Marouane Fellaini

Marouane Fellaini

Marouane Fellaini (born 22 November 1987 in Etterbeek, Brussels) is a Belgian international footballer currently playing professionally for Everton in the English Premier League. He is a central "box to box" style midfielder.

Fellaini began playing football at the age of seven for Anderlecht. In his first season at Anderlecht's Academy he scored 26 goals and in his second he scored 37. He was at the club's academy until the age of ten when he joined Mons. Three years later he joined R. Francs Borains. He then left the club and was signed by Sporting Charleroi. At the age of seventeen he signed his first full-time contract with Standard Liège. Between 2006 and 2008 he made 84 appearances for the club, scoring 11 times. He is known for his heading ability and stamina, which made him one of the best box-to-box midfielders in the Belgian First Division and resulted in him winning the Ebony Shoe in 2008, an award given to the best player of the season of African descent.

Following reported interest from Aston Villa, Real Madrid, Tottenham and Bayern Munich, Fellaini signed for Everton in September 2008 on a five year deal from Standard Liège for a £15 million transfer fee (a record for a Belgian player and a club record for Everton). He made his Everton debut in a 3–2 away victory at Stoke City on 14 September 2008, and scored his first goal for the team against Newcastle United in a 2-2 home draw on 5 October 2008.

Fellaini was eligible to play for Belgium or Morocco, but chose to represent the country of his birth.

Fellaini was born to Moroccan parents from Tangier and brought up in Brussels. His father, Abdellatif, was a former goalkeeper for Raja Casablanca and Hassania Agadir and who had signed for Racing Mechelen but was not able to play due to the Moroccan club refusing to release his paperwork. Instead of returning home, he opted to become a bus driver for STIB. Fellaini is bilingual in Arabic and French.

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Everton F.C.

Everton Football Club are a professional English football club located in the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League and has contested more seasons in the top flight of English football than any other. Currently managed by David Moyes, Everton have won the League Championship nine times—the fourth highest of any team. Additionally, they have won the FA Cup five times and the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup once. The club's most recent major trophy was the 1995 FA Cup.

Everton were founded in 1878 and have a notable rivalry with Liverpool F.C., known as the Merseyside derby. Liverpool were formed fourteen years later than Everton (in 1892) after a dispute over the rent at Anfield, Everton's old ground; since then Everton have been based at Goodison Park as a result of the split. In 2006, it was announced that the club and Knowsley Council were discussing the construction of a new 55,000 seater stadium in Kirkby. The club have a large fanbase and regularly attracts large crowds, averaging over 36,000 (90% of capacity) during the 2005–06 season.

Numerous well-known footballers have had a career at Everton F.C. Since 2000, the club has annually recognised successful former players as "Giants" of the team. Dixie Dean, who played for the team in the 1920s and 1930s, is the most prolific goal-scorer in English football history, and in 1927-28 set the record for league goals in a single season by scoring 60 times.

Everton were founded as St. Domingo in 1878 so that people from the parish of St. Domingo's Methodist Church could play a sport in non-summer months (cricket was played in summer). A year later, the club was renamed Everton F.C. after the surrounding area, as people outside the parish wished to participate. The club was a founding member of the Football League in 1888, and won their first League Championship title in 1890–91. They won the FA Cup in 1905–06 and the League title again in 1914–15, but it was not until 1927 that Everton's first sustained period of success began. In 1925 the club signed Dixie Dean who, in 1927–28, set the record for league goals in a single season (60 goals in 39 league games, a record that still stands to this day), helping Everton to achieve their third league title.

Everton were relegated to the Second Division two years later but won the title and thus promotion at the first attempt. On their return to the top flight in 1931–32, Everton wasted no time in reaffirming their status and won a fourth League title at the first opportunity. They also won their second FA Cup in 1932–33 with a 3–0 win against Manchester City in the final. The era ended in 1938–39 with a fifth League title. The advent of World War II saw the suspension of League football, and when official competition restarted in 1946 the Everton team had been split-up and paled in comparison to the pre-war club. Everton were relegated again in 1950–51 and did not return until 1953–54, when they finished as runners-up in their third season in the Second Division. The club have been a top flight presence ever since.

Everton's second successful era started when Harry Catterick was made manager in 1961. In 1962–63, his second season in charge, Everton won the League title and in 1966 followed with a 3–2 FA Cup win over Sheffield Wednesday. Everton again reached the final two years later, but this time were unable to overcome West Bromwich Albion at Wembley. A year later in 1969–70, Everton won the First Division, nine points clear of nearest rivals Leeds United. However, the success did not last; the team finished fourteenth, fifteenth, seventeenth and seventh in the following seasons. Catterick retired but his successors failed to win any silverware for the remainder of the 1970s. Though the club mounted title challenges and finished third in 1977–78 and fourth the following season, manager Gordon Lee resigned in 1981, after Everton slid down the table and fell further behind local rivals Liverpool.

Howard Kendall took over as manager and guided Everton to their most successful era. Domestically, Everton won the FA Cup in 1983–84 and two league titles in 1984–85 and 1986–87. They were also runners-up to neighbouring Liverpool in both league and cup competitions in 1985–86 and were again on the losing side to Liverpool in the 1984 League Cup final and the 1988–89 FA Cup final. Everton won their first and only European trophy in 1984–85, the European Cup Winners' Cup. After first beating University College Dublin, Inter Bratislava and Fortuna Sittard, Everton defeated German giants Bayern Munich 3–1 in the semi-finals, despite trailing at half time (in a match voted the greatest in Goodison Park history) and recorded the same scoreline over Austrian club Rapid Vienna in the final. Having also won the league title that season, Everton came very close to winning a treble, but lost to Manchester United in the FA Cup final.

After the Heysel Stadium disaster and the subsequent ban of all English clubs from continental football, Everton lost the chance to compete for more European trophies. A large proportion of the title-winning side was broken up following the ban; Kendall himself moved to Athletic Bilbao after the 1987 title triumph and was succeeded by assistant Colin Harvey. Everton were founder members of the Premier League in 1992, but struggled to find the right manager. Howard Kendall had returned in 1990 but could not repeat his previous success, while his successor, Mike Walker, was statistically the least successful Everton manager to date. When former Everton player Joe Royle took over in 1994 the club's form started to improve; his first game in charge was a 2–0 victory over derby rivals Liverpool. Royle dragged Everton clear of relegation, and also led the club to the FA Cup for the fifth time in its history, defeating Manchester United 1–0 in the final. The cup triumph was also Everton's passport to the Cup Winners' Cup—their first European campaign in the post-Heysel era. Progress under Joe Royle continued in 1995–96 as they climbed to sixth place in the Premiership.

The following season, 1996–97, was not as successful and the club finished in fifteenth place. Royle quit in March. Club captain, Dave Watson, was given the manager's job temporarily and he helped the club to Premiership survival. Howard Kendall was appointed Everton manager for the third time in 1997, but the appointment proved unsuccessful as Everton finished seventeenth in the Premiership; only avoiding relegation due to their superior goal difference over Bolton Wanderers. Former Rangers manager Walter Smith then took over from Kendall in the summer of 1998 but only managed three successive finishes in the bottom half of the table.

The Everton board finally ran out of patience with Smith and he was sacked in March 2002 with Everton in real danger of relegation. The current manager, David Moyes, was his replacement and delivered Everton to a safe finish in fifteenth place. After that harrowing season, Everton finished seventh, seventeenth, fourth (their highest ever Premiership finish) and eleventh. It was under his management that Wayne Rooney broke into the first team, before being sold to Manchester United for a club record fee of £23 million.

Moyes has broken the club record for highest transfer fee paid on four occasions, signing James Beattie for £6 million in January 2005, Andy Johnson for £8.6 million in summer 2006, Yakubu Aiyegbeni for £11.25 million in summer 2007, and Marouane Fellaini for £15 million in September 2008.

2006–07 saw Everton finish sixth in the league and attain UEFA Cup qualification. In 2007, Everton completed the takeover of the Toxteth Tigers basketball team, with the rebranding of Liverpool's first ever top-flight basketball franchise, the Everton Tigers. 2007-08 saw Everton once again gain European football with a fifth place league finish, although they were eliminated from the UEFA Cup prior to the group stages by Standard Liege.

During the first decades of their history, Everton had several different kit colours. The team originally played in blue and white stripes but as new players arriving at the club wore their old team's shirts during matches, confusion soon ensued. It was decided that the shirts would be dyed black, both to save on expenses and to instil a more professional look. The result, however, appeared morbid so a scarlet sash was added.

When the club moved to Goodison Park in 1892, they first played in salmon shirts with blue shorts before switching to ruby shirts with blue trim and dark blue shorts. The famous royal blue jerseys with white shorts were first used in the 1901–02 season. Occasionally Everton have played in lighter shades of blue (such as 1930–31 and 1997–98) but these have proved unpopular with fans. Everton's traditional away shirt was amber with either amber or royal blue shorts and various editions appeared throughout the 60s, 70s and 80s. Recently however black, white, grey and yellow away shirts have been used.

The kit today remains royal blue shirts, white shorts and white socks although when playing teams away who also wear white shorts Everton typically wear all blue. For the 2008–09 season, the away kit is a predominantly white shirt with a navy and grey trim across the chest, accompanied with navy shorts and socks. A third kit was issued consisting of luminous yellow shirt and socks with dark blue shorts, which will also be used as an away kit in European games. Everton's goalkeepers will wear a lime green shirt with light grey shorts and socks at home and all black away.

For the 2008–09 season Everton became the first Premier League team to sell junior replica jerseys without the current name or logo of its main sponsor Chang beer, following a recommendation from the Portman Group that alcoholic brand names be removed from kits sold to children.

The club have two megastores, one located near to Goodison Park on Walton Lane and the other at Birkenhead Pyramids shopping centre, and have a partnership deal with sportswear retailers JJB.

Everton's current shirt manufacturers are Umbro, who have designed the club's shirts for the majority of its history. However Everton have reportedly decided not to renew their deal with Umbro when it expires at the end of the 2008-09 season and are rumoured to be entering into a new deal with Le Coq Sportif for the 2009-10 season onwards. Le Coq Sportif already have a notable association with Everton, having previously designed the clubs shirts during the years 1983-86, arguably Everton's most successful era. It is also being reported that Kitbag will replace JJB as distributors.

At the end of the 1937–38 season, Everton secretary Theo Kelly, who later became the club's first manager, wanted to design a club necktie. It was agreed that the colour be blue and Kelly was given the task of designing a crest to be featured on the necktie. Kelly worked on it for four months, until deciding on a reproduction of Prince Rupert's Tower, which stands in the heart of the Everton district.

The Tower has been inextricably linked with the Everton area since its construction in 1787. It was originally used as a bridewell to incarcerate criminals, and it still stands today on Everton Brow in Netherfield Road. The beacon was accompanied by two laurel wreaths on either side and, according to the College of Arms in London, Kelly chose to include the laurels as they were the sign of winners in those days. The crest was accompanied by the club motto, "Nil Satis Nisi Optimum", meaning "Nothing but the best is good enough". The ties were first worn by Kelly and the Everton chairman, Mr. E. Green, on the first day of the 1938–39 season.

The club rarely incorporated a badge of any description on its shirts. An interwoven "EFC" design was adopted between 1922 and 1930 before the club reverted to plain royal blue shirts, until 1973 when bold "EFC" lettering was added. The crest designed by Kelly was first used on the team's shirts in 1980 and has remained there ever since, undergoing gradual change to become the version used today.

Everton's most widely recognised nickname is or "The Toffeemen", which came about after Everton had moved to Goodison. There are several explanations for how this name came to be adopted, the most well known being that there was a business near the ground called Mother Noblett's Toffee Shop which advertised and sold sweets, including the Everton Mint, on match days. This also led to the Toffee Lady tradition in which a girl walks around the perimeter of the pitch before the start of a game tossing free Everton Mints into the crowd. Another possible reason is that there was a house called Ye Anciente Everton Toffee House near the Queen's Head hotel in which early club meetings took place. The word "toffee" was also slang referring to Irishmen, of which there was a large population in the city at the turn of the century and who tended to support Everton rather than city rivals Liverpool.

Everton have had many other nicknames over the years. When the black kit was worn Everton were nicknamed "The Black Watch", after the famous army brigade. Since going blue in 1901, Everton have been given the simple nickname "The Blues". Everton's attractive style of play led to Steve Bloomer calling the team "scientific" in 1928, which is thought to have inspired the nickname "The School of Science". While the battling 1995 FA Cup winning side were known as "The Dogs of War". When David Moyes arrived as manager he proclaimed Everton as "The People's Club", which has been adopted as a semi-official club nickname.

Everton originally played in the southeast corner of Stanley Park, which is the site for the new Liverpool F.C. stadium, with the first official match taking place in 1879. In 1882, a man named J. Cruitt donated land at Priory Road which became the club's home before they moved to Anfield, which was Everton's home until 1892. At this time, a rent dispute with Anfield's owner, John Holding, led to Everton leaving the ground and to the formation of a new, rival team. The new club, Liverpool, made Anfield their home ground and Everton moved to Goodison Park, which has been their home ground to this day. Ever since those events, a fierce rivalry has existed between Everton and Liverpool, albeit one that is generally perceived as more respectful than many other derbies in English football. This was illustrated by a chain of red and blue scarves that were linked between the gates of both grounds across Stanley Park as a tribute to the Liverpool fans killed in the Hillsborough disaster.

Goodison Park has staged more top-flight football games than any other ground in the United Kingdom and was the only English club ground to host a semi-final at the 1966 FIFA World Cup. It was also the first English ground to have undersoil heating, the first to have two tiers on all sides and the first to have a three-tier stand. Goodison is the only stadium in the world that features a church in its grounds—St Luke the Evangelist—at the corner of the Main Stand and the Gwladys Street End.

On matchdays players walk out to the theme tune to Z-Cars, called Johnny Todd, a traditional Liverpool children's song collected in 1890 by Frank Kidson which tells the story of a sailor betrayed by his lover while away at sea.

Everton's reserves play at Halton Stadium in Widnes.

There have been indications since 1996 that Everton will move to a new stadium. The original plan was for a new 60,000-seat stadium to be built, but in 2000, a proposal was submitted to build a 55,000 seat stadium as part of the King's Dock regeneration. This was unsuccessful as Everton failed to generate the £30 million needed for a half stake in the stadium project, and it was dropped in 2003.

Late in 2004, driven by Liverpool Council and the Northwest Development Corporation, the club was in talks with Liverpool regarding sharing that club's proposed new stadium at Stanley Park. Negotiations broke down over ownership of the new facility – Liverpool wanted to retain sole ownership of Stanley Park while Everton sought an even share. On 11 January 2005, Liverpool announced that groundsharing was not a possibility, and they continue to plan for their own stadium.

On 16 June 2006, it was announced that Everton had entered into talks with Knowsley Council and Tesco over the possibility of building a new 55,000 seat stadium in Kirkby. The club took the unusual move of giving its supporters a say in the club's future by holding a ballot on whether or not to move to Kirkby. This ballot ended up in a yes vote (59.27% in favour) so negotiations will continue. However, an inquiry into the move to the Kirkby stadium was filed 6 August 2008, possibly delaying the construction by a year or more.

Everton have a large fanbase with the ninth highest average attendance in England. The majority of Everton's matchday support comes from the North West of England, primarily Merseyside and Cheshire. Everton also have many fans who travel from North Wales and Ireland. Everton also have many supporters' clubs worldwide, in places such as North America, Singapore, Lebanon, and Thailand. Everton also have a large supporter base in Australia, with midfield player Tim Cahill being Australian. The official supporters club is Evertonia, and there are also several fanzines including When Skies are Grey and Speke from the Harbour, which are sold around Goodison Park on match days.

Everton supporters sing several songs on matchdays but the most common is "It's a grand old team"; it is adopted from the version sung by Celtic supporters, making changes like "we don't care what the red side say"—a reference to red-wearing-rivals Liverpool. Also popular is singing the club name "Everton" to the tune of "Here we go". They are generally very welcoming to former players returning to Goodison while playing for new clubs. Notable exceptions include Wayne Rooney, who has become extremely unpopular with fans after he left Everton for Manchester United, having previously been pictured wearing a t-shirt declaring: "Once a Blue always a Blue" and is now roundly booed whenever he returns. Rooney claims Moyes forced him out of the club in his book, however David Moyes has taken legal action denying the claims made. David Moyes won in court and was awarded damages.

Everton's biggest rivalry is with fellow Merseyside team Liverpool, against whom they contest the Merseyside derby. This stems from Liverpool's formation after a dispute with Everton officials and the owners of Anfield (the ground Everton were using at the time). Religious differences have been cited as a division, with Everton usually placed on the Catholic side; however, both teams were founded with Methodist involvement, somewhat undermining the notion of a Catholic–Protestant split. The Merseyside derby is usually a sell out fixture and tends to be a scrappy affair; it has had more red cards than any other fixture in Premiership history.

Typically for a club with a large fanbase, Everton have had a number of well-known supporters over the years, including John Parrott, John Hurt, Judi Dench, Jennifer Ellison, Kenny Everett, Derek Hatton, Leonard Rossiter, Freddie Starr, Claire Sweeney, Matt Dawson, Alan Khan, Austin Healey, Rory Buchanan, Roger McGough, Sylvester Stallone, Paul McCartney, Pete Best, and John Lennon.

Everton F.C. has a training ground at Finch Farm which provides facilities for both the first team and the Academy. A number of players have successfully graduated from the Academy to the first team, including Wayne Rooney and Francis Jeffers.

The following players are considered "Giants" for their great contributions to Everton. A panel appointed by the club established the inaugural list in 2000 and a new inductee is announced every season.

As of 9 May 2007.

At the start of the 2003–04 season, as part of the club's official celebration of their 125th anniversary, supporters cast votes to determine the greatest ever Everton team.

A number of Everton players have received testimonials, normally for playing 10 or more years for the club.

The Football League 100 Legends is a list of "100 legendary football players" produced by The Football League in 1998, to celebrate the 100th season of League football.

Neville Southall holds the record for the most Everton appearances, having played 751 first-team matches between 1981 and 1997. The late centre half and former captain Brian Labone comes second, having played 534 times. The longest serving player is Goalkeeper Ted Sagar who played for 23 years between 1929 and 1953, both sides of the Second World War, making a total of 495 appearances. The club's top goalscorer, with 383 goals in all competitions, is Dixie Dean; the second-highest goalscorer is Graeme Sharp with 159. Dean still holds the English national record of most goals in a season, with 60.

The record attendance for an Everton home match is 78,299 against Liverpool on 18 September 1948. Goodison Park, like all major football grounds since the recommendations of the Taylor Report were implemented, is now an all-seater and only holds just over 40,000, meaning it is unlikely that this attendance record will ever be broken at Goodison. Everton's record transfer paid was to Standard Liege for Belgian midfielder Maurouane Fellaini for a sum of £15m. Everton bought the player on the deadline day of the 2008 summer transfer window.

Everton have a link with Republic of Ireland football academy Ballyoulster United based in Celbridge, Canada's Ontario Soccer Association, and the Football Association of Thailand where they have a competition called the Chang-Everton cup which local schoolboys compete for. Everton also host annual friendlies with both Bury and Preston North End, the latter because of manager David Moyes previous involvements.

The club also own and operate a professional basketball team, by the name of Everton Tigers, who compete in the elite British Basketball League. The team was launched in the summer of 2007 as part of the clubs' Community programme, and play their home games at the Greenbank Sports Academy.

Everton are also establishing links with Chile's Corporación Deportiva Everton de Viña del Mar who were named after the English club. Other Evertons exist in Colonia Department, Uruguay and in La Plata, Córdoba, Santa Fé and Moldes in Argentina.

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Craig Thomson (referee)

Craig Alexander Thomson (born June 20, 1972) is a Scottish football referee, who has been a match official since 1988. He originates from Paisley, Renfrewshire.

He has officiated in the Scottish Premier League since 2002, and his first match in charge in that League was the fixture between St. Johnstone and Hibernian on May 12, 2002, which Hibs won 1–0.

Thomson has been a FIFA referee since 2003. His first International match for FIFA was the 4–1 defeat of Northern Ireland by Norway at Windsor Park, Belfast, on June 18, 2004. His next most notable match abroad was the 2006 World Cup qualifying match between the Faroe Islands and France in group four on September 8, 2004, when he sent off Patrick Vieira during a 2–0 win for the French.

Domestically, he handled the 2006 Scottish Challenge Cup Final between Ross County and Clyde at McDiarmid Park on November 12, which County won on penalties after extra-time ended 1–1.

He was selected to referee during the UEFA Under-21 Championship 2007, held in Holland. This included him issuing a second yellow card to Belgium's Marouane Fellaini in the 18th minute of their group A match against Israel on June 13 in the Abe Lenstra Stadion. Belgium managed to win 1–0, despite the dismissal. He was not appointed to referee any other games in the Championship.

Thomson appeared as a fourth official at Euro 2008 in Switzerland & Austria.

Craig Thomson is currently a lawyer and is an associate with Maclay, Murray and Spens where he specifies in construction and engineering law. His hobbies and participant sports include golf, squash, chess and going to the cinema.

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History of Everton F.C.

Everton Football Club have a long and detailed history. The club's roots lie in an English Methodist congregation called New Connexion founded by Guto Sion Jones in 1865, who decided to build a new chapel in the Liverpool area in 1868. The following year, the church bought some land on Breckfield Road North, between St. Domingo Vale and St. Domingo Grove. This was located near the district of Everton, which had become part of the City of Liverpool in 1835. Since then Everton have had a successful history winning the Cup Winners' Cup, the league title 9 times and the FA Cup 5 times. They are the only club to have played over 100 seasons in the top flight of English football, the 2008-2009 season being their 106th.

St. Domingo Methodist Church's new chapel was opened in 1871 and six years later, Rev. Ben Swift Chambers was appointed Minister. He was responsible for starting a cricket team for the youngsters in the parish. Because cricket can only be played in the summer, they had to find something to play during the other seasons as well. So a football club called St. Domingo F.C. was formed in 1878.

Many people outside the parish were interested in joining the football club so it was decided that the name should be changed. In November 1879 at a meeting in the Queen's Head Hotel, the team name was changed to Everton Football Club, after the surrounding area. Barker and Dobson, a local sweet manufacturer, introduced "Everton Mints" to honour the club. The district is also the location of the team's crest image, an old bridewell known as Prince Rupert's Tower.

Everton started the 1890–91 season in superb form with five straight victories, with Fred Geary scoring in each of the first six matches. By mid-January, Everton had completed all but one of their fixtures and were on 29 points, while Preston North End were eleven points adrift with seven games still to play. Everton than had to sit out the next two months as Preston completed their fixture list until they were only two points adrift with one match each left to play. Both teams played their final games of the season on 14 March, with Everton losing 3–2 at Burnley (Geary scored both Everton goals) and Preston going down 3–0 at Sunderland. Everton were thus able to win the Football League Championship for the first time, by a margin of two points with fourteen victories from their 22 league games. Geary had been ever-present, and was the club's top goal-scorer with 21 goals.

In 1891 John Houlding, the leaseholder of Anfield stadium, purchased the ground outright and proposed increasing the rent from £100 to £250 per year. Everton, who had played at Anfield for seven years, refused to meet his demands and moved to Goodison Park.

Founder members of the Football League, they lost two FA Cup finals, 1-0 against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Fallowfield Stadium on 26 March 1893 and 3-2 against Aston Villa at Crystal Palace on 10 April 1897 before winning at their third attempt on 20 April 1906 again against Newcastle United at Crystal Palace. Their second successive final on 20 April 1907, however, finished in a 2-1 defeat by Sheffield Wednesday.

Quite simply, William Ralph "Dixie" Dean was the one of the greatest scoring machines that the English game has seen. After averaging a goal a game for Tranmere Rovers, prolific striker Dean was lured across the River Mersey to play for Everton. In his first season for the Toffees, the 1925-26 season, Dean netted 32 league goals in 38 games (getting his first two on his debut), scored 21 in 27 the next year, and made history in 1927-28: in a seasonal performance that is unlikely to ever be bettered, Dean hit 60 league goals in 39 matches, setting a record that has stood ever since and almost single-handedly giving Everton the league title.

In a turn of events that seems unbelievable today, in 1930 Everton finished last in the first division and were relegated to the second division. Predictably, Dean was on top form in the secondary league, hitting 39 goals in 37 games and lifting the Toffees to promotion at the first time of asking. The following season, Dean hit 45 goals and Everton regained the league title. In 1933, they won the FA Cup, Dean becoming Everton's first ever number 9 in the 3-0 final win against Manchester City. The number 9 would become synonymous with commanding and high-scoring strikers at domestic and international level football, something Dean embodied.

The nickname "Dixie" has ambiguous origins, but it is thought that it was given to Dean because his curly hairstyle was similar to that sported by many people of African ethnicity, popularly nicknamed "dixies" at the time. Dean is said to have disliked but reluctantly accepted the tag. He played his last match for Everton on 11 December 1937 and died at a Merseyside derby at Goodison in 1980, leaving behind a legacy of 383 goals in 433 matches overall.

In the 1938-39 season Everton with Joe Mercer, the classy T.G. Jones and Tommy Lawton won the Football League Championship again. Lawton scored 34 goals in this season at the age of 19. Sadly the outbreak of World War II interrupted the careers of this team for six years which otherwise might have dominated for several years.

Although the nineties have been regarded as a poor decade, this era was worse. The great pre-war team were quickly split up in 1946. Tommy Lawton was restless and joined Chelsea, Joe Mercer disagreed with the manager Theo Kelly and was sold to Arsenal, and they tried to sell T.G. Jones to A.S. Roma. Soon only Ted Sagar was left.

Under the management of the uninspired and under-financed Cliff Britton, Everton were relegated after the 1950-51 season for only the second time in their history to the Second Division. This time it took three seasons before Everton were promoted in 1954 as the runners-up. The final match of the season decided promotion when the Everton beat Oldham away 4-0.

The era nevertheless had some notable players such as Dave Hickson and Bobby Collins. Memorable matches included ending Manchester United's long unbeaten run at Old Trafford with a 5-2 win in 1956.

The 1960s is regarded by many fans as the golden era of Everton Football Club. After the barren period of the 1950s, Harry Catterick took charge of the Everton in 1961. The team were soon to be dubbed the "School of Science" after their methodical approach in the tradition of the Everton team in the 1920s who were first given this name. Their football was inventive and flowing similar to Tottenham's "Push and Run" style. In Catterick's first full season as manager Everton conceded fewer goals than any other team and finished fourth.

The following season, the Toffees lost just six of their 42 matches and took the title, with the striking partnership of Roy Vernon and Alex Young scoring 46 goals between them (the last time two Everton players have scored more than 20 goals each in one season). Other notable players included Billy Bingham, Jimmy Gabriel, Derek Temple, Bobby Collins and Brian Labone.

In 1966, the same year the English international team won the World Cup, Everton took home the FA Cup after overturning a two-goal deficit against Sheffield Wednesday in the final to win 3-2. Everton went on to reach the 1968 final, but were unable to overcome West Bromwich Albion at Wembley.

A year later in the 1969/70 season, Everton won the Championship again thanks in part to the scoring sensation of one Joe Royle, who would later manage the club to FA Cup success in 1995. The success of the team could be seen from the number of points won (one short of the record) and nine clear of Leeds United. The team won the league in style, playing what was virtually a form of Total Football orchestrated by the "Holy Trinity" midfield of Howard Kendall, Alan Ball and Colin Harvey. With Labone at centre-half and club captain and Royle up front, this is regarded by many fans as the club's finest side ever.

Harry Catterick's team of 1969/70 seemed destined for greatness but declined quickly. The team finished 14th, 15th, 17th and 7th in the following seasons. The stress of an under-performing team was said to be a factor in Harry Catterick's poor health and eventual resignation in 1974.

Everton were on course to win the Championship in the 1974/75 season under Billy Bingham (some bookmakers had even stopped taking bets at Easter) but some surprising losses to lowly opposition ended the challenge and they finished 4th. After two relatively poor seasons (11th and 9th), Bingham left in 1977. During the interregnum, Everton reached the League Cup final in 1977 losing late in extra time of the second replay. Bob Latchford scored 30 league goals in the 1977-78 season.

Under Gordon Lee Everton finished third in 1977/78 and fourth in 1978/79 after again looking serious title challengers for much of these seasons, but expectations were high given the success of Liverpool and so Lee departed in 1981 - by which time Everton had suffered another setback and narrowly avoided relegation to the Second Division.

Former Everton player Howard Kendall returned to the club as manager for the 1981-82, having won promotion from the Third Division with Blackburn Rovers and taken them within a whisker of a second successive promotion. Kendall's reign got off to a promising start with a 3-1 win over Birmingham City on the opening day of the season, and they finished eighth in the First Division. Their steady progress continued into the 1982-83 season, as they finished seventh and only narrowly missed out on a UEFA Cup place. The only real letdown that season was a 5-0 home defeat by Liverpool on 6 November 1982.

During the first three seasons after his appointment as Everton manager, Kendall brought in younger players like Neville Southall, Gary Stevens, Derek Mountfield, Peter Reid, Kevin Ratcliffe, Trevor Steven and Graeme Sharp in the hope of bringing some success to a club which had been massively eclipsed by neighbouring Liverpool since the early 1970s.

1983-84 was a trying season in the league, with Everton being in the bottom half of the First Division for much of the season and fans making continued calls for Howard Kendall to be sacked, but a good run of form in the final weeks of the season saw Everton achieve a seventh place finish once again. They also reached the FA Cup final and beat Watford 2-0 to end their 14-year trophy drought.

The following season, Everton won the league title with four matches to spare, and also clinched the European Cup Winners' Cup to give them their first-ever European trophy. Had it not been for a 1-0 defeat by Manchester United in the FA Cup final, Everton would have joined Liverpool as only the second English team to win three major trophies in one season.

The 1984-85 Cup Winners' Cup campaign was not without its controversy. In a tie with Fortuna Sittard of Holland, an Everton fan streaked on the pitch and was arrested when trying to climb back over the security fencing into the stands. This was one of many high profile pitch invasions by fans of English clubs at home and abroad around this time.

Fans contend that the 1980s Everton team could have gone on to win even more European silverware after their 1985 Cup Winners' Cup success had it not been for the banning of all English clubs from continental competitions by UEFA after the Heysel Stadium disaster (involving, in dark irony, Liverpool fans).

The 1985 close season saw the acquisition of 24-year-old striker Gary Lineker from Leicester City, with Lineker's arrival sparking the controversial departure of the hugely popular Andy Gray, who returned to Aston Villa.

1985-86, even without European action, would be another exciting season for Everton. By the end of September, it looked as though Manchester United would be champions of the First Division after winning the first 10 games of the campaign, while Everton were in fifth place and stood 13 points adrift of Manchester United and also had Liverpool, Chelsea and Newcastle United above them. However, United's excellent form gradually tailed off and Everton went top of the league on 1 February 1986 thanks to a 1-0 win at home to Tottenham Hotspur. Unfortunately, their defence of the title was ended on 3 May 1986 as Liverpool's last league game of the season left the title out of Everton's reach, despite Everton crushing Southampton 6-1 at Goodison Park on the same day. However, Everton won the race for second place by defeating fellow contenders West Ham United 3-1 on the final day of the league season. On 10 May 1986, they took on Liverpool in the first all-Merseyside FA Cup final. A first-half goal by Gary Lineker suggested that the FA Cup would be heading to the blue half of Merseyside, but two goals form Ian Rush and a goal from Craig Johnston saw Liverpool win the trophy to complete the double, while Everton were left with nothing.

Had UEFA decided to lift the ban on English teams in European competitions at the end of that season (though the ban on all clubs was indefinite, it was reviewed at the end of every season), then Everton would have entered the 1986-87 Cup Winners' Cup, but UEFA voted for the ban to continue for at least another season and so there would be no European action for English clubs for the second season running.

The 1986 close season saw Everton sell leading goalscorer Gary Lineker to FC Barcelona of Spain , and the arrival of defender Dave Watson from Norwich City , while midfielder Adrian Heath switched to the role of Graeme Sharp's strike partner.

The 1986-87 season began in a familiar fashion, with Everton and Liverpool being firmly among the contenders, though this time there some unlikely other teams also in contention, including Norwich City and Coventry City. By Christmas, Everton were fourth in the league (level with third placed Liverpool) and a point behind second-placed Nottingham Forest, while a resurgent Arsenal were six points ahead of them at the top of the league. However, a 3-1 win over Coventry City on 7 February 1987 sent them to top of the league, and they clinched the league title on 4 May 1987 with a 1-0 win over Norwich City at Carrow Road.

However, UEFA voted for the ban on English clubs in European competitions to continue in the1987-88 season, meaning that Everton would not be able to compete in the 1987-88 European Cup.

During the 1987 close season, Howard Kendall defected to Spain to become coach of Atletico Bilbao, and was replaced as manager at Everton by his former assistant Colin Harvey.

Colin Harvey's first season as manager brought a fourth place finish (but no UEFA Cup place as UEFA voted for the ban on English clubs in European competitions to continue for another season) and during the 1988 close season Everton became the first English club to buy a player for £2million when they signed 23-year-old striker Tony Cottee from West Ham United. Despite the new arrival scoring a hat-trick on his debut against Newcastle United and going on to be one of the most highly-rated frontmen ever to wear an Everton shirt, Everton's league fortunes declined in 1988-89 as they finished eighth in the league. They did reach the FA Cup final though, only to lose 3-2 to Liverpool in extra-time.

1989-90 began well for Everton, who led the league for two weeks in late autumn. There was extra incentive for title glory this season, as UEFA had vowed to lift the ban on English clubs in European competitions for the following season provided England fans behaved well at the World Cup. However, Everton never regained the lead of the league that they had lost in early November, and finished sixth in the final table.

On 31 October 1990, Everton occupied the 18th of 20 places in the First Division. Only the bottom two clubs would be going down this season, as the top flight would be expanding to 22 clubs for 1991-92. However, it was still Everton's worst start to a league season, and manager Colin Harvey paid for these shortcomings with his job.

Since leaving Everton in 1987, Howard Kendall had spent two years with Atletico Madrid before returning to England to take over at Manchester City and save them from relegation. He had overseen their best league form in years during the opening three months of the 1990-91 season, as they occupied fifth place as November dawned. However, on 5 November 1990, Everton made an offer to Kendall to take over as their manager for the second time. He accepted the offer, reinstating Colin Harvey to the club as assistant manager to reform the old manager-coach partnership that had been so successful from 1981 to 1987, while former Everton player Peter Reid (now 34 but still a regular player) succeeded Kendall as Manchester City manager. He guided Everton to a secure ninth place in the final table and also helped them eliminate Liverpool from the FA Cup before bowing out to West Ham United in the quarter-final.

The 1991 close season saw the departure of players including the legendary Graeme Sharp and the less successful Mike Milligan, while Kendall bolstered Everton's attack by signing Peter Beardsley from Liverpool and Mo Johnston from Glasgow Rangers, after being pipped by Liverpool to the signing of Derby County's free-scoring Dean Saunders.

Despite these changes to the squad, Everton continued to decline in 1991-92 as they finished 12th - their lowest finish for more than a decade, although it was enough for a place in the new FA Premier League which took over from the Football League First Division as the highest division of English football.

1992-93 brought yet more frustration at Goodison Park as Everton finished 13th in the new Premier League, and the pressure grew upon Howard Kendall.

The opening stages of the 1993-94 season looked to be the turning point for Howard Kendall in his second spell as Everton manager, as they topped the Premier League after winning their opening three games. However, a dismal run of form followed over the next few weeks, and Kendall walked out on Everton in early December after they had plummeted down the league to occupy a mid table position.

On 7 January 1994, Everton finally found a successor to Howard Kendall when they recruited Mike Walker from a Norwich City side that had recently finished third in the Premier League and eliminated Bayern Munich. However, he was now faced with a challenge of saving Everton from relegation from a top flight which they had so far been members of for 40 successive seasons and been champions of just seven years earlier. That challenge was very nearly lost when they went into the final game of the season occupying the final relegation place and needing to beat Wimbledon at Goodison Park in order to stay up. It looked as though the battle was lost as Wimbledon took a 2-0 lead, but Everton pulled off a dramatic escape act to beat Wimbledon 3-2 and help send Sheffield United and Oldham Athletic down with already-doomed Swindon Town.

However, Everton made a dreadful start to the 1994-95 season and Walker was sacked on 8 November 1994 after Everton had won just one of their opening 14 league games and were bottom of the Premier League.

Within days of Walker's sacking, former Everton player Joe Royle had returned to the club as manager after 12 years in charge of Oldham Athletic. His key priority was to save Everton from relegation. He made a few changes to the squad in his first few months as manager, offloading players like Brett Angell and David Burrows, and added defender to the squad along with the Nigerian striker Daniel Amokachi and the Scottish striker Duncan Ferguson for a club record £4million. Everton confirmed their Premier League survival in the penultimate game of the season when they won 1-0 at already-relegated Ipswich Town.

But the biggest success of Everton's season came on 20 May 1995, when a Paul Rideout goal gave them a 1-0 win over Manchester United in the FA Cup final. The brilliant goalkeeping of Neville Southall also played a crucial part in Everton's first major trophy win for eight years; he made several thrilling saves in the game, including two late shots from 20-year-old Manchester United forward Paul Scholes.

Royle bolstered Everton's squad for 1995-96 with a club record £5million move for Manchester United's unsettled Ukranian winger Andrei Kanchelskis. He was determined to build on the FA Cup glory with a good run in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup as well as strong form in the domestic competitions, but Everton's cup challenges in 1995-96 were short-lived. However, their league form was vastly improved as they finished sixth and were narrowly pipped to a UEFA Cup place by Arsenal on the final day of the season. It had been a great season for Kanchelskis though, as he scored 16 goals and continued to live up to his reputation as the finest right-winger in the Premier League. However, he defected to Fiorentina halfway through the 1996-97 season, and Everton slowly fell apart without Kanchelskis. Royle stepped down as manager on 27 March 1997 with a relegation battle creeping upon the club. Veteran defender and captain Dave Watson took over as caretaker until the end of the season, helping confirm Everton's survival, but he did not want the job permanently and the hunt was now on for a new manager.

After the end of the 1996-97 season, Everton approached Howard Kendall (by now at Sheffield United) about a third spell as the club's manager. He accepted the offer, and there was much hype as the new season began about whether Kendall could still work his old magic and re-establish Everton as one of England's top playing sides. However, 1997-98 was arguably Everton's most difficult season in their current spell in the top division (which began back in 1954) and they only achieved survival on goal difference at the expense of Bolton Wanderers.

Off the field, the club was in a major financial crisis at this time. It was not resolved until December 1999, when actor and writer Bill Kenwright took the club over from previous owner Peter Johnson.

Meanwhile, Kendall's third spell as manager ended in June 1998 when he was sacked, and it seemed likely that chairman Peter Johnson would turn to Manchester United assistant manager Brian Kidd as his successor, but the job went to Walter Smith instead.

Successful former Rangers manager Walter Smith took over from Kendall in the summer of 1998 and big things were expected along with some high profile signings but his first season brought an unremarkable 14th place finish. His chances of success were hampered by continuing financial constraints which had also contributed to the club's decline in previous years. 1999-2000 brought an unimpressive 13th place finish and Smith came under increased pressure after Everton finished 16th the following season.

The Everton board finally ran out of patience with Smith and he was sacked in March 2002 with Everton in real danger of relegation. The board turned to promising young Preston manager David Moyes with the task of moving Everton forward after years of underachievement, and he was able to steer the club to safety in the last few games of the season. In Moyes's first full season in charge Everton finished seventh in the Premiership and just missed out on a UEFA Cup place, in a campaign which was dominated by the emergence of brilliant young striker Wayne Rooney, who came to national prominence with a spectacular last-minute winner against league champions Arsenal, becoming the youngest English league goalscorer ever and Everton's youngest ever scorer, and consigning the champions to their first league defeat for almost a year.

2002-03 was Everton's best season since the sixth place finish of 1995-96 and for a while it had even looked like they would qualify for the Champions League. In the FA Cup the Toffees were on the receiving end of a giant-killing, away to Shrewsbury Town, who were managed by former Everton captain Kevin Ratcliffe and were just four months away from being relegated from the Football League. The following season's league form was a stark contrast, with the club finishing 17th and accumulating the lowest points total in the club's history. Wayne Rooney handed in a transfer request and was sold to Manchester United in August 2004 for a fee of £23million, with a potential to rise to £30million due to bonus payments for league positions, trophies, international caps and 25% excess sell on fees. . Despite the loss of Rooney Everton's 2004-05 was much more successful and finished fourth in the table, their highest position since 1988, achieving Champions League qualification, ahead of rivals Liverpool. They played some of their finest football for years, thanks greatly to the 4-5-1 tactic of Moyes and the sensational form of Danish midfielder Thomas Gravesen, who was sold to Real Madrid midway through the season.

Everton started the 2005-06 season badly, with their Champions League campaign ending in defeat by Villarreal in the qualifying stages, after referee Pierluigi Collina controversially disallowed an important Everton goal. After being demoted to the UEFA Cup, they were knocked out by Dinamo Bucharest, who thrashed the English side 5–1 in Romania.

After occupying the Premier League relegation zone throughout October 2005, Everton stopped Chelsea's nine match winning run with a 1-1 draw to spark a short revival that saw the team finally start to get regular results to put much needed points on the board. However, this was followed by another dismal run including several 4-0 defeats to sides in the bottom half of the table and a one sided derby match. A 1-0 win at Sunderland on New Year's Eve started a run of five straight Premiership wins and six matches unbeaten including victory against Arsenal- the club's best run of results since the Premiership began which hauled the team away from the relegation zone, and made a top half finish or even Europe a real possibility. This was not to be as the team remained as inconsistent as ever and a disappointing draw on the last day meant an 11th place finish instead of moving into the top half. Inconsistency and a shortage of goals let Everton down in 2005-06, and ended their hopes of another European campaign.

Everton began the 2006–07 season well, including a first league win at White Hart Lane in twenty years, followed by a 3-0 win over Liverpool. The club's transfer record was broken with the signing of Andrew Johnson from Crystal Palace. At the end of the season Everton were in 6th place and qualified for the following seasons UEFA Cup competition. During the summer of 2007, the club announced the acquisition of a professional basketball team, called the Everton Tigers, and were entered into the British Basketball League as one of three expansion franchises for the 2007-08 season.

In 2007–08 Everton again broke their transfer record with the signing of Yakubu Aiyegbeni for £11.25 million from Middlesbrough, and Thomas Gravesen was re-signed on loan from Celtic. The club reached the group stage of the UEFA Cup, where they went on to win all of their games, including against the eventual winners Zenit St Petersburg. They were knocked out in the following round by Fiorentina on penalties. In the Football League Cup Everton reached the semi-final before losing to Chelsea. Everton spent much of the season in the top four of the league, but were eventually overtaken by Liverpool and finished 5th, again qualifying for the UEFA Cup.

The following summer was one of some turmoil for Everton as their failure to gain government acceptance for their proposed stadium move to Kirkby, the departure of Chief Executive Keith Wyness and the seeming reluctance of Moyes to sign a new contract increased the gloom amongst supporters. In the last week of the transfer window the club transfer record was broken with the signing of Marouane Fellaini for £15 million from Standard Liege. Everton failed to qualify for the UEFA Cup group stages as they were eliminated by Liege, with Fellaini ineligible to play against his former team.

Moyes did eventually sign a new 5 year contract with the club, and with it fortunes began to turn. A strong run in November and December (8 wins and 2 draws in 12 league games) propelled the club to the upper reaches of the league table and raised hopes for another top 6 finish.

In early February, Everton played Liverpool 3 times in quick succession, once in the league (a 1-1 draw at Anfield) and twice in the FA Cup, with Everton ultimately proving victorious in the replay at Goodison Park.

English football champions 1890-91, 1914-15, 1927-28, 1931-32, 1938-39, 1962-63, 1969-70, 1984-85, 1986-87.

Runners-Up 1889-90, 1894-95, 1901-02, 1904-05, 1908-09, 1911-12, 1985-86.

Football League Second Division Champions 1930-31.

Runners-Up 1953-54.

FA Cup Winners 1906, 1933, 1966, 1984, 1995.

Runners-Up 1893, 1897, 1907, 1968, 1985, 1986, 1989.

Charity Shield Winners 1928, 1932, 1963, 1970, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1995, Shared 1986.

League Cup Runners-Up 1976-77, 1983-84.

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Winners 1984-85.

FA Youth Cup Winners 1965, 1984, 1998.

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David Moyes

David William Moyes (born 25 April 1963) is a football manager and former player, currently managing English Premier League club Everton. He was the 2003 and 2005 League Managers Association Manager of the Year.

Moyes enjoyed an unremarkable career as a journeyman centre half, that began with Celtic, where he won a championship medal, and ended with Preston North End, with whom he secured his first managerial position. Moyes made over 550 league appearances in his career before becoming a coach at Preston, working his way up to assistant manager before eventually taking over as manager in 1998. Moyes' brother Kenny is a football agent.

Moyes took over as Preston manager in January 1998, taking over from Gary Peters as the club struggled in Division Two and were in danger of relegation. He had spent much of his playing career preparing for management, taking coaching badges at just 22 years of age and compiling notes on managers he had played under, their techniques and tactics. Preston avoided relegation at the end of the 1997–98 season and reached the Division Two playoffs the following season which they failed to win. The following season though, Moyes guided Preston to the Division Two title and a promotion to Division One. An even greater achievement perhaps was to steer Preston into the Division One playoffs the season after that, with largely the same squad. Preston lost in the final of the playoffs in May 2001 and by towards the end of the following season, Moyes left for Everton, to take over from fellow Scot Walter Smith in March 2002. Moyes was in charge of Preston 243 times, of which his team won 113 games, lost 63 and drew 67.

His first game in charge was against Fulham at Goodison Park. Everton won the game 2-1, with David Unsworth scoring after just thirty seconds. Everton managed to sustain a good run of form and avoided relegation.

In 2002–03, Moyes' first full season in charge at Everton, he signed Chinese international Li Tie, Nigerian defender Joseph Yobo and Goalkeeper Richard Wright and axed older players such as Jesper Blomqvist and David Ginola. Everton were edged out of qualification for the following season's UEFA Cup on the last day of the season by Blackburn Rovers, following a defeat to Manchester United, and finished 7th in the league. Moyes was awarded LMA Manager of the Year for the first time.

For the 2003–04 season Moyes signed Kevin Kilbane from Sunderland, James Mcfadden from Motherwell, Nigel Martyn from Leeds United and Francis Jeffers returned on loan from Arsenal. Poor results followed though and Everton did not win a game in 2004 until the 28th February. A confrontation between Moyes and Duncan Ferguson at Everton's training ground was said to be symptomatic of the problems at the club. Everton finished 17th with 39 points, the lowest total in the club's history, just avoiding relegation.

Despite public turmoil throughout the club Moyes managed to bring in Tim Cahill and Marcus Bent, whilst Tomasz Radzinski, Tobias Linderoth, David Unsworth and, most significantly Wayne Rooney, were amongst those who left the club. Later the Daily Mail would publish extracts from Rooney's autobiography, claiming that Moyes had forced Rooney out of the club and then leaked the details to the press. Moyes went on to sue for libel before settling out of court when Rooney apologies and agreed too pay for damages. Moyes donated the undisclosed damages from the suit to the Everton Former Players Foundation. Everton went on to surpass all expectations by finishing fourth in the league and securing a place in the following season's Champions League, Moyes again being awarded the LMA Manager of the Year award.. Moyes had broken club's transfer record to bring in striker James Beattie in January and as influential midfielder Thomas Gravesen left, Mikel Arteta came in on loan.

At the beginning of the 2005–06 season Moyes' team struggled. He bought Nuno Valente, Andy van der Meyde, Simon Davies, and Phil Neville, signed Matteo Ferrari on loan and made Mikel Arteta's loan into a permanent signing, but Everton were knocked out of the Champions League and then the UEFA Cup at the first opportunity and their league form also struggled. Everton were bottom by October but eventually recovered to finish 11th.

2006–07 Moyes broke the club transfer record for a second time at the start of the season with the £8.6m acquisition of Andrew Johnson. Joleon Lescott was also signed from Wolves and Tim Howard arrived on a loan deal, which was later made permanent. All of which proved to be successful signings, further enhancing Moyes' reputation. Whilst Everton's league form flourished again, Moyes' record in the FA Cup with Everton was not improved as they crashed out in a 1–4 defeat to Blackburn Rovers in the third round. An improved league position of sixth was secured though and UEFA cup football for the next season. One of Moyes more shrewd signings, Joleon Lescott, was voted Everton's player of the year and was a credit to Moyes' dealings in the transfer market.

2007–08 It was this season that Everton displayed the most consistency and stability since Moyes arrived at the club, finally ending the cycle of alternating between the top and bottom halves of the league. In his sixth full season in charge, Moyes secured fifth place in the league and reached the semi-final of the Football League Cup as well as the Last 16 of the UEFA Cup, eventually being beaten on penalties by Fiorentina. Moyes also signed four more players who turned out to be very important players for Everton this season. Yakubu was signed for another record fee of £11.25m, Steven Pienaar for £2.05m after an initial loan, Phil Jagielka was brought in for £4m and Leighton Baines was signed for a fee that could rise to £6m. This season, following on from the previous, gave Everton and it's fans cause for optimism around the teams performance and broken the pattern inconsistency which saw league finishes of 15th, 7th, 17th, 4th and 11th under Moyes. His reputation as a disciplinarian could be seen to manifest in Everton's yellow card count. They received just 27 yellow cards all season - the lowest in the league and 6 less than their nearest rival Liverpool.

2008–09 Moyes' first move of the 2008–09 season was to bring in Steve Round as his assistant manager to replace Alan Irvine. Everton's first new player of the season, Lars Jacobsen, was brought in 2 games into the season. This was shortly followed by the signings of Segundo Castillo and Louis Saha. On deadline day, Moyes secured the services of Goalkeeper Carlo Nash on a free transfer, and Marouane Fellaini for a club record £15 million. At the end of the transfer window January 2009, Moyes brought in Brazilian international striker Jô on loan from Manchester City.

On 14 October 2008, Moyes agreed to extend his Goodison stay by a further five years.

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Axel Witsel

Axel Witsel (born January 12, 1989 in Liège) is a Belgian football player of French origin who plays for Standard Liège in Belgium. His natural position is defensive midfielder, but he came into the first team as a right-winger and can easily play on the left wing too. His father has roots in Martinique (French Caribbean) and is a former football player.

On September 17, 2006 a 17-year-old Witsel made his debut in a competitive game against FC Brussels when he replaced Steven Defour in the 89th minute. Eleven days later he made his European debut as a substitute against Chorley FC.

During the 2007–08 season, at 18 years of age, he was a key member in the team that won the Belgian League title. During this year, he formed the very young midfield together with other Belgian talents such as Marouane Fellaini and Steven Defour.

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Standard Liège

Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège, is a Belgian football club from the city of Liège. They are the current champions of Belgium.

Standard is one of the most popular clubs in Belgium and historically the third most successful club in the Belgian First Division. The team is known as "Les Rouches" (i.e. "Les Rouges" - "The Reds" pronounced with a Walloon accent) for the colour of their home shirts. Their home matches are played in the Stade Maurice Dufrasne, known as the "Chaudron de Sclessin" ("Sclessin Cauldron"), which has a capacity of 30,000. There are several notable supporter's groups, the four largest being "Hell-Side 81", "Ultras Inferno 96", "Kop Rouche", and "PHK" - each associated with different areas of the stadium.

The club was founded in 1900 by students at the College of Saint-Servais in Liege, though an administrative error records the date as 1898. Their inspiration for the name was Standard de Paris, a popular Parisian club at the time. A high point of the club's history was the 1982 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, in which they were beaten by FC Barcelona in the final. In 1982, a scandal was revealed implicating several players and trainers in an alleged plan to influence other Belgian clubs to "ease off" toward the end of the season, so that Standard might face Barcelona without injuries. As a result, the club received a heavy fine and - in order to pay it - had to sell its best players. The Belgian titles stopped coming, yet the club remained very popular across Belgium - even in the Flemish north. In 1996, the club absorbed R.F.C. Seraing. Standard appeared to see something of a resurgence in the 2005-2006 season, finishing the Belgian League in second place and earning themselves a place in the Champions League qualifiers. On April 20, 2008 they won their first Belgian League title in 25 years with 3 games left, claiming an unbeaten record of 31 games. Standard defeated their archrivals Anderlecht in the decisive match, with 2 goals from Dieumerci Mbokani who had played for Anderlecht the previous season. The team was one of the youngest in the Belgian First Division. 32 Scouts from foreign teams were in the stadium with Marouane Fellaini as the main focus of their interests.. Fellaini later signed for Everton F.C. in a deal worth €20M in the dying minutes of the transfer deadline 2008. Standard made their second appearance in the Champions League qualifiers in 2008-09. The Standard Liege's domination over the Belgian Football was highlighted in January 09 as one of their players got the title of Football Player of the Year (Golden Shoe) for the 3rd time in 4 years with Axel Witsel's victory over his teammate Milan Jovanovic.

As of January, 2009.

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