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Phil (Kelsall) Roberts
1 Posted 10/09/2019 at 08:44:09
I was there for the first game back for Duncan after his holiday in Scotland paid by the tax payer.

We were playing WHU and Dan was one of the strikers. He was about to score when their goalie Ludo Miklosko grabbed Dan around the head. Red Card and Penalty followed as we won 3-1.

After the game the West Ham team were furious as they claimed Miklosko was grabbing at the ball to which Joe Royle dismissed the suggestion in the strongest possible terms with "I don't see how, the ball is white and Dan's head is black"

Probably now get banned from the site for Racism - and so too will Joe Royle.

Peter Mills
2 Posted 10/09/2019 at 14:04:37
Like Mike Trebilcock, an Everton legend for scoring 2 goals at a vital stage of an FA Cup victory.

As the saying goes, you have to grab the opportunity of a lifetime within the lifetime of the opportunity.

Andrew James
3 Posted 10/09/2019 at 14:17:05
Was at Loftus Road. Amo changed us. He seemed to open up space with his running and flicks.

He never seemed to work with Big Dunc, which was problematic. He had the ability to read players like Limpar and Kanchelskis and we looked like a really good footballing side but Royle couldn't reconcile that with the Dogs of War spine he'd put in with a Rideout or Ferguson up top.

I think the long injury absence for Kanchelskis probably didn't help Amo as he was one of the few who could keep up with him and break with him, like at Blackburn towards the end of 95/96.

Cracking player yet like many of that era, was unable to cement himself in a team struggling to convert from a relegation threat to FA Cup holders and challenging for UEFA cup qualifying places in only 12 months.

Anthony Flack
4 Posted 10/09/2019 at 14:36:11
I was at Leeds for the semi behind the goal he scored in

Absolutely unforgettable - !!

Peter Gorman
5 Posted 10/09/2019 at 17:23:43
About a year ago, Daniel Amokachi returned to the club for a visit and for those who didn't get a chance to see it, here is the link;

Link

Confirms what many of us already knew; he is a top lad and now a total bluenose.

Peter Thistle
6 Posted 10/09/2019 at 20:53:22
Always liked him, his turn of pace was quality, good skills and the cheek to sub himself on. Top geezer.
Paul Birmingham
7 Posted 10/09/2019 at 22:27:57
Some great memories and it seems like yesterday. A skilful player at a time we had to play survival football.

I believe he now coaches in Finland, but is still a Bluenose, through and through.

Andy Crooks
8 Posted 10/09/2019 at 22:39:37
Did Duncan Ferguson turn up unexpectedly for Daniel's wedding in a kilt? Or did I, as happens more and more, dream that? I will never forget that Spurs game. He should have had a hat-trick.
Dave Williams
9 Posted 10/09/2019 at 23:05:11
You're right, Andy. I think it was held in Dubai. The Spurs game was the best we played in the whole decade. Joe Parkinson was magnificent and looked a future England player. Daniel stuck two goals away and I loved him to bits. Such a shame he was moved on but, as mentioned, he is a true blue.
Dennis Stevens
10 Posted 11/09/2019 at 12:35:17
I still marvel at the fact Walker remained in charge after the end of the 1993-94 season – what were they thinking?!
Stephen Brown
11 Posted 11/09/2019 at 20:05:13
I enjoyed that, Paul! Good memories despite the average team!

As a 17-year-old enjoying the cup run and win, I never thought I'd get to 41 and not see another pot lifted!

Robin Cannon
12 Posted 11/09/2019 at 22:38:32
I'd forgotten the total farce of the Muller deal. Didn't he wear a red blazer to visit Goodison?

Given all the pressures of joining a genuinely dire team, and then a new manager who played a very different style, Amo did OK. The semi-final at Elland Road is still one of my favorite experiences ever. Up to and including Big Nev grabbing a Spurs fan pitch invader by the neck and throwing him towards the touchline in no uncertain terms.

Let's not sugarcoat it. That reputation for racism wasn't massively unfair or ill-deserved. Having to go back to seven appearances from Cliff Marshall in the 70s to prove that we weren't is more damning than supportive.

Joe McMahon
13 Posted 11/09/2019 at 22:43:11
Steven@11, I'm 50 tomorrow, I know exactly how you feel, I was 25, half my life ago!
Brian Wilkinson
14 Posted 11/09/2019 at 00:04:24
Robin, what about Ravaneli when we refused to pay his utility bills in the deal and he refused to sign, or was that another player?
Don Alexander
15 Posted 12/09/2019 at 00:25:22
Daniel "I'm-a taxi"; big, black and used to carrying passengers. That was the oppo's quip at the time and it was fairly accurate. Kenwright probably used his signing to justify endless cheapo non-entities when he took over from Johnson....... for decades.
Don Alexander
16 Posted 12/09/2019 at 00:33:05
And on alleged racism, come on, our signings record from the sixties, seventies and eighties is deplorable in terms of "inclusiveness".

Just saying..

David Pearl
17 Posted 12/09/2019 at 01:46:16
Another great read. And thanks to Peter, 5 for the link.
Steve Ferns
18 Posted 12/09/2019 at 09:41:36
I don't think you can so easily dismiss the racism, especially the casual racism at the time. I remember going to the game with an aunt's father in 1994, when I was about 15. Amokachi was a big favourite of mine being this exciting exotic player I'd seen on telly scoring that goal against Greece. The old fella was and still is an absolutely lovely man, but I was amazed at his choice of words to describe Amokachi. It was only casual racism but racism nethertheless.

I think between Amokachi and Kevin Campbell, who arrived a few years after Amo left, perceptions were changed and thankfully you never hear language used like that anymore, even if it was supposedly affectionate.

As for Amokachi the player, I think he never quite delivered on the hopes I had for him. He scored just 13 goals in 48 games in his two seasons here, though he was often sub or subbed. Maybe he would have profited from the modern game or more attacking tactics from the manager.

I'll never forget the stories at the time where it was continually suggested he was much older than he said he was, ie not 21 but approaching 30. That was obviously a load of crap but another example of the attitude to African players back then.

Brian Wilkinson
19 Posted 12/09/2019 at 13:46:08
Steve, I am pretty sure Yakubu had a doctored birth certificate, there was no way he was the age he said he was, never heard the one about Amo though, must have missed that one.
Steve Ferns
20 Posted 12/09/2019 at 14:16:09
Brian, Amokachi retired at 28 due to injury and it was said he had the knees of a 40-year-old.

The thing with the pair of them is you can see them both on social media, both big Evertonians by the way as is Yobo, and they look their age. That is 36 for Yakubu and 46 for Amokachi. If they were say 10 years older, then Amokachi would not still look like he could put a pair of boots on and get out there. Yakubu still looks like he is still playing. He's in great shape.

I think the issue with Yakubu is he made his debut in Israel at 15 and then moved to Israel's biggest club (Maccabi Haifa) and scored goals in the Champions League at 16 and 17, think one was against Man Utd. This caused people to question his age when he moved to Portsmouth. If his age was forged, then he was no more than 2 years out.

Denver Daniels
21 Posted 13/09/2019 at 06:27:09
As an aside, does anyone know why Matty Jackson fell out of favour so soon after the FA Cup win? He was a big part of that team and one of my favourites at the time.
David Thomas
22 Posted 13/09/2019 at 07:15:40
Earl Barrett had been signed earlier in the season to be our first-choice right-back.

Jackson was playing in the cup games because Barrett was cup-tied.

Denver Daniels
23 Posted 13/09/2019 at 07:50:02
Cheers David. Pity we got rid of him so quickly. At least he's got a FA Cup winner's medal.
Peter Gorman
24 Posted 13/09/2019 at 13:20:08
Earl 'the pearl' Barrett, blimey - there's a blast from the past.

I think Royle only signed Barrett as he had been a regular for him at Oldham, and certainly had a better reputation that Jackson, but the sad truth is that both were very limited footballers and Royle himself seemed to concede this when he went on to sign yet another limited right-back in Marc Hottiger.

Still, whilst I can not remember a single good game that Barrett played, Jackson will always have that glorious cup run, in which he played a huge part and will be be remembered fondly as a result.

Kieran Kinsella
26 Posted 20/09/2019 at 16:52:53
I think Amokachi like Graham Stuart is one of the players from that era I tend to view through rose-tinted glasses as being better than he was. He had his moments but sometimes seemed clumsy and cumbersome around the 6-yard box. But regardless, he scored those two semi-final goals versus Spurs so in the context of the last 25 years that qualifies him as "legend".
Lee Courtliff
27 Posted 22/09/2019 at 07:44:29
I was there for his debut away at Blackburn and saw pretty much all of his appearances for us at home.

Very likeable man, legendary FA Cup semi-final but the truth is...Daniel was actually quite poor overall.

Didn't score, didn't hold it up and seemed to struggle staying onside.

My Dad met Gary Lineker around '96 and Gary thought Amo was one of the worst strikers in the League!!

But despite all that, I liked him and have very fond memories of that time period.

And when you think of the injuries we had in 96/97 season then we definitely should have kept him a while longer. For all his faults he was still useful and just so bloody likeable!


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