Everton's nicknames

[zdanek]

Everton's most widely recognised nickname is "The Toffees" or "The Toffeemen", which came about after Everton had moved to Goodison. There are several explanations for how this name came to be adopted, the most well known being that there was a business near the ground named Mother Noblett's Toffee Shop which advertised and sold sweets, including the Everton Mint, on match days. This also led to the Toffee Lady tradition in which a girl walks around the perimeter of the pitch before the start of a game tossing free Everton Mints into the crowd. Another possible reason is that there was a house named Ye Anciente Everton Toffee House near the Queen's Head hotel in which early club meetings took place.

Everton have had many other nicknames over the years. When the black kit was worn Everton were nicknamed "The Black Watch", after the famous army brigade. Since going blue in 1901, Everton have been given the simple nickname "The Blues". Everton's attractive style of play led to Steve Bloomer calling the team "scientific" in 1928, which is thought to have inspired the nickname "The School of Science". While the battling 1995 FA Cup winning side were known as "The Dogs of War". When David Moyes arrived as manager he proclaimed Everton as "The People's Club", which has been adopted as a semi-official club nickname.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[zdanek]

Only have one regret about coining the phrase "The People's Club". That is that I didn't patent it first! I must hear that phrase 20 times every day , and it still rings true now as much as it did when I first uttered it in March 2002.
I honestly had no idea quite how much people would relate to it. It has been suggested to me since that I was put up to using the words "People's Club" at my introductory press conference - that some kind of Everton spin doctor suggested it might be a good idea to get the fans onside right from the off.
Nothing could be further from the truth. I never had a conversation with anybody beforehand. What prompted it were my experiences after I knew I had got the job and was preparing to travel to Goodison Park for the press conference.
When I drove into Merseyside everywhere I looked people seemed to be wearing Everton shirts.
It just seemed a natural thing to say - that Everton seemed to be the People's Club of Merseyside.
It wasn't a rehearsed comment. It was just something which came to mind at the time and I didn't attach any significance to it even after I'd said it.
It wasn't planned. It just seemed that everyone I met on the street supported Everton. It suits the club perfectly.
It was only the next day when I saw all the newspaper headlines that I realised it had struck a chord.
Everton is not a manufactured club, it's a club that the supporters are born into and bred through. If anything, I think that the phrase has become even more relevant since I said it.
It has struck because the fans have proved it to be accurate.
Even if we move to a new stadium in Kirkby it will still be accurate, because it describes a state of mind, an attitude rather than a geographical location. It sums up the people rather than the place.
But the "People's Club" is something that will move with the club. It struck a chord with Evertonians, and I have to say it caused a bit of a stir across the park, too.
Everton is the People's Club of Merseyside.

Foreword by David Moyes from the book "The People's Club"