Up steps the People's Club once again

When you choose to root for a soccer club, you volitionally take part in that club’s history and reputation. When they win, you share in the glory and the spoils; when they lose, you take the ignominy and the jeers. If by some chance your club is involved in a tapping up scandal or players refuse to sign autographs, you have to deal with that too. For this reason, all Toffees should be proud of their club for a gesture Everton has shown a lifelong fan who was forced to retire from the sport at the age of just 27.

As reported by the Echo, Peter Murphy, Scouse defender for Accrington Stanley, Wycombe Wanderers and most recently Morecambe, is a lifelong fan of the Toffees. The player went in for what was supposed to be a routine cleanup of his knee. He went into surgery with a career, and he woke up being told he could never play again because of a potentially fatal blood clot in his leg.

Waking up to find your career over is a terrifying notion that transcends sports, especially if we are blessed to do what we love as footballers are. As recently as 2014, Sky Sports referred to Murphy as one of the best defenders in the lower leagues, and now his playing days are over.

Photo by Paul Thomas/Getty Images

Enter Everton, who have now offered Murphy a job working in their coaching ranks, allowing him to continue to work in the sport he loves and build experience towards a career in management. This move is evidence that Everton is not only moving in the right direction on the pitch and financially, but also that the club is being operated with character and a strong sense of humanity, and that will only make its fans even more devoted in cheering on the Toffees.