Everton collector Andrew: "A half-naked Tim Cahill came over to sign my jersey!"

Andrew is an Everton fan with a collection of approximately 150 worn and/or issued shirts. At a young age, he joined his father on a trip to Liverpool to see the Beatles. As a gift, his father wanted to take his son, Andrew, to a Liverpool FC match, but because there was no match at Anfield, they ventured to the blue half of Liverpool and visited Goodison Park. Andrew doesn’t remember much from his first match, but he instantly fell in love with the club, and this love only grew stronger after watching his first live match on television: the FA Cup final in 1984.

Fast forward a few years to 2007, when Andrew was watching Everton against Zenith. As it was a UEFA Cup match, the Toffees sported a different kit from the one worn for Premier League matches. Andrew found out that the only way to get one of these beauties was to score a match-worn or match-issued shirt. He managed to bag himself a UEFA Cup match-worn shirt previously worn by Everton frontman Tim Cahill, his favorite player at the time, and this kicked off Andrew's collection of match-worn shirts.

When Everton went to the US to face the MLS All-Stars in Salt Lake City, Andrew managed to book a room at the same hotel as the Everton squad. When some members of the team went out for a swim, he was there but didn’t feel it was appropriate to interrupt them.  He decided to sit near the benches by the pool with the Cahill shirt in his hands and just wait. After quite some time, a half-naked Tim Cahill came over to him and signed the worn shirt.

For Andrew, the best match he has seen live was in December 2017, when Wayne Rooney scored his only hat trick at Goodison Park.  Andrew sat at Lower Gwladys and witnessed Rooney strike a world-class goal from his own half! Andrew's favorite player in the current squad is Richarlison, but his all-time favorite is the legendary striker Graeme Sharp, who he also met a few times in person. Andrew's favorite Everton possession is a match-issued shirt from the '95 FA Cup Final, the last piece of silverware won by the club. Let’s hope for more success for the Toffees in the near future!

Also interested in some match-worn Everton shirts? Check out the page here!