Bred A Blue: Episode 36. Chris Long

The latest guest in our ‘Bred a Blue’ series has had quite an eventful football journey since making his one and only first team appearance for Everton. Chris Long netted a friendly goal against Paderborn as a teenager and played at Goodison in the Europa League before accepting that the level of competition for striking places was just too much...although in hindsight he wishes he'd signed the three-year deal that Roberto Martinez offered him. “I was fuming when we signed Samuel Eto’o,” he grins, looking back at his struggle to break through. “We had Jelavic, and Lukaku was on fire. Arouna Kone was there too, but I knew I was better than him!” Chris Long can also name Harry Kane and Eric Dier as teammates, and he admits that he never saw an England record breaker when he first partnered the current Three Lions captain in an international youth team. And he credits a current Everton Academy staff member with helping Dier become an international Premier League footballer. After leaving Everton, Long played for Sean Dyche, worked with David Weir, got knocked out on his debut for Motherwell and quickly learned that being a professional footballer isn’t always the glamorous existence it seems. “Everyone thinks it’s sunshine and rainbows but it’s actually not. I’ve had more lows than highs and I wish I’d had more highs than lows but it’s the best job in the world and I love it. I thought I’d be Everton’s number nine for years and be the main man but football isn’t like that. And life isn’t like that. But at least I can tell my son I played for Everton.” Chris Long’s career has been something of a rollercoaster but he’s back enjoying his football and is looking forward to the start of a new season…on the other side of the world!