THE BLUE SEAT CHRONICLES · BOOK TWO
THE SEATS WE ONCE FILLED
Before they were empty, they were ours.
Football grounds remember.
The players change. The managers come and go. Stands disappear, trophies gather dust and generations of supporters take their turn in the seats.
But some moments never really leave.
The Seats We Once Filled looks back through the history, memories and people that made Everton what it is - not simply through what happened on the pitch, but through the supporters who were there to see it.
Because football history isn't only written by the people on the pitch.
It's written by the people in the seats too.
THE STORY
BEFORE US, THERE WERE THEM.
Every generation thinks the club belongs to them. The truth is, we're only looking after it for whoever comes next.
Everton's story isn't just a list of trophies, players and famous matches.
It's generations of people making the same journey. Fathers and sons. Mothers and daughters. Grandparents and grandchildren. Different faces, different eras — but the same anticipation when matchday comes around.
The Seats We Once Filled travels through those generations, exploring the moments that shaped Everton and the supporters who lived through them.
Some witnessed the greatest teams the club has ever produced. Others endured the years they'd probably rather forget.
But all of them left something behind.
Because long before we sat in our seats, somebody else was sitting there making memories of their own.
And one day, someone else will sit where we once did.
IT'S NOT REALLY ABOUT HISTORY.
Well... not entirely.
History gives The Seats We Once Filled its timeline.
The great teams. The famous matches. The trophies. The disappointments. The players whose names still get passed from one generation to the next.
But this isn't a history book full of dates, statistics and league tables.
It's about what those moments felt like to the people who were there.
The dad who took his lad for the first time.
The woman who stood on the terraces before seats ever arrived.
The supporters who watched the greatest nights - and somehow kept turning up for some of the worst ones too.
Different generations. Different Evertons. The same club.
Because eventually the players leave, the stands change and the people move on.
But the stories get passed down.
BEHIND THE BOOK
WHY I WROTE IT
Because the history of a football club belongs to the people who lived it.
When we talk about Everton's history, we naturally talk about the great players, the trophies, the managers and the matches everyone still remembers.
But I've always been just as interested in the people watching.
The supporters who stood on terraces that no longer exist. The families who passed Everton from one generation to another. The people who could tell you exactly where they were when something happened - not because it changed football history, but because it became part of their history.
That's what I wanted The Seats We Once Filled to capture.
Not simply what happened at Everton, but what it felt like to be there.
Because grounds change. Players move on. Generations come and go.
But the stories survive because somebody tells them to the next person.
“The history books remember who played.
I wanted to remember who watched.”
— Adam
DON'T TAKE MY WORD FOR IT.
Have a read yourself.
You can tell people what a book is about. You can tell them why you wrote it.
But eventually, you've just got to let them read it.
So here's a little bit of The Seats We Once Filled.
Graham lifted his glass, eyes slipping back into the glow of memory, lips twitching like he was about to reveal scripture.
“It’s the greatest story of love ever told… that shall ever be told.”
Millie’s eyes widened.
“You and Sheila?”
Sheila rolled her eyes so dramatically half the pub chuckled.
She didn’t even have to look at Graham.
She knew what was coming.
She’d known for sixty years.
At the exact same moment, she mouthed the words with him, perfectly in sync:
“No — Alan Ball came into my life.”
The table broke down in hysterical laughter.
Millie giggled, shaking her head.
“Oh come on, Graham. Be serious.”
Sheila nudged him. “Tell the girl about the wedding, lad. She thinks you’ve got romance in ya.”
Graham huffed with exaggerated offence.
“I have got romance in me. But have you seen Alan Ball play?”
Sheila slapped his arm.
“Graham.”
He relented, smiling softly, the kind of smile that only comes from a lifetime lived in step with someone.
“Aye,” he said. “Alright. The wedding.”
Millie leaned in, chin propped on her hand.
“It must’ve been the best day of your life.”
Graham glanced at Sheila.
Sheila raised an eyebrow, daring him to say something daft.
Some stories are passed down. Others are lived together.
CONTINUE THE STORY →
PART OF THE BLUE SEAT CHRONICLES
Book One
The Seat Left Empty
Book Two
The Seats We Once Filled
Book Three
The Seat That Changed the Game
Three books. Three different journeys through football, people and the lives built around the game.