I think it's disgusting Gary. I have three boys and can't understand how the club can even justify the price of the new kit which has gone up about £15 since a couple of years ago. In fact if you compare other Nike clubs our kit is one of the most expensive.

I'd go down there rather than telephone and take your son with you, surely common sense will prevail. Good luck.

The club don't give a shit anymore. They still haven't got any socks in for kids' away kits, £50 for kids shirts cos they are now classed as "small boys"!!!

They ran out of merchandise on release day

Everton getting the same off Kitbag regardless of what's sold so they aren't bothered... Nike, my arse – wouldn't matter if it was Gola.

I won't be buying anything this season for first time in 32 years; it doesn't go to the club.

Gary I know what you mean. Last season after a bit of pressure they gave in and I got an exchange of the shirt for Arteta. They didn't change the shorts or socks though. This year my son got the kit but I wouldn't allow him to put any name on it until the window was closed. It was always felt Cahill was moving so it was bad judgement to get his name on the shirt. Certain factors may prevent the club exchanging this time, one being with Artata they recieved a massive fee for him. I totally agree that the price of kits is nothing short of exploitation and blackmail of our kids need to keep up with the Jones's. Like everywhere else things are not priced at what they are worth, they are priced at what they can get for them. Best thing to do is buy the Retro shirts. Hope you get a change but don't hold your breath.

To be honest I think this is total nonsense.

You bought something that was delivered as advertised and you specified the name and number on the back. The fact that some conditions have changed since has absolutely zero bearing on that fact, it's like buying stocks and then asking for a refund because the price went down the next day. Would you have had the same reaction if Tim was played on the bench for most of the year or ruled out through a season-long injury?

Two other obvious points:
i) Tim Cahill hasn't died, retired or moved to the other side - he's an Everton legend and shouldn't cease to be a hero just because he's not playing for us this year doesn't negate his status as an Evertonian. In fact I think it makes the shirt more valuable as a homage to a great servant of the club.
ii) Also It has been rumoured that Cahill was likely to be leaving since pretty much the end of the season and speculation has only increased in the last few weeks so I'm amazed any Everton fan wouldn't be aware of this fact.

Ultimately if the club do change the shirt then it's an incredible act of goodwill as far as I can see, but I don't understand why they should be castigated for not doing so and I don't see how the shirt is somehow less valuable now. Presumably by the same rationale you'd think a shirt with Ferguson, Dean, Young, Kendall, Reid, etc would be without merit or value?

One other obvious point is that the shirt was bought a couple of days before the move went through,the club must have known he was going.
The cost of a shirt is quite expensive to the man in the street.

I think the way you have been treated is disgusting. Surely the club should show some common sense and let you exchange but the way they treat us fans is terrible. I would not hold your breathe, we're just the mugs who pay their wages. Good luck any way mate. COYB.

You talk a great deal of sense Chris. Whilst anyone would feel for the young lad....I think the legacy/Everton legend idea is spot on and something the boy culd be really proud of wearing.

I understand the frustration but I think your son should wear the shirt with pride.

Cahill will always be a part of this club.

Feel bad for the lad, but I agree; wear it with pride. Cahill is a legend for me, and I was actually considering buying my 4yr old a shirt with his name on in the next week or two.

I say keep it too! I am thinking of getting my shirt with Cahill in it.. Never had before but in memory seems worth it.

I agree with Lee.

If all the shite that goes on at our club affected our love to go and watch Everton no one would turn up. Tell your lad he's special and wear to the shirt. It's the badge on the front that represents his individual character.

Whatever the small print, I think the club could make an exception in this case. I'd be tempted to parcel the shirt up and send it off to Tim at the Bulls, explaining the situation and asking him to sign it (enlose return p&p as I'm sure TC's a busy lad at the moment). I bet he does.

I have to say, I don't actually think the club have done anything wrong here, yes the kits are expensive and yes your son has the name of somebody who doesn't play at the club anymore. But, how is that the club shop's fault? Footballers move, transfers happen, and as Chris said, you requested that name on the back. This is a business and the amount of money it would cost to replace every top that had the name of a player that leaves would be ridiculous.

I mean where does it stop? Where is the cut-off point after purchase? 1 week? 1 month? 6 months?

I genuinely understand your annoyance at the price of the kit, but possibly in the future, don't get a name on the back, or if you do, perhaps your son's name.

If you get an exchange, then fair play, but if it was me, I wouldn't have even asked for one. Given our current situation, transfers are always likely, so you're taking a risk with whoever you get on the back.

Same as most from me too, Leave it as is and remember the Man in the shirt we love. I'll be getting one with his name on too in the next week, I was going to get another but now this is a must!!

Thank you for all your comments.

I see some of my fellow blues actually understood the point I was trying to make, the issue of whether Tim remains my little boy's (mine too) hero was never brought into doubt, he is – and always will be. Those of us who can still remember what it feels like to be a young lad / girl and how you felt about a player who you thought was fantastic, you took pride in having his name on your kit.

It was great to rub it in the faces of our near neighbours across the park when he scored against them, but now, with Tim gone, in the world of a nine-year-old, his name on the kit becomes a stick to beat him with. As adults, we all know what a great player Tim has been and can fully appreciate all the great things he has done for Everton, but when you are nine it's all about the here and now...

OK so Tim has moved on and I wish him well. I respect the fact that this happens in football, especially now with the way things are here.

When we went down to collect the Kit (not ordered on-line), as every year he wanted Cahill on the back, I even joked with the girl on the till "He's not leaving, is he?" Obviously she said "No," – not that I expected her to know the finer points of our transfer policies.

Now I am no Philadelphia lawyer, so the finer points of the Sale of Goods Act is not my speciality subject, I would need to "phone a friend" and I am sure Everton have it watertight that they have acted lawfully... but morally I am 100% sure of the fact they have not.

Like many of you, I have spent thousands of pounds over the last 30 years watching and supporting the Blues, not one penny begrudged; all I wanted the club to do was swap the kit for another name on the shirt. Had this been my shirt, it would not have even crossed my mind... but, with out the risk of repeating myself, he is NINE.

Gary email the club not the shop add a link for th

Gary email the club not the shop add a link for this page as I think that's more likely to get a favourable response than from someone working at the shop who was walking past the phone when you happened to call.

As I recall, it was Arteta who shelled out for the jersey replacement last year, and not the club, as an apology to his fans. Also, the whole replacement was due to the media coverage it got due to Rooney tweeting about how his children had just bought the Everton jersey with Arteta on the back.

So I suggest becoming a famous (infamous?) tweeter and express your dismay, write to Cahill himself (which I think is your best option), or settle for the Cahill jersey as it is.

I do feel that the club/shop have done nothing wrong in this instance though. I would suggest waiting until September 1st in future, or getting Osman or Hibbert on the back just to be safe.

I have Cahill on my lads kit and would prefer it ahead of players still playing for us anyway, this is not Gravesen or someone like that going, Cahill will always be associated with the club anyway like say Latchford etc.

Can I make a suggestion?

The simple answer is to change your son's surname by deed poll to Cahill. His name will then appear on the back of the shirt and the problem will be solved.

The club have done nothing morally or legally wrong, the only thing that they could have possibly done to prevent this is to refuse to offer shirt printing at all until the transfer window has shut.

As you have pointed out, your son is 9, but guess what: he'll get over it, and I dare say when he sees a lot of new kit's with Cahill's name on the back on match day, he will get it.

My next Kit purchase is going to be a Red Bulls jersey with Cahill's name and number on the back.

Difficult one this. Imagine for a minute that a nine year old's hero was Barmby. Just after his dad spent £92 on kit for him Barmby leaves and ends up playing for the shite. Is that nine year old expected to walk around with a shirt emblazoned with a shithouse shite player's name on it? All because his dad didn't read the 'small print'?

Wearing a shirt with Tim's name on it would be fine, because it's Tim, but a principle is a principle and if it's ok for the club to knock this back then it would presumably be assumed to be ok to be knocked back for a Barmby shirt as well?

(PS. Yes, I know Barmby didn't go to the shite immediately but just imagine he did for the sake of argument. Or let's imagine if Rooney, while being brought through by Everton was actually a kopite and cried to go there? Would you have let your kid wear the shirt with his name on it?)

Good luck Gary lad.
I hope you're lad enjoys his new shirt.
After all, that's the important thing here.
Not whether TC's a legend or not.
Like you said, "he is only nine"

Anyone defending the club or suggesting its impractical or "where do you draw the line" argument is utterly ridiculous. Everton is a massive company, the shirts 'worth' pennies. The company sells players for 'nominal fees' worth one million pounds!

The cost to the club is fuck all in the scheme of things. A multi billion pound corporation such as Nike cannot replace the kit of a small boy? This is not a difficult one, and people saying 'where's the line'? Let the line be one month. The physical value of the kit is a couple of quid maximum, last year Nike made £371m profit in 3 months! (source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13937501).

You should not rest till you get that kit replaced in my opinion.

And can I just add this man's son will be an Evertonian for the rest of his life. It makes sense for companies to replace things for people so they can buy their loyalty, however Everton are safe in the knowledge this boy will remain a customer.

It really is beyond a joke now with Everton Football Club.

I am sure they would be happy to swap it for an Anichebe one.

I got email after email from Everton to buy now and get the shirt on the day it was out. I thought I would get it for my 6-year-old lad. The day it arrived it had a great big ciggy burn in the back of it.

As you can imagine, I was pissed off with this along with my lad who must've told all his mates that he was going to wear the new Everton kit on the same day, it was a muffty day.

I sent an email to Everton and got a reply to say someone will be in touch within 48hrs. I then called them to tell them and they just couldn't give a shit. I went down to the club store to change it and not one person appologised, etc etc. From top to bottom in this club the fan is just nothing and are treated like shite.

As I recall, it was Arteta who shelled out for the jersey replacement last year and not the club as an apology to his fans. Also, the whole replacement was due to the media coverage it got due to Rooney tweeting about how his children had just bought the Everton jersey with Arteta on the back.

So I suggest becoming a famous (infamous?) tweeter and express your dismay, write to Cahill himself (Which I think is your best option), or settle for the Cahill jersey as it is.

I do feel that the club/shop have done nothing wrong in this instance though. I would suggest waiting until September 1st in future, or getting Osman or Hibbert on the back just to be safe.

I pre-ordered the shirt and they never bothered to send me the "free scarf" that they were advertising with the shirt. When I emailed them to check up on it I got 2 emails from 2 people - 1 saying it was "while stocks last" (the offer has only just been dropped - so I ordered well in time to qualify) and the other said they'd look into it. Since then have heard nothing. The club are terrible when it comes to this sort of thing. They advertise offers then don't bother sticking to them !

They should just change the shirt. It's called customer relations. As for the 'Where do you draw the line?' argument, I would say 1 month.

In most consumer law cases, the key word is 'reasonable'. The other is 'fair'. Are Everton being fair? Perhaps by the letter of the law, but it's debatable. Are they being reasonable? Certainly not.

I would write to Robert Elstone by e-mail and quote these words and mention that your son is likely to be on this planet for another 70 or 80 years and they will more than get their money back in the end!

I suggest you return to the shop, shirt in hand, give it to the assisstant and ask him/her to print 'LEGEND' beneath the number.

Problem solved.

Of all recent ex-players your son could have on his back... he certainly has the best one.

I like the idea of sending it Tim to sign (I'm sure he would), then frame it and stick it on your wall.

You're lucky, I don't feel I can do the same for my Barmby, Rooney and Lescott shirts!

I don't get names printed any more due to my poor track record... may I suggest you take the same stance for your boy's shirts in future or at least wait until September so you can be assured of 6 months wear.

Let us know how you get on. If they finally do the swap for you I'd love to know as I'll take in my Barmby shirt for sure!

Don't think Timmy is the best at signing shirts. Need to ask my little sis about thiat one. Not sure what all the fuss is about here. Either write to the club if you're that miffed or wear it with pride. Timmy lad was a legend in blue.

I see what people are saying about the wear with pride or putting 'Legend' on the bottom... But it's a nine year old. The club shop could have suggested the legend idea, but with small print argument do not show themselves as anything but money grabbing and insensitive. I think you should write to the club about it and hopefully then they can draw up some best practice policies - or even better, suggest the shop's staff use their initiative as ambassadors for the club rather than acting like soulless automatons.

Chris, #422, well said.
The decision to move wasn't an easy one for Tim. He'd said that after he was done with Everton he'd return to Australia to focus on his Soccer Academy, and other interests. That said he still thought he has a couple of years left in him.

To the OP I'd say be proud of the name on the back. Everton is as much a part of Tim as it is for you and I. The late great Alan Ball made the famous quote "Once Everton has touched you nothing is the same" and Tim very much subscribes to that. The fact that he requested the number 17 for the Red Bulls is his small nod to Everton.

If you still have the receipt, undo some of the stitching and take it back saying it is faulty.

Well a nine-year old's reasoning is a bit more, shall we say, emotionally influenced than ours so the thought of keeping it and wearing it with pride is probably overruled by feelings of being gutted that his hero is gone. Perhaps in time he'd come round to it but right now he probably doesn't want to hear it.

What I'd do, Gary, if the Club is of no help, keep the Cahill one and give it to him later when he's calmed down a bit. If Cahill will always be his hero as you say, won't he want to have it again at some point? Or, you could offer the jersey to someone on here or put it up on eBay or Craigslist with your story, there must be someone else out there whose kid worships Cahill who would buy it off you. Then you could get a new one with a current player's name for your son. I'd avoid Yobo, Heitinga or Baines though.

Rule #1
Never buy anything with a player's name in the off-season. I bought a Rooney scarf at the Megastore one time coz the plain Everton ones were all out of stock and there was nothing else good to buy. The jerseys were all wiped out and I had a choice of XS or XXXL. Bought a beach towel instead. Few weeks later Rooney comes back from his hols and announces he's off to Manchester. I was fuming. Luckily the club hadn't changed our crest so my beach towel is still of use.

Rory #796, isn't Craigslist where you go to meet "compensated dates"? I don't mean you personally, even though the last pint we had was in Orchard Towers!!!

"compensated dates"? Sounds rather seedy.

Send a tweet or message Tim on Facebook; knowing what the lad's like, I bet he will do something about it. I have just brought the new home shirt (long sleeved for the first time in my life for obvious reasons!!) and have got CAHILL 17 on the back. It's different for a 9-year-old, I understand that, but honestly he should wear it with pride!

Some of you really will take any opportunity to bash the club won't you?!

This is just another example of compensation culture. You made the choice to buy a shirt with the name of a player on the back, despite knowing full well that players are bought and sold regularly and we're right in the middle of the transfer window. The club gave you no guarantees that Cahill would not be sold (in fact it's been mooted for months) but you chose to buy your shirt anyway. It's a bit like taking milk back to the shop a month after you bought it and saying it's gone off.

Don't get me wrong, I know it's expensive and I know your lad will be gutted, but that doesn't mean the club is to blame. There are many things they do make a mess of but this isn't one of them.

Nothing to do with compensation culture. He's a nine-year-old Evertonian who doesn't want a shirt with an ex-player's name on the back of it.

Like Alex said above, the shirt's worth less than pennies to the club.

If you must buy a jersey and get a name on it, print your own name.
Not much chance of you leaving anytime soon!

I think Ian has the most sensible idea. Either get your own name or leave it blank.

The last time I bought a shirt with a player's name on it was Bilic 28 which, as well all know, didn't end very well. I wore it playing for Everton at WorldNet in Reading in 1998 (I think it was) and I didn't play much better ;)

I rarely buy the shirts these days but I have not put a name or number on the back since then.

Hmmm

I feel for your son Gary, my emotions about players was totally different in 1984 when I was 9 to now. I'd just keep pushing it with the club until they give in.

I don't have names on shirts but thought it would be a great idea to get my sons' names printed on the kits I'd bought for them, how proud I'd be. Okay, they are only 6 and 2 but it's an immensely proud thing for dad to see his sons' names on the shirt means so much to us all.

However, Mrs A wouldn't let me in case on holiday, in a busy shopping centre or even at a game, someone tried to snatch one of them as they new his name!!

Just keep pressing Gary, he is 9 and deserves better from a club that he will support all his life.

I bought my kids the kit at the club shop last week, there are signs up all over advising that they cannot be held responsible for printing on shirts in the case of players leaving before the squad is confirmed for the coming season.

Don't blame the club as the shop is just another asset that was franchised below value to a company that knows and cares not a jot for our history... Blame the clowns running EFC into the ground —ultimately blame Mr 24/7 Kenwright.

And one more thing: anyone who thinks their football club owes them a debt for years of support and loyalty needs to wake up and smell the napalm: you're just another consumer!

Gary, I see both sides here and its always a tricky one..

If your lad watches this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDhn5vlmHI4

And still dosent want the shirt, stick it up on Ebay and I will buy it off you for one of my lads..

Well I don't print any 'hero' names on my jerseys until Feb 1, to take in the January transfer window too! But by then the jersey's completely 'worn in' and I don't bother with the printing. Cahill is a legend and true blue, I'm surprised he didn't force his new club to change name to NY Blue Bulls. He could do a Cruyff and strip out the red from his new kit. Anyway, you could do worse and print Lescott or Rooney; I've binned one and given the other to the Salvation Army (it was brand new with tags and badges). Cahill may be back come January so not all is lost, unless Pienaar so some other twat takes the 17 jersey!