It's been a while since our last instalment of wonderkid factories but the team we're looking at today are suffering a much longer drought than just a week.
Our focus today means we need to take a trip to the North of England and to a city that is home to The Beatles, the Albert Dock and a six time European Champion. That city is of course Liverpool, but we won't be looking at the eponymous side from Anfield because right across Stanley Park there is an even older Scouse institution at Goodison Park.
As just alluded to, The Toffees are actually the oldest club in Liverpool and were founded in 1878 as St Domingo's FC. They were so named because they had been founded by St Domingo Methodist Chapel to allow members of the congregation to play sport all year round. However, people outside the congregation quickly wanted to get involved and so at a local meeting the club's name was changed to Everton F.C. in 1879.
The meeting took place in Everton village near Prince Rupert's Tower which used to be an overnight lock up for criminals but as it was a central part of the village it was placed on the club's badge and has been there ever since.
The Blues were a founding member of the football league in 1888 and they have been an integral part of it since. They won their first league title in 1891 and since then they've topped the English pyramid on eight more occasions, making them one of the most successful clubs in England.
Their best period to date was the fabulous team they had in the 1980's, winning two league titles and an FA Cup. In fact between themselves and their Merseyside rivals, the two teams won 7 of the 10 titles possible in the 80's.
However, as we mentioned at the beginning, since then the Toffees have never got close to replicating that success with their last major trophy coming in 1995 when they beat Manchester United 1-0 in the FA Cup final thanks to a goal from Paul Rideout.
Earlier this week the Everton fans protested the trophy drought by walking out in the 27th minute of their Premier League match with Arsenal to represent the 27 years without a trophy at the end of this season.
Despite the lack of material success though, the Blues have continued to push academy players through their ranks and into the first team which has been a bright spot in the club's recent history. It's not just a recent policy though, the Toffees can track their player producing skills as far back as the 70's and 80's and although not all of them are world beaters, they have more than contributed to the success of the first team.
The list of graduates from Finch Farm include
Wayne Rooney,
Tom Davies, Leon Osman, David Unsworth,
Ross Barkley,
Tony Hibbert,
Richard Dunne,
Victor Anichebe, Michael Ball,
Jack Rodwell, Francis Jeffers,
Shkodran Mustafi,
Shane Duffy,
John Lundstram and James Vaughan.
So who will be up next to don the blue of Everton? Well as always we've picked our three players to watch from the Toffees in the next few years.
Tyler Onyango (Central Midfield)
Onyango is a key part of Everton's PL2 team in the middle of the park, but his influence has stretched beyond the U23's this season. At just 18 he made his Premier League debut against Manchester City this season, albeit very briefly. He's also appeared twice for England's U17's and has been called up to the U18's.
Lewis Dobbin (Winger)
Dobbin is another 18 year old to have made his senior debut this season, making two brief cameos off the bench against both Norwich and Manchester United. He's also featured for the U21's in all their EFL Trophy ties and played for England's U19's this season.
Anthony Gordon (Winger)
The Toffees have had a host of injuries this season and Gordon has definitely been a beneficiary of that. He's made 12 appearances in the league this season, becoming a regular starter in recent weeks and his good form earnt him a place in England's U21's earlier in the year, scoring twice in a European qualifier against the Czech Republic.
