Schumacher Back Home

“Everything has changed – but nothing has changed”

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That’s the verdict of Steven Schumacher, who has returned to his boyhood Blues as an Academy coach after a 13-year professional career in the game.

It is a sentiment Schumacher explains eloquently - and a comforting one shared among many of the former Everton players currently occupying positions within the Club after a period elsewhere.

As he points out, as we sit down in one of the plush offices at USM Finch Farm, it is clear the working environment has changed drastically from the days when he first came through the gates at the Club’s old training facility, Bellefield.

The faces around the place - some of them, at least have changed, too.

But the culture, Schumacher insists, has not altered a jot - and that is what he believes sets Everton apart from so many other football clubs.

“You look at it and the morals here are exactly the same,” says the 33-year-old. “You still have to be the same type of player as you had to be when I came through the system, you still have to be the same type of character to do well at this football club.

“I think that’s what stands Everton apart from most teams, to be honest. We accept players have sometimes got more ability than others but everyone has to have the same attitude.

“You’ve got to have something about you, you’ve got to be a good lad, someone who is honest and hardworking. If you’ve got those things, then you’ll always be given a chance here.”

Brought up in Kirkby, Schumacher first became associated with the Toffees as a six-year-old after being discovered playing for local teams Shevington Park and The Railway.

Legendary scout Bob Pendleton, who was honoured at USM Finch Farm last year by having a training pitch named after him following more than 30 years’ service to the Club, was the first man to pick up on the midfielder’s talents.