Season 2011-12 Fan Articles
Christmas 1986
By Neil Smith :: 13/12/2011
24 Comments (»Last)
As we approach the festive season, thoughts will drift towards the large number of games in a short period of time and how this can shape your season.Â
25 years ago it was no different. Other than we were very much in the title push.Â
The blues season so far had shown glimpses of title promise. But with a crippling injury list we were just glad to be in the mix. Southall, Stevens, Van Den Hauwe, Reid and Sharp all missed significant chunks of the season. Bracewell missed the entire campaign. So this was a campaign of the unsung heroes. Harper, Power , Heath and Wilkinson all played significant parts. Plus we had two of the most skilled and under-rated midfielders I have ever seen in Steven and Sheedy.Â
Going into the Christmas games we sat in  4th place, behind Liverpool, Nottingham Forest and surprise leaders Arsenal. George Graham was building a decent side at Highbury but their wait for title glory would be two seasons away, and my that is another story!
With five games in two weeks it would be a decisive time. Including two lots of two games in three days. Nobody seemed to complain back then. They just got on with it.Â
First up the Saturday before Christmas was Wimbledon at home. The Dons were in their first season in the top flight and were as rough and ready as anyone I'd ever seen. They were cast aside with a comfortable 3-0 win. I had a season ticket in Bullens Road and recall a lower than normal crowd that day. But a hard-fought three points was greatly accepted.Â
The following Friday was Boxing Day. Spent it at my Nan's with my Red family members. Â Liverpool had lost an early kick off at home to Man United and we thumped Newcastle 4-0 away. I listened to this on Radio City (194 MW). Â The pick of the goals was the 4th headed in by Adrian Heath from a Steven cross. Clive Tyldesley's line of "4-0. It's so simple but it is beautiful to watch," summed up a terrific day. My red family remained convinced their team would still come good and retain their title crown.Â
Next up two days later, back in the Bullens Road, Â a Sunday home game with a Leicester side that had done the double over the blues the previous season. No danger this time round. Inchy scored early and the boys romped home 5.1. In fairness Leicester were very poor and would eventually be relegated. The highlight of the game was a fantastic chip from the Sheedy. Sheeds was playing central midfield alongside Alan Harper in the absence of Reid and Bracewell and were both in fine form.Â
Match four was the hangover game. New Years Day. Aston Villa at home. Freezing as I recall. A heroes welcome for Andy Gray turning out for Villa. A slow first half and it remained 0.0. Alan Harper cracked one in at the Street End early in the second half and we were off again. Harper only ever scored from outside the box and with some power. We romped home 3.0.Â
Two days later and with four wins out of four a real test awaited. QPR away and the dreaded plastic pitch. We had never won on the artificial surface at either QPR or Luton. The game was heading for a draw when Sharp raced through on goal past a couple of static defenders before blasting the blues to three points. Radio City provided this game for me at home. Clive Tyldesley tried to compare Sharp's goal with Maradona's solo effort in Mexico. Not quite, Â but a golden goal for the blues.Â
I remember going to an 18th party that night in New Brighton and walked in to see my red friends. As I held my hand up I wasnt saying hello. It was five wins out of five.Â
We were at the forefront of the push for the League Championship. We were second now behind Arsenal. Four points behind. I didn't think Arsenal would go the distance and that it would be the Merseyside clubs that would go neck and neck for the top prize. I was right.Â
The twists and turns would continue in this title race. When the championship trophy was handed out in May it was clear that Christmas '86 was a pivotal time.
A great Christmas and great memories. This was my favourite ever season. This was my favourite ever Everton Christmas.Â
Reader Comments (24)
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2 Posted 14/12/2011 at 09:16:03
I remember the media had written us off - some things never change huh? - because we'd lost Lineker and had that insane injury crisis, but we plugged away and if I remember right, we won about 10 games on the trot at some point during that season.....
3 Posted 14/12/2011 at 09:39:14
The confidence in that side was unbelievable. The likes of Alan Harper could come in and look the part because the whole side was such a well-oiled machine.
4 Posted 14/12/2011 at 09:45:49
Abiding memory of that season was Paul Power. I have to be honest and say i was not a happy guy when we signed him but he proved me to be totally wrong in my judgement. I cannot praise him enough. Great memories.
5 Posted 14/12/2011 at 14:07:54
6 Posted 14/12/2011 at 16:39:54
Bobby Robson gave a great interview talking about how gutted he was he couldn't take Brace.
Imagine we could have had 5 Everton players playing in a world cup quarter final.
7 Posted 14/12/2011 at 19:38:48
I dont think anybody who watched Sheedy could say he was under-rated, he was a fabulous player who scored and created many crucial goals in big matches.
One thing that should be remembered is after the break up of the great 80s team he stayed whilst his teammates and manager left. His form was excellent he even top scored one season it is great to see him back at the club now and doing brilliant with the youth team.
8 Posted 14/12/2011 at 20:20:50
Thought it was a real backward step but I was 100% wrong.
In 1987 he was quite simply superb and I doubt we'd have won the title without him.
Jesus........Everton winning titles, I could fucking weep,
9 Posted 14/12/2011 at 21:20:58
Paul Power and his tache...I also seemed to recall Wayne Clarke???
10 Posted 14/12/2011 at 21:31:34
Those were the fucking days!
11 Posted 14/12/2011 at 22:13:01
Yeah, I seem to remember he scored an absolute cracker against City during perhaps Kendall Mk II??
Reidy was playing for City by then. Didn't Sheedy go to Italia 90 or am I making that up?
12 Posted 14/12/2011 at 23:16:46
Sheedy did go to Italia 90 and scored the equalizer for Ireland against England. Robbing Steve 'fuck off' McMahon of possesion and blasting in a typical shot. See it here....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuUzu0ZWgXU
He also scored a penalty during Ireland's shoot-out win over Romania.
A class act who was a pleasure to grow up watching and whose never been replaced.
13 Posted 14/12/2011 at 23:49:21
Knew I wasn't going mad. Him and McMahon were both failures at one side of Merseyside but successes on the other. Unlike Beardsley who was brilliant both sides and Barmby who was disappointing on both.
He had a sweet left foot and probably should have won more.
14 Posted 15/12/2011 at 13:45:45
When you consider how many injuries we had that season it was a great achievement to win the title - to put it mildly. And Paul Power - what a great signing he turned out to be !!!
15 Posted 15/12/2011 at 14:06:27
My first ever game on my own, 12 years of age, straight off the Isle of Man ferry to Goodison, £10 Upper Bullens. The fourth goal at the Gladys St End I'm pretty sure Sheeds 'scooped the ball' over the Norwich back four and Heath 'smashed' it full on the volley.
Beautiful!
Does any one else recall this game?
16 Posted 15/12/2011 at 14:14:25
He was captain of the team, and fell out with Kendall over money. The boss always won (in those days) and he left. He could've gone straight to LFC, but opted to go into 3 year quarantine at Villa first.
17 Posted 15/12/2011 at 14:34:03
Fair play to the Geordie crowd as the applauded us off the pitch.
Great time to be an Evertonian as we lived up to the school of science tag.
Paul Wharton
18 Posted 15/12/2011 at 14:30:54
I went to a Sportsmens evening at Dunnys club in Liverpool, Steve McMahon and Howard Kendall were the speakers. After the speeches their was a question and answer section. Apart from the usual question to Kendall about why he sold Lineker to Barcelona, obviously with the reference that he hoped to be the Barcelona manager.
Then a guy asked McMahon why he left Everton, he said that he was made captain and Kendall offered him an extra £5 per week, how times have changed. Kendall said he sold McMahon because he couldnt agree terms with McMahons agent. At this point McMahon stood up and said Howard I never had an agent all the time I was playing at Everton, Kendall didnt say anything in reply but you could tell who the audience believed.
19 Posted 16/12/2011 at 00:10:48
20 Posted 16/12/2011 at 12:19:01
The first match I saw was the Wimbledon game above. My aunt and uncle let me talk them into the drive to Newcastle for that 4-0 drubbing. I attended the Leicester and Villa matches. I can remember Sheedy's chip bc I was standing right behind the Street End goal where he scored it. Oddly, I can also remember Steve Moran scoring for them - the only goal we conceded during my trip.
I've always regretted not alighting out on my own to go to Loftus Rd. for that famous 1-0 win. I listened to it in the living room of my cousin's boyfriend (they're still together today!!!)- my other cousin Jamie and I going fucking bonkers when Sharpy netted.
On the day I left England we had pipped the Shite for the signature of Ian Snodin. The future looked bright.
Geez, what happened?
Thanks for the post.
21 Posted 16/12/2011 at 12:19:01
The first match I saw was the Wimbledon game above. My aunt and uncle let me talk them into the drive to Newcastle for that 4-0 drubbing. I attended the Leicester and Villa matches. I can remember Sheedy's chip bc I was standing right behind the Street End goal where he scored it. Oddly, I can also remember Steve Moran scoring for them - the only goal we conceded during my trip.
I've always regretted not alighting out on my own to go to Loftus Rd. for that famous 1-0 win. I listened to it in the living room of my cousin's boyfriend (they're still together today!!!)- my other cousin Jamie and I going fucking bonkers when Sharpy netted.
On the day I left England we had pipped the Shite for the signature of Ian Snodin. The future looked bright.
Geez, what happened?
Thanks for the post.
22 Posted 16/12/2011 at 12:30:37
23 Posted 16/12/2011 at 12:33:57
Trevor Steven was Garrincha that day. I still have the program. Pretty sure that Beasant played goal for them, Roeder was at cb, and both Beardo and Gazza played as well. Paul Goddard maybe. Neville made one really good save. Power scored the first.
But my reverie inevitably stops as I once again remember FUCCCCCCK that this should have been the run to our third consecutive league title, an honour that would have most certainly elevated us to the stature of Herbert Chapman's Arsenal teams of the 30's. Three championships in a row, when such a thing mattered and actually meant that yes, you had the best team in football. We would have been remembered as one of THE great club sides of all-time. Oh well.
24 Posted 17/12/2011 at 15:58:53
That autumn I was a student in Bristol and had to wait until Sunday mornings to get the scores as I had no TV. Every Sunday they seemed to win no matter how often I thought that the run couldn't go on.
Stevens was out on the left vs Chelsea (At least that is how I remember it) with his back to the fullback on the centreline. He knocked the ball back over his head and the fullbacks head, turned and beat the fullback to the ball after giving him a couple of yards start, ran down the pitch to cross.
I had never seen an Everton player do anything like it and the sheer confidence and energy of that side was something to behold. A few months later we were champions and it was that match that convinced me they could do it.
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1 Posted 14/12/2011 at 08:05:43