It is extremely rare for players to spend a decade at the same club and not make a single first-team appearance. Before the Second World War, Everton had a player who did exactly that – Cyril Roscoe Webster.
Cyril Webster was born in Bootle on 8th February 1908. His football career didn’t begin until he was a student at Liverpool Collegiate School – a grammar school in Everton – at the age of 13. Before studying there, he attended Aintree High School, where, according to Webster, “they didn’t know what football was.” He was initially a goalkeeper for the Gordon House second XI and remained between the posts for a year before becoming an inside right after the Gordon House first XI was a player short. He made the most of his outfield debut, scoring 2 goals in a 3-1 win. From that game to the rest of his football career, inside right became Webster’s main position.
After leaving school, he joined West Derby Union, where he honed his skills. During his time at WDU, he played at Goodison Park for a Lancashire XI in a match against a Cumberland XI. He left the club to join Middlesex Amateurs but never had the chance to play for them. But soon, Everton came calling. In April 1928, Thomas H McIntosh phoned Webster and asked him to play for Everton’s ‘A’ team in a friendly against Wavertree. Webster accepted the offer, played in the match but unfortunately didn’t score. Despite that, the club saw something good in him and asked him to sign for them as an amateur. Webster, however, didn’t make a decision due to other commitments. The day after the Wavertree game, Liverpool were also in pursuit. Representatives of Liverpool watched his performance against Wavertree and liked what they saw. Liverpool invited Webster to see them play against Leicester. He attended the 1-1 draw and had tea at Anfield afterwards. But in spite of Liverpool’s efforts, Webster’s heart belonged to Everton.
Webster joined Everton in June 1928. For a short time, there was a bit of anxiety for Webster because he hadn’t heard from the club for quite some time after he hadn’t made his decision and he had an injury at the end of the season. But Dan Kirkwood hadn’t forgotten about him and snatched him up. At the start of the 1928/29 season, he featured several times for the ‘A’ team before making his reserves debut on September 22nd against Manchester City Reserves. Webster had a debut to remember as Everton Reserves thrashed the Citizens 7-0. Harry Ritchie, who scored two goals in the game, credited Webster for his contribution. Webster’s influence had since become a pivotal part of the club throughout his time there.
Cyril Webster signed professional forms on 4th May 1929. In the following nine years and the previous year, he didn’t play a single game for the first team, featuring fairly prominently for the reserves and the ‘A’ team. He had played over 100 games for the reserves, scoring 43 goals. The closest he came to first-team football was being the club’s “diver” (at the time, another name for the reserve in case any players pull out at the last minute) nine times. Even though he never played for the first team, the club refused to let him go and persistently put him on the retained list year after year. Everton were willing to keep him presumably because of how much influence he had on the team.
Webster could have had first-team football elsewhere. Despite that, he didn’t seem to care; he was happy to be part of the club and was willing to contribute when he can. Throughout his Everton career, there was nothing but praise for him. Towards the end of his time at the club, the official Everton programme described Webster as:
Always the perfect servant: ungrumbling, ungrudging, civil, courteous – he is of the type that assists in giving to the present-day professional, a more generous verdict from a sport-loving public. His influence in dressing room and on field is for good.
Webster had a life outside of football. When he joined Everton, he was a clerk in the out-relief department for the Central Relief Committee and despite becoming a professional, he was still working as a clerk. While he was balancing his football and working lives, he was also a student at the University of Liverpool. In the summer of 1936, Webster graduated with a Bachelor of Laws degree. At the time of his graduation, he was reported to be the only law graduate at a Football League club.
Following his graduation, Bee from the Liverpool Echo said:
I congratulate him upon his success, and know it will make no difference to his outlook on sport or life – he has always been one of the most likeable of many likeable professional footballers.
Towards the end of his Everton career, he was a clerk for the Public Assistance Committee. But that didn’t stop Cyril Webster from contributing to the club. While working for the PAC, he was still playing for the ‘A’ team alongside future Everton player and manager Harry Catterick as well as coaching the new ‘B’ team after he called time on his playing career in 1938. The club’s chairman at the time, Ernest Green, praised his “special influence” for giving the youth players “the correct impression of the Everton requirements.”
His coaching career was short-lived following the outbreak of the Second World War but Webster still coped well in the outside world. His CV included an area officer for the Civil Service and a deputy regional licensing officer for the Ministry of Works. In 1953, he became the manager of a company aimed to develop the North West region called North Western Industrial Estates after a four-year spell as assistant manager. At one point, he lived in Ramsbottom until he returned to Liverpool where he stayed until his death on 21st January 1989.
Cyril Webster is still a bit of a mystery. There is a lot more to be known about him. Nothing is known about what the players exactly thought about him. But from what was already said, they seemed to have thought highly of him.