Howard's heartfelt goodbye after a decade's service

It's a shame that his last season was tainted by a manager refusing to pull him out of the firing line when he clearly needed it, and by a minority who chose to publicly slate a long term Evertonian who wasn't picking himself.

It's a credit to Tim that he could accept and rise above that. Congratulations to him on his Everton career and good luck for the future.

Excellent post, Ernie (7).

I know you have not logged on t this thread yet, but I also know that as soon as you see TH's name, you will.

You will probably have gathered that the empty seats behind Tim were those that had been occupied by Norwich fans, but you would have been delighted with the reception from all around the rest of the stadium (the link doesnt capture that ). To a man the faithful stayed to give him a send off that reduced him to tears.

clean sheet too . .You would have loved it

Nice words, I think he'll be given the respect he deserves should he ever come back to Goodison .

Good luck in the future and come back and see us sometime.

I know Norwich, were poor, but Howard's, concentration levels looked so much sharper than what we have become accustomed to, these last twelve months. And what about his bit of skill in the second half?

Good luck Tim, you look a much better keeper, when you play on the front foot, and I think you also looked a lot more relaxed when you had the ball in your arms yesterday. Not in so much of a hurry to get rid of it, which definately seemed to relax you a lot more.

All the best for the future.

USA, USA.

Good luck and best wishes for this new chapter in your life with the Rapids...

Tim Howard has been a great servant - 10 years of service and clearly has the club in his veins now like the rest of us. We as supporters have this deep rooted love for Everton, but do we really know how that same feeling must be for a player? 10 years is a long time to be in one job, and a very long time to be at one football club.

I have nothing but respect for the man, and wish him every bit of luck he deserves going forward.

A quality goalkeeper, and a quality human being.

I still don't get this "service" and "loyal servant" thing. Our club provided him with a decade of highly lucrative employment - millions of pounds worth. Was he doing us a big favour by reluctantly trousering it?

Howard had his up's and downs but he was a solid GK for most of his Everton career. I was glad he got a good send off yesterday. I wish him the best of luck for the remainder of his career.

He was excellent yesterday though and you could clearly see and hear his passion for the club during his speech and walkabout.

Good luck with your new adventure Tim.

Tim could have gone back to United in 07 and sat the pine collecting trophies, instead he wanted to play for a manger that wanted him and a club that supported him. He made that choice. He could have left ECF a few times I'm sure and gone to a club who maybe was a little higher up the table. Maybe a club that wasn't finishing 7th all the time. He chose to stay at ECF.

Tim you may have not been the best keeper, but you played your arse off every time. As an American seeing you play in England when the world says we can't hang over in Europe and you did it for 10 years, made me proud. Even though now you will play for Colorado and I'm an Union supporter, I will still wish you the best of luck.

Good luck Tim and thanks.

Southall, West, Wood, Martyn and Howard - probably the only 5 class keepers that we have had in all those years, in my opinion.

I know we disagree on much over Howard but that was a nice summary for those like me that could not be there. A clean sheet was a nice way to go out too. The YouTube farewell interview was moving.

The fact that Naismith stayed out on the pitch for Tim, given how he must have been feeling, shows what a person and still a Blue he is. I figure that if Naisy respects someone then they must be okay. COYB.