Outisde90’s David Vutopal concludes our tribute to late Everton managerial great Howard Kendall.
In the 1984 League Cup quarter-final away to Oxford United, Everton went a goal down against a side who would go on to achieve consecutive promotions. What happened next entered Merseyside folklore – a late Adrian Heath equaliser salvaged the tie, which Everton went on to win 4-1 in a replay and a struggling side metamorphosed into one that was destined for honours. League form began to pick-up as the Toffees made their way to two Wembley finals – losing one (the League Cup) and winning the other (FA Cup). Andy Gray had been signed from Wolves during the season and the impact he made on the team was tremendous. The FA Cup run was highlighted by two replays against Gillingham and Andy Gray scoring away to Notts County. It ended with Everton beating Watford 2-0 in the Final courtesy of Sharp and Gray.
The 1984-85 season saw Everton sweep all before them in the League and the European Cup-Winners’ Cup, but they would lose the FA Cup Final to Manchester United which prevented a treble. It was the club’s first League Championship since 1970, breaking Liverpool’s domestic domination since the 1970s before Alex Ferguson and George Graham got to claim that right for themselves. The side would read as follows – Neville Southall; Gary Stevens, Derek Mountfield, Kevin Ratcliffe, Pat van den Hauwe; Trevor Steven (unrelated), Peter Reid, Paul Bracewell, Kevin Sheedy; Graeme Sharp and Andy Gray.
Everton would demolish their rivals in the first Merseyside Derby in the League for six years, before beating Manchester United 5-0 and then going on an 18-game domestic unbeaten run between December and May – including 10 consecutive wins to clinch the title with five games remaining. Double figure goal contributions in the League all came from Steven, Sheedy, Heath, Sharp and Mountfield. In Europe, a memorable night saw the team defeat Bayern Münich 3-1 in the semi-final and Rapid Vienna by the same score in the Final. Everton had won plaudits for their football, in a season where they beat every opponent in the League at least once and seemed destined for European Cup success.
Unfortunately, the five-year ban on English clubs in European competition prevented this and left many wondering what could have been. It also marked the beginning of landmark changes that altered English football beyond recognition over a generation. The signing of Gary Lineker in 1985, however, was seen as a signal of intent to stay at the top and in 1985-86, Everton very nearly did so. There were yet more memorable performances, including a 6-1 win over Arsenal. A League and Cup double was in sight throughout the season, but the Toffees fell short at the hands of Liverpool in both, although there were two costly defeats in the League late in the season that made the difference.
In 1986-87, Everton were to win their ninth and so far last League Championship. It was here that Howard Kendall and his assistant Colin Harvey were able to demonstrate their nous in managing a squad where injuries were biting. Paul Bracewell, for one, was a long-term casualty and the midfield quartet of Steven, Reid, Bracewell and Sheedy would rarely play together in this time. Players like Ian Snodin, Paul Power and Wayne Clarke were signed and made some critical contributions in a squad where squad rotation was the key, before it fell into common usage. One of the signings made, Dave Watson, took some time to win fans over but became a long-time servant of the club.
However, the summer of 1987 saw Howard Kendall leave Everton to seek a challenge on the continent with Athletic Bilbao. His two years in the Basque Country brought credible league finishes with a customarily home-grown squad, before returning to England in December of 1989 to manage Manchester City. Under the management of Mel Machin,the Sky Blues had won promotion and the first Manchester Derby of the season with a resounding 5-1 result, but were still struggling in the League. Kendall turned City’s fortunes around with a late season run and a side featuring former Everton players such as Peter Reid, Alan Harper and Adrian Heath. In 1990, it had seemed that City were heading on the up and started the new season quite well, while a young midfielder in Paul Lake was winning some plaudits.
READ MORE: A tribute to Everton legend Howard Kendall (1946-2015) [PART 1]
Under the management of Colin Harvey, Everton remained in the top-half of the League, though the title-winning side was slowly breaking up and fair sum of money had been spent on replacements, including Tony Cottee, Pat Nevin and Stuart McCall. When 1990-91 began poorly, it was clear that the club was in decline from its 1980s glory days, a decline which would take over a decade and a half to recoverfom. In October 1990, Harvey was relieved of his duties as manager. Howard Kendall would leave Manchester City to return to his beloved Everton, a relationship which he described as a marriage. There were hopes that he would be able to turn the tide and restore the glory days, yet at the time there were warnings of “never go back”.
Over the next three years, it was evident that Everton were inexorably on a slide with neither the players nor resources to restore success. Still, for the remainder of the season an upturn in form also included a Cup run that saw a memorable 4-4 draw with Liverpool that marked the end of Kenny Dalglish’s first tenure as manager. It has often been said that the decline of the Reds began here too, but by the time they had won their last title the previous season the cracks were already evident. While their neighbors’ fall from status was not as fast and hard as Everton’s in the same period, it was nonetheless undeniable. Still, Kendall pulled off what looked like a real coup when Peter Beardsley was enticed over the park to join Everton in the summer of 1991. He was to give two quality years in what was a rapidly declining team. It was also the time when the First Division became the Premier League, a rebranding that heralded a brave new era in football – one that made it much tougher for many clubs to prosper.
Everton began 1993-94 with three straight wins and were still comfortably mid-table when Kendall resigned in December over the issue of transfers. After his departure, the team would plummet to only avoid relegation on the final day of the season.
After brief spells at Xanthi in Greece and then at Notts County, Sheffield United was to be Kendall’s next port of call. The Blades had sacked Dave Bassett after more than seven years of service in December 1995 and were struggling at the wrong end of the table. With signings such as Gordon Cowans and Don Hutchison, Kendall more than transformed the side’s league form – he also transformed their style of play after many years of being viewed as long-ball merchants, to one that could play the ball on the ground. A squad containing Don Hutchison, Alan Kelly, David Holdsworth and Dane Whitehouse would the following season be promotion contenders and only lose in the last minute of the play-off final to Crystal Palace, a game in which an injury to Hutchison was a cruel blow.
In the summer of 1997, Kendall returned to Everton to manage for a third time. This time there would be no such luck though – despite the FA Cup win in 1995, the Toffees remained deep in the doldrums and would spend 1997-98 grimly struggling, only to survive on goal difference on the final day. The tough times did not diminish Kendall’s stature among Evertonians though and he conducted himself as he had always, with dignity. Ethnikos Piareus in Greece would then be his last job in football, but he would continue to write regular columns for the Liverpool Echo.
There can be no doubt – Howard Kendall was the most successful manager in Everton history and his achievements are immortal and will forever be cherished by all associated with the club.
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