Everton FC is an English professional football club from the city of Liverpool in the north-west part of the country.
It has played in every season of the Premier League, the highest football league in the country, since its inception. Everton was also a founding member of the English Football League in 1888.
Everton has competed in the English top-division for a record 118 seasons. The club has the 2nd longest continuous run in the top-flight and presently ranks 3rd on the all-time points-ranking list. Its trophy cabinet contains 9 league-titles, 5 FA Cups, 9 Charity Shields and a European Cup Winners’ Cup.
Everton FC – Sponsored by Cyber Bet
Identity
The traditional colours of Everton FC are royal blue shirts matched with white shirts and socks. The club crest features the Everton Lock Up which stands in the middle of the Everton district in Liverpool. It includes two laurel wreaths which signify winners and the Latin motto ‘Nil Satis Nisi Optimum’ which means ‘nothing but the best’.
The supporters of Everton are generally referred to as the Blues while they are also nicknamed the Toffees. Its major local fan-base comes from Merseyside, Cheshire, West Lancashire and parts of Greater Manchester. Mans fans regularly travel from northern Wales, Ireland and Scotland.
Everton has played its home-games at Goodison Park since 1892. Prior to this it played across Stanley Park at Anfield. Its move led to the formation of its rivals Liverpool FC and the two clubs have competed in the Merseyside derby ever since. While the rivalry is relatively friendly, the fixture has produced the most red-cards in the Premier League.
History
Everton FC began as St. Domingo’s FC in 1878. It was started by the St. Domingo Methodist New Connexion Chapel in Breckfield Road North, Everton so its members, who played cricket in summer, could play sport all year round. In November 1879, it changed to Everton as the locals outside the congregation also wanted to join the club.
The Early Period
Everton became one of the founding members of the English Football League and ended the inaugural 1888/89 season in 8th position. The club would go on to clinch its maiden league-title in 1890/91. It would however have to wait a while before lifting the FA Cup for the first time in the 1905/06 campaign.
In 1913/14, Everton was crowned First Division champions but World War I broke out and English football was temporarily suspended for 4 years. While Everton remained the reigning champions in the duration of the War, it had to wait for more than a decade to taste any substantial success.
In 1925, Everton signed the legendary Dixie Dean from neighbouring Tranmere Rovers in the Third Division. During the 1927/28 season, Dean made a new top-division record with 60 goals in 39 games, one that is still unmatched to this day, as Everton took home its 3rd league-title.
Yet turmoil within the club had produced a sharp decline in the next couple of years and led Everton finishing the 1929/30 campaign in 20th position to get relegated for the first time in its history. But it made immediate amends by securing the Second Division title with a record-tally and moved back to the top-tier after a year’s absence.
On its return to the First Division, Everton drove straight to the top and won the league-title for the 4th time at the end of the 1931/32. In the following 1932/33 season, the club reached the final of the FA Cup where it defeated Manchester City 3-0 at Wembley to lift the trophy a second time.
After dropping down to the bottom-half for the next few seasons, Everton won the First Division title once again in 1938/39. However, World War II began and football was once again suspended for the next 7 years with the Toffees once again staying as the defending champions during the interlude.
The Post-War Era
Like many other football clubs of England, Everton was severely hampered by the outbreak of World War II. When the league resumed in 1946/47, the team was now a shadow of its former self and failed to establish its previous stature before ending the campaign in 10th position.
Having finished in the lower-half for the next 3 seasons, Everton ended at the bottom of the standings in 22nd position in 1950/51 and was relegated for the 2nd time. It managed to become runners-up of the Second Division in 1953/54 to earn promotion back to the top flight where it has remained ever since.
Everton remained a mid-table side until the end of the 1950’s and started a fresh new period of success with the appointment of Henry Catterick as its manager. After leading to 4th place during his first season in charge, Everton won its 6th League Championship in 1962/63 under his authoritarian leadership.
Despite failing to challenge for the league in the next few years, Everton reached the FA Cup final in 1965/65, defeating Sheffield Wednesday 3-2 to win the competition for a 3rd time. During this period, it had become the first English team to appear in European competition for 5 consecutive years from 1961/62 to 1966/67.
Everton improved steadily in the latter half of the decade. It went to the final of the FA Cup once again in 1967/68 but was defeated 1-0 in extra-time by West Bromwich Albion. Nevertheless, the Blues eventually reached the summit when the club cruised to its 7th First Division title in 1969/70.
But its success did not last long as Everton dropped into the mid-table and finished the next 4 seasons outside the top-6 while Harry Catterick retired from his role. There was no more silverware for the club for the rest of the 1970s. Its best finish during this time was a 3rd place finish in 1977/78.
The Golden Age
Former Everton midfielder Howard Kendall returned to the club as player-manager in 1980/81 to restore the club back to its former glory. Kendall made a host of new signings including goalkeeper Neville Southall, who would go on to spend 17 years at the club, ending the season in 8th position.
Everton made a poor start to 1983/84 but enjoyed a superb 2nd half to the season. The Blues went to the final of the League Cup where they lost 1-0 to Liverpool in a replay. At the end of the campaign, it also reached the final of the FA Cup, beating Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-0 for its 4th triumph in the competition.
In 1984/85, Everton finished 13 points ahead of arch-rivals and defending champions Liverpool to win its 8th League Championship, breaking its 3-year reign at the top of the First Division. The Toffees also picked up its first and so far the only European trophy by beating SK Rapid Wien 3-1 in the final of the Cup Winners’ Cup.
In the aftermath of the Heysel Stadium disaster of 1985 and the subsequent ban on English clubs from continental competition, Everton were unable to participate in the European Cup for the 1985/86 season. At the end the Blues also lost the league-title to arch-nemesis Liverpool, finishing as runners-up by just a couple of points.
For the following 1986/87 campaign, Everton regained the League Championship by finishing 9 points ahead of 2nd placed Liverpool. It was the 9th top-division title for the club and it has not repeated the feat ever since. Howard Kendall departed the club due to his frustration at the European ban on English clubs.
The Contemporary Period
Everton FC brought Howard Kendall back as the manager for a 2nd spell at the club in the middle of the 1990/91 season. Kendall had left Manchester City in the upper-end to join the Blues in a relegation-battle and eventually secured a 9th place finish and also reached the quarter-final of the FA Cup.
The Premier League Era
After ending the next couple of seasons in mid-table, Everton was among the founding members of the Premier League and one of just 3 clubs to have also been a founder of the Football League. However the fortunes did not improve and it ended the inaugural 1992/93 season in 9th position.
Howard Kendall resigned midway through the 1993/94 campaign in which Everton ended just 2 points above the drop-zone in 17th position. In 1994/95, the team went on to win the FA Cup for the 5th time by defeating Manchester United 1-0 in the final. Thus far, it has turned out to be the last major trophy for the club.
Everton ended the 1995/96 season in 6th position but finished in the bottom-half of the table until the end of the millennium. Kendall returned for a 3rd spell and the club was almost relegated in 1997/98, when it only survived due to a superior goal-difference over Bolton Wanderers.
David Moyes was appointed as the manager towards the end of the 2001/02 season with Everton in serious trouble of relegation. The Scotsman helped avoid the drop and guided the club to safety in 15th spot. This marked the beginning of the most stable period it has enjoyed in recent decades.
In 2002/03, Everton finished in 7th position with a 16 year old named Wayne Rooney bursting onto the limelight. Yet Everton just managed to finish above the drop-zone in 17th position at the end of 2003/04 before Rooney was sold that summer to Manchester Utd for a record transfer-fee.
Nevertheless, Everton bounced back strongly to take 4th place in the following 2004/05 campaign, its best effort in the Premier League era, to earn a spot in UEFA Champions League for the very first time. But it failed to reach the group-stage of the competition and finished 2005/06 down in 11th position in the Premier League.
Everton finished the next 3 seasons inside the top-6 of the Premier League in 2006/07, 2007/08 and 2008/09. It qualified the club into the UEFA Cup and the Europa League but the Blues failed to make much of an impression. Everton dropped a bit further down in the following 3 seasons but kept hold of a top-half finish.
The Toffees moved back up the Premier League table to claim 6th position in 2012/13 but narrowly missed out on a European spot. But David Moyes had already announced he would leave Everton at the end of the season and join Manchester Utd as the successor to Sir Alex Ferguson.
The Recent Decade
Roberto Martinez came in as the replacement and secured a 5th place finish during his maiden season in 2013/14 and earning a place in the UEFA Europa League. The club reached the last-16 of the competition where it lost to FC Dynamo Kyiv but it affected its domestic form where it finished on 11th spot in the Premier League.
In 2015/16 Everton reached the semi-final of the League Cup as well as the FA Cup but lost both the matches. Martinez was sacked on the penultimate week of the campaign with the team lying outside the top-half. A few weeks later, Ronald Koeman was made the new manager of the club.
Everton finished the 2016/17 season in 7th position and earned a spot in the UEFA Europa League. But it made a dreadful start to 2017/18 and Ronald Koeman was fired with the club in severe trouble. Sam Allardyce took over and steered the team to 8th spot but left the post due to discontent among the fans for his playing style.
Marco Silva joined as the manager at the start of 2018/19 and ended the campaign in 8th place. But a sluggish start to 2019/20 meant that he was also fired with Everton in the bottom-3. Duncan Ferguson took charge temporarily before Carlo Ancelloti was named as the manager and Everton eventually finished in 11th position.
In 2020/21, despite having high expectations after spending loads of cash on new signings, Ancelloti could only manage to lead Everton to 10th position in his only full season at the club. At the end of the campaign, the highly decorated Italian manager left to rejoin his former club FC Real Madrid.
At the start of the 2021/22 Premier League season former Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez, a cult figure for the red half of Merseyside, was unveiled as the new Everton manager and the Spaniard became only the 2nd person to lead both the clubs. But despite mass resentment from the bewildered fans the partnership started decently enough.
However, the team was completely unravelled during the winter with Everton losing 9 of the last 13 matches before his dismissal in January 2022 with the club lying 6 points over the drop-zone. Frank Lampard was brought in as his replacement and the Blues finally ended the campaign 3 points above the bottom-3 in 16th position.
Claim your Welcome Bonus at EagleBet
Use a welcome offer on EagleBet – such as Cyber Bet – and use our Premier League betting predictions to bet bold on the Premier League.
Odds subject to change.
Play responsibly, 18+
EagleBet – soar with winners with our betting predictions.
