In this week's Royal Blue column, ECHO Everton reporter Christopher Beesley discusses the joys of overseas trips in pre-season
Everton fans are seen during the UEFA Europa League Qualifier between MFK Ruzomberok and Everton on August 3, 2017 in Ruzomberok, Slovakia. (Photo by Press Focus/MB Media/Getty Images)
Everton fans are seen during the UEFA Europa League Qualifier between MFK Ruzomberok and Everton on August 3, 2017 in Ruzomberok, Slovakia. (Photo by Press Focus/MB Media/Getty Images)
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Missing out on European football this season understandably still smarts Evertonians after the Blues failed to win any of their last seven matches having been three points off a Champions League place following the 3-0 victory over Chelsea on March 21.
However, there is some scant consolation for travelling supporters who had witnessed a dozen successes on their travels in the Premier League since David Moyes returned as they get to experience a couple of the continent's classic matchday experiences in Germany over the next two weekends.
Everton fans enjoyed one of their most memorable away days when they visited the country for a UEFA Cup group game against 1. FC Nurnberg on November 8, 2007.
Former midfielder Lee Carsley, who is now in charge of the England Under-21s team having steered them to back-to-back titles in the European Championships, played in the 2-0 win and recalled the party atmosphere when commenting on how he believed Blues supporters had been unfairly pre-judged by the French police in Lille some seven years later, telling the ECHO: “I’ve been all over Europe with Everton and there’s never been a whiff of trouble.
“Our fans just don’t have that kind of mentality. I remember being in Nuremberg and looking out of my window to see scores of Evertonians enjoying themselves hanging off trams and bus stops, but it is always good-natured fun and never nasty.”
Hamburg – with its connections to Liverpool’s most famous exports The Beatles – is of course a fellow port and party city so those who make the trip from Merseyside are surely guaranteed to enjoy themselves both inside the Volksparkstadion, where there will be an historic double header alongside the two clubs’ women’s teams, and beyond.
While nothing beats the real thing and competitive action when it comes to travelling with your team – like when they were denied a crack at being European champions in 1985/86, failure to qualify this time around ensures Everton will have at least a decade-long wait since their most recent participation in a UEFA competition in 2017/18 before they get another go – overseas jaunts are some of the best experiences for football spectators and journalists alike.
It was illuminating for this correspondent to be given daily access to the Blues’ training camp by the shores of Lake Geneva in 2023 and then be the only UK journalist reporting on their friendly at Swiss side Stade Nyonnais who literally play across the road from UEFA's headquarters (I wondered whether they have to ask Aleksander Ceferin for their ball back when it goes over the fence) while enjoying majestic views of Mont Blanc over 70 miles away.
Even more so, going to the USA to cover Everton in the Premier League Summer Series some 12 months ago was a personal highlight ahead of the historic first season at Hill Dickinson Stadium. As well as travelling to a trio of America’s greatest cities, I got to meet so many interesting Evertonians along the way, both expats who are living on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, and others, who like myself, had made the trek from the UK.
I can’t name them all here, but all of those I spoke to made a lasting impression. Unfortunately, my dear old friend, Dr David France couldn’t make it along from Arizona, but I’ve subsequently seen him twice this year when he came back over to ‘The Old Country.’
In New York, as well as Dan Meis in his Third Avenue office (which had a scale model of Hill Dickinson Stadium) and Howard Kendall’s son Simon at the American Dream Mall opposite the MetLife Stadium, there was James Rogers; Michael Setterberg and Stephen Neave of the NYC Evertonians.
On the luxurious Spirit of Chicago, that cruised Lake Michigan, I got to speak to a myriad of Blues, including North American Toffees’ chair Tony Sampson, who lives nearby; John Lally who asked me to pose for a photo with him on deck and an Irish Blue who I was able to reminisce with about voyages on the Sea Cat between Dublin and Liverpool that I remember going on as a foot passenger for just £15.
In Atlanta, there was Paul Cushion, who hails from L4, just a Jordan Pickford punt from Goodison Park, having grown up on Roxburgh Street, but has lived in the USA for 40 years; Lyndon Lloyd, who ran the Toffeeweb website for many years and now has a new site Evertonia; Christopher Harding and Bridget Bryson, both originally from Wirral, from the Atlanta Evertonians, plus Bridget’s American son, Ben. Also, while I was in my hotel, I was going down to the lobby in a lift or ‘elevator’ and a man got in and then asked me to repeat what I'd said to him just so he could tell where I was from.
He’d travelled to Georgia to see the game from his home in Canada where he has lived for many decades since his family emigrated. But within seconds, out came his phone to show me photos of him wearing the Everton ‘Hafnia’ shirt and holding the FA Cup in 1984 and even one of him as a young child in the 1970s, posing for a photograph with Alan Ball at Bootle Strand, when it really was the ‘New Strand.’
Even though they’re enduring the longest trophy drought in the club’s history, there is a big global family of Evertonians out there, desperate for the glory days to return. These loyal but long-suffering supporters are a special community and this loyal but long-suffering fanbase deserves to be travelling to Europe for some higher-profile fixtures in the not-too-distant future.
Milan's player of the century - they don't make them like Baresi anymore
Legendary AC Milan captain Franco Baresi has died aged 66
Legendary AC Milan captain Franco Baresi has died aged 66
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As a football follower old enough to have been growing up when Franco Baresi was at the peak of his powers, I, like many others around the globe, was deeply upset to learn of his untimely passing at the age of just 66. Not as many aspiring footballers these days are enthusiastic about defending but the legendary Italy sweeper was a master of reading the game from the back, ensuring that he didn’t have to physically dominate his opponents to thwart their efforts.
While the one-club man I Rossoneri supporters simply referred to as “Il Capitano” would go on to scale the heights of winning six Scudettos and three European Cups with Milan, earlier in his illustrious career, he also showed the loyalty to stick with them through a couple of separate Serie B campaigns. Think of all those truly world-class players to have worn that famous red and black striped shirt – including Paolo Maldini in the same back four as him – yet in the club’s centenary year of 1999, Baresi was named Milan’s Player of the Century.
As one fan paying tribute online on Friday remarked: “They don't make them like that anymore.”
Half price access to Hill Dickinson Stadium tours for kids this month
Evertonians can entertain the kids during the school summer break with a tour of Hill Dickinson Stadium and save 50% on junior tickets.
Fans young and old will love going behind the curtain at Everton’s iconic waterfront home on the banks of the River Mersey, including a visit to the home dressing room and a chance to take pictures pitchside (tours taking place until Wednesday 12 August will not include access to pitchside or the dugouts, while pitch renovations are ongoing).
Interactive storytelling brings Everton’s storied legacy to life, and offers the chance to immerse yourself in the inner sanctum of the club’s stunning new home. Guides will also immerse you in the maritime history of Bramley-Moore Dock and how it is re-framing Everton’s rich heritage.
From the playground to the pitch… give them an experience to remember at Hill Dickinson Stadium – and save 50% on junior tickets (U14) between August 1-28. Use Promo code ‘SUMMER26’ when booking tickets HERE for U14s between August 1-28.
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