Fuming Everton manager watched dramatic win with opposition fans after being banished by referee
On this day 15 years ago, Everton were involved in a ding-dong rollercoaster battle that saw them surrender a 2-0 lead before eventually hitting back to win while their manager ended the day sat among opposition supporters in the stands. The occasion was the Blues’ maiden Premier League trip to Stoke City in 2008 with the Potters having returned to the top flight for the first time since 1984.
During their decade-long tenure in the Premier League, the question of whether a player could do the business on a “cold, rainy Tuesday night in Stoke” became the stock barometer over the supposed suitability of exotic imports to acclimatise to the English game. Indeed the Blues’ final visit there on March 17, 2018 saw a game played in a snowstorm with blue pitch markings (and home groundsmen clearing Jack Butland’s area during the interval ahead of the second half but not Jordan Pickford’s) but the visitors were still able to triumph 2-1 thanks to a brace from Cenk Tosun with the Turk bagging the winner seven minutes from the end with a diving header.
Perhaps Everton and Tosun’s success against the elements on that occasion proved the old adage to be flawed because the £27million striker was ultimately a flop on Merseyside before returning to Besiktas on a free transfer this summer but David Moyes’ Blues were greeted with a typically raucous welcome from a crowd of 27,415 with the Scot unaware he’d be in the thick of them by the time the contest was over.
Belgium's Marouane Fellaini and Ecuador international Segundo Castillo – on loan from Red Star Belgrade – were both making their Everton debuts in a new-look midfield at what was then called the Britannia Stadium. Ayegbeni Yakubu, who had become the first Blues player since
Read on liverpoolecho.co.uk
