- ... I'm about to lose control and I think I like it!

- well! It has been the most exciting Everton pre-season for donkey's years, so why not!

- and things get started with the visit of MFK Ružomberok in the Europa League on July 27th

- it will be the earliest start we've ever had to a season
- and our first ever competitive game in the month of July

- the current record for our earliest competitive game is the 1987 Charity Shield
- that was the 1-0 win against Coventry at Wembley, you may remember

- next after that, our earliest games have come on August 8th - 3 times
- they were a 2-2 draw at home to Watford in the Prem in 2015
- a 1-1 draw at home to Man Utd, also in the Prem in 1999
- and a 2-1 win at Chelsea in the 1970 Charity Shield

- our earliest ever European match was the 2-1 home defeat to Villarreal
- that was on August 9th 2005 - but let's not talk about Villarreal

- oh, and it will be only the 3rd time we've started the season on a Thursday!
- the 2 previous occasions were in 1910/11 against Tottenham
- and in 1898/99 against Blackburn

- the game against Ružomberok will be our 82nd match in Europe, the 41st at home
- you can see our full previous record in the European section of the site

- Ružomberok will be our 2nd Slovak opponents
- the others were Inter Bratislava in 1984 on our way to Cup Winners Cup glory
- strictly speaking Bratislava was in Czechoslovakia at the time
- the Slovak Republic and the Czech Republic only went their separate ways in the early 1990s

- we've also had previous European ties against 2 Czech Republic teams too, don't forget
- they were Sigma Olomouc in 2009 and Dukla Prague in 1978 (Prague was in Czechoslovakia at the time)

- so who has played the most games for Everton in Europe?
- Tim Howard - 28 games - is the answer
- of our current players Phil Jagielka, on 21 games in 4th place, is highest on our All-Time European Apps list

- Phil is also the highest current player on our All-Time European Goals list
- he's in joint 4th place on that chart with 4 goals

- the now departed (and unlamented?) Mr Lukaku tops that list on 8 European goals for us

- if Leighton Baines plays against Ružomberok it will be his 375th game for the club in all competitions
- that would put him into 19th place alone on our All-Time Appearances chart, 1 ahead of Tommy Wright
- no other full-back will have played more games for the club!

- if Phil Jagielka gets a game then it will be his 350th for us
- he'd join David Unsworth in joint 23rd place on that chart

- Gareth Barry will be 36 years and 154 days old on the day of the Ružomberok game, by the way
- if he plays he will become the 20th oldest player to play for us in all competitions!

- given our recent transfer mania, there will inevitably be a host of players making their Everton debuts
- it could potentially be 5 - Keane, Klaassen, Martina, Pickford and Ramirez

- in our first ever competitive game we had (of course!) 11 debutants
- that was a 1-0 FA Cup defeat at Bolton in October 1887
- the match was subsequently replayed due to Bolton fielding an ineligible player

- since then the most debutants we've had in a single game is 6
- that's happened 3 times

- the first was in our first ever Football League game - the 2-1 home win v Accrington in September 1888
- 5 players who'd previously played FA Cup football for us were joined in that match by 6 newbies!

- the second occasion was our first FA Cup match after World War 2
- that was a 2-1 defeat at Preston

- and the most recent one was the 1-0 home defeat to BATE Borisov in the Europa League in December 2009
- in that game we gave debuts to:
- Jake Bidwell, Adam Forshaw, Carlo Nash, Hope Akpan, Shkodran Mustafi and Nathan Craig!

- Jordan Pickford - if he starts - will be the 84th different goalkeeper to start a game for the club!
- have a look at the new Goalkeeper section for full details of all of our previous keepers!

- and the iconic Number 9 Everton shirt now belongs to Sandro Ramirez!
- good luck to the new best little Spaniard we know!
- you can see details of everyone who's gone before him at Everton in the Number 9's section

- will anyone score on their debut?!
- 99 players have done so before for the club
- Ademola Lookman was the last in the 4-0 win against Man City last January
- there are full details of all of our debut scorers in the 'Players Who Scored On Their Debut' section!

- Wayne Rooney, of course, won't be making his Everton debut!
- but if he plays he will become the latest player to have more than one spell at the club

- in total he'll be the 35th player to have had 2 or more spells with us
- the most recent was Aaron Lennon and you can see all of the others in the '2 Spells Or More' section!

- Wayne's career record at Everton in his first spell looked like this:
- 48 starts, 29 sub apps, 17 goals - all competitions
- 40 starts, 27 sub apps, 15 goals - Premier League
- he has yet to play a European game for the club

- if he does play against Ružomberok, Wayne will break a club record!
- it will be the longest gap - at 13 years and 73 days - between Everton appearances!!
- his last match was the 5-1 debacle at Man City in May 2004, the last match of the 2003/04 season

- currently the record holder here is 1900s/1910s winger Joe Donnachie
- there were 10 years & 357 days between Joe's last game in his first spell in 1908
- and his re-appearance in 1919

- Wayne will also overtake a club record held by Howard Kendall
- there were 14 years & 290 days between Howard's first game in his first spell
- and his last game in his second spell

- Wayne's figure will be 14 years & 344 days if he plays against Ružomberok
- and of course that record will only increase with each new Everton game he plays

- Ted Sagar holds the record for the longest Everton career in a single spell at the club
- a mammoth 22 years & 302 days!

- have a look at the Longest Everton careers section for more of this nonsense!

- some penalty stats for you!

- will we score from a penalty against Ružomberok?
- if we do it will be our 300th successful spot-kick in all of our home games ever!
- our current home record from 12 yards is: Scored 299, Missed or Saved 126!

- and if Leighton Baines nets a penalty against them it will be his 24th spot-kick success for us
- he'd then move out on his own at the top of our 'Most Penalties Scored' chart
- he's currently level on 23 (from 26 taken) with David Unsworth (also from 26) and Trevor Steven (from 29)

- and will a Ružomberok player be red-carded?
- if so, then he will be the 100th opponent to be dismissed against us in all of our home games ever!

- finally, fingers crossed we build up a big lead
- 3 goals for us against the Slovaks will bring up 50 under Ronald Koeman at Goodison in all competitions!

- COYB!!

- a reminder of some new sections on the site!

- who's managed the most times against Everton?
- who's managed the most clubs against us?!
- well, there's a new 'Opposition Managers' section that will tell you everything you need to know!

- the 'Goals in Most Consecutive Matches' section has been updated!
- it now includes details of which Everton players have scored in the most successive home & away games too!

- who was the last Everton man to play 50 or more games in a season?
- who has played the most games in one season?!
- the new '50 or More Appearances in a Season' section will tell you!

- on the flip side, which players only ever managed 1 game for the club?!
- find out in the new Just One Appearance section!

- we used 27 different players last season in all competitions and 19 of them scored a goal
- is that a lot?! how does it compare to other seasons?
- find out in the new 'Number of Players Used and Goal Scorers - Season-by-Season' section!

- who was the last Everton player to feature in every game in a season?!
- have a look at the new Ever Presents section to find out!

- and how often have we completed League 'doubles' over our opponents in the past?
- alternatively, how often have we been on the receiving end of a double?!
- you can now find out in the new League Doubles For and Against section

- ever wondered which Everton player has been substituted the most times?!
- well, now you can find out - have a look at the new Subbed Off section for full, fascinating details!

- Ademola Lookman scored on his Everton debut last season
- who else has managed that feat for the club?!
- have a look at the new Scored on Their Debut section to find out!

- with Wayne Rooney set to return to Everton action, who else has had 2 separate spells at the club?!
- the new Two or More Spells at Everton section will tell you!

- new boy Jordan Pickford looks like he'll be our keeper for some years to come
- but who else has appeared for us between the sticks in the past?!
- the new Goalkeepers section has all the details!

- and don't forget there's also a new History In Short section too!
- you can see at a glance how many times we've finished in each position in the League
- and where exactly we've been knocked out of the various cup competitions
- have a peek!