The Mail Bag
Mark Who?
Comments (14)
I was just watching a clip on YouTube of the Club's 1985 25th anniversary celebration montage; near the end, as they are quickly mentioning each individual player and one of their good traits (ie, Sheedy's "sweet left boot" etc), a player by the name of Mark Higgins is shown, albeit with his back turned, and we are told he would have played a part if not for a serious knee injury.
Forgive me for my lack of knowledge on the the great 80s side's fringe players but, as an 8 year old kid, I was more focused on the Sharps & Sheedys of the side. I would like to hear more about him and, more importantly, was he any good?
Stuart O'Malley, Posted 30/03/2010 at 16:51:50
Comments
Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer
If you think of him as a cross between Alan Hansen and Dave Watson you wouldnt go far wrong. Mark Higgins even reminded us older fellas of a certain Brian Labone...
So, can we change the title from Mark Who? please; Mr Higgins doesn't deserve that...
Born in Buxton, Derbyshire, Higgins joined Everton as an apprentice in 1975, before turning professional in August 1976. He made his first team debut for the Toffees on 5 October 1976, playing in a 2–2 draw at home to Manchester City. After making just two appearances for the club in the 1976–77 season, he then played 32 times as the team finished in third place in 1977–78. However, mainly due to competition from more experienced players, Higgins struggled to establish himself as a regular first team player. Then, during the 1982–83 season, after captain Billy Wright was dropped, Higgins was named as his successor to the captain's armband, and missed just three games that year.
Unfortunately, just when Higgins might have been expecting an extended run in the side, he suffered what was believed to be a minor groin injury in a League Cup Fourth Round replay against West Ham United. In actuality, Higgins had picked up a rather more severe pelvic disorder, which forced him to temporarily retire from the game in May 1984.
Defying all expectations, Higgins returned to the game 18 months later, when he joined Manchester United for £60,000 in December 1985. He made his Manchester United debut in a 2–0 home win over Rochdale in the FA Cup Third Round on 9 January 1986. However, he was unable to recover the form he had shown while with Everton and, after just eight appearances for United (six league, two cup), he was allowed to go on loan to Bury in January 1987 before the transfer was made permanent in February 1987 for a fee of £10,000.
Higgins played for Bury until September 1988, when he moved to Stoke City. After just over two seasons with Stoke, Higgins picked up a back injury while on trial with Burnley and finally retired from the game permanently.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Higgins_(footballer)
There is no doubt that that would never happen now!!
I think he would have been pre-Allardyce though... possibly 50s / 60s?
No use to the lad now of course - but you have to wonder if it had all happened 25 years later, he would have been up and running within months and back to his best not long after?
Injuries to Mikel and The Jag, to name only two, would have been career-ending how many years ago? Perhaps about 25?
Asking Liverpool players to play in an Evertonian's testimonial is one thing, but why on earth would he play it at Anfield? He's saying goodbye to the club.
I also seem to recall that he quit and then came back to play for someone else... or is my mind playing tricks on me again?
All cloggers, just ask Dave Hickson what he made of them.
Add Your Comments
In order to post a comment to the MailBag, you need to be logged in as a registered user of the site.
Or Sign up as a ToffeeWeb Member — it's free, takes just a few minutes and will allow you to post your comments on articles and MailBag submissions across the site.
-sm.jpg)
-sm.jpg)
-sm.jpg)
-sm.jpg)
-sm.jpg)
-sm.jpg)
1 Posted 30/03/2010 at 17:42:47
Report abuse
He was unfortunate with injuries and the one that effectively ended his career came in the 1983-84 season. In the videos of the games that season, including the Cup final, he can be seen on the bench cheering the team on. But for his injury (knee I think) he would surely have acheived full International honours with England.
He was forced to retire around 1986 but later paid back his insurance payout to attempt a comeback playing for Man Utd and later Bury, but was forced to retire again. He is still a regular visitor to Goodison and was warmly welcomed onto the pitch with others against Hull recently.