I vividly recall the second stint of Howard Kendall as Everton manager. His second full season saw us win the three opening games, amongst these a memorable 3-0 trashing of Manchester United at Old Trafford. A return to the happy days, we thought... but how wrong we were! As it turned out, Kendall was as blinded by our past glories as the fans: he believed that, in bringing back the likes of Alan Harper and Mark Ward, he would usher in a new golden age, but it was not to be. Howard Kendall Mk II should go down in the annals of Everton FC as the Great Destroyer rather than the Great Redeemer; for this man was the epitome of reaction rather than progress.
Pat Nevin once stated that Colin Harvey was on the verge of great things, and I am inclined to agree with Nevin. Back then, we had a generational conflict: new players hungry for success, such as Tony Cottee and Martin Keown, were engaged in a backroom battle against players who had achieved everything there was to achieve: the likes of Kevin Sheedy and Graeme Sharp. A pub brawl between Keown and Sheedy – and this is a true story – should serve as a fitting testimony to the generational conflict. Sheedy apparently called Keown a "lousy footballer" and had his face punched by a seething Keown.
Harvey was doing his utmost to arbitrate between these two generations, but he was not brave enough to resort to a complete purge. He should have sold off the likes of Sheedy and Sharp, but he decided to work out a compromise between the past and the future instead, and therein the key to Harvey’s downfall is to be found.
I was a happy man when Harvey was sacked and I was ecstatic when I heard that Kendall Mk II would be his successor. Hindsight tells me what a fool I was. The more I reflect on my folly, the more do I admire Colin Harvey. This man, in spite of being sacked and humiliated, still consented to being Kendall MkII´s second-in-command. His love for Everton FC must have been truly infinite.
Colin Harvey, these are my words to you: I am ashamed of having praised your sacking; please forgive me. It must have been heartbreaking for you to see Kendall Mk II raze to the ground everything that you attempted to build. Yet, like a true stoic, you accepted it all.
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3 Posted 07/10/2012 at 08:58:56
4 Posted 07/10/2012 at 10:14:33
5 Posted 07/10/2012 at 10:36:25
6 Posted 07/10/2012 at 18:23:55
As for your point about Harvey, wouldn't the great destroyer be a little more apt for him rather than Kendall? We were languishing third to bottom when he was sacked, just having been knocked out of the League Cup to a very poor Sheffield Utd. This was only three years after Kendall left him a Championship-winning team.
Yes he was let down by the very players who professed they owed him everything, hello Graeme and Kevin R. But at the end of the day his transfer record was abysmal: Wilson, Whiteside, McDonald and Nevin to name but a few. Nevin talks about being verge of greatness but his sides' performances year on year after Kendall leaving only got worse.
As for agreeing to return as Kendall's Number 2, if you read his auto biography he states it was one of the worst decisions he had ever made! He reports that he should have made a complete break from the club. His legacy as a great footballer and coach at all levels for the club is preserved. His time as manager of the club is best forgotten.
7 Posted 08/10/2012 at 03:05:13
"new players hungry for success, such as Tony Cottee"
The only thing Cottee seemed to be interested in was personal glory. This was a player who never looked arsed at getting beat 3-1 as long as he scored the 1. He was also the epitome of a flat track bully. Banging in a hat trick against a lower league team in the Simod Cup but struggling to even look interested when the going got tough. Didn't he also shit out of taking the penalty in the Wimbleon game when 0-2 down, leaving Graeme Stuart to step up?
As for the claim that Harvey's team was " on the verge of great things"?. That claim can be shot down with two words: Mike Milligan.
8 Posted 08/10/2012 at 07:29:49
Sheff Wed H 1-1
Man Utd a 3-0
Norwich a 1-1
Aston Villa H 1-0
Wimbledon H 0-0
It's easy from the hindsight of history to point to players that were brought in as not being as good as those who left. Did the manager have any choice in those who left e.g. Stevens & Steven ? Some of our heroes of the glory years should also accept their responsiblity for our fall from grace - it's too easy to point the finger at Kendall & Harvey. I remember at the time being appalled at Nev's behaviour at the match v Leeds - the famous or should it be infamous half time sit in. I wasn't impressed at the time and I am still not impressed now some 22 years later. No player, however great he is,or legendary is bigger than the club.Graeme Sharp is another - his goalscoring record in those seasons showed a rather dramatic slump.
No too easy to point the finger at Kendall & Harvey in my opinion - maybe some of our "legends" started to believe their own publicity and should have the decency to accept their responsibility for our fall from grace.
9 Posted 08/10/2012 at 09:25:48
Nevin and Whiteside were never Reid and Steven.
10 Posted 08/10/2012 at 09:50:34
So which of us cannot sing "And if you know your history" — and happy to be proved it is me if I am wrong.
11 Posted 08/10/2012 at 10:21:19
Some of our established pros did suffer from diminishing returns and I recall Sharp in later seasons spending more time arguing with refs rather than delivering. In hindsight, the return of Kendall was an error but there was probably a more general malaise at the club as we entered the David Marsh years.
12 Posted 08/10/2012 at 11:22:29
To be honest I always thought he was a very poor memory. I just didn't rate him at all but my Dad kept singing his praises regardless of his stupid decisions like selling Beardsley. I still can't fucking believe that.
As for Harvey, I thought he was a bit unlucky. On paper his signings looked very good and we should have had a perfect blend of youth and experience. But it never worked out.
I do agree that some of the players should take some blame too. I saw Sharp play and thought he was nothing. Just nothing. Yet my Dad told me how great he was just a few years earlier.
I don't think Sharp was interested anymore but when he went to Oldham he banged in 15 goals in his first season. He didn't score that many for us in his last two seasons combined. Maybe three? Perhaps he just needed a change?
Overall I think both Harvey and Kendall are to blame along with a lot of other factors such as the Euro ban and the failure of the board to adapt to the new era but I don't think any one man should take the entire blame for our demise. Especially not one of the two men who made us Champions in the first place.
13 Posted 08/10/2012 at 11:44:09
14 Posted 08/10/2012 at 11:45:28
Maybe Nevin wasn't as good as Steven – but he was a decent enough winger and I think Sharp had enough creative players around him to have scored as a reasonable rate. In his last full season (1990-91) he made 24 appearances and scored 3 goals more in keeping with Rod Belfit.
And before I get accused of "Sharpy bashing", he was my favourite player of that era. But as I said, the players of that era need to acknowledge that they were partly responsible for our "fall from grace" and not just the managers.
15 Posted 08/10/2012 at 12:18:16
I lived in an area where my friends were mainly United and City fans and they were in awe of Colin Harvey in the late 60s. From what I remember he was glassed in the Championship season and we had a terrible run when he was out. I always wondered if he ever recovered properly afterwards and if that wasn't one of the reasons behind our amazing decline post 1970.
I salute you Colin, a great guy, a magnificent Evertonian and the most stylish English player I've ever seen.
16 Posted 08/10/2012 at 12:58:39
Beardsley is on record as saying he didn't want to leave Everton.
A poor piece of management from Kendall. Unless my facts are wrong but I'm sure I saw Beardsley say he never asked for a transfer.
Cottee said in his book that the reason HK sold Peter was because he thought Everton played better with a staright 4-4-2 formation. Whereas Beardsley always played off the main striker.
Like I said, poor management. But he was probably pissed at the time!
17 Posted 08/10/2012 at 13:32:00
It's ironic when you think about it really that in the 2 seasons 1991-2 & 92-3 we didn't have a team that could match the " Glory Team" of 1984-7 but we had an individual player in Peter Beardsley who wouldn't have looked out of place in that great team.
18 Posted 08/10/2012 at 14:00:47
19 Posted 08/10/2012 at 18:27:49
Back to op Harvey had big boots to fill,and didn't do himself no favours with some of his buys. Steffan Rehn,Ray Atteveld,Mike Milligan anyone. Other buys struggled because of who they were replacing such as Neil Mcdonald for Gary Stevens.
A good player who I thought was underated. Scored one of the best Everton goals I've seen at the city ground. And Big Norm was excellent first season,think he ended up with about 14 goals. I remember in that season smashing Forest 5-0 under the floodlights of Goodison in one of the best performances I've ever seen from our boys
20 Posted 09/10/2012 at 00:47:04
He was a fantastic player and like you said,he could have played in our Championship winning team. Easily.
21 Posted 09/10/2012 at 10:17:33
I do remember HK coming back and thinking the good times would be back but it didn't happen... come to think of it, it reminds me a bit like them lot across the park with Kenny D.
22 Posted 09/10/2012 at 10:25:06
Sharp was a great forward in his heyday, Beardsley was magnificent; anybody remember the WC when he played with Lineker
23 Posted 09/10/2012 at 13:22:46
24 Posted 09/10/2012 at 22:19:34
Those players weren't as good as Liverpool's,that's where we started to slip. Harvey's recruitment wasn't as good as some of our rivals,though I will defend Cottee as a top notch striker. 99 goals in 200 games says it all.
25 Posted 12/10/2012 at 13:12:45
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1 Posted 07/10/2012 at 07:21:55