ToffeeWeb - Season 2009-10

The Mail Bag

Gary Stevens - modern full back

I saw a clip of Gary Stevens being interviewed on the Everton website and must say how eloquently he came across. I am surprised he does not appear on local/national media.

He is a player that would have done well in today's game — a natural athlete with great pace. He perfected the art of running back to catch up opposition wingers and sliding the ball from them. His crossing was a bit erratic though so Tony Hibbert is following in the tradition!
Rob Sawyer, Cheshire Posted 05/09/2009 at 08:31:05

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John Martin
1 Posted 05/09/2009 at 15:05:41

If only Hibbert was anywhere near as good as Stevens was.

Dave Roberts
2 Posted 05/09/2009 at 15:58:16

Gary was blessed with great pace, comparable to Ratcliffe’s. Additionately he never seemed to tire and could maintain his game at pace for 90 minutes. Never the greatest footballer, Gary’s crosses could be a little wild but he got a lot of them in and the Blues got a lot of goals from them both directly and indirectly. A great servant to the club and a great player.

Sigh.... those were the days...!

Gavin Ramejkis
3 Posted 05/09/2009 at 16:25:36

I loved his career ender on Jim "Bendy Bones" Beglin that those hateable red shite still winge about and the pundit shithouse Handball Hansen went overboard about but withdrew his comments shortly afterwards. I was sat in the Main Stand with my uncles and can still remember the snap, sounded like a branch snapping.

Dave Wilson
4 Posted 05/09/2009 at 16:49:55

Garry Stevens?

Now there's a right back who really did cost us a cup final!

Keith Glazzard
5 Posted 05/09/2009 at 16:48:14

Excuse me, Gary, if anyone wants to have a look at Dini Billy, the Russia — Liechtenstein game is half way through (3-0). He’s wearing No 18. The stream via ADTHE has been very good — I’ve been switching between it and the Scotland game — Faddy, eh?

Good to see Gary looking so well, and sounding good too.

Tony Kelly
6 Posted 05/09/2009 at 16:55:57

Spot on Dave Wilson. He was a very good full back, but I didn’t like the way he and his mate Trevor Steven shit on Colin Harvey. They both got offered big contract’s by Colin, but chose to ply their trade in the Mickey Mouse league, which is the SPL. They both won sackfuls of medals in that league, which is about one step up from the Liverpool Sunday League!!

Every time they come back to Goodison, I always cringe when I hear the rounds of applause that greet them. What is the difference to what they did, and the way that the crowd react to Rooney and Speed, and very shortly Lescott? In my opinion, the two of them are a pair of cunts.

Nick Entwistle
7 Posted 05/09/2009 at 18:37:14

Tony, I think they left for the same reasons that Kendall left, that being European football.

Both were great footballers, though my main memory of Stevens is that he didn't even try to intercept Maradona’s (Butcher’s) goal against England by taking a last ditch slide across goal.

Brian Lawlor
8 Posted 05/09/2009 at 19:27:47

And that's how he got all the birds. Hence the nickname Shagger which was changed to Shaggy.

Trevor Thompson
9 Posted 05/09/2009 at 19:57:56

Will agree with Nick. I think if we were in Europe, there was no way he’d of left.

Steve Hogan
10 Posted 05/09/2009 at 20:02:58

So Gavin, you ’loved’ the tackle that broke anothers players leg?Marvellous example of sportsmanship don’t you think? No wonder they call us ’bitter blues’... You just about sum some of us up.

Terry White
11 Posted 05/09/2009 at 21:14:32

Gary Stevens could not compare to Alex Parker or Tommy Wright.

Si Mar
12 Posted 05/09/2009 at 21:17:25

I dont think he was refering to Jim Beglin when he said GS loved a tackle!! That's very harsh and not relevant in any way to the thread!

GS was in my opinion a great Everton full back. How many full backs in our history have won the league twice?!!

Don't forget the Engalnd caps he won too. They weren't given out as lightly in the 80s (apart from John Fashnu!!). Sir Bobby Robson was no fool and he became his first choice!

Dennis Stevens
13 Posted 05/09/2009 at 21:43:11

That was a great right side we had in those days. Gary Stevens was probaly a greater athlete than he was a footballer, perhaps in the same way one might view Yobo nowadays.

Derek Thomas
14 Posted 06/09/2009 at 07:10:57

Dave Wilson, Stevens was covering Mountfield, who was, along with Bracewell, carrying an injury, both finished the game and never kicked a ball in anger for months and months... and in Bracewells case, years... and were never as good again, so don’t blame Stevo.

Gavin Ramejkis
15 Posted 06/09/2009 at 10:12:39

Make it up as you go along Steve? The tackle was a 50:50 and it went wrong for Beglin, the RS shouted from the rooftops about how their cup and league medal holding player was fucked as a result, or do you think they don't do denial with Heysel? Get a grip, I enjoyed the way the guy played and didn't shit out like many we’ve had since.

Ray Robinson
16 Posted 06/09/2009 at 12:14:31

Gavin, I agree with Steve, you really do epitomise the term "bitter blue". Have you thought about an anger management course?

Getting back to the thread. It’s when I think back to Gary Stevens that I realise how lacking we’ve been in the right back department since — and the present incumbent would never have got a sniff in the eighties team.

Steve Hogan
17 Posted 06/09/2009 at 16:30:28

Gavin, 50/50 tackle or not, how can you ’love’ a tackle that breaks another players leg?

Care to explain?

Gavin Ramejkis
18 Posted 06/09/2009 at 17:04:59

So that you and gentle Ray sitting wrapped in cotton wool watching your Mary Whitehouse specially selected viewing can try to understand, an abiding and lived memory was of an Everton player that didn’t shit out in a derby match despite the league and cup holders visiting Goodison.

Just how that makes me bitter I’ll ask you to define with more critique than you don’t agree with my posting. The team in the 80s were one to be proud of or has the cotton wool and PC bullshit deadened your appreciation of the game too?

Dave Wilson
19 Posted 06/09/2009 at 18:51:24

Derek, Sorry mate I usually love your post, but I think your memory’s playing tricks.

We were cruising against the shite in 86... if it was a boxing bout it woulda been stopped, they were in complete disarray, they were even fighting amongst themselves. "Nothing silly," we all thought, "and the biggest triumph of all would be ours." Nothing silly and we would be able to ram all the shite we’d put up with for the past 10 years back down their throats. Our dominance was so great, only complacency could derail us. NOTHING SILLY!

Then it happened: Gary Stevens had the worst first touch I have ever seen in an Everton player, he made Hibbert look cultured. Yes, he was an athlete, but he couldn’t play and was very lucky to find himself surrounded by top class players — right place, right time.

Anyway, after years of launching everything down the line, Stevens, buoyed by our dominance, suddenly decided he was a footballer, his pass straight to Whelan caught our entire team going forward. He threw Liverpool a lifeline they did not deserve and the rest is history.

You're right, Derek, Bracewell and Big D were carrying injuries, but it was still Stevens who made way for Inchy when Howard rang the changes... by which time, the Shite had taken the lead.

Steve Hogan
20 Posted 07/09/2009 at 07:42:04

Gavin, I guess when you paint yourself in a corner with the ’leg-break’ jibe, it’s pretty hard to extract yourself from it.

What has the ’PC brigade’ response to do with that is anyone's guess, look forward to your next ’vitriol’ fuelled contribution!

You must be a ’fun guy’ to be around with?

Martin Mason
21 Posted 07/09/2009 at 09:07:20

Gary was a good modern-style player but, as has been pointed out above, modern isn’t necessarily class; Alex Parker and Tommy Wright were a class above and when you look at Ray Wilson on the other side we were blessed with class for many years. OK, Sandy Brown balanced things up.

Can I believe that somebody delights in a career ending injury commited by an Everton player? Bitter, bitter, bitter.

Michael Tracey
22 Posted 07/09/2009 at 09:30:04

Don't worry about Gavin, he won't be going to watch Everton once they are in Kirkby. As much as I might dislike a player from any side, to be gloating about a career ending tackle is disgraceful, what a fuckwit.

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