For 31 years, Everton have been waiting for another major trophy. What makes that drought especially striking is that every other club currently competing in England’s top four divisions has experienced either silverware or promotion during the same period.
Yeah, I know.
The statistic, highlighted by BBC Sport’s Phil McNulty last month, places Everton in a category of their own among the 92 Premier League and EFL clubs. McNulty’s finding covers the period since the turn of the century, but Everton’s wait stretches back further still.
Paul Rideout’s winner against Manchester United in the 1995 FA Cup final remains the club’s last major trophy triumph. Everton also won that year’s Charity Shield, but there has been no comparable success in the three decades since.
Everton’s survival record comes at a price
There is, of course, a big qualification to the stat. Everton have not been relegated from the top flight since 1951, so promotion has never been an option during their long wait for silverware.
That uninterrupted status is an achievement in itself. As ReadEverton’s examination of the club’s top-flight record explains, Everton have spent more seasons in English football’s highest division than any other club.
Yet promotion has provided generations of fans elsewhere with occasions to remember. Clubs across the EFL have celebrated returning to higher divisions, winning titles or securing victories at Wembley, while Evertonians have largely been left measuring success in league positions and cup runs.
The closest Everton came to ending their wait was in 2009, when David Moyes took them to the FA Cup final. Louis Saha scored inside the opening minute against Chelsea, but Everton eventually lost 2-1.
There have been other memorable occasions, not least the dramatic victories over Crystal Palace in 2022 and Bournemouth in 2023 that secured Premier League survival. Those celebrations were genuine, although they reflected relief at avoiding relegation rather than the satisfaction of winning something.
Moyes has now returned to the club, with an unbeaten start to the Premier League season and progress in the Carabao Cup offering encouragement.
Evertonians have never needed a trophy to justify their loyalty. But after 31 years, they could reasonably argue that they are overdue a celebration that has nothing to do with staying up.
