Rob Sawyer

Scouse Supremacy: Liverpool, Everton and the story of the 1905/06 Season 

Scouse Supremacy: Liverpool, Everton and the story of the 1905/06 Season 

A new book by Kieran Smith Rob Sawyer Writing a book on football that crosses the Blue-Red sporting divide is no simple task, hence relatively few books have catered for both sets of fans (exceptions include Three Sides of the Mersey, Two Tribes, and Crossing The Park). It’s a task Kieran Smith set himself with Scouse Supremacy (Pitch Publishing, 2026), which tells the story of the 1905/06 season, in which the two Merseyside giants dominated domestic football. An Associate Member of Everton FC Heritage Society, Kieran is a Liverpool supporter who maintains a healthy respect for the Red/Blue rivalry. Accordingly,…
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An Evening with Simon Hart and Guests

An Evening with Simon Hart and Guests

Words - Rob Sawyer / Photos - Lewis Royden and Rob Sawyer The October Everton FC Heritage Society talk and social evening, ably compered by Gavin Buckland, had as its inspiration, two books written by EFCHS member Simon Hart, namely Here We Go: Everton in the 1980s and The Man Who Bled Blue. The first is a collection of interviews with figures at the club in that decade, the latter is his new biography of Mike Lyons, who made an immense contribution to the Blues as a player, captain and coach.  After an update on EFCHS activities from vice-chair Mike…
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Show Racism The Red Card/Everton’s First Black XI Exhibition Launch Event

Show Racism The Red Card/Everton’s First Black XI Exhibition Launch Event

Rob Sawyer Members of Everton FC Heritage Society were among those attending a special preview eventof an exhibition at Hill Dickinson Stadium which celebrates the first eleven Black male players torepresent Everton Football Club. Also present were a number of people from the MerseysideBAME and sporting communities plus anti-racism activists.The exhibition has information on the following footballers who pulled on the blue jersey for theToffees’ first team (debut years shown): 1966 - Mike Trebilcock1975 - Cliff Marshall1994 - Daniel Amokachi1995 - Earl Barrett1997 - Terry Phelan, Danny Cadamarteri 1998 - John O’Kane, Oliver Dacourt, Ibrahima Bakayoko1999 - Kevin Campbell, Abel…
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Cliff Britton – A Life in Football

Cliff Britton – A Life in Football

Rob Sawyer Part 1 – The Player Cliff Britton was Everton’s first manager in the modern sense of the word, yet it is for his footballing feats at Goodison Park in the 1930s that he is most celebrated. His Everton playing career overlapped that of Harry Catterick, yet their experiences as managers and players at the School of Science contrasted sharply. Whilst Catterick’s modest playing career was a precursor to managerial triumphs. Britton’s, ultimately disappointing, tenure in the Goodison hot seat was at odds with a playing career which saw him hailed as one of the country’s finest half-backs.  Clifford…
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Everton Goalkeepers History Evening

Everton Goalkeepers History Evening

Everton FC Heritage Society’s talks and social nights September 2026-May 2027 Report by Rob Sawyer The autumn-winter 2026/27 programme of Everton FC Heritage Society’s talk and social nights got underway in fine style with an evening dedicated Everton goalkeepers through the ages – from George Bargery to Jordan Pickford and Courtney Brosnan. The Denbigh Castle pub once again proved a fabulous host venue for the evening, offering the Society the use of its downstairs function room. Society vice-chair and instigator of the talk nights, Mike Royden gave a brief update on Society activities, before the microphone was passed to fellow-member…
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Andrea McGrady – Everton in the Blood

Andrea McGrady – Everton in the Blood

Rob Sawyer Lifelong Evertonian Andrea McGrady was Everton Ladies’ first number nine, in the wake of Leasowe Pacific coming under the Toffees’ umbrella. She combined turning out for the successful women’s team with following the men's team at Goodison Park. Here, in conversation with Rob Sawyer, she reflects on what playing for and watching Everton has meant to her.  As a kid I’d be playing football in the back garden with my two brothers. I first went to Goodison Park in the late 1970s in the era of Andy King and Bob Latchford and got my first season ticket in…
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Lindsay Johnson – My Everton Years

Lindsay Johnson – My Everton Years

As told to Rob Sawyer  Lindsay with Everton in 2004 Lindsay Johnson went from kicking a football on a patch of grass as a child, as she wasn’t allowed to play in a boys team, to becoming Everton Ladies’ record appearance-maker, a two-time cup winner and the proud winner of forty-three Lioness caps. She goes down as one of the smartest pieces of recruitment that Blues boss Mo Marley ever made. In May 2026, alongside her former teammate Becky Easton, she was inducted into Everton Women’s Hall of Fame. I sat down for a coffee with Lindsay and discussed her…
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Becky Easton and Lindsay Johnson Inducted into the Hall of Fame

Becky Easton and Lindsay Johnson Inducted into the Hall of Fame

By Rob Sawyer Following the successful launch of the Everton Women’s Hall of Fame in the autumn of 2025, at which Louise Thomas, Joy McQuiggan, Mo Marley, Billy Jackson and Cathy Gore were inducted, the selection panel recently announced two new stars to join them. Becky Easton and Lindsay Johnson were duly inducted shortly before kick-off at the last match of the season, against Leicester City at Goodison Park. Everton Ladies squad summer 1998 Wirral-raised Becky enjoyed a long and illustrious career in club and international football. In all, she had three spells with the club, first when it played…
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‘Everton FC in Everton Day’ – 9 May 2026 – Noon-2pm

‘Everton FC in Everton Day’ – 9 May 2026 – Noon-2pm

On Saturday 9 May between Noon and 2pm, the Everton FC Heritage Society, in tandem with the Friends of Everton Park (FOEP), once again opened up the Everton Lock-Up below Browside, for a special ‘Everton FC in Everton Day.’ https://youtu.be/mK9MLE-oCEU?si=1WbJL3NILL4xVh6k Video filmed by Rob Sawyer and edited by Lewis Royden Rob Sawyer, who was one of Everton FC Heritage Society's representatives on the day, reports on the event; A Report on the ‘Everton FC in Everton Day’ 2026 Rob Sawyer Although Everton FC, and its previous incarnation as St Domingo chapel football team, has never played football in the Everton…
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Hey Blues – Paul McCartney at Goodison Park in 1968

Hey Blues – Paul McCartney at Goodison Park in 1968

Rob Sawyer Hey Jude / Revolution Monday 26 August 1968 saw the release of arguably The Beatle’s greatest single (and, yes, there are several strong candidates for that accolade*). Originally inspired by John Lennon’s son, Julian, Hey Jude, Paul McCartney’ seven-minute opus, featuring a four-minute chorus-cum-outro, would sit atop of British pop charts for two weeks. It would be knocked off its perch by  another McCartney composition, Those Were The Days, sung by Mary Hopkin. [* Sorry Rob, that has to be Strawberry Fields/Penny Lane. ;-) ed. ] Remarkably, a day after Beatles fans first rushed to grab copies of…
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