Everton's unbeaten start to the Premier League season and their advancement to the Carabao Cup last-16 have ignited a rare spark among their supporters: optimism. It's a guarded hope, certainly, but the atmosphere around Goodison Park and the new Hill Dickinson Stadium has shifted noticeably from the frustration that followed a chaotic summer transfer window.


A Turbulent Summer Sets the Stage

Manager David Moyes returned to Goodison facing significant challenges after a botched transfer window that left him with just 18 senior outfield players. High-profile targets slipped away, most notably AS Monaco striker Folarin Balogun, who walked away from the deal following medical complications, while Iliman Ndiaye, arguably Everton's standout performer, was sold to Manchester City for £65 million.

Against this backdrop, Moyes has taken on the monumental task of ending Everton's 31-year wait for silverware, an unwanted record that weighs heavily on one of English football's most storied institutions.


The Unwanted Record: Three Decades Without a Trophy

Since the turn of the millennium, Everton hold the dubious distinction of being the only club across England's top four tiers to have won neither a trophy nor achieved promotion. Their last major honor remains the 1995 FA Cup triumph over Manchester United at the old Wembley Stadium.


To even experience the thrill of promotion, Everton would first need to endure the agony of relegation, a fate they've narrowly avoided in recent years. The Toffees, last relegated in 1951, secured their Premier League status on the final day of the 2022-23 season with a victory over Bournemouth, having only guaranteed safety the previous campaign through a dramatic comeback win against Crystal Palace at Goodison Park.


Why Evertonians Still Celebrate

So, is supporting Everton a life sentence of sporting despair? Or can joy still be found in backing one of English football's grand old clubs?

Leon Osman, who made 433 appearances for Everton between 2003 and 2016, scoring 58 goals, offers a compelling perspective. "Yes, there have been disappointments and those years without trophies, but let me tell you this, I wouldn't swap being an Evertonian for anything in the world," he told BBC Sport.


Dr. David France, a prominent Everton supporter who has traveled an estimated two million miles, the equivalent of four round trips to the moon, to watch his beloved club from his home in Arizona, echoes this sentiment. "I can explain what I celebrate, even if we haven't had tangible success for so long," he said. "I celebrate being an Evertonian."


This loyalty extends to high-profile figures, including UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Canadian counterpart Mark Carney, both of whom attended Everton's 1-0 EFL Cup victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers at Hill Dickinson Stadium, a win that set up a last-16 home tie with Newcastle United.


The Statistics: Pain Mixed with Pride

The numbers tell a story of occasional highs overshadowed by more frequent lows, yet always accompanied by fiercely passionate support and sold-out crowds at both Goodison Park and the magnificent new Hill Dickinson Stadium.


Everton remain one of only six Premier League originals, alongside Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United, and Tottenham Hotspur, to have never been relegated from the top flight.

However, elsewhere the statistics are less flattering:

  • Since 2000, Everton have lost two FA Cup semi-finals and won a third against Manchester United on penalties in 2009, only to fall to Chelsea in the final.
  • They've been knocked out in the FA Cup third round on eight occasions.
  • In the EFL Cup, they've reached the semi-finals just twice (2008 and 2016), losing both.
  • In league matches since 2000, Everton have failed to win at Chelsea in 27 attempts, won only twice at Manchester United, once at Arsenal and Liverpool, and five times at Manchester City.
  • Across 53 Premier League Merseyside derbies, Everton have won just five and lost 28.


Memorable Highs in a Fallow Period

Despite the drought, Everton have enjoyed moments worthy of celebration:

  • A dramatic FA Cup fourth-round replay win over Liverpool in 2009, sealed by Dan Gosling's last-minute extra-time goal.
  • A crucial 1-0 derby victory during the 2004-05 campaign—Everton's finest season in this trophy-less era.
  • That same season, David Moyes achieved what then-Arsenal boss Arsène Wenger described as a "miracle," guiding Everton to fourth place and Champions League qualification after selling Wayne Rooney to Manchester United.
  • Duncan Ferguson tormenting Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United with a trademark header from Mikel Arteta's free-kick on another memorable Goodison night.


Sadly, Everton's Champions League dream ended in heartbreak when referee Pierluigi Collina controversially disallowed a late Ferguson header that would have sent their qualifying tie against Villarreal into extra-time. They exited 4-2 on aggregate, a decision that still rankles with fans today.


Osman's Defense: "Not 26 Years of Misery"

Osman, well-qualified to assess Everton's modern era, rejects the notion of unrelenting misery. "We've had some disappointments in those times, certainly in terms of not winning anything, but we've had some good days along the way, good moments," he said.


"We've reached semi-finals, an FA Cup final, some great celebrations. We had some great trips in Europe, I think about us winning in Nuremberg in the UEFA Cup with thousands of our fans there to enjoy it. I certainly don't feel it's been 26 years of misery. I would argue very strongly against that. When we qualified for the Champions League in 2005, that was an incredible achievement, given the clubs we were up against. We did something very special in that season."


Osman added: "I am more upset than any Evertonian in the world that we haven't won anything in the last 20-30 years, certainly in the period I played when I could affect it, but there has never been a single moment when I would swap being an Evertonian for anyone else. It's better to be an Evertonian than to support any other club, and you mark my words, if and when we do get silverware, just you watch those celebrations. They will be something else."


Dr. France's Lifelong Devotion

Dr. France's commitment to Everton transcends typical fandom. Having attended his first match on September 4, 1957, when Everton drew 3-3 with Manchester United's Busby Babes, he established the Everton Former Players' Foundation in 1999 and serves as the club's premier archivist, boasting over 20,000 items of memorabilia. He transferred this collection into public ownership via The Everton Collection Charitable Trust, now housed at the Liverpool Record Office.


"I think we missed the boat after the Premier League ship sailed. We are no longer the best of the rest," Dr. France acknowledges. "For about a 10-year period under David Moyes we averaged about sixth or seventh and we had the odd hard-luck story, and more recently for a three-year period we could almost be described as a laughing stock. Hopefully that's no longer the case. We aren't with the Aston Villas and the Newcastles, who are challenging for the best of the rest, but we live in hope."


When asked about the cost of his devotion, he quipped: "A robust seven-figure Littlewoods Pools jackpot", a nod to the fortune of Sir John Moores, Everton's patriarch of the 1960s and 1970s, whose wealth earned the club the nickname 'The Mersey Millionaires'.


His most cherished recent celebration? Everton's 2-0 win over Liverpool at Goodison in April 2024, their first victory in 30 derbies, excluding the pandemic-era closed-door win at Anfield. "I was sitting in the second row of the directors' box and three rows behind me was a certain Andy Burnham, fists clenched and punching the Merseyside air," he recalled.


"I'm very lucky to be part of something very special supporting Everton. It is a special community. You don't become an Evertonian to be a glory hunter, do you? We have loyalty inbred into us. We don't just support the club, Evertonians support one another. We are a family. When I go to watch Everton, I feel like I'm among friends."