that things are progressing and simply need to develop further. You give somebody time when you believe they're doing the right things but perhaps need more resources. You don't give somebody more time when they're floundering around or fiddling when Rome burns.
27/01/2019

Come Back, Schneiderlin — All is forgiven!!

Kevin Prytherch
Let me start by saying that I am not Morgan Schneiderlin's biggest fan. However, I think he is central to getting our season back on track.
25/01/2019

The Three Young Blues

Tony Onslow
The story of Liverpool-born William Gibson Walter Richards and Thomas Whittle who represented Everton in the 1880s
18/01/2019

On Everton's Radar

Pete Jones
These days, you can keep up with the transfer gossip 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If the complexity of the deals and the number of ways you can find rumours of them has increased, much of the vocabulary used to describe them is resolutely traditional.
14/01/2019

Jason Scott-Lee: Football Pioneer

Rob Sawyer
The story of one of the first of two players of Chinese heritage to play for Everton, some six decades before Li Tie and Li Weifeng would sign for the club under David Moyes
20/12/2018

Balance in the Team

Rick Tarleton
I look at the current Everton squad and as individual players they are immensely talented, but the question that plagues me is: "Are they a team?"
17/12/2018

Convincing a 6-year-old that Blue is the colour

Tom Dexter
I explained the best thing about supporting a team is that other people support other teams and they will constantly tell you that your team is rubbish — it is the whole point of football!!! It is your role to tell them that their team is rubbish and inform them that actually your team is ‘the best'.
09/12/2018

Ain't no Scouse

Tim Constable
He looked at me and paused, before muttering to himself “Ain't no Scouse”. I was clearly an Everton supporter cheering them on in my replica shirt so I was confused as to what the issue was.
08/12/2018

Are the pundits right to tell us to keep our expectations low?

Andy Osborne
After reading a few comments recently on ToffeeWeb and after hearing a few "so-called" experts on TV talk about what Evertonians should be expecting from the club this season, I thought I would take stock after the 15 games so far and look to the rest of the season.
06/12/2018

For every Cloud there is a Silva Lining

Gerard McKean
If we accept that most players in the squad have the necessary skills, then you look at shape and balance, and here we can see, even in these early days, that Marco Silva is making real progress.
05/12/2018

Bring me the head of Rio Ferdinand

Mike Kehoe
In all the years of following Everton, the one thing that angered me most and caused the deepest dismay was listening to the post-match analysis of the intellectual Titan that is Rio Ferdinand.
05/12/2018

Second Time Around

Mike Gaynes
Mike took a three-week trip to Europe that culminated in typically "Everton" fashion at Anfield. As he says, "hey, I got to see a derby in Mordor, and I not only survived, but right up to that last minute I was having a blast."
04/12/2018

Everton's 'Old and New' are Rallying Together

Matthew Parry
The Silva-Brands partnership has been a revelation — poaching top-class players from the world's best sides has shown real intent, more so than any of our signings in previous years.
29/11/2018

When the Lion within you roars

Darren Hind
We go with a different attitude; this Everton is not coming to limit the damage, steal a point. We are coming for their crown. We want to be kings of this city — not just for this weekend but for years to come.
27/11/2018

Billy and Bob: The Fabulous Balmer Brothers

Rob Sawyer
William and Robert Balmer formed a fearsome, and fruitful, fraternal partnership in Everton's back-line in the early years of the 20th Century
22/11/2018

William Henry Briscoe

Tony Onslow
He collected a Liverpool Cup winner's medal in his first season at Anfield and played three Football League games for Everton between 1884 and 1888.
22/11/2018

Gentleman John

Rob Sawyer
The infamous circumstances of Johnny Carey's dismissal as Everton manager in 1961 have entered football folklore but there was so much more to this which makes the focus on that taxi ride unjust.
13/11/2018

What Everton can learn from Tony Bellew — Chelsea (A) preview

Patrick Gillen
The Bomber is a man who doesn't know when he's beat, and that's exactly what Marco Silva must instil into this Everton team
09/11/2018

Kissing The Badge, Part 1 — The Name Everton

Pete Jones
One of ToffeeWeb's esteemed Everton historians looks at the origins of the name that our club adopted from the district in 1879 and still proudly bears to this day
05/11/2018

My Jury's Out — with a bit of optimism

Paul  Tran
I've long thought that once we get to Christmas, we have a clear picture of where we are in as a team, despite our hopes, fears and cynicism. And here we are; won 7, drew 6, lost 6, the picture of mediocrity. Or is it?
28/12/2018

André Gomes can be missing midfield link

Luke O'Farrell
If the first half against Palace was a player working his way up to speed, then the second saw the summer signing click through the gears and start to dictate proceedings from his midfield base.
22/10/2018

An alternative 'Team of the Century' — Part 2

John McFarlane [Senior]
To finish off this article, I pay tribute to another three Everton players who formed part of my alternative "Team of the Century": Sam Chedgzoy, Bobby Collins, and Bill Dean.
22/10/2018

Half-Season Report

Martin O'Connor
We reached the half-way stage of our first season under Marco Silva and Marcel Brands with a great performance and five goals at Burnley. So what can we put on the report card for their first half-season?
28/12/2018

Good Signs in the Undergrowth

Martin O'Connor
There are signs that there is a promising batch of young players in the Under-23 squad who may have a chance at the Club. In the Under-18s as well, the Everton Academy system is still in good health.
18/10/2018

An alternative 'Team of the Century' — Part 1

John McFarlane [Senior]
At the turn of the century (1999-2000), Radio Merseyside presenter Alan Jackson invited listeners to his 'Football Football Show' to submit the names of players with Merseyside connections to feature in a Team of the Century. I submitted an eleven who had left their mark on football both on and off the field of play; my Everton nominations were as follows...
16/10/2018

Making sense of statistics?

David Cooper
What can the wealth of team and individual stats tell us about the performances we watch?
08/10/2018

Charles Munroe Lindsay, an Everton Goalkeeper

Tony Onslow
The first of a long line of “first-choice” goalkeepers at the club
08/10/2018

Taking the Carabao Cup seriously

Paul O'Neil
There is a clear disconnection between how the loyal supporters of our club view this competition and how Everton view it. Surely Everton have a duty to take the League Cup / Milk Cup / Carabao Cup seriously? I think there are many ways to let the club know how unhappy their supporters are.
05/10/2018

More Than The Sum of Its Parts

Paul Tran
Almost four years since my last trip to Goodison Park, I woke up at daft o'clock yesterday with that Christmas morning feeling. Yesterday, Everton made me feel special, re-united me with my Dad, re-affirmed my love for This Great Club of Ours, which acted like a great club off the pitch.
03/10/2018

“Nobody Loved Football More Than Tony”

Becky Tallentire
The next chapter of the 2004 book Real Footballers' Wives, features Marina Kay, wife of 1960s legend, Tony.
02/10/2018

“Maestro” — The Jack Southworth Story

Rob Sawyer
Evertonians laud the club's lineage of talismanic goal scorers but some wonderful marksmen are somewhat overlooked. One of them, Jack Southworth, remains the only Everton player to score a double hat-trick in a first team match. Yet there was much more to this polymath who excelled on both musical and sporting stages.
10/09/2018

Signs of Spring

Martin O'Connor
It is early days and there is a long way to go, but the start we have made has exceeded what could have been expected. The cold dark winter of Allardyce is well and truly gone. The buds of spring are now starting to sprout under Silva and Brands. There is a long way to go and we will have setbacks along the way, but we can look forward with optimism.
09/09/2018

The Lads in the Royal Blue Jersey

Gerard McKean
Is there any more that could be done to re-ignite the pride and passion that has been sorely missing over the last few years?
22/08/2018

What' a good result? Take 2

Mike Allison
Looked at objectively, all we've really done so far is met the minimum expectations for games against Wolves and Southampton
21/08/2018

Jack Brearley, a Prisoner at Ruhleben

Tony Onslow
The forward played for Everton in the early years of the 20th Century and was caught up in World War I when he was imprisoned by the Germans while working as a trainer in Europe
20/08/2018

Brands Power

Adam McCulloch
The work of Marcel Brands over the summer has certainly justified the Blues blazing this trail: he may be one of the most important signings in the club's history.
16/08/2018

The New Era

Martin O'Connor
The Silva - Brands era starts at Wolves; what can we expect in the 2018-19 season from our new duo?
10/08/2018

Is Everton Protestant or Catholic?

Bob Waterhouse
Since the split in 1892, there developed a widely-held belief that Everton became the club of the substantial Merseyside Catholic population and Liverpool of the Protestant population. Influential members of the clubs' respective boards seem to have given substance to this belief.
09/08/2018

When 'Legends' were thin on the ground — Part 7

John McFarlane [Senior]
To conclude the list of players who represented Everton from the 1946-47 season, when the Football League resumed after World War Two, until the 1950-51 season, when Everton were relegated to Division Two.
07/08/2018

Heroes

Mark Cuddy
You've got to have heroes, its all part of being a kid growing up, all part of being a human, all part of following a football team. I'm glad I chose Big Bob Latch as mine and I'm glad I supported Everton.
02/08/2018

“Bunny” — The Robert Bell Story

Rob Sawyer
The Wirral has a proud tradition of producing high-calibre footballers and for a period in the 20th century, Tranmere became something of a centre-forward factory, producing the likes of “Dixie” Dean and his eventual team-mate “Bunny” Bell.
31/07/2018

Money Talks

Adam McCulloch
Let's give him — and the new management team — a chance. Let's stay positive, let's make Goodison a fortress, let's press, harry, play and produce. Let's beat the Red Shite. Let's laugh about the time we were angsty about which defender we bought from Barcelona. Let's play Angry Birds.
30/07/2018

11 Days to Fame or Total Misery

Mike Oates
To ensure the season is not an utter disaster waiting to happen, Marco and Marcel have got 11 days to entice another five or six top quality players in.
28/07/2018

When 'Legends' were thin on the ground — Part 6

John McFarlane [Senior]
Continuing the theme of listing every player who represented Everton from 1946-47 when League Football resumed after the Second World War, until 1950-51 when Everton were relegated to Division Two.
22/07/2018

Squad Size and the Wage Bill

Michael Morgan
I wanted to put a question out about whether other fans on here have discussed or ever had a thought on a way forward with reference to reducing the squad size and wage bill?
21/07/2018

The Writing's on the Wall

Mark Cuddy
At some point or other, most of us have had, or have got our own superstitions or rituals before a game. The truth is, we have no impact on the game whatsoever and yet people believe they do.
17/07/2018

Elie Hurel — The First Jerseyman to Play in the First Division

Rob Sawyer
Elie Hurel was the first man from the Channel Islands dependencies to play in the English top flight. His journey there — from being orphaned as a child to lining up alongside the legendary Bill “Dixie” Dean at Goodison Park — is a remarkable one.
18/07/2018

What if we do not sign anyone?

Steve Ferns
I think we've got our own super coach. And if so, then do we really need to spend a load of money? Let's look at what we have...
14/07/2018

When 'Legends' were Thin on the Ground — Part 5

John McFarlane [Senior]
Continuing the theme of listing the players who represented Everton from 1946-47, when the Football League resumed following World War Two, until !950-51 when Everton were relegated to the old Second Division.
12/07/2018

The Hand That You're Dealt?

Andy McNabb
Is Roberto Martinez a much better manager than he got credit for at Everton?
10/07/2018

An Impromptu Board Meeting

Lee Mandaracas
At West Ham, I found myself sitting a few seats away from the entire Everton Board of Directors! I wanted to get a photo with them with my kids. They seemed a bit taken aback and understandably, suspicious — not least Bill Kenwright. Denise, on the other hand, was quick to engage with me showing no sense of concern or trepidation. She leaned in, gave me a hug, a kiss on the cheek and thanked me effusively for my support of the club as it means such a lot to them.
02/04/2019

Marco Silva: Who' fault is it anyway?

Jerome Shields
...
21/01/2019

Building for capacity at Bramley-Moore Dock

Martin O'Connor
The proposed capacity of 52,000 planned for Bramley-Moore Dock is not yet set in stone but, on consideration, I think it is a good and realistic figure. However, some fans say that 52,000 is lacking ambition and the club should be aiming for the 60,000 mark now.
22/01/2019

Time for Silva to show he can coach

Dave Williams
Yesterday was truly appalling; having scored twice away from home, we had every right to expect a win. The time is nigh for Silva to show us whether or not he really is a good coach.
27/01/2019

Somebody Else' Mum's Just Died

Mark Cuddy
Is there more than something simple that binds us or is blue blood thicker than water
20/04/2019

The Silva Lining of a Quiet Window

Adam McCulloch
With plenty of games still to play, we can hopefully start to enjoy our football again — away from the distractions of endless transfer rumours and speculation. Silva must play the hand he has been dealt, just as Brands has played his in the transfer market.
02/02/2019

What is wrong at Everton and why Silva needs time to sort it

George Wilson
To sack Silva now and replace him with somebody else would result in more uncertainty and could backfire badly.
02/02/2019

A mixed bag of Evertonness

Graeme Beresford
If Denise Barrett-Baxendale's 10-year plan is to come to fruition, then the foundations need to be in place by now. The last few seasons we have ripped them up and now I get the feeling we need to rip them up again but start with a new foundation, albeit a stronger one.
06/02/2019

How to Reach the Top 4

Mike Oates
Our only route is a young manager with potential, a proven director of football and on the hope that we can find at least 6 youngsters who have the potential to become future Premier League class players. It probably won't be as quick as Chelsea's and Man City, more like the Spurs model, as Moshiri recently said. Is Silva the new Pochettino?
07/02/2019

Treasured Memories of a Bygone Age — Part 3

John McFarlane [Senior]
Continuing the theme of players I have seen in my boyhood, adolescent, and adult life.
10/05/2019

Magic Eighth?

Jack Garrett
From what has been a far from perfect season, it's certainly worth celebrating that we found some form at the end and that something seems to be stirring.
13/05/2019

Summer targets 2019

Sam Hoare
It's time for my annual transfer piece so turn away those whose blood boils at the wannabe kids amongst us who like to play a bit of real life Football Manager
14/05/2019

Continuing the Cull in January

Martin O'Connor
Following the herculean Summer efforts of Brands and Silva to cut down on our bloated squad, there are still a number of players who should be let go, either permanently or on loan in the January window
24/12/2018

Patience is a virtue

Karen Mason
When Silva and Marcel arrived, we were a very very broken club. Silva has a huge task on his hands. Do not underestimate how much was needed to be addressed and changed. For those who expected it to be all done in half a season — please give him a break.
31/12/2018

Steve Ashcroft, True Blue

Jamie Crowley
God took my friend Friday night, because God knew Steve couldn't abide seeing the shite win the Champions League.
02/06/2019

Why Chelsea victory is a template for success

Matthew Parry
We're Everton fans, and nothing but the best is good enough to us. An Everton fan is a special kind of football fan, and now it's up to the players to prove that those who wear the blue jersey are a special kind of footballer again.
20/03/2019

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