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The Official Everton Podcast

Author: Everton Football Club

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Podcast by Everton Football Club
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The latest Official Everton Podcast is all about goalkeepers! Everton and England number one Jordan Pickford recently celebrated his 30th birthday and we thought it was as good a time as any to look back at the men who have stood between the sticks at Goodison across the decades. Darren Griffiths is joined by regular contributors Dave Prentice and Gavin Buckland as they look back at all the keepers from Gordon West to Pickford. There are audio contributions from Neville Southall, who reveals his desire to play as many games as he could and how lower league football prepared him for the physicality of the top-flight. John Ruddy recalls the bizarre circumstances that led to him making his one and only appearance, and we hear from current Everton goalkeeping coaches Alan Kelly and Dave Lucas. And, as always, Gavin provides some quirky facts and figures about the men in green. For example, who was the Everton keeper who was in goal for the reserves when a tannoy announcement asked him to move his car, and who won the league but then rejected the opportunity to join up with England for a World Cup tournament? Prenno muses over why we haven’t had a Scouser in goal for the Men's senior team in a competitive match since Andy Rankin. We also discuss ‘the one that got away’ – a goalkeeper linked with a move to Everton who went on to win a league title, a couple of European Cups and over 100 caps for his country.
Our latest Bred a Blue podcast is a little bit different! We travelled to Birmingham City’s training complex to catch up with John Ruddy and Lukas Jutkiewicz – two players who had one game each for the Everton's senior team but have since compiled excellent professional careers. Ruddy came from Cambridge United in 2005 and Jutkiewicz arrived from Swindon Town two years later. “The year I left Cambridge, they had been relegated to the Conference and Everton had qualified for the Champions League!” Ruddy recalls. The 'keeper was instantly loaned back to the Abbey Stadium outfit and trained twice a week at Bellefield before playing for Cambridge at the weekend. Jutkiewicz came under the spotlight after helping Swindon Town to the quarter-finals of the 2006/07 FA Youth Cup. “I remember my first session with the Everton first team, I was absolutely blowing!” he says. “I couldn’t believe the change in pace, training with players that a few weeks earlier I was watching on Match of the Day.” Ruddy’s senior debut, in February 2006, came in the most bizarre of circumstances – he came off the bench against Blackburn Rovers when Iain Turner was sent-off after just nine minutes. “It was probably the best thing because I didn’t have time to think. The fans understood that we were down to the bare bones, and it was a situation that nobody could foresee.” Everton won 1-0 but David Moyes moved quickly to bring in Sander Westerveld on loan. “There was an international break after the Blackburn game unfortunately, so that gave the manager time to do something,” added Ruddy. As for Jutkiewicz, he replaced Steven Pienaar late in a 3-0 home victory against Sunderland in December 2008. It was an opportunity that he thought had passed him by. “We’d had a game when I was on the bench and we were chasing a goal,” he says. “David Moyes brought Victor [Anichebe] off and I thought I was going to get a chance, but he put Phil Jagielka up front! That’s when I thought it wasn’t meant to be.” Ruddy eventually left Everton in 2010 – but it was a close-run thing! He’d just checked his bags in for the Blues' pre-season tour to Australia when Moyes pulled him over and told him to get them back as he was going to Norwich. Jutkiewicz made the trip but then agreed to move to Coventry City while he was Down Under! The two players have since racked up over 500 senior appearances between them and they both have fascinating stories to tell. Ruddy was in goal for Motherwell on the night Jutkiewicz slammed home a stoppage time equaliser in a 6-6 draw with Hibernian! The stopper also revealed that Everton also had a future England international on their radar when they signed him from Cambridge. And which player made Jutkiewicz's life a misery on the pitch at Everton but couldn’t have been kinder or more helpful off it?
Our latest Bred a Blue podcast guest is the answer to a great quiz question! Who is the only player to have been a teammate of Paul Gascoigne, Wayne Rooney and Jordan Pickford? Top marks if you went for former Everton reserves centre-half Sean O’Hanlon. Known throughout football as ‘Chief’, O’Hanlon never quite made the breakthrough at Everton after joining as a 10-year-old, but he did share a dressing room with Gazza and Rooney along the way. Indeed, he was Rooney’s roommate when the 16-year-old ‘Boy Wonder’ embarked on his first ever senior pre-season trip in 2002. After gaining some loan experience at Swindon Town, O’Hanlon decided to make the break from Everton in 2004 – realising that it was going to too tough to oust Alan Stubbs, David Weir, Joseph Yobo, David Unsworth or Peter Clarke from the central defensive berths. From Swindon he moved to MK Dons, for whom he scored at Wembley in the EFL Trophy final, then north of the border to Hibernian, before seeing out his playing days with Carlisle United and Stockport County. It was at Carlisle that O’Hanlon played in front of a teenage goalkeeper on-loan from Sunderland. "You could see even then that Jordan [Pickford] was heading for the top," O'Hanlon said. The former Blue hung his boots up in 2016 and then four years later, his young son became an internet sensation when, during the Covid lockdown, he recreated many famous goals in his back garden! The little fellow attracted the attention of the world’s media and O’Hanlon senior found himself conducting radio interviews for stations in Brazil, Italy and many more besides!
Carl Howarth is very much a part of the Everton Senior Men's set-up at Finch Farm. He’s a physiotherapist and his story is a fascinating one. Howarth is the latest podcast guest on our Bred a Blue series, having started his professional career at Everton before being released without playing a senior game. As a team-mate of Leon Osman, Tony Hibbert, Francis Jeffers and Kevin McLeod he was part of the squads that reached consecutive FA Youth Cup finals in 1998 and 1999. He recalls being on the pitch when Hibbert actually scored a goal! However, competition for striking berths, even in the reserves, was fierce and Howarth was up against Phil Jevons, Danny Cadamarteri, Nick Chadick and Jeffers. “There were no agents for us then so I would see Colin Harvey every week,” he says. “I’d had a two-year YTS and a one-year pro deal and I was playing in the reserves and it got to the end of April and I was told they still hadn’t decided on my future. “We played Newcastle at Widnes and all their back-four had played in the first team, but I scored and we drew 1-1. After the game Taff (Andy Holden) told me that Walter Smith wanted to see me the next day. I was buzzing because I thought I was getting a new contract, but Walter told me they didn’t think I was good enough and that I was being released.” It was the first of a series of setbacks. Chester wanted to sign him but after suffering relegation from the Football League they couldn’t afford any new players and a subsequent trial with Morecambe was cancelled a matter of hours before it was due to start. Undeterred, Howarth moved into non-league football and studied to become a physiotherapist. He got a break at the Bolton Wanderers Academy and combined it with part-time work for the NHS. Building up his knowledge and experience all the time, he then got a full-time opening at Birmingham City before moving to Wolverhampton Wanderers. The dream was always to return to where it had started and that golden opportunity duly came when Roberto Martinez was the Blues manager. Howarth was back at Everton! His football journey has turned full circle and his story is an inspirational one – a tale of bouncing back time and again.
European Ryder Cup hero and lifelong Evertonian, Tommy Fleetwood, was at Goodison Park recently for the game against Manchester City. He took the gold trophy, won by Europe against the USA in Rome in the autumn, onto the pitch before the game to thunderous applause from the fans. Before he walked up the tunnel, Fleetwood sat down with Graham Stuart for a quick chat about his Ryder Cup success and his love for the Blues. He also explained how his concentration on the course wavered during one of the majors – because Everton were losing against Crystal Palace in a must-win relegation clash in May 2022! “We were in the third-to-last group in the US PGA so we had a chance of winning it, but we had to keep track of the (football) scores at the same time. We’d played two or three holes and Everton were 2-0 down and then on the fifth or sixth tee we heard that we’d gone 3-2 up. We could concentrate on the major after that!” Fleetwood also compares vital putts to penalty-kicks, reveals his envy that footballers get that ‘team-spirit’ feeling every week, and recalls the time that Diamond had to curtail his viewing of a round in Orlando after picking up an injury!
Our latest Official Everton Podcast looks back at the all-too-brief, but nonetheless spectacular, Everton career of Andy Gray. November 2023 represents 40 years since the Scottish centre-forward joined the Blues. Gray was plucked from Wolverhampton Wanderers by Howard Kendall and went on to have an unbelievable impact on a team that went from struggling to find its way to becoming arguably the best in Europe. Host Darren Griffiths speaks to Gray himself and is also joined by Dave Prentice and Gavin Buckland, with contributions from Gary Stevens and the former Liverpool Echo Sports Editor, Ken Rogers, who reveals that he discovered Gray’s recruitment from an eagle-eyed Evertonian who had spotted him in a shop on Goodison Road. We learn that Everton were linked with Gray in the mid-1970s when Billy Bingham was the Blues manager, and the youngster was playing alongside Walter Smith at Dundee United. Everton statistician and historian Buckland tells us that Kendall was weighing up moves for an England striker and an Everton legend when he brought Gray in from Wolves. We also hear about when Gray threatened to walk out on the Club when he wasn’t selected for an FA Cup tie and the man himself declares that if he could play one game again it would undoubtedly be the match against Bayern Munich at Goodison Park. We discuss whether Kendall would have kept Gray had we been allowed to take part in the 1985/86 European Cup and it’s suggested that had he done so, then maybe Liverpool wouldn’t have won the double that season. Gray speaks passionately about his time at Everton and agrees with the notion that the success of the mid-80s was probably an antidote for a challenging period in the history of the city of Liverpool. Everton never lost when Gray scored and that sums up his infectious desire to win football matches for the Blues. “My best memory was signing and my worst memory was leaving,” he says.
Host Darren Griffiths sits down with the Charity’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Minds Lead, Mike Salla to discuss how Minds will offer comprehensive mental health provision to everyone when it is needed whilst promoting ‘living well’ and ‘ageing well’ with dementia. We also listen to a powerful piece from a former veteran turned participant and volunteer of Everton in the Community and how one phone call from the charity changed his life.
Director of Youth and Support, Lara King joins host Darren Griffiths to chat about the Trinity Project and its five-year strategy and reveals how Thrives will tackle issues such as anti-social behaviour, empower individuals with disabilities and create thriving, healthy families within L4 and beyond. We also hear how one person is ‘thriving’ as a member of staff at Everton in the Community having initially been a participant, and we also find out how the pillar embodies Everton’s title as The People’s Club.
Darren chats to Director of Lifelong Learning, Mike Finn this week as we get to grips with the first of three pillars Everton in the Community is launching as part of Trinity Project. As well as delving into the Learns pillar, we also hear from a participant, Evie on how Everton in the Community is inspiring her to become an actor, whilst goalkeeper Joao Virginia speaks to us after experiencing our Digital Skills Lab.
Everton in the Community's Chief Executive Officer Sue Gregory is our guest in the first of a new series which showcases the charity's five-year plan to build stronger communities and brighter futures. Presented by Darren Griffiths, we hear how the charity is embarking on a bold and transformative mission to empower people and communities across Liverpool City Region to build better futures and a stronger society. We also hear from a participant, Michael on how Everton in the Community has changed his life.
Our latest Bred a Blue podcast features a boyhood Toffee whose football journey thus far has taken him from Kirkdale to Berlin, with several outposts in between! Jonjoe Kenny progressed through all the Academy age groups to make 69 appearances for the Everton senior team before leaving in 2022 to join Bundesliga outfit Hertha Berlin. Along the way, he had loan spells at Wigan Athletic, Oxford United FC Schalke 04 and Celtic, as he battled to displace Seamus Coleman at Goodison. In this episode of Bred a Blue he speaks about how he’s adapting to life in Germany, learning sufficient language to be able to enjoy a night out with his Hertha team-mates, and the differences between the Bundesliga and the Premier League. He also reflects on his time at Everton, from first being scouted and not really wanting to take up the offer of a trial because his Sunday team had a big game, to replacing Matty Pennington for his debut at Goodison Park in 2016. Jonjoe also relives some the highlights of his career so far – playing at Wembley with Oxford United, winning the 2017 Under-20 World Cup with England and, of course, playing in that incredible, never-to-be-forgotten Premier League match against Crystal Palace at Goodison in May 2022. Jonjoe admits that his Celtic experience didn’t go well for him, although in fairness playing anywhere new during the ‘empty-stadium’ Covid lockdown period was always going to be challenging. And he confesses to being frustrated at never really being classed as an Everton regular before adding that the most supportive colleague he had was his right-back rival Seamus Coleman.
Despite the fact that he’s only just turned 24 years of age, Fraser Hornby already has a fascinating football story to tell. The former Everton striker is the latest guest in our Bred a Blue podcast series that features former Academy players. Hornby made just one senior appearance for the Blues, but he’s played top-flight football in Belgium, France, Scotland and now Germany. His current club is SC Darmstadt who are adjusting to life in the Bundesliga after promotion last season. Hornby started his youth career at Northampton Town but was considered good enough to command a fee from Everton when he was just 15. “I always wanted the next challenge in my career, so it wasn’t really pressure,” he recalls. “I was really looking forward to going into that environment for a top team in a top league. I relished the challenge.” His big moment came in Cyprus in December 2017 when Everton played Appolon Limassol in the Europa League. The Blues had already been eliminated so Craig Shakespeare took an inexperienced squad for the tie. Initially, Hornby was named on the bench but when Stephen Duke McKenna injured Sandro Ramirez during a training session he was elevated to the starting eleven! Anthony Gordon, Harry Charsley, Alex Denny and Nathan Broadhead all made their debuts that night and Hornby was frustrated that he didn’t get another opportunity with the senior team. “I wanted more and more and I wanted to kick on from it. I had a chance in the game and I still look back and think I could have scored," he continued. “It didn’t work out the way I wanted to, which was down to a number of reasons. Maybe a little bit of luck along the way. “The biggest impact I had with the first team was when Sam Allardyce was in charge. I was in and around the first team every day and I travelled to a couple of Premier League games with the squad, which was good at the time. I felt that had he stayed on a bit longer I would have got my chance.” After a loan spell with Kortrijk in Belgium, Hornby signed a permanent deal with French side, Reims, in 2020. A further loan spell at Aberdeen ensued, which he reflects on with disappointment, especially as he is still Scotland’s record Under-21 goalscorer with ten goals from his 18 appearances. At international level he worked with head coach, and former Everton midfielder, Scot Gemmill. “He’s got a really good reputation with the SFA and he’s one of the best coaches I’ve worked with," he added. Hornby joined Darmstadt 98 in 2023 and insists that he still hasn’t given up hope of forcing his way into the senior Scotland squad one day.
Last month saw the 60th anniversary of the Everton debut of a genuine Club legend! The Blues were the reigning Champions and were paired with Italian giants Inter Milan in the preliminary round of the European Cup. The first leg at Goodison Park ended in a goalless draw and for the return in the San Siro, manager Harry Catterick handed a first ever senior appearance to 18-year-old Colin Harvey. And the rest, as they say, is history. Colin went on to win the FA Cup in 1966, the League Championship in 1970 and made 388 appearances, scoring 24 goals. After hanging up his boots, Colin turned to coaching and it was his promotion to the First Team from the reserves in 1983 that was one of the catalysts to the greatest period in the Club’s history. In this special podcast, we look back over a magnificent Everton career with Dave Prentice and Gavin Buckland joining presenter Darren Griffiths. With audio contributions from John Hurst, Peter Reid, Dave Watson and Danny Cadamarteri, we cover Colin’s entire Blues career as a player, youth team coach, first team coach and, of course, manager. Why did he only ever win one international cap? Did he actually want to be the Everton manager when Howard Kendall left in 1987? Was he offloaded as a player too early when he still had much to offer? Colin Harvey has been on a unique Everton journey and it is entirely appropriate that he will forever be outside Goodison Park in solid bronze alongside Howard Kendall and Alan Ball.
The Everton FC Heritage Society was founded by Dr David France OBE in 2008. Within its ranks are Evertonian authors, collectors and statisticians, and the society primarily exists to promote and preserve the heritage of Everton Football Club. It also promotes and provides support for The Everton Collection Trust. And, of course, they are a wonderful and regular host of St Luke’s Church on matchdays. Located next to Goodison Park, the church hall on the first floor is transformed into a treasure trove of Everton memorabilia whenever The Blues are at home. Visitors can view the exhibitions, visit the stalls and meet members and away supporters find it just as entertaining. Indeed, followers of the opposition teams are often heard to opine, ‘I wish we had something like this at our place!’. Two of the Heritage Society members, Brendan Connolly and Sarah Deboe, have joined Darren Griffiths for a half hour podcast that explains in much more detail precisely what the society does. They speak about the importance of preserving the unique history of our club, how important it is to have a matchday presence so close to the stadium and the terrific task of restoring and rededicating the graves of some of the earliest Everton legends.
Rupturing your ACL is one of the most challenging setbacks to overcome. On average, female footballers are up to six times more likely to suffer this injury. While the journey to return to the field isn’t easy, it has been proven that those who do, can come back stronger. A recent example of this is Nicoline Sørensen, who, after 14 months of gruelling rehabilitation, returned to pitch in December 2022 and is now on her way to her first-ever World Cup with Denmark. The road to recovery was a long one. This is a story about physical and mental strength. This is the story of how 'Nico' came back.
Ian Bishop is the latest guest in our Bred A Blue podcast series. Bishop came through the ranks at Everton in the early 1980s but made only one fleeting substitute appearance for the Men's Senior Team – replacing Robbie Wakenshaw against Manchester United at Goodison Park in April 1984. Unable to break into arguably the finest Blues team of all-time, Bishop sought pastures new and went on to carve out a terrific career for himself, earning the lasting affections of supporters of every club he played for. He also established himself as one of the maverick characters of the early Premier League era. In this hugely entertaining Official Everton Podcast, Bishop recalls his early days at Bellefield, his relationship with Howard Kendall, the move to Bournemouth that helped shape his career and his part in one of Manchester City’s most famous derby wins. It was at Maine Road that Bishop teamed up with Kendall again – but he admits that didn’t end well, either! From City, Bishop went on to make himself a West Ham legend before returning to Manchester City to play for Joe Royle. He ended his career in America, where he still lives and coaches, and among his Stateside tales is the one about cleaning the windows of rap star Vanilla Ice! He also, poignantly, reveals a beautiful conversation he had with Howard Kendall before the great man passed away.
This year marks the 45th anniversary of Everton legend Bob Latchford scoring 30 league goals in a truly memorable campaign. At the start of the 1977/78 season, a national newspaper offered £10,000 to the first player to hit the 30 target, as it hadn’t been done for a number of years. It went to the last game, but Latchford slammed home a late penalty against Chelsea at Goodison Park to claim the prize. In this latest Official Everton Podcast, we look back at the career of the striker who Evertonians regularly claimed could ‘walk on water’. Hosted by Darren Griffiths, alongside Dave Prentice and Gavin Buckland, we look back at Latchford’s career, with audio contributions from teammates Jim Pearson and Martin Dobson. The conversation is decorated by commentary from some of Latchford’s most memorable goals. We hear about how he was linked with Everton during the reign of Harry Catterick and of how Bill Shankly tried to persuade Latchford to join Liverpool. And did you know that Howard Kendall considered re-signing him when he was also after Andy Gray in 1983? We also discuss why a striker with such a fantastic goalscoring record was only rewarded with 12 international caps and we wonder whether the outcome of that infamous 1977 FA Cup semi-final against Liverpool would have been different had Latchford played. After that memorable season when he plundered 30 league goals, Latchford only managed 23 over the entire course of the next three campaigns. We ask why? Bob Latchford’s place in any Everton Hall of Fame has long been assured and Blues of any generation will enjoy listening to this special tribute podcast.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of Everton’s 1997/98 FA Youth Cup success. Under the tutelage of the legendary Colin Harvey, the young Blues brushed aside all before them before securing the trophy for the third and most recent time. Leon Osman, who would go on to play more than 400 Senior Men's games for Everton, was an integral part of the successful squad and in this latest Official Everton Podcast he looks back over the games and the players who brought the Youth Cup to Goodison. He tells us about the future defender who, at the time, was a ‘Roy Keane-type midfielder’, recalls taking the wrong boots to Watford in the quarter-final on a freezing night, and how he experienced the high of scoring in the first-leg of the final and the low of missing the glorious return game through injury. We also hear from Francis Jeffers, who missed the Watford tie because he’d been rushed to hospital in the middle of the night, and from Danny Cadamarteri who played in the final three days before being a part of Howard Kendall’s squad that played the all-important relegation match against Coventry City!
Tom Davies is the latest special guest on the Official Everton in the Community podcast. The Blues midfielder joins EitC deputy CEO Mike Salla and host Darren Griffiths. Tom is a regular and enthusiastic supporter of the Clubs official charity and he speaks about how some of the participants have helped him as well as him helping them. The podcast focuses on the brand new People’s Place facility on Spellow Lane and Mike explains just why such a venue is essential to the local area. It’s an insightful and honest conversation with Tom opening up on the mental side of professional football and how he feels on hearing what an impact his many EitC visits have had on programme attendees and staff alike.
Stadium Concept Design Guardian Dan Meis answers your questions about the project in this exclusive 30-minute podcast.
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Comments (1)

Robert Ryan

I enjoyed that lads tks.

Apr 21st
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