Fan Articles

Rinse and Repeat

Darren Arnold : 30/06/2021

There's an argument to be made that Everton haven't made any progress since the day Sam Allardyce was sacked three years ago. Is Rafael Benitez, with his reputation for defensive football, just another "holding" appointment until we can find the right man or could his more colder, more authoritarian style be just what the squad needs?

From Hollywood to the Gates of Hell

Martin O'Connor : 30/06/2021

With the departure of the disaster that was Carlo Ancelotti, we had the chance to appoint an ambitious manager who could excite the supporter base and have a real plan, strategy, vision, and the ambition to lead us into the new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock and the future. Instead, the board have dragged us to the gates of hell. They have made a Faustian pact with Benitez, selling our soul to a man who will play awful football, take us nowhere, and be gone in about 18 months – or hopefully a lot sooner.

Did they get you to trade your heroes for ghosts?

Darren Hind : 26/06/2021

What is the truth about EVerton's core of ex-players on the coaching staff? And is one of them – Duncan Ferguson – good enough to take the reigns as the new manager?

It’s a Rich Man’s World

Clive Rogers : 10/06/2021

Who is next for the Goodison Hotseat?

Mike Cheshire : 04/06/2021

Shopping for Dresses

Martin O'Connor : 01/06/2021

"Hollywood managers" and endless instability. It's now time for Marcel Brands to fulfil the brief he was hired for

Being Everton – A Personal Perspective & This Season

Danny O’Neill : 25/05/2021

Danny, one of our most prolific posters, provides some personal background along with his 10-point analysis of the season.

Farewell to these Departing Players?

Phil Roberts : 25/05/2021

A chance to vent what steam and anger we still have left and get rid of the disappointment of the last couple of months by saying au revoir to a number of players who either will be or could be leaving Everton this summer.

The Art of Treading Water

Martin O'Connor : 23/05/2021

If Carlo is (as most people still seem to think), a world-class manager, then we really should, after 18 months of his leadership, be serving up better football, look more of a coherent team, and be finishing better than midtable. He has us doing what we have become so successful at: treading Premier League water and going absolutely nowhere.

2021 – A flamboyant team destroyed by Carlo’s meddling

Kevin Prytherch : 18/05/2021

A forthright, no-holds-barred critique of Carlo Ancelotti's first full season in charge

Do We Really Want European Football in 2021-22?

Phil Roberts : 14/05/2021

It means mixing it up with some of the Continent's bigger clubs and a crack at a trophy... but the Europa League and new Conference League schedules can be gruelling

Three more years for Marcel Brands?

Martin O'Connor : 25/04/2021

Director of Football Marcel Brands has signed a new 3-year contract with Everton. But was this new contract deserved?

The Tempest ... or Much Ado About Nothing?

Nicholas Ryan : 20/04/2021

Things have changed forever this week and will never be the same again. The wolves have thrown off their disguises and are now running amok amongst the poultry!

Pure, selfish greed cannot prevail

Jim Potter : 20/04/2021

If these selfish businessmen carry on with trying to destroy the fabric football and join this abomination then I would ban those 6 clubs in perpetuity from all of English football. No chance of ever returning. Bridges burnt.

My favourite European away games: #1

Rob Halligan : 10/04/2021

Rob reveals the pinnacle of his European sojourns with his favourite #1 continental jaunt while following the Blues in those all-too-rare Uefa Cup moments.

My favourite European away games: #2

Rob Halligan : 06/04/2021

Rob continues the countdown of his favourite away-day memories of continental jaunts following Everton in the Europa League: #2, BSC Young Boys in Bern, Switzerland.

Succession Planning

Robert Tressell : 02/04/2021

The upcoming close season transfer window looks likely to be another hugely important time for Everton but it remains to be seen whether or not it makes us really genuinely competitive beyond next season

My favourite European away games, #3

Rob Halligan : 31/03/2021

After much consideration, I've decided to go ahead and give a detailed description of my favourite European away games

My Top Three Favourite European Away Games

Rob Halligan : 29/03/2021

I've decided to list, and give feedback on my favourite top three away games in Europe.

Memories of the Old Lady

Alasdair Jones : 26/03/2021

Alasdair Jones provides a unique personal perspective on his impressions and memories of Goodison Park.

Magic

Tony McDonald : 25/03/2021

There have been many heroes in Royal Blue and it doesn’t need me to give a list as we all have our favourites. For me, it will always be Duncan McKenzie.

Question Time

Martin O'Connor : 15/03/2021

As we move into the final quarter of the season, Carlo Ancelotti has been in charge for 14½ months. So where are we under the leadership of Carlo “Magnifico”?

What Might Still Happen Going Forward...

Alasdair Jones : 23/02/2021

A look at the hurdles still facing Everton's plans for a new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock

Gylfi - Icelandic Genius

Robert  Tressell : 19/02/2021

Gylfi Sigurdsson is a genius. Okay, not quite... but if he is to leave Everton in the next 18 months, what do the club go for in terms of a replacement?

How Can Everton win the derby?

Matthew Parry : 18/02/2021

I’m slightly more optimistic about this clash than I have been in recent years as this season has been so unorthodox, but I still expect it’ll take a mighty performance to take three points here.

Everton v Spurs – A Passing of the Baton?

Thomas Cairns : 11/02/2021

The 5-4 win over Tottenham was the latest in a series of games in which Everton sides of the past might well have capitulated at the first sign of adversity. Was this victory a milestone signifying that we can now emulate Spurs and mount our own Top 4 challenge?

Tom Davies: Our Serviceable Number Six

Gabriel Ricci : 08/02/2021

Tom Davies, an honest look at our serviceable 22-year-old Premier League player as he is performing today... along with a quick glimpse into what might hopefully be his Everton future.

Evolution of a Top-4 Side

Robert Tressell : 02/02/2021

A good manager can give you a big club feel. That’s one for Ancelotti. But, you have to back that up with the style of your recruitment and the way you play the game.

January Days

Martin O'Connor : 02/02/2021

With thoughts already firmly looking forward to the Summer transfer window, what is to be made of the January Days just past and the Blues’ transfer business?

Telling you what we all know after going through the last 7 days

Phil Roberts : 02/02/2021

"I would contend that our optimism this season was not founded on solid ground."

A Grand Day Out - 25th January 1975

Stephen Ashton : 26/01/2021

"For me, Plymouth away was definitely the highlight of an ultimately disappointing season."

Wind of Change

Santosh Benjamin : 13/01/2021

As I think of the song by The Scorpions, I cannot help but feel a real sense of joy from deep within that comes from knowing that we are headed in the right direction

Call a Doctor; Surgery is Required!

Dylan Joseph : 02/01/2021

Surgery can be painful and it can be intrusive but very often it is essential. I believe that, for Everton to get to the top, it is more imperative than ever.

It's Time to Talk about Marcel Brands

Martin O'Connor : 02/01/2021

As the Winter transfer window opens, one thing which now has become very urgent, and which Everton need to sort out very quickly, is the position of Director of Football, Marcel Brands, who is in the last 6 months of his contract.

January Reinforcements

Sam Hoare : 31/12/2020

Sam Hoare provides musings on his chosen Mastermind subject: “Unsubstantiated Transfer Speculation”.

Money? No Issue

Dylan Joseph : 11/12/2020

With the news that Mr Moshiri is due to increase his investment to circa £400m, can we say that financial wealth is no longer a problem at Everton?

How to go from nowhere to Champions League in no time at all

Robert  Tressell : 04/12/2020

Does the RB Leipzig model provide the template for Everton to finally break into the top four and regularly secure qualification for Europe's elite competition?

Can My 9-Month Old American Daughter Love Everton?

Brian Gabriel Canever : 03/12/2020

An American Toffee since 2009, Brian's love for Everton has only intensified since the birth of his daughter, Alba, earlier this year. Already saving for his first trip over with her to see both the men's and women's teams, he dreams that one day she could wear the club's colours in a professional capacity

Beneath the Blue Veneer

Martin O'Connor : 10/11/2020

Beneath the blue veneer of the first eleven, nothing much exists, as with Ancelotti: once you strip away the veneer of his past successes, nothing much exists anymore.

Has anyone else seen enough?

Paul Traill : 08/11/2020

The level of play-acting involved in today’s game has been building for many a year. I think I’ve about had it with watching these con artists run around in soulless empty stadiums, while the powers-that-be don’t seem remotely interested in curbing this behaviour

It's Jam Today, Not Tomorrow

Dylan Joseph : 07/11/2020

If you wish to be successful, you need to be the sort of club where, when a top player becomes available, you are the club he wants to join.

The Development of Ellis Simms

Phill Thompson : 21/10/2020

Everybody has heard of Ellis Simms... not everybody has seen him but everybody will have an opinion; he’s potentially next in line to become an Everton Academy graduate playing in the Premier League. So I thought I’d look back at his development. As ever, most of the facts are accurate, but opinions of course are just my opinions.

The Battle of Edgware Road

Stephen Vincent : 13/10/2020

Recounting the events of 12 October 1985, which were no minor skirmish!

Window Dressing

Martin O'Connor : 09/10/2020

As the long Covid-impacted transfer window has closed (with a few days of the domestic EFL window still open), how have the Blues performed?

Lean, Mean and Young

Jay Wood : 07/10/2020

With the transfer window now officially closed (other than signings of free agents or players from the Football League), let's take a look at the first-team squad...

The James Rodriguez Effect

Matthew Parry : 29/09/2020

The Colombian superstar is already proving skeptical pundits wrong by settling straight into the Premier League and, in concert with Carlo Ancelotti and Everton's other new signings, transforming the club's prospects this season

Jordan Pickford: The Diamond Getting Rougher

Matthew Parry : 28/09/2020

As each game passes, it seems the debate over whether Jordan Pickford is good enough to play between the sticks for Everton only gathers momentum. Since Pickford’s arrival from Sunderland in 2017, he has not been able to offer that consistently. What, then, has gone wrong for what was once an exciting young prospect?

Photographing a Rhino

Martin O'Connor : 21/09/2020

Are the recent changes at Everton's Academy involving David Unsworth and Leighton Baines the right ones to foster a more productive farm system for the Blues' first-team?

Don't Be Fooled... This Season Could Be Very Tough

Matthew Parry : 17/09/2020

The win at Tottenham was one very small step on a deceptively lengthy road and the high-calibre signings only tape over the cracks until they prove they can improve our dynamic on a weekly basis

Bill Kenwright – Everton Legend

Kevin Prytherch : 11/09/2020

Since 1999, Bill Kenwright has overseen the second most consistent period in Everton's history. The record of consecutive 8th-place finishes or better between 2006 and 2014 has only ever been bettered once.

Opposition View: Spurs For Life

Ryan Curtis : 09/09/2020

Everton kick off the new season at Tottenham, another club managed by a high-profile boss looking for a much better campaign than the one that just ended. We got the thoughts of Spurs For Life on Sunday and the season as a whole

Will James Rodriguez & Co Be Successes At Everton?

Richard Coleman : 09/09/2020

Could this be the dawn of an era of genuine quality recruitment under Ancelotti or simply a continuation of the trend of expensive acquisitions who fail to gel and live up to expectations?

The Project – Next Chapter

Paul  Tran : 08/09/2020

With Farhad Moshiri backing his new manager with an overhaul of Everton's midfield, The Project is back on the rails and there are fewer excuses to stop it hurtling forwards. It’s time for manager and players to deliver; time for us to be less cautiously optimistic!

Away Day Blues: Tottenham Hotspur

Patrick McFarlane : 07/09/2020

Since Everton gained promotion to the top flight, way back in 1954, Everton’s visits - to the original White Hart Lane, Wembley or the newly lavishly upgraded White Hart Lane - haven’t produced many victories for the Toffees.

Who Is Steering the Ship?

Martin O'Connor : 04/09/2020

Have Everton scrapped Marcel Brands's plan to rebuild the squad with younger players in favour of a return to Steve Walsh's modus operandi, with Carlo Ancelotti and Farhad Moshiri having taken the helm?

You Can’t Always Get What You Want…

Dylan Joseph : 31/08/2020

You don’t need the billions, you just need a good culture amongst the club and the players and standards that are adhered to. We can get what we need, we just need to reset our club ethos and standards and don’t allow anyone who doesn’t meet them to wear the Royal Blue

Our Future Is Alternative

Robert Bresnan : 18/08/2020

We're all expecting 2020-21 to be full of crippling mediocrity and the obligatory bad defeat to the gobshites but what about a different future in which things are rather rosy by the end of next season?

Marcel Brands and the Missing Transfer Doctrine

Jacques Sandtonian : 14/08/2020

Marcel Brands has just learned the first rule of Everton transfer business: We are the scouting arm of Tottenham Hotspur.

The First Six Months: Unacceptable

Darren Hind : 12/08/2020

Everton's midfield was an obvious cause for concern last season, particularly down the home stretch but was the main problem the players or a failure of management on the part of Carlo Ancelotti?