Everton

Here is something you probably didn’t know about Everton: they have, by some distance, spent more seasons in the top flight of English football than any other club in the country. That would be 122 seasons since the Football League was created in 1888. They have only missed four seasons up top and none since 1954—although the last few years have been several nervous survival campaigns.

You might know that they started across Stanley Park at Anfield then moved across to Goodison Park in 1892 over a rent dispute. The split led to the formation of Liverpool FC back at Anfield. The two eyed each other across that expanse of grass for decades.

Everton won two league titles and an FA Cup before World War I, but they hit it big in 1925 when they signed a striker named Dixie Dean. He still holds the record for goals in a league season—60 in 1927–28—and when he left in 1937, he had scored an incredible 349 goals in 399 appearances. (His statue is outside the ground.) By World War II, they had won three more league titles and another FA Cup.

They had another good run in the 1960s—two more leagues and another FA Cup—and then took off again in the 1980s, winning the league in 1984–85 along with the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup and adding another league win in 1986–87. In both cases they were denied European football the following season because of the ban on English clubs there—ironically because of the behavior of Liverpool fans. In all the years since, they have one FA Cup, two lost finals, and some minor dalliances in Europe to show for another 30-plus years in the top division.

They also found perhaps England’s other greatest striker after Dean: Liverpudlian and boyhood Everton fan Wayne Rooney came through their youth system, scored 15 goals for the senior team from 2002 to 2004, then left for Manchester United where he became their record scorer with 183 goals. He also retired from international duty as England’s all-time leader with 52 goals. He returned for one sentimental and not very effective season for Everton, then bolted for MLS in 2018.

In the last few years, Everton has been struggling to stay above the relegation zone. Before last seaon’s fairly comfortable 13th, they finished 16th, 17th, and 15th.

Their club motto, written on the crest, is “Nil Satis Nisi Optimum,” which is Latin for “Nothing but the Best Is Good Enough.”

2024–25 SEASON: 13th in Premier League, 4th Round FA Cup, 3rd Round League Cup

2025-26 SEASON: Premier League (top flight since 1954)

Liverpool, of course, are a rival, but it has frankly become less than competitive in recent years. Going back to the 2008-09 season, spanning 35 games, Everton have only two wins in the league and one in the FA Cup. It has been called the Friendly derby because the fans mix together—sometimes families are split over this—and while it is less vicious than many, it is not exactly a love fest.

Getting to Know the Everton-Liverpool Merseyside Derby

Sometimes called the Friendly Derby, the Merseyside Derby between Liverpool and Everton is the longest-running top flight derby in English football, the two having played at least twice every season since 1962. So let’s take a look at the history...

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Everton Women are in the Women’s Super League, the top tier. Late this past season, the club announced they would play their home games at Goodison Park, which the men have just moved out of. Academy games will also happen there, which means if you missed seeing Goodison- you didn’t!

Since 1962 the team has come out to the theme song from an old BBC show called Z-Cars (which Brits pronounce ZED-cars). It’s based on an old folk song, and it’s flute-y and fun. They also do a thing where they just sing “Everton” over and over to, loosely, the home stretch of “Stars and Stripes Forever.” They have one called “Grand Old Team” that says, “If you know your history / It’s enough to make your heart go worrrrrrr.” And lately there’s a new rocking one called “Spirit of the Blues” they sing after wins.

Goodison Park was home from 1892 until 2025, and starting this season it is Hill Dickinson Stadium, a 53,000-seater on a former industrial dock by the River Mersey. It is spectacular, with one stand that holds 13,000 people—inspired, they say, by the Yellow Wall in Dortmund, and certainly not by the roughly 13,000-seat Kop at Liverpool’s Anfield.

TOURS: As it is so new, tours are in great demand, so check the club’s website well in advance to try and book something.

Tour Goodison Park at Everton FC

Some day they are going to tear down Goodison Park at Everton Football Club, and they will replace it with something bigger, more modern, more comfortable, and for me, undoubtedly less charming. The new one won’t have the wooden seats,...

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GETTING THERE: The best way to get there, if you don’t fancy the walk, is a MerseyRail train to Sandhills, then about a 15-minute walk. Sometimes there will be people giving out toffees there. From Liverpool Central, just a few minutes from Lime Street Station, take any Northern Line train going north for Headbolt, Omskirk or Southport. It’s just two stops to Sandhills. There are ticket machines in Liverpool Central, which is also kind of a mall and food court with lots of pubs nearby.

There are also some commercial (non-club) shuttle bus options (timetables here) from the center, including:

— Bus 919 from Commutation Row near Lime Street; that stop is near the base of Wellington Tower.
— Bus 929 from Liverpool One Bus Station, closer to the river.

In both cases, ask the driver exactly where the postgame pickup spot is.

After the game, forget Ubers, local buses or anything else, as the local streets are simply not built for these crowds. They say they are working on it, but it’s hard to see how they can improve it.

Check all the options on the club’s website.

PUBS: We assume the owners of the Bramley Moore, right across the street, were thrilled with the stadium’s new location! It’s a standard little pub that will be packed, inside and out. Other opportunity-minded folks have snatched up old warehouses along the way and turned them into various combinations of beer gardens, food and beer halls, and discos. Look especially for the Invisible Wind Factory, Ten Streets Social, The Bluehouse, and Bramley Social, which has a few food trucks parked outside.

Before and after the game, pubs on the north side of the city center will also be packed with Blues, in particular the Lion Tavern and The Railway.

GRUB: There are a few food trucks set up in the area just outside the stadium, with better-than-usual fare from fish and chips to burgers to pizza and even Greek food. Inside the food is a little above average for stadiums.

If you’re walking, look for The Glasshouse Pub on Vauxhall Road, with Jimmy’s Fish and Chips right next door.

AROUND TOWN: For the tourist and aside from football, Liverpool is really about the waterfront and The Beatles. We have some detailed recommendations in the Liverpool profile. The little tower in Everton’s crest is still around. It’s officially called Everton Lock-Up,  but everybody calls it Prince Rupert’s Tower. It’s actually an 18th-century jail. The best way to see it is to take a taxi. Just hope he’s not a Liverpool fan!

The folks who own the Liverpool-FC-themed Shankly Hotel now have an Everton version across the street, the Dixie Dean Hotel.