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stanleypark
Player Valuation: £1m
Sounds a good book! What years did your Grandad follow Everton? Are the stories from your Grandad as well as your Great Grandad?
Great Dane
Player Valuation: £15m
Well as I stated earlier I actually started supporting Man United during the FA Cup final in 1985 - they had Danish international Jesper Olsen(anyone remeber him?) and my fav Bryan Robson, plus they won it and at that time (being 9) that was important too.
Later on I moved to London (95-97) and found out just what an a**hole Fergie was - something the Danish media never reports about. I had never forgotten Everton, mainly because of Southall and Ratcliffe, so I switched during 97.
I really like the name Everton and when Duncan was bought I got a new favorite despite still supporting Man United at the time. My interest in Everton got even more crazy when Gravesen was bought - best Danish midfielder for many years.
So a heretic - turned blue.
Later on I moved to London (95-97) and found out just what an a**hole Fergie was - something the Danish media never reports about. I had never forgotten Everton, mainly because of Southall and Ratcliffe, so I switched during 97.
I really like the name Everton and when Duncan was bought I got a new favorite despite still supporting Man United at the time. My interest in Everton got even more crazy when Gravesen was bought - best Danish midfielder for many years.
So a heretic - turned blue.
The Esk
Player Valuation: £70m
Most of the stories relate to my Granddad, and a few about his Father. My Granddad followed Everton from about 1920 onwards. Aside from the break in football for WWII, he saw every home game from 1931 until 1972 when his health no longer allowed him to visit Goodison. He was a creature of habit and stood at the same spot in the Main Stand enclosure all of those years, apart from when the new main stand was being built in 1969/70. He used to joke that it was the building of the new stand that caused his health problems !
sussex blue
Player Valuation: £225k
1968 Cup Final. My dad didn't support a team so was left to my own devices. Picked the Blues.
Whenever I feel down about their performances I just remind myself how easily it could have been West Brom that I chose
!
Whenever I feel down about their performances I just remind myself how easily it could have been West Brom that I chose
!
stanleypark
Player Valuation: £1m
Many of that era were creatures of habit weren't they. They like the same tea, go to the same places. That's why I've always found it hard to accept that many would be happy to go to Goodison and Anfield?
Did he get to many aways? The 1954 promotion game? I believe we had thousands there that day! Obviously I don't expect you to relay the great tales on here, no-one would buy the book then! but some of things I enjoy hearing about are the more mundane stories of what it was like to see Everton in them days. ie the amount we used to take to away games, the chants, how everyone got to the matches, etc. Just to get a feel I suppose of what it was like to support Everton in the 20s, 30 and 50s.
OzzyToffee
Player Valuation: Free Transfer
because they won the cup in 1984 (I was 7 and had never heard of everton), although I never knew about the cup win until the panini soccer album for 1985 fell open on the everton page there just happened to be a sticker of the team lineup with the FA CUP. Destiny/Fate whatever, I was chosen.
TX Bill
Player Valuation: £80m
Welcome sussexual blue.
Why Everton?
Why Not?
Seriously, though, a good question, especially as it pertains to myself. As an American, one would think I would be a likely candidate to support one of the big name squads.
Having been attracted to soccer (football) as a sport at a very young age, I found it increasingly difficult to sustain my interest (having grown up in a very small town in farming country in NE Ohio). I eventually gravitated to other, more popular sports (baseball, basketball, football). However, I always maintained a passing interest in the sport.
It wans't until the 2002 World Cup that I renewed my committment to follow the sport more closely. In addition, I became aware of (and began playing) the great football simulation Champ Manager (Football Manager). I don't play it as much as I did a few years ago, but it did expand appreciation for the sport as never before.
It was a few years later (2004) that I began watching Fox Sports World (now Fox Soccer Channel in the US) on a regular basis. As they televised EPL matches, I would watch matches to see how each team faired.
As luck (or destiny?) would have it, quite a few Everton matches were televised. I remember watching the opening match of the 2004-05 campaign between Everton and Arsenal (Arsenal winning 4-1). I also remember the commentators mentioning that the media were predicting Everton would be relegated (as they had just recently sold Rooney to Man Utd.). I didn't think much of the match at the time, but looking back, I do remember thinking that there was a certain "spirit" about the team that I liked.
Over the course of the year, Everton matches were televised on FSC, so I made it a point to watch to see if my initial impressions were still valid. To my surprise, I continued to be impressed that Everton were a team that deserved to be supported. I suppose it was sometime towards the end of the 04-05 campaign that I solidifed my support of the team.
Maybe part of the attraction to Everton was in supporting the "underdog" - a team that had to fight and scratch for wins and gain respect from the other teams (as well as those in the media). Maybe it's an American thing (we like to root for underdogs; on the downside, though, if underdogs become established winners, then we like to see them fail).
Maybe part of the attraction to Everton was in keeping with my former support of Cleveland sports franchises (Browns, Indians, Cavaliers). While the Browns and Indians have had storied histories (much like Everton), in my lifetime they seemed to always disappoint (and in the case of the Cavaliers - outside the current LeBron James era and the late 80s early 90s era - extreme disappointment).
I'm not a strong supporter of my former US sports teams (I kind of lost interest after the Cleveland Browns moved the club to Baltimore - the current incarnation is an expansion team that began in 1999). Think Bill Kenwright moving the club, not to Kirkby, but to some city that had lost one of its storied teams (Wimbleton? yea, I know) because the folks in Wimbleton were willing to pay for a brand new stadium, in addition to allow for Kenwright to operate the club on a tax-free basis for a number of years (so he could earn obscene profits) and well as pass on ownership of the club to his son. The analogy isn't exact, but you get the idea.
So even though I haven't suffered through the lean years, my past experience in supporting Cleveland sports teams has served me well during the periods when Everton has struggled or hasn't lived up to my expectations at times. It suppose would have been much easier if I were to support Man Utd., Arsenal, Chelsea, or (gasp!) Liverpool. But I don't regret the choice I made.
Why Not?
Seriously, though, a good question, especially as it pertains to myself. As an American, one would think I would be a likely candidate to support one of the big name squads.
Having been attracted to soccer (football) as a sport at a very young age, I found it increasingly difficult to sustain my interest (having grown up in a very small town in farming country in NE Ohio). I eventually gravitated to other, more popular sports (baseball, basketball, football). However, I always maintained a passing interest in the sport.
It wans't until the 2002 World Cup that I renewed my committment to follow the sport more closely. In addition, I became aware of (and began playing) the great football simulation Champ Manager (Football Manager). I don't play it as much as I did a few years ago, but it did expand appreciation for the sport as never before.
It was a few years later (2004) that I began watching Fox Sports World (now Fox Soccer Channel in the US) on a regular basis. As they televised EPL matches, I would watch matches to see how each team faired.
As luck (or destiny?) would have it, quite a few Everton matches were televised. I remember watching the opening match of the 2004-05 campaign between Everton and Arsenal (Arsenal winning 4-1). I also remember the commentators mentioning that the media were predicting Everton would be relegated (as they had just recently sold Rooney to Man Utd.). I didn't think much of the match at the time, but looking back, I do remember thinking that there was a certain "spirit" about the team that I liked.
Over the course of the year, Everton matches were televised on FSC, so I made it a point to watch to see if my initial impressions were still valid. To my surprise, I continued to be impressed that Everton were a team that deserved to be supported. I suppose it was sometime towards the end of the 04-05 campaign that I solidifed my support of the team.
Maybe part of the attraction to Everton was in supporting the "underdog" - a team that had to fight and scratch for wins and gain respect from the other teams (as well as those in the media). Maybe it's an American thing (we like to root for underdogs; on the downside, though, if underdogs become established winners, then we like to see them fail).
Maybe part of the attraction to Everton was in keeping with my former support of Cleveland sports franchises (Browns, Indians, Cavaliers). While the Browns and Indians have had storied histories (much like Everton), in my lifetime they seemed to always disappoint (and in the case of the Cavaliers - outside the current LeBron James era and the late 80s early 90s era - extreme disappointment).
I'm not a strong supporter of my former US sports teams (I kind of lost interest after the Cleveland Browns moved the club to Baltimore - the current incarnation is an expansion team that began in 1999). Think Bill Kenwright moving the club, not to Kirkby, but to some city that had lost one of its storied teams (Wimbleton? yea, I know) because the folks in Wimbleton were willing to pay for a brand new stadium, in addition to allow for Kenwright to operate the club on a tax-free basis for a number of years (so he could earn obscene profits) and well as pass on ownership of the club to his son. The analogy isn't exact, but you get the idea.
So even though I haven't suffered through the lean years, my past experience in supporting Cleveland sports teams has served me well during the periods when Everton has struggled or hasn't lived up to my expectations at times. It suppose would have been much easier if I were to support Man Utd., Arsenal, Chelsea, or (gasp!) Liverpool. But I don't regret the choice I made.
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The Esk
Player Valuation: £70m
Funnily enough my grandfather ate the same tea monday to thursday, but had fish on a friday
He'd also often go to Anfield where he had a mate called "Bluey" who was a turnstile operator who used to let him in for free b)He didn't go to many away games, normally only those in Manchester as more often than not he worked on a Saturday morning at Cammel Lairds.
He'd knock off at lunch time, get the ferry over from Woodside, walk up to Goodison, and grab a pint before watching the game. Then walk home to Tuebrook where he expected his tea on the table at 6pm! Woe betide my grandmother if that was not the case!!!!
Mundane but equally fascinating in my opinion!
SuitsBlue
Player Valuation: £50m
Funnily enough my grandfather ate the same tea monday to thursday, but had fish on a friday
liverpool has two cathedrals.
The Esk
Player Valuation: £70m
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