Season › 2012-13 › News
Mixed feelings for Big Joe
Joe Royle will be watching Saturday's FA Cup tie with obvious interest — not at Boundary Park but in London as a pundit for Al Jazeera. "No matter who scores, I won't know what to do," he said.'Big Joe' twice took the Latics to Wembley at the start of the 1990s during a golden spell when they reached two FA Cup semi-finals plus a League Cup final, and he also guided them into the top flight.
With Everton, he went further. An FA Cup runner-up as a teenage Toffees striker in 1968, Royle remains their last manager to win any silverware after getting his hands on the famous old trophy in 1995. "That is a record I would gladly lose," he told BBC Sport this week.
Everton will be looking to recapture old glories, and to end their long wait for a trophy that dates back to Royle's time in charge at Goodison Park, when his 'Dogs of War' triumphed against the odds.
The Toffees were bottom of the Premier League when Royle arrived in November 1994 but he kept them up and capped a remarkable campaign by beating Manchester United at Wembley the following May.
"Staying up was much more important and I maintained the stance that the FA Cup was a hindrance to us all along until we reached the quarter-finals, and even then it just became a welcome hindrance," Royle added.
"Once we beat Tottenham 4-1 in an epic semi-final and got to Wembley, the Cup was really on our minds but we remained really laid back about the whole thing. We probably got serious about the game about half-an-hour before the final kicked off and we were in no way afraid of United."
It is interesting to listen to clips of Royle, plus his players and the club's directors — including current chairman Bill Kenwright — talking to BBC Sport in the immediate aftermath of that Wembley triumph. All thought more success was on the horizon. It is still yet to materialise.
"Realistically, it would have to be a cup again," added Royle when asked what the Toffees' trophy prospects are like in 2013. "They have got a chance too, because David Moyes has done terrifically well over his 10 years there and this is the best team he has had.
"He has got a team for all seasons, not a soft team, but they also have talented players and they can play. Their best 11 is right up there, and can beat the best in the division. If there is a weakness, then it is the total strength of the squad."
"If Everton win on Saturday, then they are one game from going to Wembley in the semi-finals," he said. "That sort of thing can boost you and get the crowd ignited. Cup runs do not necessarily cost you - quite honestly, they can run hand in hand, as we found out in 1995.
But can Oldham get in the way, as they did in 1990 — after three epic ties when Royle was in charge — and in again in 2008 when Gary McDonald caused a shock at Goodison Park? Maybe... but Royle does not see it happening. "This is a strong Everton side," Royle said.
"Whatever the weather, we are talking about a hardened, talented, organised outfit. I don't think they are prone to mistakes in the way Liverpool were when they came to Boundary Park.
"For Oldham to win, they will have to be at their very best and Everton will have to have a real off-day."
Quotes or other material sourced from BBC Sport
Reader Comments (18)
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2 Posted 15/02/2013 at 08:57:55
3 Posted 15/02/2013 at 09:49:41
4 Posted 15/02/2013 at 10:07:02
Have him back in a heartbeat on a stand in basis if Moyes decides he's not earning enough. Knowing Joe he'd probably win the cup and twat the RS - all with Barkley, Duffy, Oviedo in - Moyes boys wouldn't know whether to twist or stick.
5 Posted 15/02/2013 at 10:52:59
The way he was treated by the Chairman,and some fans, was a disgrace.
Getting rid of Big Joe and bringing back the alchoholic,washed up Kendall must be the dumbest move EVER!!
6 Posted 15/02/2013 at 11:17:10
7 Posted 15/02/2013 at 13:18:08
8 Posted 15/02/2013 at 13:38:17
Oldham are definetely a bogy team of ours in the FA Cup, I remember the battle we had with them when Colin Harvey was in charge and we were eventually dumped out of the Cup and ended up with Mike Milligan as compensation !
9 Posted 15/02/2013 at 13:42:05
10 Posted 15/02/2013 at 15:19:53
11 Posted 15/02/2013 at 15:31:57
12 Posted 15/02/2013 at 16:14:09
And who can forget his classic line after a midweek draw at that hellhole after they complained about us kicking them off the park? A few dummies came flying out the pram there tonight. Quality Joe.
Memo to Moyes: Watch a few videos of us when he was in charge of us playing at Anfield. You might actually win there...
13 Posted 15/02/2013 at 16:57:28
Countless fans were bombarding Johnson about the negative style of play under big Joe which is why he refused to back him to buy Andre Tore Flo and hastened his exit.
Fans have short memories though. It would serve them well to reflect how similar it is to the criticism levelled at Moyesy now.
14 Posted 15/02/2013 at 19:24:18
16 Posted 15/02/2013 at 23:48:15
Their centre forward was a 13 yr old called Joe Royle and I think he got 5 of them.
He then became the youngest player to play for the Blues (wasn't this the game where Catterick almost got lynched for dropping Alex Young?) and when I returned to Liverpool to study in 1969 he was our Title winning hero that season.
He returned as manager and saved us from relegation and won the Cup. He was a great 'Dogs of War' manager but I do think he was a bit out of his depth when he got some money to spend any
17 Posted 16/02/2013 at 00:16:04
I also think his desire to get Andre Flo proved to be correct.
A great servant of all the clubs he worked for. You just don't get players or managers like him any more
18 Posted 16/02/2013 at 01:04:35
For my part, I have a great affection for the great team of 1968 to 1970/71 and when he came to manage in difficult circumstances but turned out performances with the resources he had. In that respect DM followed his philosophy for a while - dogs of war cf guerrillas in the mist (vs those across the park).
Joe will be forever remembered for taking a punt on Big Duncan - listen to how he persuaded the Chairman to do the deal - keeping us up and winning the cup. A hero in that respect albeit I feel that he would never have reached the heights of Catterick or Howard, even though he should have done more but that's another story, or DM.
Still once a blue always a blue
19 Posted 16/02/2013 at 20:07:37
What a symbiotic relationship they all had with each other.
Those were the days ......when our jersey was not polluted by sponsors adverts.
And, yes 100% agree with poster above.....not afraid to stand up to the R.S
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1 Posted 15/02/2013 at 07:40:07
for us and I have very fond memories of his time in charge, even if we did flirt with relegation. I seem to remember us missing out on europe on the last day of the season because of Arsenal and Bolton? Great man.