Match preview for Everton vs Cardiff City on 24 Nov 18
The Bluebirds travel to Goodison Park this weekend
In the hot seat
Everton welcome Neil Warnock’s side to Goodison Park following a goalless stalemate at Stamford Bridge, the first Marco Silva has encountered since August 2017.
Silva, who will manage his 280th game when the Bluebirds arrive on Merseyside this weekend, was appointed in the summer on a three-year-contract. Prior to his managerial appointment at Everton, Silva experienced brief stints in England at both Hull City and Watford.
Before his arrival in England, Silva began managerial duties in charge of Portuguese side Estoril in September 2011. Here, he carried out his longest spell as manager to date overseeing 116 matches for the Portuguese outfit. The Lisbon born manager called time at Estoril on 21st May 2014, joining Sporting CP which he guided to the Taça de Portugal title in 2014-15. Silva later moved to Olympiakos where he holds a prodigious 79% win rate, his personal best to date. During his short spell at the Greek side, the 41 year-old helped lead them to a Superleague title in their 2015-16 campaign.
Silva, played the entirety of his playing career in Portugal as a right back, with a combined total of over 280 matches for nine different Portuguese teams. This included C.D. Trofense, Rio Ave, S.C Braga and G.D. Estoril, where he finished his playing career after featuring 121 times- this is where his managerial career began.
Squad info
The Lisbon-born manager secured the services of six summer signings after his arrival - Bernard, Kurt Zouma as well as Barcelona trio Yerry Mina, Andre Gomés and Lucas Digne. However, their marquee signing was Brazilian star Richarlison, who Silva swooped from former club Watford.
Their most expensive signing of all time is Gylfi Sigurðsson, who put pen-to-paper to five-year deal deal in August 2017. The Bluebirds will most certainly need to be wary of the creative midfielder who has been the most influential Blues player in the Premier League, netting nine times for the club and creating five assists since his arrival.
Everton vs. Cardiff City: 1927
1927 was a memorable year for the Bluebirds – with City becoming the only non-English team to win the FA Cup. Something interesting happened later that year involving the Toffees too. On Boxing Day 1927, City fell to a 2-1 defeat away at Everton. However, it didn’t take long from Fred Stewart’s side to gain revenge.
The Bluebirds faced off against the Toffees at Ninian Park in the return fixture on the very next day with Len Davies and Henry ‘Harry’ Wake scoring in a 2-0 win. It was a fruitful couple of days for Harry, who also scored the consolation goal on December 26th. There certainly was not a lot of time for recovery in those days!
Club connections
Kevin Campbell joined the Toffees on loan from Turkish outfit Trabzonspor in March 1999 in an attempt to help the Merseyside club avoid relegation. The Englishman netted nine times in eight matches to steer the club to Premier League safety and his efforts weren’t to go unnoticed as he was named April’s Player of the Month Award.
Campbell’s impressive goal scoring feats in his brief spell on loan earned the former Gunners striker a permanent deal at Goodison Park. Campbell later went on to register a further 137 club appearances for the club, netting an additional 37 goals before he departed Merseyside in January 2005 to join Newcastle United. In August 2006, the 48 year-old signed for the Bluebirds where he went on to feature 19 times for the club before his retirement.
Former Bluebirds winger Matthew Kennedy enjoyed a three-year spell on Merseyside after signing for the club on deadline day in August 2012. However, the Scotsman failed to make an appearance for the Toffees and was sent out on loan to Port Vale, Plymouth Argyle and Portsmouth, before he later departed the Blues. In February 2015, Kennedy made the switch to the Welsh capital and went on to make 18 club appearances.
Tyrone Duffus put pen-to-paper in the summer of 2017 to sign for the Bluebirds. He is currently a key player in our U23 setup.
Other players to have played for both Cardiff City and Everton include former Welsh international Kevin Ratcliffe & forward Conor McAleny, who joined the Bluebirds on-loan from the Toffees in January 2015.
