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News Headlines & Features
Everton's Linderoth coup
31 Jan - Swift on the heels of Abel Xavier's departure to Liverpool, Everton have signed highly-rated Swedish international midfielder Tobias Linderoth for £2.5M., rising to £3m dependent on appearances. The 22 year-old — a rumoured target of Panathanaikos, Newcastle Utd and Bologna — arrived on Merseyside today from his club Stabaek and signed on the dotted line.
A job well done
30 Jan - With David Weir off on paternity leave, Peter Clarke made his first league start and there were recalls for Danny Cadamarteri and Joe-Max Moore. However, Everton's injury curse struck again on 24 minutes when Tony Hibbert was withdrawn for Alec Cleland and later left the ground on crutches. After a fairly uneventful first period, Paul Merson smacked a shot off the crossbar as Villa began to assert themselves in the second half but Everton's makeshift defence performed admirably to earn a valuable point.
Xavier move rationalised away
29 Jan - For any Evertonians still frowning over the transfer of Abel Xavier to Liverpool, David Prentice spells out some more of the cold hard realities that constrain Everton's limited ambitions; once again, it's all about money, or the lack thereof.
ToffeeWeb Viewpoint: Resignation rather than outrage
Xavier set for Anfield switch
28 Jan - Portuguese international Abel Xavier has turned his back on his supposed dreams of returning to the Continent and is expected to sign for rivals Liverpool for a nominal £800,000 fee within the next 48 hours. While not an event that will "shock Evertonians around the world," as the Official Site puts it, it is certainly a surprise move.
Capeling on Crowd Chaos
28 Jan - In The Echo, Len Capeling has a go at the club over the crowd chaos that ensued following the lock-out at the Leyton Orient cup tie, when many season-ticket holders failed to get in to watch the match.
FA Cup 5th Round Draw
27 Jan - In the 5th Round of the FA Cup, Everton have been drawn at home to Crewe Alexandra. The match will be shown live on BBC1 on Sunday February 17, with a 1:30pm kick-off. This will be the first time Everton play Crewe in a senior competitive match.
Everton 4 - 1 Leyton Orient
26 Jan - Everton took the lead after 12 mins when a cross from Hibbert was turned into the Orient net by McGhee. Duncan Ferguson made it 2-0 after great work by Gascoigne. But Orient were right back in it when Simmo spilled a long shot and Canham scored. But Gazza again fed Campbell just before half-time to make it 3-1. In a quieter second half, Campbell secured the win after another brilliant Gazza run. Report by Richard Marland.
Bill Kenwright Interview
26 Jan - Bill Kenwright was a guest of Alan Jackson on BBC Radio Merseyside. He starts with "two games left for Smith" rubbish; moves on to the future of Bellefield, the whole money-go-round. Click here to listen
Injuries still abound
25 Jan - None of the players predicted to return to bolster the Everton ranks this weekend are now expected to appear from the murky depths of the Bellefield treatment room.
The FA Cup 4th Round
24 Jan - Paul Green has assembled for us a range of memories from key Everton matches in the 4th Round of the FA Cup over the past 21 years that have in turn heralded forthcoming triumphs or ended in miserable tears.
Abel shown the door
23 Jan - The latest International quality player to be shown the way out of Everton is Abel Xavier, who was unimpressed with the Club's idea of a pay-as-you-play deal. Xavier has been placed on the transfer list in the hope of getting a little money now, rather than none in June.
Notification of possible disruption
23 Jan - Following more pain with our web hosts, ToffeeWeb is on the move again. While this will mostly be a seamless process, there may be a period where the e-mail forms (for polls, feedback etc) won't be working, or you come across a broken link. Things should be almost back to normal and we thank you for your patience. E-mail any broken links or problems to webmaster@toffeeweb.com in the interim.
Brian Viner in The Independent
21 Jan - Brian Viner's regular column always turns back to the subject of Everton, no matter how hard he tries… and this time he comes up with a little known connection to the weekend's FA Cup opponents, Leyton Orient.
Blomqvist Knee Check-up
21 Jan - Jesper Blomqvist has returned to see a doctor in Croatia for a check-up on the knee injury that kept him out of football for 30 months. But Walter Smith isn't too worried... so why should we be? Maybe because of The Echo headline Blomqvist Injury Scare!!!
Everton grind out precious point
19 Jan - It took Les Ferdinand just four minutes to score his customary goal against Everton but David Weir's volleyed reply was quick and impressive. Everton fought and defended well against both the referee and a lively Spurs side and Scott Gemmill had what appeared to be a clear penalty denied late in the second half before Tottenham hit the bar in injury time. Reports from Paul Preston and the Squire of Beckenham
That's the Spirit!
19 Jan - In what can only be a good move in all sorts of ways - scouting, marketing and general awareness of the club abroad, not to mention the possibility of having first option on some raw Aussie talent - Everton have joined Rangers and Blackburn in a new initiative whereby players from Australian club Northern Spirit will undertake 3-week training stints at one of the British clubs to gain more experience of professional football.
The Curse
19 Jan - It was too good to last, of course. Just as Jesper Blomqvist started to make a difference at Everton he is struck down by the Curse of Smith & Knox: an ankle injury sustained in training...
Broken Talisman
18 Jan - One of our readers, Nick Armitage, sums up a lot of feelings about Duncan Ferguson: the fearsome figure who once played for Everton, and the listless lumberer who now occasionally graces the pitch.
Spurs v Everton
17 Jan - Lee Doyle has White Hart Lane down as one of our bogey grounds, but it doesn't stop him hoping for a win on Saturday — why, he even makes it sound like a distinct possibility!
Chadwick waits patiently
16 Jan - Nick Chadwick talks at length on the Everton website about how he understands that he must bide his time and develop his game as he awaits more opportunities to prove his worth for that covetted first-team place.
Soccer-Stats.com
16 Jan - More stats than you can shake a stick at. Seems a little bit more meaningful than the Opta stuff, with neat interactive ways of sorting or re-sequencing the data based on your selections. Cleva!
Everton Celebrity Fans
15 Jan - Some of the Rich and Famous who may (or may not!) have leanings towards support for The Blues. Know of any more? Send an e.mail to the ToffeeWeb Editor
Gravesen Saga, Part 17
14 Jan - Exclusive TeamTalk phone-interview with Walter Smith on the subject of his wantaway midfield machine. Manager shocks supporters and players, reverses cold-shoulder trend, says he wants player to stay. But, then again, if he's homesick, that wouldn'ae be our fault, now, would it?
Blomqvist strike earns vital win
12 Jan - Jesper Blomqvist headed his first goal for Everton — only his second in English football — to give Everton a precious win at Goodison Park against fellow strugglers Sunderland. The Blues — with Campbell up front and Hibbert in defence — had the better of the first half and could have gone into the break further ahead. The second period followed the pattern of the first until Niall Quinn entered the fray and the home side survived some nervy moments late on to hang on.
Reports by Matthew Fearon, Rob Burns and Richard Marland
We spoke too soon…
11 Jan - After Fulham were charged yesterday with failing to control their players, the same charge has now been levelled at Everton in regard to the brawl at Craven Cottage. Both clubs have 14 days to answer the charges, and risk a fine of up to Ł250k under a new FA regulation.
Fulham may be fined £250K
10 Jan - Some Evertonians subscribe to the persecution complex that has the media and the establishment going for Everton at every opportunity... so how do they explain that Fulham (but not Everton!) are being charged by the FA for failing to control their players in the 22-man brawl that followed Boa Morte's clash with David Weir last month?
Understanding profit and loss
10 Jan - Neil Wolstenholme has kindly provided this detailed explanation of some of the finer points when it comes to understanding the real meaning of Everton's Profit & Loss account, as analysed previously by Paul Holmes.
Captain Campbell back in training
9 Jan - Kevin Campbell has resumed full training after being sidelined with a mystery back complaint since November. The Blues' captain has been doing light workouts since Christmas and rejoined squad training this week, and could — although he surely shouldn't — be risked at some point against Sunderland on Saturday.
The Money Trail
8 Jan - Paul Holmes has been poring over the accounts of Everton FC Co Ltd covering the last financial year. Some of his findings are a little more disturbing than the bland spin that a loss of 'only Ł3M' is a sign of progress. See how well you can follow the Money Trail...
Smith under no illusions
7 Jan - While Evertonians may be tempted to breath a sigh of relief that the purse strings are finally to be loosened, Walter Smith is much more realistic about what can really be achieved with the limited new money that may be available — based as it is in the the one-off mortgaging of future season-ticket sales.
FA Cup: Stoke City 0 - 1 Everton
6 Jan - Everton are in the draw for the 4th Round of the FA Cup after successfully negotiating the pothole in the Potteries with a 1-0 win at the Britannia Stadium. After a fairly even first half during which Ferguson — partnered by Moore — hit the post, the Blues scored the game's only goal on 53' when a well-worked free kick was belted home by defender Alan Stubbs.
New reports from Jonathan Martin & Julian
Cashen.
More nonsense from the Daily Mail
5 Jan - After serving up an unbelievable story last Thursday that Everton fans at Stoke would decide the fate of Walter Smith, John Edwards of the Daily Mail reacts with journalistic desperation by trying to tear apart Bill Kenwright's statement about future finances at Everton.
Vote of Confidence
4 Jan - Carefully avoiding the dreaded phrase, Bill Kenwright has
issued a press release to The Echo assuring Evertonians that a new financial package has been put in place which will support development of the new Youth Academy and give Walter Smith money to improve the first team squad.
Ian MacDonald resigns!
2 Jan - Wondering what had happened to the Fans Focus Meetings? Well, Ian MacDonald of the EISA had been sitting on this report of last November's meeting while the Club saw to getting a summary published in The Evertonian... Most of this is so out of date now that it is unfortunately irrelevant, but all fans should read Ian's Endnote, where he explains why he's stepping down from this important voluntary role.
Middlesbrough 1 - 0 Everton
1 Jan - It's alarm bells not holiday bells at Goodison as Everton begin 2002 with a fifth straight defeat, this time at The Riverside. Everton started brightly with Cadamarteri injecting some pace to the attack before he went off injured after 37 mins. Watson followed him early in the second half and 'Boro took the lead immediately after his departure – Festa scoring from a poorly defended corner. The Blues were abysmal in the second half and couldn't find the crucial equaliser. It's freefall time again...
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Snippets & Rumours
Ł5 Sweetener
31 Jan - Everton will offer a Ł5 discount to all season-ticket holders for the FA Cup tie against Crewe, in some recompense for the dislocation they suffered at the Orient game (although Mr Dunford says it makes amends for the Derby discount they missed out on...).
New Jam Tarts link
31 Jan - According to TeamTalk, Walter Smith has his eye on another Hearts defender, this time Andy Webster.
Ferguson suspension?
31 Jan - By our reckoning, Duncan Ferguson picked up his 5th yellow card of the campaign last night, and will now be suspended for the cup-tie v Crewe.
Yankee Doodle Daniel
31 Jan - Everton's hero of the 1995 FA Cup Semi-Final, Daniel Amokachi, has joined US Major League Soccer side, the Colorado Rapids.
Tobias Linderoth
30 Jan - Planet Football reckon that the fee Everton will pay Norwegian club Stabaek for the Swedish midfielder is Ł2.5M; sources on Merseyside say Ł3M.
Labour Pains
30 Jan - The latest distraction to Everton's Premiership campaign is new-born babies for both David Weir and Idan Tal, putting their attendance at Villa Park in doubt.
Walter's extra Ł1 Million
30 Jan - As Abel Xavier completes his transfer to Liverpool, Walter Smith puts on his best spin-cap and rationalizes it away as good business for the Blues.
Blue Murder on the Orient Excess
30 Jan - Another disgruntled season-ticket holder wishes to say his piece about Saturday's lockout v Leyton Orient.
Hearing date set
29 Jan - The date of 19 February has been set for Everton's hearing before the FA on the charge of failing to control their players in the Fulham fracas.
Dunford on crowd chaos
28 Jan - Michael Dunford has provided TeamTalk with an empassioned explanation about the admission policy against Leyton Orient, and he appologises to the many fans who were locked out.
Oster's bad knee injury
28 Jan - Sunderland's transfer-listed Everton old boy, Jon Oster, has suffered damage to his cruciate knee ligaments playing for the Reserves and he will be out of the game for some.
Lincoln 2 - 7 Everton
27 Jan - Everton Ladies moved in to the quaterfinals of the Womens' FA Cup when they went to town with the Club's new friends, Lincoln City.
Macken link resurfaces
27 Jan - Over at Soccernet, they are making a somewhat weak link between Everton and Preston's forward, Jon Macken.
Gemmill Suspension
27 Jan - Scott Gemmill will be suspended for the visit of Arsenal on 10 February, having picked up his 5th yellow card of the campaign in the cup tie with Leyton Orient.
Right decision; wrong result
27 Jan - Everton are guilty of making the right decision on admission prices to encourage a good turnout for yesterday's cup tie… and are now reaping the wrath of the extra 5,000+ fans who turned up but were locked out as the ground reached its legal 90% capacity for unreserved seating. Sometimes ya just can't win...
Well said, SuperKev
26 Jan - Kevin Campbell speaks out about Everton's continuing state of decline as good players like Xavier are allowed to leave the club, investment in the future fails to be made, and a relegation struggle is the inevitable result.
Kilfoyle on Kings Dock
26 Jan - Walton MP Peter Kilfoyle sounds off in the Echo; and EfKD's Philip Pellow replies… Click the link to visit the BBC Liverpool website and cast your vote on Kings Dock.
Qualified regional support
26 Jan - Yesterday's meeting of Merseyside regional councils gave their qualified support for the "impressive" Kings Waterfront development that is planned to include a new Stadium for Everton — but they want to know more about the finacing (don't we all!).
Come in, No 10…
26 Jan - Is Duncan Ferguson's time up? If you believe those who voted in our Quick Poll, the Big Yin has outlived his usefulness.
Blomqvist to be rested
25 Jan - A worrying sign, given Walter's previous optimism, that there may be more to Jesper Blomqvist's recurrent knee problem — the one that nearly ended his career…
"Please don't go"
24 Jan - Poor Gazza is reduced to a blubbering idiot as he cries crocodile tears all over Abel Xavier's SkySports News interview. Hilarious!
Marseille in for Xav?
24 Jan - Planet Football are posting the rumour that Abel Xavier has been in talks with Marseille over a possible move to the South of France.
Everton v Leeds Utd
23 Jan - Everton's game against Leeds United at Goodison Park in early March has been switched to Sunday the 3rd, probably due to Leeds Utd's Euro-League involvement. Rumours of live TV coverage are unconfirmed at this time.
Youth Cup: Everton 2 - 0 WBA
23 Jan - Everton's youth team beat West Bromwich Albion 2-0 in the 4th Round of the FA Youth Cup at Goodison Park, the goals both coming from young ace, Wayne Rooney. Next up: Manchester City.
Gravesen future unclear
23 Jan - Time is running short for Tommy Gravesen to find a new club before the European transfer window closes… or was it all a case of huff and bluster?
The Case of Gazza's Elbow
21 Jan - Oyvind Leonhardsen claims that Paul Gascoigne elbowed him during the game at Tottenham… And, since it's Tottenham who's complaining, the FA are all ears.
"Best away result"… Eh?
21 Jan - Davey Weir is doing a good job for Everton. But the excess of hyperbole in this lavish Daily Post feature indicate what little else is really happening in the news at the moment...
Whither now, Big Dunc?
19 Jan - The media seem to have finally got wind of a possible move away from Everton for Duncan Ferguson, who has seemed somewhat disinterested this season. Birmingham City top the short list of possible destinations...
The Bruise Brothers?
18 Jan - The media have Walter Smith starting his favourite striking pair of Campbell and Ferguson at Spurs on Saturday.
Olsen to help Gravesen
18 Jan - According to Soccernet, Tommy Gravesen's path out of Goodison will be assisted by Danish coach Mortin Olsen who will use his old contacts to help him find a new club.
KD needs Councils' support
17 Jan - The Echo anticipates mixed support for the Kings Dock project from regional councils who must back the Ł35M of European Objective 1 money the development is seeking.
Reserves Crash 5-1
16 Jan - Duncan Ferguson had little positive effect for the Reserves side tonight as Aston Villa crsushed the Blues 5-1.
Zamora interest waning
16 Jan - After rampant speculation that Everton would be making / have already made a Ł3M bid for Brighton's Bobby Zamora, a touch of reality is now creeping in to the stories, although Walter Smith was at Withdean last night to watch the lad miss a penalty.
Kings Dock Finance
15 Jan - The Echo is reporting more details on the money trail of finance for the new Everton stadium planned at the Kings Waterfront development. All from an unidentified "senior source" — not the Goodison doorman!
U-19s Beat Bolton
15 Jan - Back from their winter break, the Under-19s completed the Youth Academy double over Bolton today, after the Under-17s did their bit on Saturday.
Ferrante not Interested…
15 Jan - Who said he was? Well, Planet Football believe Everton were nosing around Torino looking at their 30-yr-old striker, Marco Ferrante.
Everton bid Ł3M for Bobby
15 Jan - … but it won't be enough to pry the Ł5M-valued Zamora away from Brighton, says the Electronic Telegraph… but Teamtalk say No Bid.
Jesper in World Cup sights
14 Jan - The Swedish camp will give Jesper Blomqvist every opportunity to make the international grade in time for him to figure in the World Cup.
In bed with Imps
14 Jan - Third Division Lincoln City have announced that an alliance has been agreed with Everton, although it may not be a player-development connection like that between Liverpool and Crewe.
Bobby not-so Dazzler
14 Jan - An Australian website reckons Everton are now favourites to sign Brighton's Bobby Zamora, "the hotest prospect in the lower divisions." Apparently he is currently going through a bad patch...
Gazza on the Demon Drink
13 Jan - Paul Gascoigne told Football Focus he would like to help youngsters in the game understand how the physical effects of alcohol ruined his career: "Without the drinking I could have been one of the best players in the world – I know I would have been."
It must be Sunday
13 Jan - Davey Weir to Manchester United for £8.5m. Joe-Max Moore to ask for a transfer. Rumours abound, as usual.
Player of the Month
12 Jan - Voting has closed in December's POTM poll and the winner is announced. What a shame he might not be around next season. Click here
Property Developer pulls out
11 Jan - Countryside Properties, who had been earmarked as a potential developer on the residential side of the Kings Dock project, have pulled out because of "grey areas"…
Shurely Shome Mishtake
11 Jan - The BBC lets slip that Walter Smith is being lined up as a replacement for Dick Advocaat as Rangers
Director of Football. Maybe this is just a couple of weeks behind the times...
Supporters Club Quiz
10 Jan - Late notice about the Supporters Club Everton Quiz tonight (Thursday) at 7:00 pm in the Alex Young Suite. Ł1 to get in.
When it's time to leave
10 Jan - This piece in The Echo presents the latest episode in the all-too-familiar saga of yet another key Everton midfielder being readied for early departure from Goodison Park. But don't worry: it's all Gravesen's fault.
Come one, come all
10 Jan - Following the big success of lower ticket prices against Derby, Everton have reduced prices for general admission to all the main sections of Goodison Park for the upcoming FA Cup clash with Leyton Orient.
Mortgaging the future
9 Jan - The Echo reveals some more details of Everton's refinancing package under the entirely wrong headline, Out of the Red. This deal will substantially increase Everton's overall debts.
I wanna tell you a story...
9 Jan - The Echo's Len Capeling seems to have his nose well out of joint after being led up the garden path by what he claims to be a deliberate series of mixed messages from the club during the managerial crisis last week. Life as a journalist must be just awful.
Chadwick with Reserves winner
8 Jan - Rising star striker Nick Chadwick bagged his sixth goal of the season for Everton's second string with the only goal in the game against Newcastle tonight.
The Ian MacDonald Letters
8 Jan - The wise ones always say: quot;Choose your battles carefully"... Ian MacDonald of EISA is not happy with the administration of Everton. This reply from Sir Philip Carter neatly sidesteps Ian's real concerns and asks him to explain what amounts to "a slur on the integrity and function" of the administration of the Club.
Kings Dock latest
7 Jan - Star turns will start being lined up for Kings Dock in the next few months... hang on, is the cart
not getting in front of the horse here? Bovis Lend Lease to invest Ł155M?? While Everton invest just Ł30M?? But end up with 49% of the pie??? Curiouser and curiouser...
FA Cup: 4th Round Draw
6 Jan - In the draw for the 4th Round of the FA Cup, Everton have been drawn at home to Leyton Orient of Division 3.
Money, money, money
5 Jan - Dominic Fifield of The Guardian reckons that the refinancing deal Bill Kenwright referred to will give Everton Ł1M for improvements at Bellefield, Ł2M
for the new Youth Academy, and Ł9M for strengthening the squad.
Super Kev loves Walter
4 Jan - In The Echo, Kevin Campbell comes out with fulsome praise for Walter Smith, saying the whole squad is behind him, and that bringing in a new manager now would have caused turmoil.
Another injury crisis
4 Jan - Everton will be without at least six and possibly eight players against Stoke as the injury crisis bites as hard as the cold weather.
Players are behind Walter
3 Jan - A delegation of Everton players has provided The Echo with strong verbal backing for their beleaguered manager... now, if only they can convert those fine words into actions on the pitch...
Radz puts Club before Country
2 Jan - Canadian international Tomasz Radzinski has pledged to forego the Gold Cup in the US next month if Campbell and Ferguson are still sidelined at Goodison. Someone tell him we're going to need him come what may when he's recovered from his own injury!
Smith will not be quitting
2 Jan - In response to the widely spread rumour that Walter Smith is half-way out the door, having overseen the loss at Middlesbrough, the Everton Manager tells the BBC's Phil McNulty that he will not be quitting Everton.
Christmas Woes off the field
2 Jan - Ian MacDonald reports on the depressing failure of any players to turn up for the EISA kids' Christmas Party, and how he personally feels about what this means to his diligent efforts in working with the Club.
New Year, New Everton?
1 Jan - Luke Ashton lives in Widnes and follows Everton passionately, including Reserves games. This is how he feels about things Blue.
Fan power will decide
1 Jan - The Independent reckons that fan power will determine Walter Smith's future at Everton. Alan Nixon claims that Bill Kenwright will listen to the fans and turn on his beloved Walter Smith if they do... Sounds a bit fishy to me!
Exercise a bit of your own fan power: vote in the January Poll
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