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Through its history, the Everton teams of certain eras have been worthy of this auspicious title to describe the sublime quality
and technical perfection of the football they played:
The Thirties teams: 1938-39 in which Everton had the
Championship won by Easter.
Harry Catterick's Championship and Cup-winning teams of the Sixties, culminating with the
midfield brilliance of Kendall, Ball, and Harvey.
Kendall's all-conquering team World Soccer Team of the Year, 1985.
The origin of the term is not well documented, but some ascribe it to Steve Bloomer in the Thirties. The way in which
it has stuck with Everton over the many years of peaks and troughs is puzzling. The occasions on which the team has deserved
this accolade are admittedly rare.
Sadly, the term of such high praise can easily be turned around to inflict the
cruelest criticism on Everton's less dazzling performances. Mark Redding penned this in The Guardian, under the headline:
School of science shows lack of class after one of Everton's more inept showings (at Coventry in February of 1997):
'There's a feeding frenzy on among you lot at the moment and I've got to be very careful what I say because it may be taken
down and used in evidence against me,' the Everton manager [Joe Royle] said.
In that case, and considering the stick
he has been taking, it is better to draw a veil over this awful match. Suffice to say that the school of science is no more.
The headmaster is about to be carted off to hospital with a persecution complex and the classrooms have been given over to
the Bash Street Kids.
This came at the height of a media campaign ruthlessly directed against Royle, the Club and the fans, in retaliation for an
earlier decision by Joe Royle to stop talking to the newspapers.
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