Grand old team season review 2013-2014 www.grandoldteam.com
Interviews with Joe Royle derek mountfield danny cadamarteri WORLD CUP 2014
Contents
From the editor
Paul Warner
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Magazine Editor
Derek Mountfield Ex- Blues defender Derek Mountfield gives us his season review and what we can look forward to next year.
This magazine was originally meant to be a University project, but over the course of the last month or so has become a real passion project for me. My main objective was to create a publication with high quality content, great interviews and opinion pieces. I wanted to create something that rivalled that of the official publications, while keeping it produced by and for the most important part of Everton Football Club- the fans. I really you hope you enjoy the content in this magazine and hopefully we can continue producing great content with, and for Everton fans.
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Ric wee & the winslow Malaysian Toffee Ric Wee returned to Goodison Park for the second time to see the blues in action
Boys in Brazil We look at which of our boys deserve to be representing their countries in Brazil this summer
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Ruleteros Society We spoke to the society trying to bring Everton closer to Everton
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End of season awards Becki Cookson gives us a re-cap of what happened at the annual end of season awards this month
16 WRITERS
PHOTOS
DESIGNER
Paul Warner
Mark Fuller
Samuel Kallagher
Becki Cookson
Paul Warner
@moutsgoat
The images in this publication have been authorised and no infringement has been intended.
NIKITA PARRIS We spoke to the Everton striker on the F.A. Cup, her hopes for this season and winning player of the year
wall of fame
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Becki Cookson talks about the new wall of fame outside Goodison
Joe Royle We had a chat with Everton legend Joe Royle about his potential new role at the club
Danny Cadamarteri
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Ex-Everton Academy tells us about life after Everton and what it was like to play with Big Dunc’
EFC IN THE COMMUNITY
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A look at the work Everton in the Community do and how you can get involved
on to next season... An opinonated view on how we can look to improve over summer from GoT writer @moutsgoat
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“People have moaned about us having all these loan signings but the system’s there to be used. We haven’t abused it, we’ve used it.”
Derek Mountfield gives his views on last season and how the club can improve this summer... “I said at the beginning of the season we’d finish 7th. I thought that was where we were looking to be, but to be looking at 5th, and having had a chance at a Champions League place is fantastic. If we can raise our games for the Manchester United and Arsenal games but not Crystal Palace and Southampton, that’s where we’re going wrong. But to be where we are and have our record points total in the league is nothing short of amazing for me. I think what they’ve done this year hasn’t been exceptional, but very good with the chance of going on to be better.” Throughout the season one of the main things that people have picked up on, in particular a certain Mr. A. Wenger and the Daily Mail, is our use of loan signings. It wasn’t an issue when we had the likes of Royston Drenthe or Denis
DEREK MOUNTFIELD Straquilursi but because of the high league position we’ve sustained this year and the success of our loan players, it has been one of the criticisms of the club. What does Derek make of the issue and the players we’ve utilised this season? “People have moaned about us having all these loan signings but the system’s there to be used. We haven’t abused it, we’ve used it.” He continues; “Gareth Barry’s been immense and I’ve known him for many years, he was a quality player at Villa. Lukaku needs to learn to be more aggressive for me. I think he needs to be getting into centre halves and give them a bit of a dig in the ribs, and Deulofeu is still very, very young. He’s got a lot of learning to do. But to all those people saying we used the loan system, what about the likes of Howard, Coleman, Jagielka and Stones?
5 FACT FILE Date of Birth 02/11/62 Height 6ft 1in Posistion Defender Born Liverpool Clubs Tranmere 1980-82 -26 (1) Everton 1982-88 -106 (19) Aston Villa 1988-91 -90 (9) Wolves 1991-94 -31(3) Carlisle United 1994-95 -31(3) Northampton Town 1995 -4 (0) Walsall 1995-98 -99 (2) Scarborough 1999 -6 (0) Honours F.A Cup 1984 League Championship 1984-85 European Cup winners cup 1984-85 Division 3 champions 1994-95
in the team every week and that’s Barry and Lukaku. Deulofeu has been a bit of a bit-part player so all those other players must feel a bit annoyed that they’re not given the credit they deserve.” This time last year, the future of Everton seemed difficult to predict. Many people expected a mid-table finish this season while others spoke about us being potential relegation fodder, but they couldn’t have been much further from the truth. “If I look back at this time last year when Moyes was leaving we were all a bit concerned who was going to come in and I looked at both Martinez when he came to Everton and Moyes going to Manchester and both of them were going to bigger clubs with bigger expectations, bigger budgets but more importantly bigger egos on the playing side, and I think Martinez has handled it all superbly this year. Everything you hear coming out his mouth is positive, and positivity breeds more positivity and breeds expectations higher than there was under David Moyes, and no disrespect to the man but there wasn’t much positivity there.” One of the main areas that people have compared Martinez to Moyes in, it is the positive mentality that Martinez has imposed on the whole of Everton Football Club, from the players to the fans. David Moyes admitted to taking the team to stadiums like Old Trafford and trying to ‘get out alive’, whereas Martinez goes to every stadium with the aim to win. “If you look at any player that comes into the side, they never look worried or flustered or in awe of the situation. I think sometimes players came in with David Moyes and they were too bogged down with ‘you’ve got to do this
and that’ and they looked nervous, but they’ve come in under Martinez and they’ve looked free of all anxieties. Just look at John Stones, the last 12 games he’s been getting stronger and stronger and it just shows that the confidence coming out of the manager is going into the players.” Now that the season is over and we know we can now expect the added pressure of European football, it’s over to Martinez again to decide what areas of the squad need improving and where we can start laying foundations for the next season and beyond; “Long term the manager will have been identifying targets over the season and got his ideas of what he wants to do. If Lukaku stays he’s going to cost an awful lot of money, and then do we need someone alongside him?” He continues; “If we don’t get Gareth Barry he’ll be a massive loss to us. I think James McCarthy will say he’s learnt so much from working with Barry for the last 12 months. He’s been brilliant and I must admit I’ve been very impressed with McCarthy too as the season has gone on. From what I’ve seen he’s got better and better.” Looking back on the season, there have been several players that have stood out as being potential candidates for Player of the Season, but I wanted to know who would get the award if Derek had the choice and why; “I’ve been very impressed with James McCarthy; he’s got better and better. I’m very impressed with Coleman, and Stones has been outstanding but it’s the core of the team you look at. You’ve got the experience of Tim Howard, who’s had a really good season. For Stones to play along Sylvain Distin, for him must be brilliant, but now when Jagielka’s fit, is it Distin and Jagielka? Distin and Stones? Martinez has got a big choice to make.” He concluded; “Player of the season for me would probably go to someone like McCarthy or Coleman because they’ve both developed. Coleman’s come on leaps and bounds in the last few years.
With McCarthy I was a bit unsure when they signed him for the best part of 13 million but I think he’s done really well this season and got stronger and stronger.”
World Cup 2014 “You go in there as one of 32 teams and you go there with so much hope. We’ve got a nucleus of really good players. I don’t know if Roy Hodgson’s going to go with experienced players or be brave and go with one or two younger players because we’ve got to look to the future now. No disrespect to the likes of Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard but they won’t be around for the next World Cup so why don’t we take a few youngsters and give them that chance of being around it. Can we win it? Personally I don’t think we can but you never know in football. It’s a funny old game and all you need is a few strange results which you’re going to get in the World Cup. If one of the little minnows gets a point or beats a bigger team, it’s all wide open. It’s going to be difficult for them out there because of the conditions but it’s how we react and prepare as a team, but to win it? I can’t see it. To get the group stage? I would hope we would but it’s never easy. Whether it’s the Euro’s or the World Cup, once you get in the knockout it’s a cup final every game.” By Paul Warner (@PaulWarner1992)
Ric
The historic Winslow Hotel opened its doors once again back in May for the first time in over a year. The Winslow Hotel, located in the shadow of Goodison Park, had played a huge part in Everton’s history but had to close in December 2012 due to financial difficulties and had been closed ever since. The iconic pub had been the prematch meeting spot for supporters groups for years and had even held events for fans to meet their favourite Everton legends, with Marouane Fellaini taking part in a Q&A session back in 2010. The owners of the Winslow hope that after the refurbishment, which lasted for four weeks and cost over £30,000, the pub can go on to maintain the kind of success that it had before it ran into difficulties prior to its doors closing. Speaking to the Echo, co-owner Alan Jenkins said; “It’s a long, progressive project but we’re going nowhere - we’re here for the longterm. We’d drove down this street many times and looked at it. It was very sad to see that the doors were
THE WINSLOW always shut, even on match days. Three of us got together and put a plan in place. When you look at the proximity to the stadium and the history of the club itself, this building is part of the heritage and history of Everton FC and it needed to be open.” Although the Winslow reopened in May, it had to operate with only half of the downstairs area being operational as the refurbishment hadn’t been fully completed yet. However, as of April the 20th, the Winslow welcomed a pub full of Evertonians for celebrations both before and after the 2-0 win against Manchester United. Now that the Winslow can once again become a main part of the Everton match day experience, it will only be open for before and after games, as well as special events. Jenkins explains; “We won’t be open to the public in midweek but we’ll have Everton events midweek such as question and answer sessions and fan debates,” “We’re possibly looking at
an idea of holding a battle of the Evertonians quiz night to find out who’s the number one Evertonian, which would be ran over a number of weeks. “There’s lots of stuff in store but as a seven-day week, normal public house, it won’t be. We’ll be just Everton-only.” “We’re looking to work alongside the club in whatever way we can and that means utilising the asset that we have our disposal,” he added. “It would be great to get a couple of ex-players in and present ones so I’d like to think we can attract them over. I think it would be a great idea if we had past and present players sitting down with a live audience and we could put some questions to them from the fans. “Roberto’s always welcome. There’ll definitely be a cappuccino waiting for him! When both bars are open and ready to go, we’d love to have Roberto here to cut the ribbon for us and open the doors.”
Malaysian Toffee Ric Wee returned to Goodison Park for the final home game of the season against Manchester City this May and finally fulfilled his dream of watching the blues play in front of him. Wee originally came to Liverpool in February to watch Roberto’s boys take on Crystal Palace in a game which saw us occupying 6th place while Palace were only 3 points off the relegation zone. The game was called off just 45 minutes before kick-off and left Ric disappointed that his dream of watching Everton was to be postponed. Wee took to Twitter to voice his disappointment and fans jumped on
The first plans to unveil the new gateway to the stadium were revealed in February and the statue of Dixie Dean is the centrepiece of the area. The statute which was originally unveiled in May 2001, is now surrounded by the commemorative wall made up of engraved stones. The ´Goodison Granites´ sold out within days of going on sale, with Evertonians snapping up the personalised plaques as gifts and tokens of their passion for the Blues with some also featured as a memorial for fans who are no longer with us. Hundreds of supporters turned up at Goodison Park for the launch event which coincided with the 86th anniversary of Everton´s greatest-ever striker´s 60th league goal in the
wee the tweets, retweeting a picture of his ticket over 7,000 times, bringing the clubs attention to the super-fan who had endured a 7,000 mile journey. Having located Ric, he was taken to meet some of the squad including Kevin Mirallas, Leighton Baines and the boss himself, Roberto Martinez. The next day Ric was on PR duty and spent most of the day talking to national and local press about his story and what the club had done for him. Ric finally returned to Goodison on the 2nd of May to take part in various Everton in the Community events and was shown exactly what the program does for harder to reach parts of the community in and around Merseyside,
1927/28 season. Roberto was joined by Life President Sir Philip Carter, members of Dixie Dean´s family, Deputy CEO Denise Barrett-Baxendale and former players Graeme Sharp and Ronnie Goodlass. Pat Labone, the widow of Blues legend Brian, attended on behalf of the Everton Former Players´ Foundation while representatives of the Everton Fans´ Forum were also there. The area has been a project co-ordinated by the Everton Fans´ Forum, with support from the Club. Martinez said: “It was quite an exciting moment. We´d all been hearing a lot of good things about the project and
as well as further afield. The following day Ric made his way back to Goodison Park as the guest of honour for the team’s final home game of the season, and although the result wasn’t positive, Ric tweeted his delight at getting to see Barkley’s goal of the season effort; “2 poor goals to let in. But got say, Ross Barkley’s goal was world class. Lucky to get to see it ‘live’. He continued; “But what an experience. First ever live match at Goodison. An experience that won’t be forgotten. Thank you.” “Got to make another return to @everton. Whet my appetite to watch another live match”. By Paul Warner (@PaulWarner1992)
what has been going on with the Fans´ Forum working really hard and the Club. “But you don´t see the picture until it gets unveiled and it was very impressive. “For me, it represents the two big pillars of everything we do on a daily basis; the fans and our heritage. “Dixie Dean is the iconic figure that represents all the top ambassadors and players we had at the Club. And then to have the fans with their names on the wall, it´s quite a special place to go and get inspired before any game at Goodison. “It was great to see so many fans, so many happy faces and it´s a really nice memory to keep.”
By Becki Cookson (@beckicookson)
JOE ROYLE
We talk to the Everton favourite about his relationship with the club over the years, how he'd look to improve this summer and whether returning to Goodison Park is on the cards...
Everton legend Joe Royle recently announced via his blog that there have been talks about a possible return to Goodison Park after rumours emerged in the press towards the end of April. Joe was kind enough to meet me to discuss whether his return to Goodison Park was a possibility, what the position might entail and his views on what he’s seen this season. Joe’s relationship with the club has been on and off for the best part of 50 years and ended rather abruptly in 1997. After disagreements off the pitch, Joe parted ways much to the disappointment of fans who just two years earlier had seen him lead the club to F.A. Cup glory in his first season in charge. So, fast forward 19 years to the end of April when newspapers began speculating that there was talk of a position for Royle in the new Martinez set-up. The rumours were later confirmed by Joe himself via his blog but said that no decisions had been made yet. When I asked him whether there was indeed the possibility of a new position for him within the Everton set-up Joe explained the situation: “I spoke with Roberto I think back in January or February. We had a good chat about things but I think he wants to get the season out the way before it goes any further so quite honestly when it appeared in the press last week I was both pleased, because it didn’t come from me and excited
because obviously I want it to happen. . I’d love to do it and to help in any way I could. I still think I’ve got something to offer. I’m 65 but I’ve still got my marbles and Everton has been a great part of my life, a massive part of my life, so I’d love it to happen.” As far as what the responsibilities would be in the potential new position, Joe explained that he wouldn’t be playing a direct role in the everyday training of the youth teams but would be more behind the scenes in the development and loaning out of the younger players: “It would be working with the U21’s. I wouldn’t be practically working on the training ground with them but being aware of the players that need to go out on loan. There’s no reserve league anymore… there’s U21 football which doesn’t really prepare them for first team football, and that’s why academy football at times is a disappointment. But, nevertheless it recognises the players who will be going on with Everton and who maybe aren’t going to go on with Everton, to try and find them a club if possible and to get the right players at the right clubs on loan while keeping in touch with their loan clubs. “In other words I’d be working with Alan Stubbs and David Unsworth who will be doing all the coaching, and I would be liaising with them as to who is ready for what and where and trying to get the players out on loan
and covering them.” Clearly excited at the prospect of working with the club that he spent a large amount of time at as a child watching the games, then as a player and later on as manager, I wondered what he’d made of the last season and our first under Martinez; “Terrific. We’ve played some great stuff and done well- probably better than a lot of people expected, and we got our record points tally in the Premier League which is a great start for Roberto. We all wondered to start with. Everyone knows he’s a lovely man, and Wigan played good football but I would say he came with the FA cup in one hand and relegation in the other, so the question was could he work with better players and get the same product, and the answer’s been yes and we’ve been terrific.” He continued, “The way they’ve played has been great to watch and they also had a great window bringing in Lukaku and Barry on loan, who is my idea of player of the year, and then signing McCarthy, who’s been outstanding. A manager is judged on two things. Primarily, results and then the players he brings in, and both have been terrific.” Joe’s relationship with the club started when he was a small child, with Everton being the team he supported growing up. Joe excelled at the sport
he loved and at the age of 13 had a massive decision to make that would influence the rest of his footballing career, and the future success of Everton as a club; “I’d played for Liverpool Schoolboys under 13’s and our first game of the season was Wigan away. We won, and when I got home my Mum met me at the gate and said there are two men here to see you and there was the Everton scout in the front room and the Manchester United scout in the
9 FACT FILE Date of Birth 08/4/49 Posistion Striker Born Liverpool Clubs played for Everton 1966-74- 232 (102) Manchester City 1974-77- 99 (23) Bristol City 1977-80- 101 (18) Norwhich City 1980-82- 42(9) Teams managed Oldham Athletic Everton Manchester City Ipswich Town Oldham Athletic HonoursW Football League 2nd Div 199091 Fa Cup 1995 Charity Shield 1995
back room so I was quite blown away. Everton were my team although my father, who was a Manc’, was quite thrilled about Manchester United and then without meaning to be immodest the interest grew and grew and in the end most of the big clubs were interested in me, but I wanted to join Everton.” From hearing about the love of Everton that Joe had from an early age, I was interested to know how he would like to see the squad strengthened now ready for next season, which will of course involve the added (but welcome) strain of European football on the squad; “As a fan I would like to see us bring another forward in but if Lukaku does go then probably 2, although I’ve got to say Naismith has won me over
completely. At first I was unsure but he’s turned out to be a clever little player. Sometimes you get players that don’t quite look what they are and he’s one of them. He’s a far better player than he looks sometimes. “We have to be very aware that our first choice centre backs are both in their 30’s and when we haven’t had them is when we’ve leaked 4 goals at Liverpool, 4 goals at Arsenal, and when they were both missing at Southampton we looked a long way off it so personally I would be a little bit concerned there. I don’t know an awful lot about Robles, Roberto knows much more about whether he’s a natural successor to Howard but Howard’s just signed a new contact and that’s great.” By Paul Warner
BOYS IN BRAZIL Here’s our list of players who we think should be representing their countries at the upcoming 2014 World Cup in Brazil...
Tim Howard(USA) - USMNT's national treasure recently signed a contract extension tying him to the Club until 2018 and has been in outstanding form for the blues this Season. He had a shaky few months last Season, but has really kicked on this current campaign and we should be sending him off to Brazil in sparkling form for the men from 'MURICA. Leighton Baines(ENG) - The naughtiest Left Back in the country has finally replaced Ashley Cole as 1st choice for England. We probably have Jose to thank for that, but even Hodgson has said he will be England’s first choice and hopefully he continues his fine Everton form over in Brazil.
Kevin Mirallas(BELG) - An up and down Season for Super-Kev, but when hes on his game, he’s an outstanding player. Belgium have one of the most talented group of players in Europe but we can’t see Kevin being left out of Red Devils’ World Cup squad. Ross Barkley(ENG) - Ross is by no means certain to be part of the “Champions Elect” group of players from England, but if Roy has any sense, he should take Barkley instead of Welbeck. Yes I know they play in different positions but my god, Roy! Still only young and doesn’t put his stamp on every game but, as his goal versus Newcastle showed, he’s a special talent and would be wasted sitting at home kicking his heels.
Phil Jagielka(ENG) - Another player who has had to wait for his chance and is also likely to be first choice over in Brazil, if he can shake off this current injury which appears to be lingering for a longer time than first thought.
John Stones(ENG) - Very unlikely, but certainly should be considered- a player who plays like somebody twice his age. If he doesn’t make this squad, we’re pretty sure it will be the only 1 he misses in the next 15 years or so.
Bryan Oviedo(CR) - A broken leg suffered in January would put mere mortals with little chance of making a World Cup 6 months later, but the latest news appears to indicate that Bryan should pack his sun cream.
Gareth Barry(ENG) - This time last year you’d have probably argued that Barry’s International career was as good as over, but after a season of solid performances Roy will have to consider whether
Gareth does have another major tournament in him. Romelu Lukaku(BELG) - A special mention to a player who at the time of the World Cup may not still be an Everton player. I'm very sorry Rom, but I hope you stink the place out- that's probably the only way we would be able to afford you. An up and down Season, but clearly a player with a wonderful future filled with lots of goals.”
One of the players who helped Cadamarteri settle into life in the senior squad was Duncan Ferguson, one of Martinez’ latest additions to the backroom staff at Everton. I was interested to know what kind of person Duncan was off the pitch as well as how big a decision it was to include the big man in the new Martinez regime; “Brilliant. I think it’s a masterstroke by Martinez. He’s so passionate and he’s such a big icon at Everton- he’s an Everton Legend, and people look up to him and respect him so much. Anyone with any relation to Everton knows Big Dunc’ and they know what he brings; Passion, desire, determination, grit and that’s everything that
danny cadamarteri Ex-Academy star spoke to us about life at Everton and what it was like playing with Duncan Ferguson... points after a Neil ‘Razor’ Ruddock own goal, an event which he looks back at with great pride, but how did it feel to score such a crucial goal? “Like shockwaves. I’ve told people a few times when people have asked what did I think at the time and I didn’t know what to think, it was like being on top of the world.” He continues; “As I scored I turned round and Graeme Stuart just lifted me up in the air and the ground just erupted. You just lose all sense of anything and you just get this feeling that you’re being lifted up into the sky. I’ve got a picture at home and Graeme Stuart is holding me up in the air and I’ve got my fist up in the air as well and the only thought I can think of now is it felt like glowing. It was great, there was an electrifying crowd as well.” After Everton Danny moved on to have spells at Leeds United, Sheffield United, Leicester City, Huddersfield and finally Carlisle who ended this season by dropping down to League 2. Cadamarteri’s injuries meant that his presence in the first team had been limited and in April announced his retirement from playing football. However, during his last season in Cumbria the club allowed him to start working on his coaching badges which meant a brief spell coaching back at Finch Farm; “I went over there and did a little bit of coaching earlier on in the season and the feeling around Finch Farm is unreal at the moment. There’s so much enthusiasm around the coaches, the playing staff, the reserves and the U21’s and the environment they’re being coached in is really nice, warm and friendly and I think that’s being replicated
on the pitch at first team level and all levels.” He continued; “At the moment I’ve just completed my UEFA B license and I’m working on my A license now. I’ve been coaching over at Everton, Huddersfield and I’m also head coach at Leeds United ladies with the first team there so I’m flitting about just getting experience. . I’ve not been playing for last 12 months with injury so Carlisle have afforded me that and allowed me to go and get the experience and qualifications which has been great.”
He continued; “For me as a player playing a long side him gave me so much opportunity to go and play. At the time, I burst into the team with a bit of a bang. Most people were worried about Big Dunc’ so he’d end up with two players marking him which meant I didn’t have two people marking me, and even if he did have two people marking him he’d still out muscle them and he’d still win the headers and I’d have space to run in behind. For me to play beside him was absolutely brilliant. Off the pitch people probably misinterpret him. Be
cause he was a big physical presence on the pitch that he was going to be loud and aggressive off but he was really chilled and laid back.” Danny left Everton in 2002 but it’s still obvious to see that he looks back on his time at Everton with great pride; “I loved it. I’ve had a lot of ups and downs over my career. If I look at pinnacles you look at your first senior game, your first goal… Everton was the start for me, Liv became my home. I’ve got the nil satis nisi optimum tattoo because the blue part of me is close to my heart. I’ve always had great memories there. It was probably the start and the high of my career.”
The Ruleteros Society
Picture by Mark Fuller www.mark-fuller.co.uk
Danny Cadamarteri recently retired from professional football in a playing capacity after spending two years at newly relegated Carlisle United. Having started as a schoolboy at Barnsley he was picked up by the Everton Academy system and signed for the club around the same time he turned 14. Danny then worked his way through the youth system before breaking into the senior squad. It’s every young blue’s dream to play for Everton and go onto be a successful youth team player, and I wondered what it was like to experience that kind of adventure; “Indescribable, really. I was lucky to have a lived with a scouse family who were Everton fans, so before I’d played in the first team I’d obviously realised how important it is to be a blue or to be a red.” For most of the kids who dream about scoring a goal for Everton, myself included, that goal usually comes against the red side of town- which is something Danny managed to achieve on two occasions; “I played in a mini derby which was for the Everton reserves against the Liverpool reserves and there was about 15,000 people there that dayfor reserve game! And that was my first experience of playing in a big game at Goodison. It was a night time game and I scored the winning goal in the game which was a great experience building up to getting in the first team and playing in front of 40,000 thousand people. It’s a special ground, it’s quite enclosed and it’s a very family orientated club and there’s a really warm feeling when you’re there. Again, it was another life changing experience at the time.” After his experience in scoring against the reds in a reserve game, Danny took it a level higher by scoring against Liverpool in a 2-0 win in the 97/98 season at Goodison to seal the 3
Everton have kind of been brought up on over the years”
You might not be as familiar with the name ‘Estadio Sausalito’ as you would with Goodison Park, but they both have one thing in common- Everton play there. Everton de Vina del Mar is based in the city of Vina del Mar on the Pacific Coast of Chile. The club was founded in 1909 and named Everton after the English-based Toffee’s had recently visited South America and in 2010, Goodison Park saw a fixture that had never been played before; Everton vs. Everton. This fixture was down to the work of The Ruleteros Society- a group of fans from England and Chile, eager to keep the link between our clubs and to introduce the clubs to one another. The Ruleteros Society was formed in 2002 by John Shearon, an Everton fan who travelled to Chile to meet with fans of both Everton F.C. and Everton de Vina del Mar, respectively, to find out more about the links between the clubs and in particular, their fans. “In 2002 I made a trip to Chile and met up with a number of supporter groups who had expressed an interest in EFC. On my return I met with a small group of Evertonians who also shared an interest in Everton in
Chile and so we decided to form the Society. John told me that the Ruleteros Society has two main aims; “First and foremost to forge links between the two sets of supporters and secondly to introduce the Clubs to each other.” In 2010 the Society’s biggest dream was realised when Everton faced their Chilean counterparts at Goodison Park in a friendly between the two sides. The game ended 2-0 to the home side with Bilyaletdinov and Beckford securing the win for the Toffee’s, but helped to forge connections between the clubs and in particular their sets of supporters. The Ruleteros Society holds frequent meetings before home games in pubs close to Goodison Park which often attract between 40 and 50 fans; while there are around 100 UK based members with an overall membership, including the Chilean fans of around 150. When asked about how important it is to keep the relationships between the clubs going, he said; “Essential. Not only from a historical perspective, preserving the ties and common heritage of the Clubs but also thinking about the future and potential, mutual benefits that might
occur. It’s a unique situation in world football and costs all sides little to keep the links intact – evidenced as recently as December 2012 when outgoing Club President was received and feted at Goodsion Park.” “We also worked with Dr France and the Shareholders Association in shipping and installing the plaque at the Sausalito Stadium in Chile commemorating the Everton fallen from the two world wars - a firm link which also justifies our continuing ties with CD Everton.” Our Chilean counterparts suffered a painful season this year after being relegated for the 2nd time in 4 years but are hoping to propel themselves back into the top flight of Chilean football next season, a feat that they managed last time they were relegated. The historic Sausalito has undergone refurbishment this year so the team had been playing every home game at a different stadium, which has inevitably contributed to their unfortunate league position this year. To keep up to date with Everton de Vina del Mar and the Ruleteros Society, follow @ theruleteros. By Paul Warner (@PaulWarner1992)
Everton In The Community Generally when people think of a football club, they think of winning trophies and 11 men running around a football pitch on a Saturday afternoon, but what many don’t think about is the work that goes on in and around a football club and the communities that it is involved with. Everton in the Community is one of the largest and most diverse community schemes in the UK and uses the legacy of Everton Football Club to reach out to some of the most difficult to reach areas of society. To achieve this, the club’s official charity currently coordinates 45 different projects in areas covering youth engagement, sports and physical activity and health and wellbeing. Everton in the Community scheme was founded as a charity in 1988 and was the one of the first of the Premier League clubs to boast such an achievement and as of 2004 has been able to stand on its own feet as a registered charity. Since becoming a charity, it has meant that the department can focus on the various projects it believes to be the most beneficial. Chris Clark, the charity’s Community and Business Development Manager explains; “The reason we started doing community work as a football club is because Everton means so much to so many people and such a symbol that people look up to in this area, we had a responsibility to try and help people in different ways. “People flood through our gates every single week to watch the football. Obviously football clubs make a lot of money and it’s
a very glamorous business to be in but we’ve really got a responsibility to give something back and that’s where we come in.” The work that Everton in the Community aim to do is extremely varied and offers young people alternative paths into education, including improving their skills in certain areas and improving their chances of employability. One of these schemes, ‘Everton4Employment’, has seen an employment rate of 48% in the last 3 years. As well as this, they aim to engage people of all ages in physical activity, regardless of ability. Since its foundation in 1988, the organisation has won almost 75 awards for its work across various outlets including ‘Community project of the Year’ at National Sports Industry Awards, in both 2010 and 2011 for the work achieved with their disability programme and mental health work. Because Everton in the Community is a charity, it relies on the fundraising of dedicated Evertonians and has seen money being raised from events ranging from raffles, to sponsored marathons and long-distance bike rides, with some going even further afield to help raise money. Carena Duffy, head of fundraising said; “We’ve also done a number of international challenges. In 2009 we went to Northern Italy raising £13,000, and the year after that we went to Kilamanjiro where we had 4 representatives including myself, and we raised £30,000 and the sponsorship was generated from the fan base.” The money raised from events
Awards Night Thursday 7th May saw St George’s Hall turned blue for Everton’s 9th Annual End of Season Awards. Roberto Martinez attended along with Chairman Bill Kenwright and the players. The Everton media team pulled out all the stops streaming the main two hours of the event live on the website
such as this go to help towards their growing list of projects in and around Merseyside, including the innovative Everton Free School. The Everton Free School was awarded funding in 2011 and aims to help disenfranchised young people between the ages of 14 and 19 find a way back into education through an alternative way of learning. The school uses the history of Everton Football Club and the power of football to reengage with students who may have fallen out with the regular education system. If you have any ideas for a fundraising effort, want to know more about Everton in the Community or even donate, go to community.evertonfc. com/ to see even more examples of how this great charity uses the power of Everton Football Club and its generous fans.
Becki Cookson gives us a summary of the winners fromthis months end of season awards night...
for fans to watch at home for free. Seamus Coleman was the big winner of the evening. His ability in front of goal this season along with his defensive solidity made him the worthy winner of Everton’s Players’ Player of the Season and the overall Player of the Season as voted for by the fans.
The Republic of Ireland international has notched seven eye-catching goals from his right-back position this season with his thunderous strike listed in the shortlist for Goal of the Season which was eventually won by Ross Barkley. The two awards added to an already brilliant end to the season for
Coleman after being named in the recent PFA team of the season. After receiving the main award from his manager Roberto Martinez, the 25-year-old told EvertonTV: “It’s indescribable to win these two accolades.” “When I arrived here in 2009 I couldn’t have imagined I’d be stood her with these awards in my hands. There must have been a lot of contenders for both of these awards this season and that says a lot about this team.” Indeed Coleman did beat off close competition from the likes of Gareth Barry and James McCarthy amongst others and many fans may have been disappointed in particular about James McCarthy not picking any awards up but it is only his first season and no doubt we will see him picking up one of these awards in the near future. Ross Barkley also took home two awards on the night scooping the gongs for Goal of the Season and Young Player of the Season – voted for by the fans. Barkley won the Young Player of the Season award for the second year in succession. The 2013/14 season is likely to go down as the midfielder’s breakthrough season, as it was the campaign where his much-heralded potential showed genuine signs of fulfilment with a series of mature, captivating and often game-changing performances. It is the year where Barkley went from just being a part of the Everton squad to a headline-grabbing England international and he’s surely going to top it off by being included in the England World Cup squad. After receiving his award from Ian Snodin and Tim Howard, Barkley said: “It’s a great dressing room to be in for a youngster. The likes of Jags, Distin and Bainesy have helped me. “It means everything to me because it is always special to win these personal accolades but they mean more when the team is doing well. I’ve really enjoyed this season and so have the players. We set out to reach Europe and that is what we have done.” The Wavertree-born youngster also took home the award for Goal of the Season after his wonder goal against Manchester City was voted the best
out of four by fans on Twitter. It was voted the best ahead of Bryan Oviedo’s winner at Old Trafford, Seamus Coleman’s goal against Swansea and Barkley’s goal against Newcastle. Ryan Ledson was named Everton Academy Player of the Season. The central midfielder has enjoyed a year of substantial progress, contributing with regular appearances for the Club’s Under 18s and Under 21s teams. Ledson has also been named on the bench for the first-team during the last couple of matches. The Under-21s’ Player of the Season was Tyias Browning who has led from the back this year, captaining his team to a top-half league finish. Under-21s coaching pair Alan Stubbs and David Unsworth presented Browning with his prize before the youngster went off to spoke to evertontv. Browning said: “It’s really pleasing to be recognised. I’m pleased with my form this season and it’s good to get this award at the end of it.” Nikita Parris was named Everton’s Ladies Player of the Year after having a breakthrough season in 2013, grabbing six league goals, including several Goal of the Season contenders as she firmly established herself in Andy Spence’s starting XI. And finally to top off a great first season in charge Roberto Martinez won the Chairman’s Blueblood award. The Catalan man has taken Everton into Europe in his first season at the helm and such the accomplishment has seen him rewarded by Chairman Bill Kenwright. He has had the Blues playing some sensational football throughout the season and will lead the side into the Europa League in 2014/15. Addressing the crowd, Kenwright said: “Very seldom in life do you meet someone who just totally turns your life around. “I met that person a year ago and who would have thought I would be saying this after this event last year. When I first met our manager, I thought ‘oh my god – this boy is special’. Accepting the award, Martinez himself added: “I would like to thank the fans for two reasons. The first is to thank them for their patience in the early time of the season. The second is for the way you are with the football
club. We are a unique family club. “I would also like to thank the chairman for his vision, his commitment and his love for the club. It is hard to imagine a successful Everton without Bill Kenwright.”
TWITTER SAYS... We asked our Twitter followers who they would pick as their player of the season... @paul_knight1878; James McCarthy, no doubt about it. @DSF456; Ross Barkley for sure. What a revelation. @__Sasha__; Kevin Mirallaspure passion. @leealty44; Coleman/McCarthy can’t split them. @MauraONeill1; Seamie Coleman without a doubt. @lestereverton80; @JMcCarthy_16 1000% Coleman not far behind tho tbf
By Paul Warner (@PaulWarner1992)
After a transitional season under Andy Spence last season, Nikita and her team mates are settling in and are looking forward to what the rest of the season and further; “We’re definitely going to improve on last season. Last season was a transitional season when Mo left and Andy took over but we’ve got him now and he’s steered us forward and we’re looking to reach the top 3 this year.” She continued; “I literally can’t believe it. We’re such a young squad with high hopes for the season but we didn’t expect to get to the final. We’ve played many hard teams on our way like Liverpool, Notts and we’re excited to get there and can’t wait. It’s going to be a massive game for us but we’re confident we can win it.”
Grand Old Team writer @moutsgoat gives us his opinion on what we should do this summer... “Now that we’ve come to the end of the 2013/2014 season, we are now certain that as of August, we will be competing in European football. As we have witnessed before, the stress that European football puts on a squad sometimes has a negative effect on a club, as seen by Swansea’s struggles this season- but I personally think we have enough players to cope with Europa League or Champions League. We had nine players out on loan at one point this season and it can only have helped the young lads get some much needed time on a pitch in a match that means something. Now that we’ve accomplished a place in the Europa League, these lads could possibly be kept in and around the first team and given a run out in the “easier” games or even the important games. The only way to see if they are good enough for Everton is for them to play for Everton. The squad as it stands is a little light in some areas with the key area clearly being our
Next Season strikers. We have sold 2 strikers this season and we would need to replace both of those either by the loan route or ideally paying some actual cash money for somebody who slots for fun. I change my mind on a weekly basis with Lukaku, but he should be our number 1 target in this area. As for elsewhere I would like to see Barry remain after the season ends. He’s pivotal in how we play and whilst in some games we possibly don’t need the Barry and McCarthy partnership, he’s certainly a very talented player and you don’t pass those up lightly. The only other concern would be Gibson’s fitness or in some cases, the lack of. But what I will say is I consider all three of those players as a ‘number 6’ and the squad itself lacks a real ‘number 8’. I think this is the 2nd most important position we should be looking to improve. Finally we should really be looking to keep hold of Deulofeu for another
season. but if not I think we should be looking to bring in another ‘winger’. I suppose it all depends on how big the Summer War chest really is, but if it’s limited the least we should be looking at is two strikers, one central midfielder and one winger and that should leave the squad healthy in terms of numbers. As for adding quality, I suppose that depends on how many loans we can get to make Wenger and the like fume. It’s been a great season. We were close to the ‘holy grail’ of Champions League football and we played without fear, no matter who and where we’ve played. The future looks really bright for Everton Football Club and this summer’s transfer window will be key to whether or not we can make more progress next season.” By @Moutsgoat
Everton Ladies The Everton Ladies team will be hoping to grab FA Cup victory next month after edging past Nott’s County to get into the final against Arsenal. A first half brace from Nikita Parris put the blues 2-0 up before Nott’s County’s Katie Hoyle grabbed one back with just over half an hour remaining. Nott’s failed to get back in the game however and the Toffee’s cruised into the final and will face Arsenal on the 1st of June. Nikita Parris, who last week won the Everton Ladies Player of the Year award said; “It was exciting, especially the first half. We really played our game and I reckon we dominated the first half but they came out flying at us in the 2nd half but we knew that was going to happen so we just had to weather the storm and stick to our game plan and we defended really well.”
Nikita narrowly missed out on a hattrick and was disappointed to have not walked away with the matchball; ; “I was a disappointed with my 3rd chance. Carly (Telford) made a great save and credit to her. After making the mistake for the 2nd goal she really showed me good keeping skills and it was a great save by her.” After Hoyle’s strike on 55 minutes, there were worries that the Magpies might pull themselves back into the game but the Toffee’s held out with a solid defensive display; “We knew we could defend well, especially from the two Liverpool games we’d played previous and the Birmingham game at the beginning of the season so we were confident in our defending ability. It’s always a nervous time when you’re trying to get to an FA Cup final and they only have to get one goal to take it to extra time so we were nervous but we always knew we were in control.”
As well as netting the important double, Nikita’s efforts last season were rewarded last week at the annual awards evening held at St. Georges Hall in Liverpool. Speaking about winning the award, Nikita said; “It’s an honour to win the award, especially coming from your team mates and people from the club who’ve witnessed your hard work from last season and being rewarded with a lovely award so it’s nice that my teammates and the staff have presented me with it.” The final of the FA Cup will be held at Stadiummk, the home of MK Dons and will be aired live on the BBC for the 2nd consecutive year. When asked about whether there was a noticeable difference in the popularity of women’s football and the growing crowds, she said; “Yeah definitely, especially with the crowds this season. We’re averaging 600 when last season we were only averaging about 300. The exposure that the BBC and other channels give us is only going to help us drive women’s football forward.” By Paul Warner (@PaulWarner1992)