Decline of Everton

Ok guys. Really sorry if I keep going on and on about past events of here. Just that I missed out on the glory days of the 80s and would really just like to hear from people who were there their feelings. I was wondering how did we get in this mess. Do you think we can discredit Heysel and Peter Johnson? I know they had some sort of baring on our future but that can't be the sole reason. I mean we won the league in 87 then finished 4th in 88 (though that meant nothing back then) Why did we fall apart in the 90s. Not an easy question to answer or simplify but just a few thoughts would be interesting. Thanks for your time.

I think a proportion of the blame lies with Howard Kendall. At the time of Heysel Everton were the strongest we had ever been and looked set to dominate at home and abroad for years to come. I don't think it was at all necessary for an Evertonian to leave the club at this time, somebody like Ball or Labone wouldn't have dreamt of it. Had he have stayed the Stevens, Steven, Van De Hauwes of this world in my opinion would also have stayed although I think Lineker was always destined to leave. Barcelona and the Nou Camp must be a difficult move to turn down for somebody with no affiliation to the club. We replaced those players with MacDonald, Nevin, McCall and Cottee whilst Liverpool were buying Beardsley, Barnes, Houghton and Aldridge. I don't think Kendall would have bought the players that Harvey did. I accept that Kendall is a legend and rightly so but there is always a cloud that hangs over him in my book.

But if I recall I'm sure MacDonald was a bright new thing. McCall was a very good fighter in midfeild and Cottee was a good box player and would of been the ideal little and large combo for us. Though compared to those players Liverpool bought, they don't look that good. I would so that 1987 team looked cack compared to 85.

Never forget McCalls last minute equaliser at Wembley - I ended up about 10 rows further forward then when I started and the next day I had a bruise on my thigh the size of a dinner plate. (and a massive hangover )

My lasting memory of McCall was that he was a bit of a headless chicken and certainly no replacement for Reid. Granted he scored a whopper against the rs but that only prolonged the agony of a cup final we were never going to win.
The point I'm trying to make is Everton would not have needed to make such wholesale changes (4 in them days were a lot) had Kendall stayed as the 85/86/87 team would have stayed in tact.
One of the many reasons I love Sharpy and Nev is cos they stayed loyal to the fans.

Ms_Moyesyside wrote:

Never forget McCalls last minute equaliser at Wembley - I ended up about 10 rows further forward then when I started and the next day I had a bruise on my thigh the size of a dinner plate. (and a massive hangover )

My 1st final I ever saw and we were in it. I'll admit I cried that day. I was ten and it was too traumatic for me so close but so far. I still always watch it until the the second equaliser and then not watch the rest. We were rubbish but still gave them a game.

Waiting eagerly for Magic's comments on the subject

Kendall played a very big part, Heysel and the ban affected him, and I'll cut him a bit of slack here, he wanted to win more in Europe. Steven and Stevens leaving for Rangers and europe broke up the right hand side, I had a lot of faith in McDonald and Cottee etc, but in the end, and I genuinely believe this, we were not the right image.
The advent of a new, fit for telly format by Sky breathed life into TV and death into 'traditional football clubs', and it meant it was all about marketability, size of fanbase and the reach for advertising revenue, it became a self feeding beast and became the shambles it is today.

Missing out on success in those days meant you felt you had to wait for the next season, not that distant, but the distance grew greater in the same way the revenues did.

Ironically Pip Carter was the one who sold us out, our most succesful chairman, who rather than invest and board this money making bandwagon, decided to allow a great club to rest on it's laurels and waited for someone else to do his job, he always had his eye (and still does) on the political aspects of north west life.
We now have a run down ground instead of a reinvigorated and modern one, Carters doing.
A dwindling and fractured support as a result and a club in need of selling it's soul to a complete outsider with it's fingers crossed it can retain a small raction of it's dignity and identity.

Blame Heysel or Kendall or Sky, but the culprit for Everton IMHO was Sir Phillip Carter, self obsessed and back on our board

Interesting insight Magic. I never got the whole blame Heysel thing. Yes, we may of won the European cup back then and attracted the right players, but there was no guarantee that we'd of won it. I think you're right about Kendall wanting to win Europe; and I think his ego got the better of him, as he may of thought he could of turned Athletico around like he did Everton. Unfortuantely, he didn't think about their ruling of only having Basque players. I never knew much about Carter so cannot comment on him. We did miss the whole Sky thing and I think you're right, we didn't realise the impact it would have on football.

In response to MJ what you are saying could well be right and I'm certainly not going to argue mainly because at that time I was about 17 and didn't really take note of what went on at boardroom level. Kendall will always be spoken highly of with me, how could I do anything else? Its just something that doesn't rest comfortably with me and always casts a slight but still shadow for me.