Symes was born in Great Yarmouth, East Anglia, but moved to Liverpool as a young child, he attended St John's Junior School before moving on to Holy Rosary / Maricourt High School. Symes started his career as a trainee at his boyhood heroes, Everton, with whom he reached the final of the 2002 FA Youth Cup, playing up-front with Wayne Rooney. Symes scored 31 goals from 51 games at youth level for Everton, including 5 goals in 9 games for the reserves, however injuries over the next season and a half restricted his progress to the Everton first team. In March 2004, he joined Crewe Alexandra on loan for the rest of the 2003–04 season making his debut as a substitute against Nottingham Forest on 27 March. He played four games during his loan spell, starting once against Coventry City when he scored his first senior goal in a 3–1 win.
