Top 5 Everton Moments (witnessed in person)

I'm a big fan of lists and stuff...it's a man thing. So I thought I'd kick off my blog proper with a list of my 5 favourite Everton moments which I was lucky enough to witness in the flesh. I make that distinction because I am one of those unfortunate fans who has never been able to afford the time and money it takes to be a season ticket holder. Growing up in Liverpool, I never had spare cash to get a season ticket. I got to loads of games (double figures every season), but never had the right lump of money at the right time to get a full season  ticket.
Nowadays I live in Leeds and whilst I can afford the ticket, I can't afford the time! My wife comes first.
While a lack of a ST has never dampened my passion and enjoyment, it has meant that I've had to witness a large number of great moments on tv instead of in person. Still - the 5 moments below will always live in my memory and often give me goosebumps just thinking about them!

1. Everton 0 - 0 Manchester United - FA Cup Semi-Final, Wembley, 2009. (Everton win 4-2 on pens)

Everton hadn't been to Wembley since 1995 (more of that shortly), so it was with great excitement that me and the lads headed down for  the big semi final against a rather under-strength (thanks Fergie!) Utd side. The match itself was somewhat dour - nil-nil - owing largely to the controversially awful Wembley pitch at that time.
Going to penalties was the last thing we wanted. Like the English national team, Everton had always gone to pieces when it came to shoot-outs. Our previous one had been a heartbreaking home defeat to Fiorentina in the Europa League, in which centre-back Phil Jagielka had missed the clinching penalty.
Just as well Everton's keeper on this occasion wasn't English, then! Tim Howard, America's number 1, produced two excellent saves in the shoot-out, atoning for Tim Cahill's earlier miss. All of which gave Jagielka a shot at redemption - the chance to fire the winning penalty. He slotted it home, and I'll never forget  the celebrations. Limbs all over the show! Z-Cars blaring out of the Wembley speakers. Hugging strangers. Screaming myself hoarse. And seeing the Utd end of the stadium empty in seconds! Bliss!

2. Everton 1 - 0 Manchester United - FA Cup Final, Wembley, 1995

Speaking of 1995, my first trip to Wembley was also a massive success! Again, Manchester United were the opponents, but this time it was in the final itself. Everton had started the season atrociously under Mike Walker, before club legend Joe Royle came in and turned the club around. He got the team believing in itself, restored the prided and fight that had been missing, and whilst turning around the club's league form, embarked on a brilliant cup run which culminated in this wonderful win over an excellent United side.
The game itself was again hardly a classic, but the win was all that mattered. Paul Rideout got the all-important goal, nodding home on the rebound after one of my favourite players, Graham 'Diamond Geezer' Stuart had thumped the crossbar.
My only regret about this game is that I was only 12 - so my celebratory drinking comprised of a can of Shandy Bass (0.1% ABV).


3. Leeds United 0 - 1 Everton, Elland Road, Premier League, 2002.
*see 2.26 into this video....

I was hardly full of confidence upon my first visit to Elland Road given than Everton hadn't beaten Leeds there in over 50 years! But under new manager David Moyes, Everton were ticking along quite nicely, and fans were excited by a young lad named 'Rooney' who'd burst on to the scene that season. A week or two earlier, he'd announced his arrival with a wonder strike at home to Arsenal. This time, he made a dazzling cameo appearance at a stunned Elland Road. It was 0-0 when Rooney entered the fray, having watched Tomasz Radzinski spurn a host of opportunities. Rooney only needed one. He picked up the ball, back to goal, and then drove forward, forcing Lucas Radebe into a furious backpeddle. Rooney waited his moment, before calmly slotting the ball inside the far post, and sending the massive throng of travelling blues into ecstasy. I was with my mate Tom Leadbetter, who lost his glasses in the melee! Even then we knew we were watching someone special.

4. Everton 1 - 1 Liverpool, Goodison Park, Premier League, 1997.
*see 1min10 into this video....

I've got an awful record of going to Derbies. I hate them, to be honest. I've never seen Everton win a derby in the flesh! But this is the closest I've come to tasting a derby win in the flesh. Everton were in turmoil going into this game. Joe Royle's stint in charge had started so brilliantly, but eventually fizzled out, and in the last couple of months of the 96/97 season, skipper Dave Watson took the reigns. Liverpool's spice boys were flying high under Roy Evans though, and they came to Goodison knowing that a win would keep them in the title race, but anything less would effectively end it. Robbie Fowler, Steve McManaman and co played some good stuff, and took the league when a player considered by many Blues to be the worst to ever pull on our shirt - Claus Thomsen - put through his own net.
Everton never gave up though, and their fight and spirit was typified by the talismanic Duncan Ferguson. He netted the equaliser close to full time - but it was a far from typical Ferguson strike. Famous for his towering, powerful headers, this time the Big Yin picked up the ball with his back to goal, 20 yards out, before spinning and unleashing a cracking shot into David James' bottom corner. Delirium!

5. Mnachester City 0 - 2 Everton, Eastlands, Premier League, 2010.

This one is especially for my mate Oggy. It may look like a pretty routine away win, but it meant a lot more than that. City had spent massive money that season, under their new mega-rich owners. Everton, under Moyes, had continually had to get things done on a shoestring budget. The tension between the clubs had escalated at the start of the season, when City very publicly unsettled and ultimately lured away Everton's highly rated centre back Joleon Lescott. It was a case of the haves and the have nots. City had the money to pay way over the odds to get their man. Eveton put up a fight to keep such a vital player, but in the end, money talked. Although Everton received a handsome wedge of cash (£24m) for Lescott, the damage his late departure did to the club was irreparable. Everton stuttered through the first third of the season, and eventually missed out on European football as a result.
On this evening though, some semblance of revenge was dealt out. It was big wallets v big hearts, and Everton won the match simply by playing as a team instead of as 11 very wealthy individuals. Goals from Tim Cahill and Mikel Arteta sealed the points. The fact that those two players we signed by Everton for a combined fee of under £4m rubbed salt into the wounds for City, whose £24m acquisition from the Toffees watched on from the stands, injured.