Everton, or the Toffees as they are known, are a football club based in Merseyside city, Liverpool. Their rivals, across Stanley Park, are much more successful than they are, but both clubs are steeped in history.
Everton were formed in 1878 and originally called St Domingo FC. They play their home games at Goodison Park and have done for their entire history. The stadium holds 40,000 seats. The Toffees have been champions of England no fewer than nine times, most recently in 1987; their last major trophy came in 1995, when they beat Manchester United in the FA Cup final at Wembley. They reached another final in 2009, but lost to Chelsea. They have not had much luck in Europe, qualifying for the Champions League in 2005 only to fall at the qualification stage against Villarreal under former boss David Moyes, who was in charge for 11 years between 2002 and 2013. But they did win the old European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1985 under the late Howard Kendall.
Other than Moyes and Kendall, notable former players include Wayne Rooney, who started his career at Goodison Park as a teenager before a £30million move to Manchester United, where he would go on to become their record goalscorer before returning to Everton in 2017. He scored nine goals in 31 games before leaving for MLS side DC United. Others include Duncan Ferguson, the Scottish striker who had two spells at the club, Tim Cahill, Tommy Lawton and Neville Southall.
Their all time top scorer is Dixie Dean, who scored 383 goals in 433 games. He is ahead of Graeme Sharp, who scored 159 goals in 426 games. Neville Southall holds the record for the most appearances in the club’s history. The Welsh goalkeeping legend made 750 appearances between 1981 and 1998. Leighton Baines is the most experienced player currently playing; heading into the new season, he has 394 appearances to his name, and for the first time since his 2007 move from Wigan Athletic, he may not be first choice after the arrival of French fullback Lucas Digne from Barcelona.
Everton squad 2019/20
Goalkeeper: Jordan Pickford, Maarten Stekelenburg, Jonas Lössl
Defender: Leighton Baines, Michael Keane, Seamus Coleman, Jonjoe Kenny, Lucas Digne
Midfielder: Morgan Schneiderlin, James McCarthy, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Tom Davies, Beni Baningime, Theo Walcott, Fabian Delph, Andre Gomes, Jean-Philippe Gbamin
Forwards: Richarlison, Cenk Tosun, Oumar Niasse, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Moise Kean, Bernard, Alex Iwobi
Everton predictions season 2019/20
Yet more heavy spending by Everton this summer should see them challenging at the top of the Premier League. The title may be out of bounds, but there will be belief within the club that a Champions League spot is attainable, and at the very least, they should be aiming to break into the top six. But Leicester, West Ham and Wolves will be aiming to do exactly the same thing. Since Farhad Moshiri bought the club, the Toffees have really struggled to live up to expectations despite spending a lot of money in several different transfer windows. Could this be the year everything clicks? Marco Silva hasn’t exactly lit up Goodison Park in his reign so far, but things can change and a positive start will make a huge difference. Signing Young Italian Moise Kean from Juventus could give them another dimension in attack, while acquiring Andre Gomes from Barcelona on a permanent basis is crucial.
Consistency is the main issue for Everton, but if they can get that then they can go quite far this season. In reality, though, seventh in the Premier League is the best they can hope for.
Everton best offers for the season
Top six finish @ 16/5 with Coral
Top ten finish @ 4/11
Marco Silva to leave by May 6/4
