Everton Tales and Other Tall Stories

EVERTONTALESANDOTHERTALLSTORIES
ABookByAndForEvertonians.................
Acknowledgments:
BrianLabonepieceoriginallywrittenfortheWhenSkiesAreGreyWebsite SongsofinnocenceoriginallywrittenfortheWhenSkiesAreGreyEvertonianFanzine AriseyeblueboysoriginallywrittenforSpekefromtheHarbour TheColinFitzpatrickInterviewandGoodisonParkTheGrandOldLadyfirstpublishedby theseFootballtimes
MyDogAndBrianLabone
ByMarkHoskisson
Agreatfootballer,agreatmanandagreatEvertoniantheseare,quite rightly,thethemesthathavedominatedthetributesafterBrianLabones saddeath.ButwhatveryfewpeoplehavedrawnattentiontoisthatBrian Laboneandhiswife,Pat,boughtmemypetdog,Mitch. They got me the dog a puppy from Wirral Pets on Borough Road Birkenhead for my 13th birthday (August 1969), just as our championship season was abouttostart. Indeed I can remembersaying goodbye to my puppy and hoping that I would livetosee himagain as I set off for an away match at Maine Road: my first away and one thatmy mum still doesnt know that I got jumped at by some City fans. Wewon 10 courtesyofaMorrisseygoal(Ithink)andImanagedtosavemyscarf, althoughIneverworeittoanawayagain! Of course in thegreatschemeofthingsBrianandPatbuyingmeadogis no great shakes. But I am sharing this story because it reveals the profound change that has occurredin footballsince the game wastaken overinitsentiretybythecorporatebrigade. Brian was the man he was, not only because of his fantastic personality and skill, but also because in those days footballers were not a breed apart. They lived among the supporters, they met them in everyday circumstances and they interacted with thematamoreintimateandatthe sametimemoreroutinelevel.
IwasbornintoanEvertonianfamily.MyfatherwasontheBlueFunnel
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EVERTONTALESANDOTHERTALLSTORIES ships, and not by accident. He died when I was young so myUncle Bill, who recently died aged 95 and was cremated wearing a blue and white scarf to the sound of Zcars ringing around Springwood Crematorium, tookmetoGoodisonfrom1963onwards. ThingsbecametrickywhenwemovedtoArroweParkontheoutskirtsof Birkenhead because my mum wouldnt let me travel to Goodison on my own until I was 12. But there was compensation. Everton had bought a housefor players around thecornerfromwhere welived. First therewas Dennis Stevens. Then, after his marriage to Pat, Brian moved in. Brian Labone lived round the corner from me. More than that, his wife Pat became friendly with my mum (they wentto masstogether left footers as Brian called them) and I got to know the great Everton captain first hand. Butwhatwasastonishinginthelightofthelifestyleoftodaysgold platedplayerswasthatthiswasnotoutoftheordinary.CertainlyIrelished everyopportunitytocallroundandwearoneofhisEnglandcaps. I lovedhearinghisviewsonhowweddoneinthisorthatmatch.Butother than that, he was a neighbour. He did what other neighbours did including having afewdrinksatthevariouspartiesthatwereorganisedfor New Year and such like. And he was wellliked, including by kopites and Tranmerefans,becausehewasagoodneighbour. Thethingthatstrikesmenowinthelightofthewaythegamehasgone
todaywashowmuchBriancaredaboutEverton.Therewasaderby defeat, cant remember when, but I was devastated, so I got a brush handle and tied my Everton shirt to it and paraded it at neighbouring kopites in ashow ofdefiance. ForsomereasonoranotherBriancameto
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EVERTONTALESANDOTHERTALLSTORIES our house.Iasked him aboutthe defeatandpouredmytiny,achingheart out to him. He said something thatstuckwithme.HesaidNomatterhow muchthishurtsyou,ithurtsmeandtheotherplayersevenmore. Thatsumsitup.Todaysplayersdonot,andcannot,thinkorfeellike that.Theyaremillionairesafteracoupleofseasonssalary.Theygofrom Goodison or wherever to secluded mansions and seal themselves from the rest of us withsecurity gates. Theycannot,preciselybecauseoftheir wealth and status, mingle with ordinary people on an informal and everydaybasis. Which is why so many chance encounters in bars lead to incidents between fans and players. They regard football clubs as a means of maintaining such a lifestyle. They cannot feel the hurt of defeat the way wedonow. NoneoftheEvertonplayersleftthisyearsderbyatGoodisonfeelingas lowasIdid.YetplayerslikeBrian,andColinHarveyandmanyothersdid feellow,lowerthanthefans,aftersuchresults.Thatwasthewayitwas then, for players who regarded Everton as a way of life and not just a meal ticket.Theycouldremainatonewiththefansinawaythat,forallthe PRefforts,playerscannotdotoday.Thatsjustthewayitis.Idont blametodaysplayersasindividualsitsthesystemtheyareworkingin. Anduntiltherevolutionthatsthesystemwehavetoputupwith.Butthat differencebetweentodaysplayersandthelikesofBrianLaboneis, nevertheless,footballsloss. I can envisage some of todays players buying kids a dog. But it would most likely be a charity case, with pictures in the Echo. Brian and Pat didnt do that. They bought me thedog because itwasmybirthday,they knew Iwanted one, theyknew I would train itto supportEvertonandthey
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EVERTONTALESANDOTHERTALLSTORIES knew my mum was buying me a Gwladys Street season ticket. That couldnt happen today. Or rather, it couldnt happen to the likes of meor you.IusedtostandontheGwladysStreetwithmymatesandwatchBrian and say to myself, no one will believe me if I tell them that our captain bought me my pet dog. But whenever Idid tell anyone, theydid believe me,becauseforanyEvertonian,Brianthen,ashewasuntilhisdeath,was not a distant star.Hewasthere,amongstus,partofus.Andthatswhyhis deathhascausedsuchgrief.Itwasoneofusdying. ThanksforthememoriesBrian.AndthanksforMitch. LoveandcondolencestoPatandthefamily. Evertonforever.
EvertonStories
ByDominicKearney
I dont have stories as such. What I have are memories. Pieces of a jigsawpuzzlethat Ishake outofthe boxand turn over. Somearecorner pieces others are straight edges others are grass or sky. Some are missing, so the complete picture is impossible to make. What you are left with isapartialpictureofme. ItsnotapictureofEverton,butEverton infiltrates all the pieces of the jigsaw. Dates may be wrong, details may bewrong,butthisisthewaythepieceslooktome. Patricia Phillips pointed to the screen and said, Theres your Dad. I believedI could see him, although I knownow Icouldnt, andwhenIsaw him the next day, I told him. Patricia used to help my Mumlookingafter the children, particularly my younger brother, Jamie, who has learning difficulties. Back then it was called being mentally retarded. It was the FA Cup Final, 1968, which Everton lost 10. Other people talkof going roundtoneighbourswhohadcolourtelevisions. Weweretheneighbours theycameroundto. My Dad had a stall on Birkenhead Market, selling dayold bread and cakes. HeworkedSaturdays,buthedgettothematchoftenenough. He knewadirectorwhogothimaticketforthedirectorsboxmostSaturdays. He camehome one dayand said that Colin Harvey had played ablinder. I didnt know ifthat was good or bad, buthetold meit was agood thing. Ayarddogwasabadthing.RonYeatswasayarddog.
Because of work, and because he got a ticket for thedirectorsbox,my Dad didnt take us to the game that often. When we were a little older,
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EVERTONTALESANDOTHERTALLSTORIES wed go to midweek games withhim. Occasionally,family friends would takeus.Uswasmeandoneofmyolderbrothers. We all went to Catholic schools. The boys, apart from my younger brother, went to St Josephs on Menlove Avenue. It isnt there now. It was run by an orderofbrothers Redemptorists I think, althoughIm not sure. When youreyoung,the way youlive isthe norm fortheworld,and you just accept things without question. The brothers all supported Everton or Manchester United. Brother Slatteryusedtotakeusto a few games. I think we were at the game against Sheffield United when we went 20 upand then lost 32. I think DavidSmallman scored ourgoals. Wemissedthe titlethat year. Idontrememberthecontext. Iremember ifthe swearing around us gota bit toomuch,BrotherSlatterywouldunzip his anorak to reveal adog collar, andturn aroundandaskpeopletokeep the swearing down because there were young children there. And they apologisedandcutoutthelanguageforawhile. BrotherSlatteryandBrotherAugustinetookustoOldTraffordtowatchus play ina LeagueCup game. 1976,it must havebeen. Wewon. I wore my school uniform and a blue mackintosh and my scarf. We ended up covered with spit. That must have been one of Binghams last games, around thetime hesignedRioch and Duncan MacKenzie. I sawGordon Lees first game. He came out to greet the crowd and raised his arms above his head to applaud the supporters. Hissheepskin coat hunched around his shoulders. Swindon Town,I think itwas. Dave Jonesgotthe winner.
On the way back from the Andy King derby, I saw Jimmy McGrain from school. He was a red, and used to be bigfriendswithBernieNorton. I askedJimmyif hed enjoyedthe game. He juststuck up twofingersand walked on. My older brother and I weregoingtothegamesbyourselves by this time. Mum used to drop us opposite Gwladys Street on Walton
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EVERTONTALESANDOTHERTALLSTORIES Hall Avenue, and then pick us up where it meets the Drive. My little brother was too young to come withusthen,buthewasalwaysinthecar. She knew a circuitous route home, through Norris Green, West Derby, andBroadgreen. YoumissedthetrafficontheDrivethatway. Westillgo that way now, when we come back for amatch. We go in eitherPaulor Johnscar. Wewentto atestimonialatAnfield. ItwaseitherforEmlynHughesorIan Callaghan or Tommy Smith. There was no scoreboard, and the Kop wanted to know the score. They beganchantingWewantascoreboard. Then Everton have got one. Then Everton dont need one. When we got backto thecar, it hadgone. Iaskedmydadifthiswastherightroad. He told me nottobesostupid. Wecalledthepolicewhofoundthecarin thenextroad. Some time in the 70s we got new neighbours, a couple in their sixties. They neededa bungalowbecause of herheart condition. Not longafter, he was made a director of Everton. Gordon Lee came round to their houseonce, and hadbacon and eggs. We peeped through thefenceat him. Late he camedownoutdrivewithtwoEvertonbooks,signedforme andmylittlebrother. I used to deliver papers forMacNaughtonsonWoolton Road. I brought theEchotoourneighbour.Hewasinthefrontgarden,puffingonafag, taking a rest from mowing the lawn. The back page announced the appointment of Howard Kendall, with a line from Philip Carter saying he wasthe only onewe wanted. My neighbour said that wasfunny because theydbeenonthephonetofourdifferentmanagersonlythatmorning. Ourneighbour wouldgiveusticketsfortheTopBalcony. Mylittlebrother was old enough and confident enough to go to the games by then. Although wed get free tickets, I saved up my paper round money and bought a season ticket which got me into the Street End and the Park
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EVERTONTALESANDOTHERTALLSTORIES End. I felta proper fangavemoneytothe club. And aproperfanstood up. And if we won the League the trophy would be presented in the directors boxand Iwouldnt beabletoseefromtheTopBalcony. There was one game against Wolves when wed got there really early and got places right in the middle above the central aisle which went from one side tothe other. AlanJoliffesaidthatifwescoredthebarrierwouldgive way. I ducked under and stood on the wrong side of the barrier, but it ended00. Jimmy Birkenhead and I went to Birmingham away. Ian Moran had done somethingwrongthatweekandhisMumsaidhecouldntgo. Wewentby train. When we got into the ground it looked like there were skirmishes everywhere. Ispent thewhole gamescared anddidnt relax until we got intoLimeStreet. When Bob Latchford equalised against West Ham in the semifinal replay, I was overjoyed, but part of me thought it was just delaying the inevitable,giving hope where that wasntanyreally. ThatsthewayIthink. Just get it over with. I was inline with FrankLampards header. I sawit spinintothenet.
My Mum used to tell my brother Jamie that Everton had won, no matter what thescore was. Onedayhecalledherintothediningroomwherehe was sitting with the Sunday paper. He pointed to the page showing Everton had lost. Youtold me Evertonhadwon,hesaid. Hehadtaught himselftorecognisewords. Jamie is on the official DVD of the EvertonSpurs semifinal. We were sittingin line withthe edgeofthepenaltyareaattheendwhereAmokachi scored his goals. Theremusthave been a camera directly opposite us. Whenhegotthesecond,Jamiewasthefirstoutofhisseat. My Dad losthis temper completely atthe MaineRoadsemifinalreplayin
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EVERTONTALESANDOTHERTALLSTORIES 1977. He kept on yelling at the people infront ofustositdown. When my brother asked him to stop shouting, he stormed off. He came back about 10 minutes later. After the game, when we were walking back to the car, a gang of City fans approached us looking for trouble. My Dad told them where to go. He remembers this, but not losing his temper duringthegame. I had an old BMW 5 Series. It was maroon and smelled worryingly of petroland Icouldnt really afford torun it. Paul Kinsellaand Iwenttothe Wimbledongameinit,andalsototheSpurssemiinit.Itwasaluckycar. There was a girl at university called Judy Wilson and I reallyfancied her. She came back to Liverpool with me one weekend. Id got Paddock tickets for the derby. She was from Scotland but supported Liverpool, although shedidnt tell methis until we werein theground. That was the 50 game and she celebrated every goal. That night we went to see WaitingforGodotatthePlayhouse.Youcouldhearthesingingand cheeringandsirensfrominsidethetheatre. I danceda jiginfrontofthebigscreenintheunionatuniversitywithaboy whose name Inever knewwhen Evertonbeat Watford. Laterthat night I spent a lot of time trying to kiss Sue Crawford while my girlfriend sat laughingatme. Sue Crawford laughed atmetoo. Ialsolostanhourand a half during which I think I wandered round Jesmond. I never kissed JudyWilson. My Mum supported Liverpool. She used to visit my grandfather we calledhim Pop every dayaftermy grandmotherdied. He lovedcricket and horse racing, and was a big Liverpool fan, and used to talk about football. In order to be ableto havebetter conversationswith him, Mum beganreading theLiverpoolnews. She always saidshewasntbothered about football, but she hated Alex Ferguson and could tell you who
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EVERTONTALESANDOTHERTALLSTORIES playedleftbackforMiddlesborough. I booed Clive Thomas the first game he refereed at Goodison after disallowing Hamiltonsgoal. I think itwasathirdroundgameagainstVilla andwewon41. IregretnotbuyinganIhateEmlynHughesbadge. My little brother Jamie and I moved to Northern Ireland last year. I married anIrishgirl. ShehasredhairandIoccasionallycallherAlanBall. Jamieand Ijoined theEverton Supporters Club of Northern Ireland. We come to Goodison for the odd match still, and watch games with other BluesinapubintownorintheDerryCitySocialClub. WepreferInstitute to Derry City because Derry City play in red and white stripes. Theyre nicknamedtheCandyStripesbutitsred.Instituteplayinblue. Theresmorethanonekindofsectariandivide. My Dad lives in a residential home in Woolton Village. He is very deaf and his memorys going. When we visithe asks us ifwere going to the match. We say Yes, or Theres no game today. Then hell ask usthe same question a few minutes later. He also asks, Any news of the Blues? Mum wrotea bookforJamietoteachhimtoread. Hewasntinterestedin Janet and John, although he liked A Fish out of Water. He can still remember Never feed him a lot, no more than a spot, or something may happen, you never know what. Mums book was all about a boy calledJamie who lovedEverton. She wroteit by hand,andJamiekeeps the book in a special box. Our sister Gaye also wrote in it, on the last page. She wrote, In my opinion all the Everton and Liverpool players are fairies. In fact the only team which is not made up of fairies is _____. _____ are magic andare goingtowintheleague. Theblanks would have said Manchester City, because she fancied Denis Tueart, I
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EVERTONTALESANDOTHERTALLSTORIES think, and alwayssaidshesupportedthem. ItmighthavebeenColinBell, come tothinkofit. JamierubbedoutManchesterCityandwroteEverton instead. My first game was in 1970. We beat Chelsea52. Weleftearlytoavoid thecrowds.IoncemadeaGeoffNultybadge. ItwastheonlyGeoffNulty badgeintheworld.
TheDayEvertonScaredTheLifeOutOfMe
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ByMarkEllis
May7th1994isadayIwillneverforget.......... At the age of 14 we used to do predictions in school on a Friday (last lessonwaswelshwithateacherwhocouldn'tbearsed)fortheweekend's footy, written in the back of our welsh books, this is one prediction I desperatelywantedtocomeright. EvertonvWimbledonwasthefixturethathadmynervesshotallweek. Living in Wrexhamatthe time my UncleSteve,who has took me and my twin Ben to the matchsince I can remember, pickedusupfromschool. This meant that he was home from work (he worked away delivering all week on the lorries) and that we would be going the match. The realisationthat Iwould be goingtoa match thathad mystomachinknots all week finally sunk in, Ii wanted to go I didn't want to go... relegation would have meant the end of my life as I knew it. I Just couldn't handle thesituationatall.. Thedayarrived... I spent the morning in my Nanna's, being 14 I somehow saw logic that spending the morning helping my Nanna with the garden would give me enough good will in the bank to see me through the day with Everton emergingvictorious My Nanna, a scouser fromLitherland who hadlivedinWrexhamfor over 30 years, who had no interest in football whatsoever, put an armaround meandmytwinbrother,gaveusabighugandtolduseverythingwould work out fine. I needed that, confidence was low. Everton were on a shocking run of form and Ipersonallycouldn'tseeusbeinggoodenough tobeatthenotoriouslytrickyWimbledon. We drove up to Liverpool around 11.30 with my Nanna en route to my
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EVERTONTALESANDOTHERTALLSTORIES aunty Pats who lived opposite the then Sportsman pub on Tees Place, Kirkdale. The sight of the cranes on the docks used to fill me with excitement, I knewit wasn'tfartogonowtogettoLiverpool.Ontheradio my Uncle had Radio City on, I remember Graham Beecroft and Kevin Keetings being at Goodison that day. Every time they spoke about the game I was searching in vain for some reassurance that we would be alright.Ofcourse,nosuchassuranceswereforthcoming. After more nervous sitting round in my Aunty Pats having seemingly endless glasses of orange juice and club chocolate bars we set of for Goodison via the Carisbrooke pub for myunclesSteve's prematchpint, accompaniedbymyscouseuncleUncleRon. My uncleRonhad seenthe greats,hehadandstillhasagreatcalmness, he had no such worries, fully in the belief that nothing would go wrong today hesaid the Goodison crowd wouldlifttheplayersandwewouldbe celebratingtonight. The pub was rammed and we were stood outside by the railings having our drinks. The weatherwasabsolutely stifling. Mybig thick NECEverton shirt wasa bad choiceofclothing.Icouldseetheswellofpeoplewalking towards county road, the tension was so thick it could have stopped traffic. Seasoned fans genuinely looking worried, at this point I was beyondconversation,stomachinknotsanddreadingthewholeoccasion. As we took our seats in the Lower Bullens,wherethe away fans sit now, the atmosphere was so uplifting, so defiant, I thought theres no way all thesepeoplearegoinghomeunhappy.Thenoise,bearinginmindthere was no park stand at all, was frightening but in agood way. The passion of Evertonians was never more evident. Words fail to justify the atmosphere.Itwasunbelievable. The game started and Everton quickly followed form with a dreadful handball from Limpar. Holdsworth rolling the penaltypastbig Nev. When the sadlydepartedGary Ablettdeflectedthe balloverSouthall to makeit
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EVERTONTALESANDOTHERTALLSTORIES 20toWimbledonon16minutes,myworldcamecrashingdown. I've nevercriedatGoodison since or beforebutthethoughtofrelegation rapidly becoming a reality was overwhelming. My throat started to swell up.Iveneverwantedourplayerstocomegoodasmuch. Limpar used all of his cunning to win a penalty, I turned away unable to stomach the penalty, praying to God wed score. Graham Stuart cooly obliged in a manner alien to our situation. The sound of the Gwladys Streetgoingmadwasamazing,suchrelief.Allmyhopehadreturned. The players left the pitch at half time to a tremendous ovation. I have neverseensuch resounding support.Thatgoal from Stuart had filled the placewithbelief. Second half begun and Wimbledon had numerous chances to make it 31. I remember Dean Holdsworth missing an absolute sitter from 3 yards.ThentheballbrokeinMidfield. Barry Horne took it on the bounce advanced 510 yards before unleashing an Exocet. Frommy viewpoint Iwas convinced he hadhitthe bar andCotteehadscoredofftherebound.Itdidn'tmatter,theballwasin the back of the net and we went mad. I ended up 3 rows down with bruises and scrapes on my legs. The ecstasy and agony of scoring a goal. Thewinnerseemedinevitableatthispoint,thegameseemedtobegoing on forever, like the footballing Godshad decidedtopull outallthe stops to ensure our safety. Stuart played a onetwo with Cottee, the ball bounced backofCotteeintothepathofStuartwhohitthetamestofshots whichsomehow beat Segars who sawit coming the wholeway.Theshot looked like a pass back but the Gwladys Street erupted and nothing mattered. Thenews camethrough on myunclespersonalradiothatMarkSteinhad scored a last minute winner for Chelsea, ensuring our safety. I hadn't
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EVERTONTALESANDOTHERTALLSTORIES graspedjusthowdangerousoursituationhadbecome. Thefinalwhistlewentandweweresafe.Iknowalotofpeoplefeltthatwe shouldn't celebrate escaping relegation but the panic that we'd godown wasoverwhelming,thereliefmassive. I ranontothepitchwithmytwinbrothertocelebrate,theatmospherewas crazy My first thought was to run over to the Gwladys Street and imitate Trevor Steven making it31 vBayernMunich,myultimateGwladysStreet goal. Walking back to Tees Place was joyous, the atmosphere on thestreets as we passed The Carisbrooke down towards The Old Tramways pub was electric. The amount of people outsidethe Carisbrooke was insane, everyone drinking, it felt like a day where paste tables were being used forstreetparties. Therelief wasoverwhelming andmy nannawaswaitingoutsidemyAunty Patshouseforustocomehome. My nanna as stated, had no interest in football but she knew what this meant, giving us the biggest of hugs and excitedly telling us I told you Evertonwouldwin. The day was over, I couldn't wait to get the Football Echo for the ride home and look forward to the one programme I prayed I would want to see....MatchoftheDay My mate Darren in school had correctly predicted 32 to Everton in our Fridaypredictions.Ifonlyhehadputmoneyonit. An awesome day to be an Evertonian, the ultimate 12th man. A day everyonevowednevertohappenagain
Anditdidn't....for4wholeyears
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GoodisonParkTheGrandOldLadyPart1
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ByNeilAdderley
GoodisonParkTheHomeOfEvertonFootballClub
EvertonFC:TheStoryOfTheGrandOldLady
It wouldn't matterifwehadDixieDeanplayingforus,it'salwaysa bloodynightmaregoingtoGoodisonPark.SirAlexFerguson
On 28 September, 1884, Everton Football Club beat Earlestown 50 in their brand new home. Due to the rapidly growinginterest in Association FootballandthesheernumbersofspectatorsEvertonhomegameswere attracting, the club had no choice but torelocate theshort distancefrom PrioryRoadtoanewvenueownedbylocallandownerMr.JohnOrrell. Afriend oftheclub,aswellasEvertonchairmanMr.JohnHoulding,Orrell hadofferedlandtotheclubforamodestpaymentinrent. The inaugural Football League match at the ground, played almost four
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EVERTONTALESANDOTHERTALLSTORIES years later onSeptember 18, 1888, was contestedbetweenEvertonand Accrington. Evertons tenure at the stadium would see the club turn professional, becomea foundermemberoftheEnglishFootballLeague,firstcompete in the FA Cup, introduce goal nets to Association Football and be crowned Football League champions for the season 189091. The followingyearwouldbeEvertonFootballClubsfinalseasonastenantsof Anfield. The reasons behind the clubs relocation from Anfield were many and complex and are well documented. Boil those reasons down and the conclusion as to why, is as relative now as it was over onehundred and twenty years ago cold hard cash. Some things it seems, actually never dochange. TheirreparablefractureoftheclubsboardofdirectorsforcedEvertonout of Anfield, a break that would in 1892 see director George Mahon lead theclubtoEnglandsfirstpurposebuiltfootballstadium. Albeit not for the want of trying, and failings, of more recent chairmen, 121 years later, Goodison Park, remains the home of Everton Football Clubtothisday. In this special feature, we recall three 20th century matches played at Goodison Park, each one, for very differentreasons, a definingmoment inthelongandglorioushistoryoftheGrandOldLadyofEnglishfootball.
TheUnbreakableBroken
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EVERTONTALESANDOTHERTALLSTORIES In season 1926/27 of the English second division, Middlesbrough and later, England centre forward, George Camsell, in his first full season at the club, scored a remarkable 59 league goalswhich would fire Boroto the championship and promotion to the top flight. It was a goal scoring achievementmanythoughtwouldneverbebroken. Only a few months later, in the second match of season 1927/28, Camsells Boro met an Everton team led by another colossal young centre forward, William Ralph Dixie Dean. The newly promoted second division champions came away with a famous victory, with George Camsellfiringallfourgoalsina42win. However, it would be Everton who went on to be crowned first division champions thatyear,whilst Borowererelegated.Incredibly,agedjust21, Dixie Dean would go on to take GeorgeCamsells unbreakable scoring record,byjusttheonesolitarygoal.
05May,1928,EvertonvsArsenal,GoodisonPark
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LegendaryEvertonCentreForwardWilliamRalph'Dixie'Dean
Youcould be forgiven for thinkingtheEvertonianswhohadcrammedinto Goodison Park on that early May afternoon, haddoneso solely to salute the newly crowned English first division champions. There washowever, another very specific reason for the 48,715 supporters to make their fortnightlypilgrimagethatfatefulday. Thefinalgame of the1927/28seasonatGoodisonParkwouldseeHarry Cookes Everton meet Herbert Chapmans revered Arsenal side, yet all eyes would be transfixed on just one man, Evertons record chasing centreforwardDixieDean. His race to surpass George Camsells unbreakable feat had been on course throughout the season. Dean had found the net in all of the first ninegames,includingaconsolationgoal,asCamsellnettedfourfor Boro,aswellasbanginginallfiveina52routofManchesterUnited. By the turn of the year, the footballing fraternity began to believe in the unbelievable, when onNewYears Eve at SheffieldWednesday,thegoal
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EVERTONTALESANDOTHERTALLSTORIES hungry Dean bagged his 32nd and 33rd goals in just 23 games. The Birkenhead born centre forwards unquenchablethirstforgoalscontinued unabated into 1928. With a run of 11 strikesinthefollowingeightgames, thehighlightofwhichbeingahattrickina33drawatAnfield. Those three goals however, would see Dixie Dean and Evertongo on a four game run without scoring. Suddenly the tilt at George Camsells season oldrecordwasthrownintodoubt.ADeandoubleatDerbyCounty put a halt to the poor run of form, yet despite further braces against Blackburn, Sheffield United and Aston Villa, Camsells record haul would stand, unless that was, Everton giant Dean could findseven goalsinhis finaltwogames. Evertons penultimate fixture, a short journeyto face BurnleyatTurfMoor ended in a 53 victory for the men in Royal Blue. The Lancashire derby would see Dean grabbing four of theseven goalshe needed.Now, with 57 goalsin 38 games,it was as ifDixie Dean had written his ownthrilling script. The final act of which was to beplayedout in front of the adoring Evertonians at Goodison Park. One game to play, three goals to score...... Arsenal, who had not travelled North to make up any numbers, came quickly out of the traps, scoring the opener within a couple of minutes. Everton,the champions, replied with an inevitableDixieDeanheaderand then,justonhalftime,DeanequalledGeorgeCamsellsrecordgoalhaul. Afterbeingdraggeddowninthebox,Deansteppeduptoconverthis 59th goal of the season from the penalty spot. As the clock ticked ever down and with just minutes lefttoplay,the60goaldreamwashangingby a thread when, on 85 minutes, Everton forced another corner. The Toffees Scottish outsideleft, Alec Troup, floated his cross into the danger area and, as time stood still at Goodison Park, William Ralph Dixie Dean rose majestically above the Arsenal defence to bury his headerpasttheGunnersgoalkeeper,WilliamPaterson.
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With that Goodison goal, Dixie Dean had overhauled George Camsells record. Atrulyastonishingaccomplishment. In the39gamestheEverton legend appeared in that season, Dean found the net in 31 of them, with 14 braces and 7 hat tricks, including a 4and 5goalhaulagainst Burnley andManchesterUnitedrespectively. An eyewitness account, as documented in his History Of The Everton Football Club 1878/91928/9, by Everton historian and author Thomas Keates,epitomisesthesenseofunbridledjoy,uncheckedwonderandno little relief experienced by all who attended the Grand Old Lady that springafternoonin1928. Those Evertonian souls lucky enough to have witnessed Dixie Deans mindblowingachievement. "You talk about explosions, and loud applause we have heard many explosions, andmuchapplauseinourlongpilgrimage,but,believeus, we have never heard such a prolonged roar of thundering, congratulatory applause before as to that which ascended to heaven whenDixiebroketherecord."
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TheDixieDeanMonumentAtGoodisonPark
Deans record of achievement, at both domestic and national levels, is extensive and beyond remarkable. However, it surely has to be his extraordinary feat of scoring 60 English top flight league goals in one season,thatshallremainthemostcelebratedrecordofthemall.
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GoodisonParkTheGrandOldLadyPart2
GoodisonPark19391940
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EvertonFC:TheStoryOfTheGrandOldLady
GoodisonParkisformethebeststadiumofmylife.Eusbio Theinterveningyears between Dixie Deans record breaking seasonand Englands hosting of the 1966 World Cup, had seen Goodison Park subjectedtonumerouschanges,developmentandreconstruction. As integral asanybody in themetamorphosisofthestadiumwasScottish architect Archibald Leitch whom, in the first half of the 20th century, was theBritishIslesforemostfootballstadiaarchitect. Leitch, whowasresponsibleforpartorallofthestadiumdesignsatmore than 30 clubs upand downthe country,had in 1938,withthe completion of the new Gwladys Street stand, achieved his 30 year Goodison Park dream. The ground hadnowbecome thefirst entiretwotieredstadiumin thecountry. On September 18,1940, theGrand Old Ladyhadalso,bytheskinofher teeth, survived the Luftwaffe blitz of Liverpool. Confirmingthe near miss in the Everton Football Club Minutes Book, the secretarys recordings allow a fascinatinginsightinto theevent, as well as a clearunderstanding of the keep calm and carry on attitude towards the German bombing of thecity.Raidsthatwouldspanmorethantwoyearsintotal:
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WarDamage
'The Directors inspected the damage done by enemy action on the night of the 18th inst. & it was agreed that the Secretary make arrangementstohavenecessaryrepairsmade. It was also decided that Messrs A. Leitch be instructed to value the costofcompleterenewal of damaged properties &that aclaimshould be forwarded to the War Damage Claims department within the prescribed30Days.Thedamagereferredtoincluded: The demolition of a large section of the New Stand outer wall in Gwladys Street destruction of all glassin this Stand damageto every door, canteen, water & electricitypipes andallleadfittings,perforated roofinhundredsofplaces. On Bullens Road side, a bomb dropped in the schoolyard had badly damaged the exterior wall of this stand and the roof was badly perforatedherealso. A third bomb outside the practice ground had demolished the surrounding hoarding and had badly damaged glass in the Goodison Avenue and Walton Laneproperty.The Secretaryestimatedtheextent ofthedamageatabout1,500.' Goodison Park had survived, and with her, the magnificent legacy of Archibald Leitch.Onethatlivesonasvividlytodayasithasthroughoutthe lasthundredyears.
The signature Leitch crisscrossed steel balustrades remaining as much

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EVERTONTALESANDOTHERTALLSTORIES apartofEvertonFootballClubsiconichistoryasthegreatDixieDean, the Toffee Lady and thedepictionwithintheclubsfamouscrestofPrince RupertsTower.
TheGreatestShowOnEarth
1966GoldenBootWinnerTheLegendaryEusebio
Thesummer of 1966 in Liverpoolmusthavebeenheadydaysindeedfor supportersofboththecity'sfootballclubs.Astheredhalfofthecitywere

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EVERTONTALESANDOTHERTALLSTORIES still celebrating a first division championship, the blue half returned triumphantly from Wembley after seeing their heroes overturn a 20 deficit, to snatch the FA Cup away from opponents Sheffield Wednesday.
Only a matter of weeks later, the greatest footballing show onthe planet rolled into town as Goodison Park, selected as a host stadium of the 1966FIFAWorldCup,welcomedsevennationsontoherhallowedturf. Playing host to five World Cup fixtures, including three group games, a quarterfinal and a semifinal, the stadium witnessed the magic of footballing greats such as Pele, Garrincha, Beckenbauer, Haller and the tournaments outstanding player and Golden Boot winner, Portugals EusbiodaSilvaFerreira. The Benfica striker would fire six of his nine goal haul atGoodison Park, with four of those coming in one of the most extraordinary football matchesinthehistoryofthegame.
July231966,PortugalvsNorthKorea,GoodisonPark
The unknown and secretive North Koreans, who, despite having earlier shocked the tournament into life with a giant killing 10 victory overItaly, arrivedforthisWorldCupquarterfinalastheoverwhelmingunderdogs. TheywouldmeetEusbiosPortugalwhohad,fourdaysearlierput pretournament favourites Brazil, to the sword at Goodison Park. Those fans fortunate enough to be inside Goodison that day, could neverhave imaginedtherollercoasterofafootballmatchtheywereabouttowitness.
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Belying their status in the game, and seemingly indifferent to their opponents reputation, the Koreans immediately went on the attack and within a minute of the kick off, a sensational strikeat the GwladysStreet EndfromPakSeungZin,hadputtheminnowsinfront. Portugal were shell shocked and with the 40,248 inside Goodison Park roaringthemon,NorthKoreawereseeminglyunstoppable. AswiftKorean counter on22minutes,afterEusbiohadfailedtoconvert aPortugueseattack,sawgoalkeeperPereirabadlymisjudgeacrossand when the ball was returned, Li Dong Woon was on hand to send the KoreansandGoodisonParkintoraptures. Incredibly, the underdogs were not finished there as just three minutes later, Yang Sung Kook, following in on a deflected shot, composed himselfandarrowedtheballintothefarcornerofthePortuguesenet. Threedown after 25 minutesandwithhisteamindisarray,itwouldbeleft to Portugals best player, top scorer and captain to almost single handedlydraghisteambackintotheWorldCup. Eusbio, the man nicknamed the Black Pearl, gave his country some much needed hope, finding the top corner of the Park End goal before racingbacktothecentrecirclewiththeballunderonearm.
On 43 minutes, Eusbio converted from the penalty spot after centre forward Jose Torres was brought down in the box. By the 56th minute, Portugalwerelevel. Picking up the ball in his own half, Eusbio drove forward and after playing a onetwo, the BlackPearl slammed a shot pastLiChan Myong
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EVERTONTALESANDOTHERTALLSTORIES inthe Korean goal.Justthreeminutes later,the Portuguese were in front as the unstoppable Eusbio scoredhis fourthgoal and second from the spot. The North Korean dream was eventually ended as the four goal hero turned provider, with his corner kick finding Jose Augusto to makeit 53 toPortugal. Eusbios Portugal would fall in the semifinal to eventual World Champions England, however his remarkable performance that summer afternoon will forever be enshrined in the annals of legends who have gracedthishistoricstadium. Likewise, the 1966 North Korean team, who shocked, thrilled and enthralled the world,at theGrandOld Lady of Englishfootball,Goodison Park.
1966FIFAWorldCupGamesatGoodisonPark GroupGames 12July,Brazil20Bulgaria 15July,Hungary31Brazil 19July,Portugal31Brazil QuarterFinal 23July,Portugal53NorthKorea SemiFinal 25July,WestGermany21SovietUnion
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GoodisonTheGrandOldLadypart3
Everton31BayernMunich GetitintotheirboxandtheGwladysStreetwillsucktheballinto thenet.HowardKendall
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With an FA Cup triumph sandwiched between two First Division titles, Everton Football Club prospered under the chairmanship of Sir John Moores (19601973). The financial backing Moores afforded the club enabled Everton to compete for the best players, as transfer records werebrokenatanunprecedentedrate. A bankrolling of Everton by the founder of Littlewoods, would see them break the club transfer record three times in 1960 alone. A trend continued throughout thedecade,andonewhichwouldearnEvertontheir Merseymillionairestag. Moores vision for Evertonwas notexclusivelydirectedtowardsbuildinga winning team on the field, and, as the decade came to a close, the chairman would announce ambitious plans to redevelop the ageing Goodison Road Stand. Plans that would see Goodison Park arguably undergothemostdrastictransformationinthestadiumslonghistory. Built in 1909 to an Archibald Leitch design, thedoubletiered Main Stand on Goodison Road would be demolished in stages throughout the season, with work on the new triple tiered structure carried out simultaneously. Astarkcontrast of newreplacingold,asEvertonFootball ClubenteredanewdecadeasFirstDivisionchampions. Leitchs Main Stand, built in 1909 at a cost of 28,000, and due to its sheer size, described at the time as the Mauretania Stand, would be dwarfed by the 1 million development. The new triple decker stand, capable of holding upwards of 15,000 supporters would become the largestofitskindinBritain.
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ThestarkcontrastasnewMainStandreplacedtheold
The 1969/70 First Division championship was the last trophy to be secured by Everton for another 14 years. The final great side of the previous decade had been broken up by Harry Catterick, with legends suchasAlanBallandHowardKendallsold. Catterick, thenthemostsuccessfulmanagerintheclubslonghistory,had been inchargeatGoodisonfor12years.Eventuallyhewaspersuadedto move upstairs after suffering a heart attack, to be replaced in 1973 by the former Everton player and Northern Ireland international, Billy Bingham.
Inhis firstfull season,BinghamsEvertonfinishedarespectableseventh,

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EVERTONTALESANDOTHERTALLSTORIES just missing out on UEFA Cup qualification. His rebuilding of the squad sawhim bringin signings such as Martin DobsonandBobLatchford,and Everton looked nailed on to reclaim the First Division title in season 1974/75. However, a disastrous run in, Everton pickingupjust one win in their last five games, would subsequently see them finish fourth, just three points behind eventual champions Derby County. An 11th placed finish in 1975/76 was the beginning of the end for Bingham and he would ultimately pay the price the following January, as a sequence of eight league games without a win resulted in the sacking of the Northern Irishman. Binghams replacement, Gordon Lee, who resigned from Newcastle UnitedtotakeuptheGoodisonParkhotseat,hadarrivedattheclubwitha nononsensereputation. The former Aston Villa player was recognised for his hard working, functional approach to the game, something the Goodison faithful, brought up on the famous School of Science philosophy,would always failtocometotermswith.Nevertheless,LeesfiveyeartenureasEverton boss produced third and fourth place top flight finishes, as well as a LeagueCupfinalandtwoFACupsemifinalappearances. Perhapssomewhat spoiltbywinning threemajor titles withinseven years in the 1960s, the following decade is a period remembered by Evertonians of a certain age as being a particularly bleak one. Yet, despitethedecadebeingbarreninregardstowinningtrophies,the 1970s under Bingham and Lee, when compared to Evertons current trophyless run, the longest in the clubs history, makes for interesting reading.
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EVERTONTALESANDOTHERTALLSTORIES Between them, the much maligned pair, managed4th, 3rdand 4th place top flight finishes in seven years. Maybe the telling factor for the dark memories Evertonians have of the Seventies, was the emergence of bitter rivals Liverpool as a major domestic and European footballing force. On 6 May, 1981, on the back of 19th and 15th placed finishes, Gordon LeesreignatEvertonwasterminated.Whilstthetenureofhissuccessor, a 1960s Everton legend, was not short of early difficulties, the 1980s wouldsee aphoenix like riseforEverton FootballClubbothathomeand abroad. Howard Kendall would launch the club towards the most successful periodofitslongandillustrioushistory,andintoatumultuousgameunder the floodlights atGoodison Park. Widelyregardedasone that hasnever beenmatched,beforeorsince.
EvertonvsBayernMunich, GoodisonParkWednesdayApril241985,at GoodisonPark

Attendance:49,476 Everton3(Sharp48,Gray75,Steven86) BayernMunich1(Hoeness37') Everton:Southall,Stevens,VanDenHauwe,Ratcliffe,Mountfield, Reid,Steven,Sharp,Gray,Bracewell,Sheedy.
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BayernMunich:Pfaff,Dremmler,Willmer,Eder,Augenthaler Lerby,Pflugler,Matthaus,Hoeness,Nachtweih,Kogl. Referee:ErikFredriksson,Sweden.
Evertons campaign in the 1984/85 UEFA Cup WinnersCuphad seen a largely untroubled passage to the semifinal stage. Howard Kendalls charges had been flying domestically whilst playing some of the most outstandingfootballeverseenatGoodisonPark. Now, just two games away from the clubs first ever European final, Kendalls Everton would have to face their sternesttest yet, the might of Germanfootballingsuperpower,BayernMunich.
Drawn to play the first leg away from home, Everton ground out an excellent 00 draw in front of 67,000 at Munichs OlympicStadium.With the teams topping their respective leagues (both eventually going on to be crowned champions), as well as reaching their cup finals, the return leg at Goodison Park, the first ever European semifinal to be playedat thehistoricstadium,wassetupperfectlytobeaclassicencounter. The match, arguably the greatest game to be played at The Grand Old Lady, did not fail to live up to expectations, it blew them out of the stratosphere. With the Grand Old Lady packed to the rafters, captains Kevin Ratcliffe and Klaus Augenthaler led the teams out of the tunnel and into a cacophony of noise. Howard Kendalls talk of his side having to show patience was swiftly revealed as prematch mindgames, as his players,
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EVERTONTALESANDOTHERTALLSTORIES roared on by the50,000inside GoodisonPark, besieged Bayern Munich with an authority and aggression that visibly rattled their German opponents. Kendall would later acknowledge his game plan was to get the ball forward to Sharp and Gray, to bombard Bayern and crucially, be first to the second ball. Munich coach Udo Lattek, who would inhis careerlead Bayern to a total of six Bundesligachampionships and aEuropean Cup, had bemoaned Evertons overly aggressive approach, yet would, in the aftermathofthematch,declareEvertonasthebestteaminEurope. Within three minutes of the kick off, Everton had carved Bayern open, onlyformercurialrightmidfielder,TrevorSteven,toscrewhisangledshot agonisinglywideofJeanMariePfaffsrighthandpost. The surge of Royal Blue attacks continued as Bayern were confined to sporadic forays forward. A wayward Dieter Hoeness header being the most a shell shocked Munich could muster in theopening quarter of the match. From yetanother ballinto thebox,Graeme Sharp rose toflickon to Kevin Sheedy, the Irishman was about to pull the trigger when the seeminglystrayhandofWolfgangDremmlermadecontactwiththeball. Sharp, Sheedy and the Park End screamed for a penalty but Swedish referee, Erik Fredriksson, waved away the vociferous appeals. Mr. Fredriksson would soon be centre of attention once more, as Everton number 9, Andy Gray, on theend of aforceful challenge from behind by man marker Hans Pflugler, lashed out wildly at the German defender. Gray was fortunate he had made no contact, although this did not stop Pflugler rolling around in apparent agony. The Goodison crowd let their feelings beknownasthe referee orderedthedefendertohisfeetbefore bookingbothplayers. GraywouldgivePflugleratorrideveningandthetwoclashedagainasthe
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EVERTONTALESANDOTHERTALLSTORIES abrasive Scot was brought down outside the Bayern penalty area. Free kick specialist Sheedy stepped up and scraped Pfaffs left hand post from25yards. It was all Everton now, as Bayern Munich struggled to cope with the constant bombardment from the Everton flanks. Once more, the Germans failed to deal with a Gary Stevens long throw from the right. Initially allowing the ball to bounce in the box and then leaving Graeme Sharp to connect with a firm header. The grateful Pfaff watched on as Sharpseffortclearedthecrossbar.
Eventually, Bayern began to get afoothold in thegame, with thepaceof teenage left winger Ludwig Kogl becoming a prominentoutlet. Kogl was again involved as Lothar Matthaus tested Neville Southall with a stinging shot from outside thebox.ItwasawarningsignleftunheededbyEverton whenon37minutes,GoodisonPark,asidefromthe300travellingBayern fans,wasstunnedintoadeathlysilence. Alongkick bySouthallwasgatheredbyKoglwho,afterplayingaonetwo withMatthaus, foundhimselfcleanthroughonSouthallsgoal.Thekeeper thwarted the young wingers attempt to round him, however, Southalls touch fell into the path of Dieter Hoeness who despite facing two defenders on the line, maintained the composure to roll the ball into the GwladysStreetnet. Thefirst goal Evertonhad conceded inthe competition.Ifthesupporters inside Goodison were concerned about how their team would react to going a goal down, within minutes of the restart, Kendall's men would quicklyputthoseconcernstobed. Paul Bracewell, receiving the ball in the Bayern penalty area, after a typicalmazyrunbyTrevorSteven,sawhiscrossblockedforathrowinon
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EVERTONTALESANDOTHERTALLSTORIES the Everton right. With the Germans having struggled all night with the long throws of Gary Stevens, the jampacked Gwladys Street turned the volumeupyetanothernotch. Stevens launched his throw and as Andy Gray got up early at the near post, his flick on was met by strike partner Sharp, whose deft header found the back of the Gwladys Street net.Goodison Park erupted with a snarling wall of sound enveloping the famous old stadium as never before. At 11, and with Bayern still aheadin the tie on away goals, Udo Latteks answer was to bring on another defender, however, the fleetinginitiative gained by Bayern through the Hoeness goal, had been well and truly consumedbya ravenous Everton. There wasfromnow on, onlygoingto beonewinner. Paul Bracewell snapped into another tackle on Soren Lerby, continuing his run as Peter Reid drove forward. Managing torelease the ball asplit second before being cynically mowed down, Reid found an unmarked Bracewelloncemorebutthemidfielder'seffortwasslicedhorriblywide. The Toffeemen were now in total command, Bayerns Kogl threatened intermittently but it was never enough to stem the unstoppable tide of RoyalBluedominance. GraemeSharp,collectinga deft lay off from Grayaftera precisePatvan den Hauwe cross, hit a goalbound low volley, only to seePfaffmake an excellent stop tohis right. A save thatwould forBayern, be nomorethan a delay of the inevitable. On 72 minutes, inescapably, the floodgates were opened as Bayerns resistance was conclusively broken.A straight ball into the Munich box was controlled by Sharp but before the striker could get his shot off, Pflugler was able to clear for another Everton throw.
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Up stepped full back Gary Stevens to launch yet anothermissileinto the Bayern area. In hishalftime team talk, HowardKendall hadfamouslytold his playersif they got theball into the box, theGwladysStreetEndwould suckintothenet.ThemanagerspromisecametofruitionasBayern keeper Pfaff, hindered by two of his own defenders,misjudged theflight ofthe ball, allowingAndy Gray to gentlystrokethe ballhome andmakeit 21 from two yards out. Goodison celebrated in a scene of complete pandemonium. Ifit wastherawforceofsheerwillthatledKendallssidetooverturna10 deficit, the third goal, a seal on the game, displayed Evertons class of 85sabilitytomixitupwiththeverybestEuropehadtooffer. Astheclocktickedthrough86minutes,KevinSheedyinterceptedtheball in the left back position. Despite being put under pressure, Sheedy, movingeffortlesslyforwardintospace,pickedoutapinpointpassthat allowed Andy Gray to feed the run of Trevor Steven.Nowclean through on goal and facing the onrushing Pfaff, Steven took one touch before sweepingtheballpastthehelplessBayerngoalkeeper. The Gwladys Street End becamea wild blue seascape of bodies as the pressure cooker atmosphere was finally released in a dynamic cacophonyofjubilantnoiseandmovement. Those 50,000 inside Goodison Park hadbeen fortunate enough to have witnessed the greatest night in The Grand Old Ladys enduring and distinguished history, yet makenomistake,theyhadalsoplayedtheirpart inEvertons triumph.Asfor their heroes, thegreatEvertonteamof1985, they wouldof course goontotakethetrophyinRotterdam,witha31win overRapidVienna.
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GoodisonParkTheGrandOldLady
GoodisonPark'sMainStand
Goodison Park is more than a stadium, more than a gathering place for football supporters. She is a part of the very fabric of a community, a great historical monument in a great, historical city.Witness to highsand lows crossing three centuries, Goodison Park is more than bricks and mortar, more than a building.Sheis a cornerstone, a place of worship, a home. The Grand Old Lady of English football, an invaluableinsight into our social history, to be respected,caredforandtreasured.Ourpast,our
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EVERTONTALESANDOTHERTALLSTORIES presentandourfuture.
AriseyeBlueBoysfromyourslumber
ByMarkHoskisson
Summer2010 The early August gameagainst our Chileannamesakes sparkeda forest fire of thought in my already over heated mind about the international dimension of football. Everton versus Everton at Goodison Park was a great night,made very special by theChileansinthe Paddock kickingoff a chant of Everton which every one of the 26,000 plus crowdjoined in with. As Dean Martin said of Kodak cameras, Memories are made of this. This was fortunate becausethe FIFA tournament designed to showcase the global game was wetter than August and all but extinguished the flame ofJulesRimetthatflickeredsomewhereatthebackofmybrain.Or maybethatwasJulesVerne? The World Cup was regarded by every football fan as gash. The enjoyable things about this four yearly gala, like footballers putting on displaysof skill thattakethe breath away,goals thatinduceorgasmsand matchtension thatrivets youtoyourseat tighter than aBullensRoadhalf time Chang queue were all seemingly shipped off to Robben Island for theduration. Itis apity that everyone with aVuvuzelawasntsimilarlyincarcerated.Itis an even greater pity that they werent banged away alongside the corporate ghouls who turnedthewholeeventintoahucksterswetdream. Corporate sponsorship is one thing, but arresting feisty Dutch women in miniskirtsforbreakingadvertisingrules?
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The football was dire and the atmosphere sterile. Talking points? Arguments over which players made the biggest impact? Memories of key moments from commentators poetically summarising the joyous excitement the game brings to millions? Kevin Keegan dribbling from hismouth? None,not one. As EvertonianswewereleftwithYakubusmiss,Pienaars noshowandHeitingasredcard.NotMuchatochewonthere. The World Cup, like professional football more generally, is a victim of gangrenous greed. The international is being devoured by the multinational. Compare thattothe spirit of the nightatGoodisonwhenEvertoncouldnt lose. There were Chilean lads flogging shirts from a wallpaper pasting table by the Park End. There was a sense of camaraderie amongst people who shared a passion even though they didntshare alanguage. Therewasasenseofknowingthatwhatevermaydivideusintermsofour national cultures and histories, our love of watching twenty two men playingforEvertonandtryingtoscoreunitedus. And a few weeks later Paxman asked a question about Everton and EvertonChileonUniversityChallenge.Couldlifegetanybetter? All of that transported me far from the ersatz Soccerfest in SouthAfrica andbacktothe halcyondaysofreal internationalism in football tothose innocentdayswhenyoucouldwalkintoaCountyRoad boozer and quip, I wouldnt mind having a Brazilian, without everyone staringatyourflyandgiggling. The centre of the football firmament was Everton, not England. Even whenEnglandveryoccasionallydidreasonablywell,thebasisofsuch successwasthepresenceofanEvertonplayeroranEverton influence. But the visa stamped on your passport wasnever thenation,it
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EVERTONTALESANDOTHERTALLSTORIES was always the club from L4 4EL, and the international reputation of the Blues was established well before our special friends across the park learnttousetheirdigitstocountuptofive. The Chilean Everton, as we now all know, wasfounded in the early20th century following a tour by Everton to Latin America. English (and Irish) influence was always strong in Chile their national liberation movement was led by the beautifully named Bernardo OHiggins and in the ValparaisoregiontheinfluenceofLiverpool,asasisterportcity,wasalso evident. It was because of this that youth in the area named their team after ours. It was a tribute that spoke of international respect, of brotherhoodacrosstheoceans. I had alotto dowith Chilewhile I was growingup.Intheearly1970sin between attending matches and running United on Scotland Road I used to help Chileans settle in Liverpool. They were exiles driven from their country following the murderous US backed coup in 1973 by General Pinochet. Liverpool welcomed them as refugees and the campaign in supportof those oppressedbyPinochetreacheditspeakin this city when dockers refused to load engines destined for tanks that werepatrollingthestreetsofSantiago. One Chilean friend wasableto gobacktohiscountrywhenthingseased up abitinthe early 1990s. Whenhe came backhetoldmeagreatmany stories about what was going on. I cant remember them. But what I do rememberis that he broughtme aBlueand Amber flagbearingtheword Everton,andapennant,blueandwhitethistime,withVivaEvertononit. He knew I cared about Chile,but he knew therewassomething else that united us beyond political solidarity. There was Everton, there was football,andtherewasthebondthatsuchasharedpassioncouldbring. Thefact that manyothercountries do not haveateamcalledEvertonisa great loss to them. War, famine and pestilence would all be reduced if there were a fewmore Goodisonsdottedaroundthe globe. Therewould
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EVERTONTALESANDOTHERTALLSTORIES be little need for the UnitedNations ifthe InternationalBlueBrotherhood stretchedabitfurther. But even without the direct bond of the name links can be forged in the strangest places and with the most disparate groups of people ifyou let the world know of your love for Everton. I once befriended a group of students and miners from a town called Oruro on the Altiplano (high plateau) of the Bolivian Andes. Their love of football was exuberant, but realistic. At home their team couldbeatany foreign visitors whoalways collapsed on the field from altitude sickness but they inevitably lost every awayleg because when they played at or near sealeveltheirskills werenomatchfortheotherLatinAmericanoutfits. Needless to sayI introducedthem during their visits to ourshores to Everton. And they loved us because my passion for the boys in blue reachedspoketothem.Evennow,asthewindwhips around the tin mines of theHighAndesIsmile as I thinkof about twenty peoplelisteningoutforthescoresfromL4. In Europe you might expect the many friends and acquaintances I have made during my travelsto bemore fixated on our neighbours given their well documented exploits in the European Cup and Champions League. Butif youthought thatyou would have fallenforthelinethattheonlything thatmatters tofootballfansissuccess.Itdoesnt.MostfansIhavemet, from Werder Bremen and Rapid Vienna through to Atalanta, care more about how well you support your team despite its success or failure because most fans support their teams despite success orfailure.Most realfans.
And that is why the story of Everton is one that gets told all over the continent. Believe it. I spent a weekend at an intense meeting with a groupofSwedesdiscussingquestionsofworldhistoricimportance.Cant rememberwhattheywerenow.
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We were in a small town several hours from Stockholm which had one Volvo factory in it. I was staying at the apartment of the union convenor from the factory.Beforeadjourning to hishome we drank the nightaway. Or rather I did. The ten Swedes all sipped from a couple ofcans oflow alcohol lager. They spat most of that out in shock when I unwrapped a litreofStolichnayaandstarteddowningitscontents. This was during the 1994 World Cup and Sweden made the quarter finals. When we arrived at my hosts home I thought I had drunk too much.I entered hishallway andthere,prideofplace,wasahugeEverton banner on thewall.He smiled, I smiled,we all smiled. He hadnt putit up forme.Ithadbeenupformanyyears. ASwedishfootballcommentatorintheearly1960shadseenEvertonand hadtold hiscountry ofthe wonders he hadwitnessed.Ourchampionship season in 1963 was as familiar to my host as aresult of thisSwedish pundit asitistothemanyEvertonianswhowitnessedthatgloriousteam sweep all beforethem. The GoldenVisionwasthere,resplendentamidst theevergreenforestsofScandinavia. Isawawildreindeerfromthewindowtoo.Thevodkawasthatgood. Andrightuptotodaythereareothersaroundtheworldwho,likeAlanBall, once having been touched by Everton (sometimes via me but not in a rude way), become blues for life. I used the lure of Cahill to win over somefriendsfromAustralia.Allwasgoingaccordingtoplan,until at the 2009 Cup Final I received a text from Australia askingwhere I was sitting so my friends could see if they could catch aglimpse of me on thetelly in theMelbourne barwherethey werewatchingthematch.As ItextedbackmyseatslocationImissedSahasgoal. Bloodyforeigners! The point being that the true spirit of internationalfootball does notexist amongst those for whom the game has become a cash cow, thosewho
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EVERTONTALESANDOTHERTALLSTORIES usethe WorldCupto exhibit their products insteadoftheirskills.Itexists amongst fans who tell each other about their local teams, who communicate their love and enthusiasm for those teams to people who understand such sentiments, to people all around the world who love football, love their local teams and who know, withouthavingto ask, why youfeelthesame. VivamosEverton.VivamosEvertonians.
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ARoadToWembley
ByLukeOFarrell
I foundmyselfdaydreamingin work,it wasimpossiblenotto.Inlessthan 24 hours, Everton weregoing to WembleyforanFACupsemifinalandI would not be there. Despite being ticketless, never mind scheduled to work,IwasunabletoshakethoughtsofWembley. Wallowing in selfpity, forlornly waiting for the shift to begin, the harsh soundofThe Rolling Stonesinmypocketbroketheslumber.Ianswered the call, What are you doing tomorrow?saidthevoiceontheotherend. Imworking,why?IvegotafreeticketforWembleyifyoucanmakeit. Having foolishly given up the cherished season ticket at the start of the season, a choice born from the balancing act of working in a restaurant and university, this offer was simply too good to turn down. Hang on a minute,Illaskmeboss. Moving the phone to one side, I nervously (and hopefully) asked for the day off. Probably sensing how much a trip to Wembley meant to an Evertonian reared on the bleak 90s, he agreed. That was it the smile remainedonmyfacethroughouttheeighthourshift. Havingturned19ontheFriday,aSundaytriptoWembleyroundedoffthe birthday weekend nicely, though the result obviously had the potentialto affect that. Aftertumblingoutofbedatsomeungodlyhour,approximately 6amifmemoryservescorrectly,webeganthelongroadtoWembley. Arriving with plenty of time to spare, food was in order. Walking in and around the shops,pockets of bluestood outand theexcitementsteadily built.Afterpassingthemajorityofthewaitingtime,wemadeourway towardsWembley.
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Doing several meandering laps of the stadium, the glorious sunshine helped ease the prematch nerves. Barely fiveyears old when Everton last ventured to Wembley, this was my first visit and I arrived intent on savouring theatmosphere. That said,asI typethis now,mostofthefiner detailsescapeme. Reaching Wembleyforthefirsttimein14years,theonuswasonEverton to grasp their chance. Notwithstanding my own grievances with semifinals at Wembley, derisory ticket allocations and obscene kick off times,itishardnottogetlostintheoccasiononceinsidethestadium. Squeezing through the turnstiles, the sight of ticketless fans bolting through the giant door next tothe turnstiles drew a wrysmilefootballcan make a sane person do insane things. Once inside, the search for overpriced lager began alternatively known as the quest to quell the nerves. Rejoining the others, the butterflies in my stomach seemingly morphed into riotous caterpillars once the match kicked off. The majority of the action flashed by in a blur of nervous excitement and crippling anxiety, though I do recall a sharp intake of breath when Phil Jagielka flattened Danny Welbeckinthearea.AlexFergusonberatedthefourthofficial(and anyone else within earshot), but Mike Riley waved away the protests to thereliefof33,000Evertonians. It looked a penalty, clear as day. There were few incidents of note after this 90 minutes nor extra time unable to separate the two sides. In all honesty, this was a largely forgettable match (as you can tell by this sketchyrecollection)yetfewcared. Twohoursafteritbegan,thesidesdeadlockedat00thedreaded penalty shootout loomed on the horizon. First up was Tim Cahill, but the Australian blazed his spot kick into the red sea of United supporters behindthegoal.
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First blood to the opposition, my pessimistic nature took over we were doomed, or so I thought. Fortunately, for those of the blue persuasion, Dimitar Berbatov attempted a penalty draped in his languid style. Tim Howardsavedeasilycourtesyofhistrailingleg.Gameon. Farremoved from theBerbatovpenalty,LeightonBainesblastedEverton into the lead. Rio Ferdinand stepped up for United, with a much firmer effort than Berbatov, but Howard was the hero once more. Advantage Evertonandwedaredtodream. Belying his usual playing style, Phil Neville calmly sent Ben Foster the wrong wayand inched Evertontowards thefinal.Against his former club, Neville calmly retreated to halfway. Roughly 80 yardsbehindNeville, the scenes were altogether different. Supporters entered a state ofdelirium astheirteamedgedtowardsvictory. After Nemanja Vidic and James Vaughan traded penalties, Anderson coollysent Howard the wrong way tokeep United inthe contest.Thisleft Phil Jagielka with the decisive kick, memories of his miss against Fiorentinasurelyetchedinhismind. Redeeming his Fiorentina miss, Jagielka dispatched the ball beyond Foster. Cue pandemonium, joy and emotion name any emotion imaginable andI canguaranteesomebodyintheEvertonendwaslivingit themomenttheJagielkapenaltyhitthebackofthenet. After an announcement regarding the final, Z Cars rang out over the PA and I must admit there was a tear or two. Thousands singing along, hundreds dancing on their seats, strangers hugging each other, it is a struggle to serve justice to those scenes. Nevertheless, to paraphrase Alan Harper, when Z Cars rang out over the PAand thefansjoined in, it wasamomentIwantedtobottleandkeepforever.
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SongsofInnocence
ByMarkHoskisson
Manchester United fans have their very own bar room bard, scribbling down witty ditties and putting them to whatever music happens to be on thejukeboxatthetime.Thestagehandsatthetheatreofdreamsthenbelt outhischantswithfullthroatedease. Portsmouth play host to an incredibly strangeman with woaddaubed on every inch of his exposed skinandwithhairthatlookslikeitsbeencoiled from the rigging of the old frigates that line the docksofhishome town. He leadsthe maddeningly repetitive chanting,clappingandstampingofa tribeofAncientBritonsthattheRomansforgottowipeout. Andofcourseour neighbourstaketheirinspirationfromoneofGerryand the Pacemakers recordings. YoullNeverWalkAloneisamiserabledirge from the 1945 musical Carousel. It is sung for adead fairground worker and the mill worker he made pregnant. The mill is owned by one Mr Bascombe (former LFC correspondent for The Echo) believe it or not. Its also sung by graduation classesat Americancolleges.But above all, its sung by Gerry Marsden, making it well suited as an anthem for the youthdoomedwhofollowLiverpoolFC. But how do Everton fans compare with the merry minstrels who can be foundat every ground we visit andwhoturn up in theaway section ofthe Bullenstoberateusforourfailuretomatchthemsongforsong? Evertons repertoire has often been distinctive. Take our theme tune, Z Cars. Tothe restoftheworlditsabafflingchoice.Anentryonourhistory
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EVERTONTALESANDOTHERTALLSTORIES on aBBCwebsite commentsthatourchoiceofmusicisratherunusual. Butwestickwithsomethingadoptedasaoneoffinthe1960s.Why? Because it is unique. Because it is distinctive. And, because of the programme from which it was taken, it is indelibly associated with Merseyside(Kirkbyasithappens,butthatsaseparateissue!). It came from a programme that was a real kick up the backside for establishment television,taking police work outof DixonofDockGreens cor blimey comfortzoneandputtingit onto the mean streets down which men who are themselves not mean must go (apologies to Raymond Chandler!).Allofthatmakesitagoodchoice. Butwhatof the GwladysStreet choir? In the 1960s themedia fellin love withthe kopbecauseone day BBCcamerashappenedtocatchachorus of Youll Never Walk Alone, complete with thousands of raised scarves. The broadcasters didnt realise that the fans were holding their scarves up to dry because of the lax toilet habits of the Anfield crowd. They thoughtitwasagreatspectacleandamythwasborn. Liverpool fans were the greatest fans in the world ( every hack on Grub Street). Everton fans spent all their time kicking Harry Catterick whenever he dropped a favourite player or booing their own whenevera pass went astray or a shot wentwide. Thepaperswere full of thissortof garbage at the time. George Best, who called us one of the most knowledgeable crowds in the country thought differently, but the press reputationstuck. There couldnt be two spectacular crowds in one city. One had to be bigged up, the other belittled. So the best efforts of the Gwladys Street wereignored.Ofcoursewewerenthelpedbythefactthatmuchofthe
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EVERTONTALESANDOTHERTALLSTORIES Lower Gwladys was not covered by a roof then, depriving us of the acousticadvantagethekophad. Buttherealityofbothterraceswasthatformostofthetimeahardcoreof maybe acoupleofthousand,gathereddirectlybehindthegoal,sangtheir headsoff while most of therest simplyshouted,clappedorcursedinthe ageold manner of most football supporters. There really was very little difference.But by then thekop had the blessingoftheBBCandbecame TheKop. Who cares because Evertons songs were better, more thoughtful and more imaginative. Like today most of the chanting at matches simply involved shouting your teams name at the top of your voice. But while now it is to the tune of Sousas famous march, back then itwasEverton (orLiverpool,orUnited,orCityorwhatever)followedbythreeclaps. What did we do? In 1967 Muhammad Ali a hero amongst Evertonians after agroup of lads methim in 1966 in the lead up to thegreatcupfinal ofthatyear fought Ernie Terrell. It wasprobablyAlismostviciousfight. He hurt Terrell badly.And eachtime hehithim he asked Terrell, Whats my name?becauseTerrell had continually calledhim CassiusClayprior tothefightdespiteAlihavingchangedhisname. We were the only crowd in the country to shout Whats our name? instead of thecustomarythreeclaps.Weidentifiedwithasportinglegend who called himself the greatest. And we were the greatest too. And it shows a bit morecreativitythannicking aGerryMarsdencoverversionof a Rodgers and Hammerstein tear jerker. And we added "We are the greatest" a season or so later Ali was always an influence on us back then. Likewise, We shall not be moved our song. Check out the Onward Evertonians lead up to it if youre in any doubt. This was not an establishment song. No Merseybeat group did a version of it.It wasnt a
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EVERTONTALESANDOTHERTALLSTORIES funeral song. It was, in the early 1960s a song of defiance by the civil rights movement in the USA. Now no one least of all me is claiming that the lads in the Gwladys Street were all reading the speeches of Martin Luther King in their spare time and cheering on the Civil Rights movement.Iwasthereeverygameandtheydidn't! Racism was rife back then too. But in the 1960s there was a spirit of defiance abroad amongst the youngsters who went to the match and those youngsters weremoreinfluencedthantheyaretodaybytheirdads. The spirit of defiance and the influence of the rebellions taking place in the USA were known here in Liverpool because US ships were in our docks and because our merchant seamen were in American ports. Dockers and seaman a large section of Everton's grown up support backthentookupWeShallNotBeMoved. Of course we didn't sing it as a political anthem we sang it as an expression of our defiance, because our team would stand firm against anyone especially with Labone at the heart of defence. The songhad meaning. There were others with less meaning, but they were generally laced with humour and impudence. We derided the opposition. We derided their fans.We hadsongs about our players, especiallyAlanBall, whose death brought back to me the words, sung to the tune of a Wonderloafadvert(!): OhAlanBall,iswonderful,ohAlanBalliswonderful Fullofhealth,fullofgo,fullofvigour OhAlanBalliswonderful. As the 1960s came to an end and as the concept of "football hooliganism" moved from beinganupper classdescriptionof all football supporters into a specific category to describe a minority of "troublemakers" some of the Street End's songs shifted towards
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EVERTONTALESANDOTHERTALLSTORIES expressions of a desire to do untold harm to opposing fans. The thing thatis strikingnow is that the morefearsomethe threats of thelyrics, the moreinsipidwasthetunewehadnickedtoputthemto. We dont carry bottles, we dont carry lead, we only carry hatchets to bury in your head. We are peaceful people, but if youre looking for a fight, youll get your [expletive deleted]headskicked in by theboysin blueandwhite. A lusty ballad sung to the tune of Morningtown Ride by The Seekers. FolkcombomeetsGwladysStreetnippers. A song of innocence indeed,and sungbymany who wouldrun amile at thefirstsightofafight,nevermindahatchet. But these imaginative, defiant and often well crafted operatic efforts by the Street End were not the distinctive elements of the Goodison experience. And stillarent.Andthatswhywenevergotthepublicity,then or now, thatthe the greatestfans in theworld received.Thekeything aboutGoodisonwasntthesinging,asloudasitsometimeswas/is. ThekeythingaboutGoodisonwas,andis,itsraucous,fullon,intimidating atmosphere,contributedtobynearlyeveryoneintheground, notjustthosewhoareupforasingsong. This is something that very few crowds can match. We only sing when were winning? But what do we do when were not singing? Two things. We watch the match, which is why George Best andotherscommented on ourknowledge of football.But wewatchitinapartisanway.Weshout, we fight for decisionsto goour way. Weabuse theopposition.We roar. Unfortunately we sometimes roar at our own in a way that can be counterproductive,but thatis the price ofpassion. Wecreateacharged
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EVERTONTALESANDOTHERTALLSTORIES atmospherethatcanmakeanenormousdifference. Obviously this doesnt happen all the time and with all the fans. Matches can be flat and so can the crowd. But when it matters we rise like lions. And we roar like them too. There are so many examples, so many famous occasions when Goodison has crackled with an unmatchable atmosphere. It is an atmosphere that pundits can barely understand because it doesnt match their stereotype of choreographed crowd performanceswithflags,bannersandscarvesheldaloft.Butitworks. Take Blackburna few seasonsago.Not alotatstakebutourkeeperwas sent off. Nobodyran on todecktherefafteroneCarlsbergtoomany.But everyone decided they had to help out. Phil Neville, playing his first seasonforus,summeditupafterthegame: You wouldn't getanatmosphere in anyother groundlikeyouhadhereat Goodison on Saturday.It was reallyspecial. Somebodysaidathalftimeit was the kind of circumstancemade forEverton FootballClub. Youcould seeattheenditisprobablyembroideredintheclub'straditionnow. He was right, its special. Like the songs its defiant, its passionate, its partisan. Its not a display. Its real. Its what makes Goodison and the people who fill it week in and weekout oneofthe trulygreat stadiums in the world. Its what makes the Everton experience truly great. And its whatwillhelpmakeourteamtrulygreataswell. OnwardEvertonians!
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TheColinFitzpatrickInterview
ByNeilAdderley
Everton supporter, Secretary of Keeping Everton In Our City (KEIOC) and Communications Officer of Everton supporters umbrella group The Blue Union, Colin Fitzpatrick speaks openly and frankly on his past dealings with the Everton hierarchy, the press and media, football activism, and his hopes and fears for the future of his beloved Everton FC. Thereis a single,unbreakable strand runningthroughthestoryof53year old Colin Fitzpatricks life. Unlike hisfrontline dealings withthe hierarchy of Everton Football Club, there is no complexity to it, no duplicity, no distortion, neither any complication. It is as clear as day, as true and straight as a die.Fitzpatrick is a born and bred Blue Nose,a Toffeeman, anEvertonian. Ive supported them all my life, started offlike manybeing carried in by my dad from aged three so that's 50 years that have flashed by funny enoughIstillgetcarriedin! The need for assistance in attending Goodison Parkis a firmtonguein the cheek reference to health problems Colin has recentlysuffered.That hementionsitintheseexaggeratedtermsshouldbeofnosurprise.Itisa selfdeprecating, acerbic humour, all Scousers are expertly brought up on.
My earliest Everton memory isa pure Kenwrightmoment,the wall inthe

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EVERTONTALESANDOTHERTALLSTORIES ground was no more than a lip andmy dadhad mesitting onit when the ball hit me in the face, Labonecame over,picked the ball upand ruffled my hair, thelipmusthavebeengoingbecauseacaseywasacaseyback inthe day. I remember the seasonthe lip was increased by about afoot, the kidshadallkindsofstoolsandthingsthathungfromhooksyouputon the wall, thekidsdadsmust have been doingforeignersatworkallweek! Ive supported them throughthickandthin, believeme there's beena lot ofthin. As surprisingasit may seem to manyoutsiders, thebest partofthepast two decades has seen Everton Football Club and its supporters enveloped in a troublesome, turbulent and at times, toxic atmosphere. This off the field struggle, mainly, though not exclusively fueled by two very different,but ultimately,aborted stadiumrelocationattempts,hasnot only caused an, at times unbearable strain on supporter club relations, but also fractured a fan base. It has on occasions, been pernicious enoughastohavedividedworkmates,friendsandevenfamilies. For the vast majority of Evertonians, this damaging recent period in the clubs long and illustrious history, began on a wave of optimism as the current chairman Bill Kenwright, and his consortium of business acquaintances,succeededintheir1999deadlinebeatingtakeoverbidfor Everton Football Club. Former Coronation Street actor and theatre impresario Kenwright, an Evertonian, and the then vicechairman of the club, led the True Blue Holdings vehicle in acquiring all of Liverpool fan Peter Johnsons stake in Everton Football Club. The consortium, after morethanayearofbitternegotiations,wouldpayjust20millionfor 68%oftheclubsshares. Once the deal was rubber stamped, Kenwright gave an immediate assurance to Evertonians everywhere, when he said Obviously, I am very, very happy. It has been a very long road but I am thrilled and
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EVERTONTALESANDOTHERTALLSTORIES relievedthat itis now done. Acquiring Peter Johnson's shares is only the firststepto restoring a great club to whereit belongs towhereitshould be. If you are going to run a successful football club you need two qualities: you need tobe realistic and youneed a plan.I'm realisticand I haveaplan. Thosewords,soothingastheymayhavethenseemed,wouldcomeback to haunt Kenwright on numerous occasions throughout his ongoing tenure,andundoubtedly,continuetodosotothepresentday. The first, and arguably the most catastrophic of failures under the Bill Kenwright administration begun with a fanfare in 2000, when the audacious 250 million Kings Dock Waterfront and Arena plan was launched. Backed by a vast majority of Evertonians, the scheme would see Everton Football Club anchoring a world class development of Liverpools waterfront as part of a mixed plan that included an entertainment centre, offices, retail space and housing. The jewel in the crownofwhich wouldbe a 55,000capacity,stateoftheartstadium,slap bang in the centre of a World Heritage Status site. It was an Evertonian dream location, on the banks of the royal blue Mersey, and with both local and national authorities having given the development plan the crucial nod, all interested parties set about working on meeting the projectedcostoftheproject.
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KingsDockWaterfrontandArena
The amount reported to cover thecost of thefootball related aspectsof the development were approximated at 155 million, of this amount, Everton were required to produce just 30 million. The remaining 125 million would be achieved by a mixture of private and publicinvestment, including stadium naming rights, regional development agency money and private finance. As time and deadlines were passed, eventual rumoursthat Everton were unable to meet theirapportionedcosts,slowly begantosurface. In an attemptto quashtalkoftheclubsinabilitytomeet their end of the deal, vicechairman, Bill Kenwright, now infamously announced the clubs required 30 million contribution was not only in place, it was in fact ring fenced. Calamitously for the development, the cityandtheclub,itseemednothingwasfurtherfromthetruth. In April 2003, just over 3 years after its inception, the Kings Dock WaterfrontArenaschemewasdeadinthewater.Thepublicandprivate money that actually was ring fenced, was lost to the city forever as the
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EVERTONTALESANDOTHERTALLSTORIES Liverpool Vision development agency, together with Everton Football Club, released ajointstatementconfirmingtheEvertonboardofdirectors couldnotraisethecashtomeetitsendofthedeal. Not more than 15 months later, Everton chairman Kenwright, sanctioned the sale of Wayne RooneytoManchesterUnited,forathenreported30 million. Colin Fitzpatrick recalls that time, almost exactly a decade ago, and significantly, points to the failureofBillKenwrightandhisboardtodeliver, as aprecursortowhatwouldbeasecondstadiumrelocationplanthattoo wouldultimately fail. Although not beforeit severely fracturedtheEverton fanbase. Ihadn'treally worried too much about the KingsDocksavegoingtosee the model, Colin explains. I was all for it and was gutted when it fell through,I wasawarethatsincethetakeoverfromJohnsonitwasallalittle bit too seat of the pants style ownership but to be honest Iprobably felt that of mostofthe clubs.I'll alsoholdmy handsup tobeing prettymuch ambivalent over Bill (Kenwright) taking over from Whippy (Sir Philip Carter). I welcomed ittobehonest, neverhad time for themanwhen he failed to take Thatcher to task over the unjust European ban and we all knowwhy. What's amazing is he's back on the board delivering the square root of nothing as he has always done nothing but an administrator from Littlewoods in the right place at the right time, or the wrong place if you taketheviewofmanyablue.
When Kirkby came about I listened butquicklyrealised that this wasn'ta KingsDockandthemoreIlistenedthemoreIthought....CON. ThemessycollapseofKingsDockledtoaverypublicpowerstrugglefor
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EVERTONTALESANDOTHERTALLSTORIES control of Everton between the now Chairman, Bill Kenwright and fellow majorshareholder andboard memberPaul Gregg. Itwasawretchedtwo year battle in which Kenwright and fellow board member John Woods, who between them owned 50% of shares, always allowing them to outvote Gregg, saw Kenwright, heavily backed by the local press, eventuallyholdingon topowerat theclub. LeavingGreggs 23%stakein the club to be bought in October2006 for 7.2million by BCR Sports. A British Virgin Islands offshore vehicle, fronted by Kenwrights fellow showbiz acquaintance and mutual friend ofretail tycoon Sir PhilipGreen, LasVegasbasedAngloAmerican,RobertEarl. WithinthreemonthsofRobertEarl'sarrivalontheEvertonboard,thethen CEO, KeithWyness,announcedthe club hadentered intoanExclusivity Agreement with Tesco Stores PLC to explore the possibilities of relocating Everton to Kirkby, a small town of just 40,000 residents, outside of the Liverpool City boundaries in the neighbouring borough of Knowsley. The deal, a three way partnership, including the landowners, Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council (KMBC), would see Everton move to a 50,000 stadium as part of a planned massive retail development in Kirkby town centre, to be anchored by a Tesco hypermarket. Despite theclubs initial December 2006 announcement, promisingsmall shareholders and supporters of only an exploration of possibilities, by thesummerof2007,theplantomoveEvertonFootballCluboutofthe City, was set in stone. Albeit dependent, as with the earlier Kings Dock scheme, on a successful ballot of season ticket holders. It would be within these few months, that the Everton supporters protest group, Keep Everton InOur City (KEIOC) wasformedandColinFitzpatrick,who from the outset believed the Kirkby scheme tobefundamentally flawed, wouldtakehisfirststepsintofootballactivism.
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EVERTONTALESANDOTHERTALLSTORIES There was a preseason match on one of those balmy summer evenings, don't ask me who we were playing,everybody who knows me will tellyouIcouldn'teventellyouwhoweplayedlastweekorthescore,I just watch Everton on the day andthat's it. The KEIOC guys had draped banners all over the Winslow pub on Goodison Road, I knew what they were saying aboutKirkby and as I walkedpastIrecognisedone of them as an old school friend. One thing led to another and after the ballot I endedup ata meeting, met people whoknew alotabout theclub, some really goodblues, you know,the typethatyousayasatermofreference, "he'sagoodblue"or"agoodEvertonian,"thesewereinanotherleague.I can't even begin to tell you the things some had done to help the club, theywerejustapleasuretobewith. Therewerealsopeoplewhowerepoliticallysavvy,peoplelikeDaveKelly and Ann Adlington, and I knew in the long term that was the way to go. Protest was fine as far as it went, it draws attention to a cause and satisfies those who are angry but real progress is made behind the scenesandKEIOCevolvedfromaprotestgroupintoapressuregroup. Inthe weeks betweentheannouncementoftheballotandtheactualvote, Evertonians found themselves bombarded by a PR campaign in overdrive,ledbytheclubandwiththefulleditorialbackingofthelocal press. Current and explayers, exmanagers, the chairman, the CEO, celebritysupporters,the leaderofKMBCsrulingLabourparty,andTesco CEO Sir Terry Leahy, were lined up, one after the other, to explain to supporters that Kirkby was the only rational option to secure the very future of Everton Football Club. Supporters were warned in no uncertain termstherewasand wouldbenoplanB. Thelocalpressandmediaran with headline stories promising Evertonians a world classstadium,50 millionhandouts, the best transport links toanystadiumintheUKanda significant rise in the transfer war chest for manager, David Moyes. According to Colin, the fact that 41% of Everton season ticket holders
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EVERTONTALESANDOTHERTALLSTORIES voted against the Everton board of directors Destination Kirkby relocationplans,wasaminormiracle.
DestinationKirkby
The ballot was what reallymade mymind up, itwasclearthat they were pulling the wool over the eyes of the fans and the small shareholders. Something didn't add up, certainly the arithmetic didn't, the figures were changing from one press piece to the next and when the ballot pack arrived that was it. I sent it back, complaining that it was unjust on the basis that Evertonwereallowed to place apieceofprokirkbyliteraturein the pack, but KEIOC weren't allowed the same privilege to express their views. The selection process was also questionable, easy to identify people who regularlyattend,overmembersofEvertonia,youcouldseewhatwas
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EVERTONTALESANDOTHERTALLSTORIES coming and they limpedoverthe linetheydrew themselves. This wasno KingsDockstyle victory, there weretoo many who opposedthis,andthe clubknewit. If KEIOCs postballot relations with the Everton hierarchy highlighted anything, it was, says Fitzpatrick,just how far theclub were out of touch with a large section of the fanbase. Moreover, it would be their huge underestimation of a supporter group in its infancy, that would ultimately provetobeavitalachillesheelforKenwright,hisboardandthehandfulof staff and hired help working on behalf of the Everton chairman, on the DestinationKirkbyproject. The battle lines had been quickly drawn and KEIOC, faced with a long campaign and up against the juggernaut of multi billion pound company Tesco, as wellas a Premier League footballclubandapoliticallybacked Local Authority, realised they would have to immediately hit the ground running.Thegroupsinitialpointofattackwouldbetocountertheongoing, wellplannedandslicklyexecutedEverton/Tesco/KMBCpublic relationsandmediacampaign. One initial obstacle faced by KEIOC and Fitzpatrick, was the large number of supporters who simply accepted the point of view of revered business gurus such as Tescos Sir Terry Leahyand of course,a show ofblindfaithinanEvertonianchairman,BillKenwright. There wasnt any time to reeducate fellow supporters and so the decision was taken not to focus on building up a mass base of support but rather, to structure the group as a network of supporters affiliatedto theorganisation. Initially unbeknownst to the club and their partners, the KEIOC network rapidly spread and would include Evertonians who crucially, were also
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EVERTONTALESANDOTHERTALLSTORIES experts in their own particular field, all of whom were sympathetic to the groups aim of keeping Evertonin thecity.The wide range ofsupport for KEIOC came from amongst others, architects, political activists, councillors, MPs, financial strategists and transport experts, solicitors, barristers, QCs, stadium designers and perhaps most significantly of all, Evertonians with intimate and expert knowledge of incredibly complex planningregulations. Colins personal dealings with the Everton hierarchyduring,whattomost Evertonians willalwaysberememberedastheKirkbyDebacle,revealan eyeopening, sometimes bizarre, commonly hilarious and seemingly almost always fraught relationship.It is an exclusive firsthand insight into the workings of EvertonFootball Club under the influence of a handful of middle aged millionaires, led by chairman and major shareholder, Bill Kenwright. Football clubs will always treat fans like they're thick and don't understand the real issues, the clubs are a bit like politicians in that respect,remember they wouldn't even allowthe people of Kirkbyaballot on thestadium issue,theysaid,"thecomplexissuesaretoocomplicated forresidentstounderstand". Fitzpatrickexplainshowmeetingswiththeclubwerealwaysfrosty. Dealing with (former Communications Director) Ian Ross was like dealing with a child. Dealing with (former CEO) Wyness was ridiculous.I once brokered a meeting between the club and Malcolm Carter of Bestway, who genuinely wanted to explore the possibilities, alongside Liverpool City Council, for the Bestway site which, with the help of the council, would have beena onekilometre city centre sitewithamyriadof possibilities. But Everton brought in condition after condition after the initial agreement so the meeting failed to take place. Carter was disgusted with the club over how he was treated and no doubt the club
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EVERTONTALESANDOTHERTALLSTORIES were pleasedtheyavoided themeetingastheywere"underorders"from SirTerryLeahy. Any relationship with CEO Keith Wyness came to an end when his bullying nature got the better of him and he attemptedto setthe lawyers onKEIOC. I always believethe best form ofdefence is attackand any bullyingfrom lawyers gets published no matter how much they complain. They attempted to actagainst the ownersof theKEIOCsite,there'saproblem there,it's owned by aMr W. Cuff whoseaddressisGoodisonRoad.The club'slawyersattemptedtoserveaceaseanddesistletteronKEIOCbut first of all sent it to a Japanese dentist of the same name! They then foundoutaboutWillCuff.
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LegendaryformerEvertonchairmanWillCuff
For those whoare notaware,Will Cuff was alegendary former chairman ofEvertonFootballClubandwasalsoaSolicitorintheCityofLiverpool. The ironic thing was his practice survived him and continued under his name until they were bought and absorbedinto alarger firm ofsolicitors and you guessed it, they were now Everton's solicitors, so they were effectivelyattemptingtoservealetteronthemselves! It set the tone for the future, KEIOC ran rings around what were essentially amateurs when itcame to stuff likethis. The naivesupporters who knew no better would always question why we didn't have better dialogue (with the club),when of course, wewere awareof the contempt
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EVERTONTALESANDOTHERTALLSTORIES we were treated with, so it made no difference, we set out to expose them. They still refuse to acknowledge the Blue Union and as for members of the Shareholders Association(SA),I'msimplyembarrassedforthem,the report from the last meeting with the clowns is a disgrace, the ShareholdersAssociationarefinished. The meeting referred to was held on 8 February 2013 and had seen a democratically elected member of the shareholders Executive, banned from anymeetingsbetweenthe twobodies.Thiswas the firstofaseries tobe heldthroughouttheyearbetweentheSAandEverton.Withtheclub represented by CEORobertElstone andCommunications Director, Paul Tyrrell. According to the SAs minutes of the meeting, Everton CEO, Robert Elstone, was clear on the clubs policy of refusing to acknowledge specificEvertonsupportersgroups. Mr Elstone expressed his disappointment that the Executive were intending against his repeatedly stated wishes to include in their group, members who are active in the Blue Union. He reiterated that he will not engage with anyone who has played a part establishing or promotingthatorganisationsactivities.
He said any further attempts by the Executive to include shareholders who are known members of the group in dialogue would be a further breach of trust he hasplacedin this processand resultin hisimmediate withdrawalfromfuturediscussions. Certainly for Colin Fitzpatrick and others who have expressed their concerns regarding the off the field running of the club, the disdain for
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EVERTONTALESANDOTHERTALLSTORIES supporters and groups alike, is seemingly a recurring theme threaded throughtherecenthistoryofEvertonFootballClub. To this day, they still treat the fans and small shareholders with contempt. Throughinformationgatheredfromitsgrowing network,itbecamerapidly apparent that the Destination Kirkby scheme was nailed on to be subject to a Government planning public inquiry. KEIOC openly warned Everton of the consequences of the added costs and vitally, the time delay involvedin a calling in of theplanningapplication.Theclub,perhapswith an ulterior motive, denied a public inquiry was inevitable, and vowed to pressonwiththefundamentallyflawedventure. KEIOC were advised by experts sympathetic to their cause, including high ranking members of the Government, that the planning application put forward by the triumvirate of Everton, Tesco and KMBC would be called in by the then Secretaryof State. The message fromKEIOCwas loud and clear and similarly broughtbythe group, toallthose who would beimpactedonbythescheme. Theapplicationmustberefusedduetoamassivedeparturefromlocal, regional and national planning regulations. There was no 52 million subsidytowardsthecostofthestadium.Thestadiumwasalowcost,78 million construction, unfit for purpose by a leading PremierLeague club. The Transport plan is fundamentally flawed. Finally, that the finances for the 78m Everton FC were liable to produce, was unexplainable and undeliverable. InAugust 2008,just weeks after the suddenresignationofEverton CEO Keith Wyness, theLabourSecretary of State,Hazel Blears,calledinthe Destination Kirkby planning application for public inquiry. The high level
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EVERTONTALESANDOTHERTALLSTORIES lobbying of Government carried out by the three way partners hadfailed and whilst KEIOC felt totally vindicated, and allowed themselves a minor celebratory moment, Colin Fitzpatrick and the group undoubtedly knew a battlehadbeenwon. Likewise, they were fully aware, a very public war with the hierarchy of Everton,TescoandKMBC,wasabouttounfold. Thecallinginofthe Destination Kirkby planningapplicationsoundedthe deathknellforBill Kenwrights horriblyflawedattempt torelocateEverton Football Club out of the City of Liverpool. Yet again, and despite the prepublic inquiry resignation of original Kirkbychampion,KeithWyness, KEIOCs warnings to the clubs major shareholders of the madness of pressingonwiththedoomedscheme,fellondeafears. The blind refusal to accept any sort of advice from any individual or group, whowere not their own paid advisors, or those of their partners in the scheme, would cost the club millions of pounds it could ill afford to throwaway.Arguablyevenmorecriticaltotheclubsfuture,wouldbethe lossofyet more years,wastedonthefollyofBillKenwrightandhisboard ofdirectors. Colin Fitzpatrick is clear on why the calling in was the final nail in the clubs Kirkby coffin. The truth is the fate of Destination Kirkby was not determined by the Public Inquiry. The inquiry was the execution, a very public execution of a property con that would have succeeded if the government hadn't called the application in, which meant it would then undergo the strict planning examination it avoided when passed on the nod of the sheepthat are the unswerving servants of Knowsley's Labour Party. More than a year prior to the openingofthe publicinquiry,KEIOC set in
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EVERTONTALESANDOTHERTALLSTORIES motion apivotalinterventionwhich,despite a report in the LiverpoolDaily Post to the contrary, would see Liverpool City Council, join Sefton Borough Council, and Lancashire County Council in opposing the DestinationKirkbyapplication. As far as Everton's stadium was concerned its fate was actually sealed on a typically bright and sunny June Liverpool morning when the monstrous application went before Liverpool City Council's Planning Committee. KEIOC had been concerned thatthe planning officersreport on theapplication was weakand failedtoofferthe "right"guidancetothe council'splanningcommittee. Liverpool,asaneighbouringauthority,hadtherighttosupportoroppose the application,soKEIOClobbied firsttheleaderofthecouncilandthen, the leader of the opposition group, current Mayor Joe Anderson. Both hadbeensupportiveofKEIOCinthepast,infactinthe previousyearKEIOC wenttogreatlengthstohavetheCityCounciladopt a resolution supporting keeping Everton in the city. Strangely for a planning meeting the council chamber was packed. Mostly with Evertonians affiliated to KEIOC,whowatchedwhatwaslaterdescribedat the public inquiry by the counsel of Tesco and Everton as, an unprecedented event. First of all Warren Bradley rose to address the planning committee, then Joe Anderson and finally, KEIOC chairman Dave Kelly. Needless to say the City opposed the application unanimously and even described it as little more than a con for a very goodreason....itwas! In the run up to the opening of the public inquiry, the opposition to Destination Kirkbywasbecoming overwhelming with amongst others, the neighbouring local authorities, MPs and councillors,joiningKEIOC, retail giants Grosvenor, developers St. Modwens and various Kirkby residents groupsinobjectingtothescorchedearthplanningapplication.
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ForKEIOCs part, whilst theiraim was abundantly transparent to all atthe inquiry, it would be their focus on presenting a coherent, relevant opposing case, combined with producing the crucial closingstatement, thatwouldconcentratetheirminds. We were advised by many, in particular a nationally known figure and a well known QC whose advice was clear. Get it called in and no matter what happens during the inquiry, no matter how many dirty tricks were played against us,wejustneededtoconcentrateondeliveringapowerful closing statement as this is what our objection was really going to be measuredon.
Itmusthavebeenanextraordinarysightforthemultibillionpoundbacked QCs of Tesco, Everton and KMBC, as a ragtag bunch of Evertonians promptly enteredtheKirkbySuiteat10:00amonWednesday,November 19, 2008. It was a portrayal Fitzpatrick and his colleagues were only too pleased to fulfill. Given the huge resources available to theapplicants at the public inquiry, to describe the forthcomingnineweeksasaDavidand Goliathbattle,canonlybeafittingcharacterization. On reflection, I think we initially bit off a bitmore than we couldchew in getting involved in the inquiry. It was very similar to a law court environment and without doubt the QC's, barristers and lawyers were in their element. We, on the other hand, were fishout of water but fish that wouldlearn veryquickly andstandourground.Dirtytrickswereemployed against us but we also weren't averse to doing the same. I can't go into too much detail but someone whoshallbe nameless had aterriblehabit of responding to inquiry officials by email and then later accidentally copying them in on other emails with private documents attached in full knowledge that a certain amountof gossipingwas taking place!! Oh how we played the enthusiastic amateur card, Bill (Kenwright) would have
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EVERTONTALESANDOTHERTALLSTORIES beenproud!!!
After 37 working days of argument and counter argument, the no nonsense planning inspector and chair of the public inquiry, Mrs Wendy Burden, invited all parties to presenttheircrucialclosingstatements. Not though, before KEIOC lightened the mood by presenting Everton CEO Robert Elstone with a Keep Everton In Our City car sticker, which was gratefullyreceivedbythesecondclubCEOtohaveworkedontheKirkby project. And with the inquiry programme officer sporting a fetching Everton shirt with her name PARKER, emblazoned on the back, the proponents and opponents of Destination Kirkby, prepared themselves forthefinaleofanineweekmarathon. The day came that we were waiting for, at the very end of the inquiry. When yourclosingstatement was delivered. Unlike during the rest of the inquiry,youwerenotinterruptedbyanybody.Isupposetheinquirypeople hadbynowrumbled that we were a bit more organisedthanweleton.At the beginning of the inquiry we delivered box after box of inquiry documents, all professionally bound and containing more evidence than evenEvertonhadsubmitted.
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EvertonCEORobertElstone
The closing statement was prepared by myself, and the meff who's writingthisarticle!!! Instead of delivering animpassioned plea aboutEverton leaving the city, itwas planning objection after planning objection afterplanningobjection, and we left in the full knowledge that wegaveit ourbestand that, it was inevitable it was going to be refused permission by the secretary of state. Inclosing the public inquiry, and regardlessoftheratherdesperatepleas oftheTesco,EvertonandKMBCrepresentativesfortheinspectortofast track her decision, Mrs. Burden indicated that due to thesheer size and complexity of the planning application, it would be at least six months beforetheinquiryreportcouldbereadytogototheSecretaryofStatefor consideration. Despite regular contradictory noises from both Everton, Tescoand the local press,it wouldinfact be a full 10 monthsbeforethe new Secretary of State, John Denham MP, would deliver the final axe to theneckofDestinationKirkby.
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The interveningmonths betweenthe climax of the public inquiry andfinal decision, allowed KEIOC to once again focus its attention on exploring alternative plans for the Everton stadium issue. Unlike theclub,whohad stubbornlyand blindly putalltheireggsintheTescobasket,KEIOCwere and remainopen to investigateallpossible avenues.A case in point and one that is possiblymore relevanttoday as ithas ever been,isthe spiky andperennial debate around asharedstadium forEverton andLiverpool football clubs. Colins work with architect and stadium designer Trevor Skempton, only served to reinforce his views on the myriad of complex difficultiesasharedstadiumthrowsup. After the inquiry, we investigated alternative solutions to Everton's stadiumproblem.MyselfandTrevorSkemptonproducedquitea substantial document looking into the possibilities of a shared stadium and presented it to both the leader of the council and the leader of the opposition group in the leaders office. It was an interesting exercise, sited in the area aroundLiverpoolWaters, itwaspurelyadesignconcept that addressed the potential problems of a shared stadium in many innovative ways. Two problems with the concept were relatively insurmountable. Firstly Bradley took the concept to John Whittaker at Peel and he had no interest in a stadium whatsoever. The second problem is that Everton and Liverpool have such diverse target markets that it would be relatively impossible and completely undesirable to accommodate such a potentially compromising situation, particularly for Everton. People who unthinkingly state that a sharedstadium is the best solutionfortheCityarecompleteidiotsinmyopinion. Very nearly 3 years had passed since Keith Wyness announced Evertons plan of relocating to Kirkby, when, inlate November, 2009, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, John DenhamMP,revealed the jointTesco,Everton,KMBCDestinationKirkby
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EVERTONTALESANDOTHERTALLSTORIES planningapplicationhadbeenrejected. Prior to the full inspectorate report being published, a formal letter from the SecretaryofStatesoffice, spelt out themainconclusionsagainstthe development to the interested parties. The scheme, as KEIOC, back in the earlysummer of 2007 had correctlypredicted,hadbreachedaraftof national and regional planning policy. The whole project was rejected outright.According to asenior aide of Mr.Denham MP, whenitcameto thecrunch,theSecretaryofStatehadnootheroption. Allpartieswithavestedinterestintheplanningapplication,whetherfor or against, were made aware a decision was imminent 24 hours before the official word was broken. It was a very nervy time for almost all Evertonsupporters,asColinrecalls. The daybeforethe decision,whichIthinkwastheWednesday,weknew anannouncementwasbeingmadethenextday,weevenputitonoursite which was probably a bad move as the phones never stopped. I remember, I think it was Billy Thorndyke, better known inEverton circles as Billy Bullens, who said everyone was panicking except Dave (Kelly) and Colin. People were on a roller coaster of emotions but I never doubtedthe politiciansand expertswe'd had, they were agreat bunchof Evertonians.EvenourQCwasablue!! When the announcement came, in the early evening, the phones were ringing off the hook, a lot of KEIOC were at Hull City for thegame.One guy on the way to Hull, and convinced the decision was going to go against us, drank a bottle of Jack Daniels to commiserate and drank another on the way home to celebrate!! We didn't gloat or anything, the threeorfourlineannouncementofthedecisionisstillontheKEIOCsite. Intheaftermathoftherejection,BillKenwrightbrokehislongterm silence
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EVERTONTALESANDOTHERTALLSTORIES on Destination Kirkby when quoted in the Liverpool Echo, on November 29.
KenwrightoversawtheKirkbydebacle
The firstthing tosay in termsof Kirkbyisthatthechapterisoverandthe book is closed. The motivation has only ever been to improve the finances of the football club. They need to be stabilised, improved and expanded. As everyone knows, the club doesn't currently have a chairmanoraboardinapositiontodothosethings. It was, when you take into consideration the storm that had surrounded the Kirkby project, an understated, somewhat anaemic, throwaway statement from the Everton chairman. It was as though he had neither a hand in the project,nor any comprehensionofthe effectonthe fanbase. Asifhehadntbeenatallaffectedbyit. Whilst some fans called for Kenwrights head, others, including some local journalists, urged the Everton chairman to lead the club into a reconciliation process, a call to bring the club and supporters together.
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EVERTONTALESANDOTHERTALLSTORIES Regrettably,noneofthosethingsweretohappen.
Throughout the duration of KEIOCs Kirkby campaign, the relations betweenthegroup,Evertonandvariousotherinterestedparties,including the press and media, varied over time, sometimes wildly. Fitzpatrickhas no qualms in expressing some sympathy with local journalists whom, at the time, had produced more balanced reports that simply werent published, nor in revealing a reasonable relationship between KEIOC andthethenfreshfacedCEO,RobertElstone. Sadly for all concerned, and more than three years on since the Kirkby project metitsend,therelationsbetweensupportersgroupsandtheclub leadership,areineffect,irrevocablydamaged. The Blue Union was a coming together of various concerned Everton supporter groups with asimilarpurpose and design. AsCommunications Officer of the supporters umbrella organisation, Fitzpatrick passionately explainsitsorigins. The Blue Union was a tremendous solution to the problemofmany fan groups with slightly differingaimsand objectives all wanting to have a go at what they at least knew was the root cause ofthe problematEverton, the ownership. Without the structure of the Blue Union certain things would never have happened. The protest marches must have chilled the management to the bone, well we knew they did. Watching Goodison Road filled with Evertonians fed up with the years of lies and deception was fantastic. The keyboard warriors who criticised those guys who protested mean nothing to me, call me old fashioned but some loner sittingtheirin their underpants tellingmatchgoingEvertoniansthatthey're wrong from the middle of some god forsaken place, I tend not to worry about.Iworryabouttheladsoutsidethepubsandonthe
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EVERTONTALESANDOTHERTALLSTORIES sidewalks clapping the marchers put your pint down and do something for your club. We let the Spirit of Shankly lads see the videos from the march, they were amazed how we got so many, all they got was three hundred. Thepublic meetings weheldwereverywellattendedto.Itgoes to show there's a real passion for information out there, beyond the Neanderthal offerings of sites that pander to the club hierarchy,the ones theycanrelyon.
EvertonSupportersUmbrellaGroupTheBlueUnion
Patently, if therewasever anopportunitytoaddressthefracturebetween supporters and the hierarchy of Everton, the collapse of the Kirkby debacle was it. However, the lack of initiative or will from Everton to addressthe elephant inthe room and with supportersgroupsnowcalling for the Chairman and board to appoint an independent group of professionals to oversee the sale of the club, a 14 yearobjectiveyet to befulfilledbyKenwright,itseemstheopportunitymayhavebeenforever lost. On Monday, 11 March, exfootballer turned broadcaster, StanCollymore,
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EVERTONTALESANDOTHERTALLSTORIES dedicated morethantwo hourson the nationalradiostation,TalkSport,to Everton Football Club. Hehadbeenapproachedbyaclubspokesperson who, for some unthinkable reason wanted to remain anonymous,yet had agreed to answer a list of 12 questions put together by Collymore. Amongst the answers garneredfromtheformeremployeeofManchester City, was the revelation that Bill Kenwright and his fellow major shareholderswere willingtoselltheirstakeinEvertonandvaluedtheclub inthe region of 125 million. The biannuallinktoMiddleEasterninterest alsoreareditsfamiliarhead. Question number four on Stan Collymores list, Why has there been no sale of Everton Football Club? Also received a familiar comeback The stadiumissueisamillstonearoundtheclubsneck. I thoughtit wouldbe remiss nottoaskColinFitzpatrickforhisviewonthe same question.Colinsanswerturnedout to be somewhatmore detailed thanthatoftheanonymousEvertonspokesperson. WhyhastherebeennosaleofEvertonFootballClub? If anything has been proven, in recent years, it is that the directors are only interested in obtaining the maximum amount of money when they depart.Kenwrightadmittedtochasingaguytosignthecontracttosellthe club who lived in a bedsit in Singapore. Obviously, it would never have happened but the fact he was chasing him should concern every Evertonian.
Then there was the Kirkby con, in which the 52 million crosssubsidy, that was meant to pay40%ofthe total costofthe stadiumdidn't actually exist, butwasa valuethatwouldhaveendeduponthebalancesheetand realised once the club was sold. Aneed for anew stadium did notdrive the move to Kirkby, it was the chance to correct the balance sheet that
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EVERTONTALESANDOTHERTALLSTORIES was being slowly eroded. The recent revelation that they'relookingfor a 125 million return, after paying justover20 million, only confirms what they'reinitfor. Don'tget mewrong,if they'd investedintheinfrastructure,madesurethe commercial dealings were the best we could get, I'd be thefirst to wish them best of luck. The problem is they haven't done anyofthat, they've used the assets to keep the club going. Under Kenwrights leadership, weve gone from a 20 million positive balance sheet in 2000, to a 44 million negative balance sheet today. We find the business simply doesn'tgenerateanymoneyandthat'swhatabusinessisfor. A key metric used to calculate this,EBITDA,has beenfalling and falling at the club in recent years, from almost 9 million in 2008 it's now dropped to minus 6 million. The reason for this is the commercial performance of the club, it simply isn't good enough and what do the board of directors do to alter this situation? What do the individual members of Everton's board actually do anyway? I often see, as opposed to hear, people say, "Be careful what you wish for" when they talk about Kenwright, not a ringing endorsement obviously, but that's aboutallpeoplecansaybeforefollowingitupwithalistofclubsthathave got into trouble. Ialwayswonder why the previous owners of thoseclubs sold outtothesepeople,andninetimesoutoftenit'sallaboutmoney,as muchmoneyaspossibleandthere'stheproblem,ourboard, aboard with ajustified reputation forfailure and areadilystateddesireto obtain100 million, tells me they'd sell toanyone. Thankfullypeoplewho have earned their money have looked at our club, looked at the books andlookedattheaskingpriceandsaidyou'rehavingagiraffe.
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ThebestsalesmanforEverton?
Of course in 2013/14 Everton should increase their turnover by 25 million due to the new TV deal but TV money has increased before, withoutanyfindingitswaytotheclub. Sadly, and somewhat bizarrely, given the fractious past of supporter club relationships,judging bytheoutcomeoftherecentmeetingbetween Everton CEO Robert Elstone and the Shareholders Association Executive,relationsbetweentheEvertonhierarchyandthesupporters who aregenuinelyconcernedabouttheirclubsfuture,areseeminglyatan all time low. Remarkably, Everton Football Clubs officers, chairman and board of directors find themselves in the peculiar position of refusingto acknowledge the very existence of a section of the clubs own match goingfanbase.
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EVERTONTALESANDOTHERTALLSTORIES At some point, in the very near future, this damaging stand off between Chairman, board and officers of Everton versus supporters and supportersgroups,simplyhastoberesolved. ForthegoodofEvertonFootballClub,somethinghasgottogive.
ColinFitzpatrickwastalkingtoOtherTallStories,March2013.
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