The new Premier League campaign began this past weekend in somewhat typical fashion for Everton. After the experience that was the previous season, which could be described as bitterly disappointing, the moves over the summer left Toffees fans approaching 2015-16 with a modicum of trepidation.
When only Gerard Deulofeu (bringing much hope and excitement) and Tom Cleverley have been the only major signings, it is hard for fans not to fear the return of the same vicious cycle that engulfed the club during the long and barren years.
On Saturday, they faced newly promoted Watford, a side which was full of confidence last season and came out with all guns blazing, taking the lead twice. An Everton side that showed no improvement on last season has given the faithful some cause for worry, and hope that investment is made soon in a few more players to shore up the team.
In the three years that followed Everton’s last Championship win in 1987, a successful team was gradually broken up under the management of Colin Harvey, with investment made in replacements the brought mixed results. There were players like Tony Cottee, Pat Nevin and Norman Whiteside, yet there were also signings who proved less successful. Still, finishes of fourth, eighth and sixth, with an FA Cup final appearance (the fourth in the decade) would be something fans would gladly take in later years, and only in the last decade has there been anything like consistent top 10 finishes. Except last season, of course.
And so, 1990. The season following the World Cup in Italy was one that, for many, marked a turning point for English football after the testing decade of the 1980s. On the opening day, Everton faced Leeds United, who had been promoted as Second Division Champions under the management of Howard Wilkinson, ending an eight-year absence from the top flight. The Leeds team that took the field at Goodison Park in August 1990 had John Lukic, Chris Fairclough, Glynn Snodin (brother of Ian Snodin), former Everton striker Imre Varadi, and the midfield quartet which would soon be rated as one of the strongest in the country – David Batty, Gordon Strachan, Gary Speed and Gary McAllister, the last one making his Leeds debut following his move from Leicester City.
The game was a depressing spectacle for Evertonians as Fairclough, Speed and Varadi – the latter two happening to be future and former Blues respectively – scored to put Leeds 3-0 up, although it finished 3-2 thanks to Nevin and John Ebbrell. While it can be put into perspective that the Whites’ win was no fluke, it was also the first of three consecutive defeats to open the season for Everton. Making his debut for the Merseysiders on that day was Mike Milligan, signed from Oldham where he had been part of a side that made waves in the Cup over the previous two seasons. Needless to say, whatever he had did not follow him to Goodison Park and he would be back at Oldham the following year.
By October, Everton were third from bottom on the ladder, although it was a campaign in which only two teams went down due to the expansion of the league back to 22 teams for the following season (the Premier League reverted to 20 teams in 1995). Harvey paid the price for a poor start, and Howard Kendall would return as manager despite the saying “never go back”. Harvey would return to Goodison Park to recreate the successful management team of 1981-87, albeit without the same success. Still, Everton picked up form and would finish ninth, and there was still drama in the FA Cup, with a memorable Merseyside derby tie, the 4-4 game that would be the end of Kenny Dalglish’s managerial tenure at Liverpool.
This in no way reflects on Harvey the man, a great player, a great Evertonian and an integral part of the club’s great eras. He wanted to succeed, and the fans all did as well.
Perhaps the decline began when Howard Kendall left first for time in 1987, the team was broken up and insufficiently replaced. But it was starting in 1990 that Everton were no longer being thought of as contenders, it did not happen overnight, but neither did the not dissimilar decline of Liverpool in the early 90s, and the fact that Liverpool did not have a brush with relegation is not to say their decline was not a considerable one either. To a generation of fans it hurt, and still does.
As 2015-16 picks up speed, Roberto Martinez and the board should keep this in mind. Falling to the bottom of the hill is a hard place to start, even when there is no danger of relegation.
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