The Road the Wembley - Everton FC

It's been a little unusual that we have picked up a Premiership team and potential winner of the FA Cup this early. Everton back in the 1980's the Toffees had a wonderful history in the FA Cup. They won it in 1984 and 85, and were Runners Up in 1985, 86 and 89. David Moyes deserves a trophy and maybe this is the year.

They play Fulham this Saturday and we wish them luck (well all except Steve Merchant!).

Anyway as I like to do I have researched ten facts about Everton that none of you will never have known or bothered to look up. Here we go:

Ten things you never knew about Everton FC:
1. Everton began as a cricket team. Back in the late 1800s, the parish of St. Domingo’s Methodist Church created a cricket team for recreational purposes. However, since cricket was primarily played in the summer, a winter game needed to be added and thus Rev. Ben Swift Chambers ushered in the formation of a football team, to be named St. Domingo’s F.C.

2. But in 1879 this since more and more prospective footballers were from outside the parish, the name of the club was changed to represent the broader, local area. As a result, Everton FC was born.

3. The origin of the Toffee nickname dates back almost to the formation of the club. Ye Ancient Everton Toffee House was a sweet shop owned by Old Ma Bushell, who created the Everton Toffee. These delights were sold in large quantities to fans as they watched Everton play in their four homes. The tradition of the Everton Toffee Lady continues to this day and if you have ever been to a home game you will see her giving the toffees to the kids around the pitch.

4. Named after the road it was built beside (which in turn is named after civil engineer George Goodison), Goodison Park is also referred to as “The Grand Old Lady” by Evertonians. Since the government killed the Kirkby Project in 2009, Everton’s plans for a new stadium have been put on hold. For the time being, it looks as if the club will have to stick with its Grand Old Lady, despite her aging frame.

5. Unlike most of the rest of Britain, the mersey derby is known at the 'Friendly Derby.' here really is no other reason besides geography that the two sides are rivals. Everton even played in Anfield for a time before an ownership dispute caused the formation of Liverpool FC. The two teams have always been close to each other, with their two home grounds located less than a mile apart. Stanley park separates the two stadiums. The "friendly" tag mostly stems from the fact that, again as opposed to other vicious derbies, fans of both Liverpool and Everton often sit together during the fixture. Due to the geographic closeness of the two sides, it’s not uncommon for families to be split along blue/red lines.

6. Everton’s second megastore, complete with everything a blue Scouser could want, was named Everton Two in the fashion of their first megastore, Everton One. While the first shop is located off Walton near Goodison Park, the second store was opened in the Liverpool One shopping center near the heart of the city. As a result, part of Everton’s second megastore's actual address reads “Everton Two, Liverpool One." Fantastic.

7. Wayne Rooney was , lest we forget, at Everton before Man Utd. Born and raised an Everton supporter in Croxteth, Liverpool, Evertonians haven’t quite forgiven the local boy for leaving Merseyside. Rooney did play for a time at Everton, falling in with the first team in 2002. Over the next two years, Rooney would score 15 times in 67 appearances for the club and became a rising star on the national side.

8. While we don’t often judge club success by their ability to constantly stay in the country’s premier league, if we did, Everton would be the best in England. Did you know that of all the professional English football clubs, Everton stands alone, holding the record for most seasons played in the top league? With the 2011-12 season their record 109th season in the top league, be it Premier or otherwise, Everton remains the only team to have even 100 seasons at the top. Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, and Man City nor anyone else can say the same.

9. One of the greatest ever strikers played for Everton. Despite looking like the love child of Carlos Tevez and Frida Kahlo, William “Dixie” Dean was unquestionably the best player to ever don Everton blue. Since he played his finest football in the 1920s and '30s, few can now claim to have seen him play, but the statistics and written eyewitness accounts speak for themselves. Nicknamed Dixie slightly racially due to his dark complexion, Dean set a record of 60 goals during the 1927-28 has never been touched to this day.

In total, Dean scored 383 goals in 433 appearances for Everton, an incredible strike rate that few could ever replicate. He is Everton’s all-time leading goal scorer, the next man being Graeme Sharp with 159. Known as much for his sportsmanship as his scoring, Dean was never sent off during the entirety of his career. A bronze statue of the man was unveiled outside the Park End of Goodison Park in 2001.

The inscription reads in part: “Footballer, Gentleman, Evertonian."

10. Led managerially by former player Howard Kendall, Everton enjoyed about as much success as they have ever had in the 1980's, winning trophies domestically and internationally. The 1984-85 season lives on warmly in the memory of many Evertonians, during which the side won Europe and the League. They would win the league championship again in 1987.

With players like Graeme Sharp, Andy Gray and Gary Lineker, Everton were a force in England up until the departure of Kendall in 1987 to Spain. That they did not win more European hardware during Kendall’s first tenure was in part due to the banning of English teams from international competitions as a result of Heysel Stadium incident. Since then, the Toffees have only earned one piece of silverware: the 1995 FA Cup.