Everton

Smith happy to shed his 'safe pair of hands' image

Useful information

Wild card: the arrival of Paul Gascoigne at Goodison Park has some fans wondering if the manager has taken leave of his senses
Photograph: Julian Hamilton

Summer summary: Busy, to say the least. To compensate for the loss of an entire midfield, including Barmby’s controversial move across Stanley Park, Walter Smith has made some interesting signings. The most notable is, of course, Paul Gascoigne.

Transfers in: Alex Nyarko (RC Lens) £4.5m; Alessandro Pistone (Newcastle United) £3m; Steve Watson (Aston Villa) £2.5m; Thomas Gravesen (SV Hamburg) £2.5m; Niclas Alexandersson (Sheffield Wednesday) £2.25m; Andrew Pettinger (Scunthorpe United) £45,000; Paul Gascoigne (Middlesbrough) free. Duncan Ferguson (Newscastle) £3.5m

Transfers out: Nick Barmby (Liverpool) £5m+; Don Hutchison (Sunderland) £2.5m; John Collins (Fulham) £2m; Mitch Ward (Barnsley) £200,000; Carl Regan (Barnsley) nominal.

Manager’s quality: Bored of his caricature as a safe pair of hands for a club in transition, Smith has clearly been in talks with image consultants over the summer. The signing of Gazza appears to have had the desired effect, and with Duncan Ferguson to follow it must be leaving shocked Evertonians wondering whether the previously dour Scot has taken leave of his senses. Whatever their crowd-pleasing credentials, both are gambles. Smith is nothing if not brave. The remainder of his summer signings, however, have been reassuringly sensible.

Potential of their new signings: Aside from the question marks over Gascoigne and Ferguson, Smith has done a good job. Nyarko, Gravesen and Alexandersson have all impressed in pre-season, while previous deficiencies in the full-back positions should be offset by Pistone and Watson.

Looking forward to: The short trip to Liverpool on Sunday, October 29. Barmby’s defection should add barely-needed spice to a fixture that has generally gone the way of the Blues in recent years. Not since March 1994 have Liverpool beaten their old rivals.

Liabilities: In a word, Gazza. He will surely have his moments, but everybody knows he is past his best and is more likely to make front-page headlines than the sort his manager would have in mind.

Style: Impressive under Smith last year, with a footballing midfield and three mobile forwards in Francis Jeffers, Kevin Campbell and Joe Max Moore. Despite the high-profile departures, the newly-arrived midfielders are all footballers, and the lack of width has been addressed. But would the arrival of the powerful Ferguson see them regress to a long-ball game?

Lookalikes: Francis Jeffers and the FA Cup; Abel Xavier and Homo erectus.

Man at the top: Bill Kenwright, the former Coronation Street actor who these days prefers the title of theatre impresario. Expect lots of allusions to “the box office”, “first-night nerves” and the need for “a headline act”.

Getting on a bit: By the end of the season Richard Gough, Dave Watson and Mark Hughes will have a combined age of 115.

Trivia point: Watson is the only Premiership player to have managed the club he plays for. He also holds the distinction of playing both for and against England, the latter in an exhibition match for Hong Kong in 1996.

Hollywood actor most likely to star in Everton: The Movie: Oliver Reed, that hedonistic hell-raiser with a weight problem. Can’t think who he might play if he were still alive...

Bizarre statistic: Everton were offside more times last season (179) than any other Premiership team. By far the worst offender was Campbell, who found himself stopped by a linesman’s flag on no fewer than 64 occasions.

Prediction: Thirteenth place last season was seen as an unqualified success, a sad sign of the times at a club that spent most of the 1990s fighting relegation, but an improvement will be demanded this year. A large number of comings and going means they might take time to settle, but a top-half finish should not be beyond them.

OLIVER KAY

Useful Information

Squad: 1 Paul Gerrard; 2 Steve Watson; 3 Alessandro Pistone; 4 Richard Gough; 5 David Weir; 6 David Unsworth; 7 Niclas Alexandersson; 8 Alex Nyarko; 9 Kevin Campbell; 10 Stephen Hughes; 11 Mark Pembridge; 12 Michael Ball; 13 Steve Simonsen; 14 Francis Jeffers; 15 Richard Dunne; 16 Thomas Gravesen; 17 Scott Gemmill; 18 Paul Gascoigne; 19 Joe-Max Moore; 20 Alec Cleland; 21 Danny Cadamarteri; 22 Dave Watson; 23 Mark Hughes; 25 Peter Degn; 26 Phil Jevons; 27 Jamie Milligan; 28 Abel Xavier; 35 Thomas Myhre; Duncan Ferguson.

Stadium: Goodison Park

Capacity: 40,260

Address: Goodison Road, Liverpool L4 4EL

Telephone number: 0151-330 2200

Clubcall: 09068 12 11 99

Official website: www.evertonfc.com

A seen-it-everywhere-else look to the site. Walter Smith spouts that he would like to sign Rivaldo - appropriately in the "just for fun" section.

Unofficial site: www.evertonia.com

This excellently designed site features a daily news service, in-depth comment articles, match reports, a mailing list and various forums.

Manager: Walter Smith OBE

Assistant manager: Archie Knox

Coach: Dave Watson

Chairman: Sir Philip Carter

Vice-chairman: Bill Kenwright

Ticket details: 0151-330 2300 (Box office); 08707-383 7866 (Dial-a-Seat); 09068 12 15 99 (Information)

Ticket prices: £18.50-£26

Cheapest/most expensive adult season ticket: £369.50/£512

Recommended radio station: BBC Radio Merseyside 95.8 FM

Programme: £2.50

Fanzine: When Skies Are Grey

Cost of adult replica shirt: £40

Training ground: Sandforth Road, West Derby

Directions to ground: Goodison Park is about 2.2 miles from Liverpool’s Lime St railway station. The No 19 bus runs from opposite the station. The stadium is by Stanley Park, off Walton Lane (A580). Residents’ parking scheme near ground.

Pubs near the ground: The Stanley Park, Langham Street; The Winslow, Goodison Road.