Driving
into Liverpool down the dock road, is becoming an even greater pleasure
with the passage of time. As you drop down toward the Liver buildings,
one is immediately taken by the sights and sounds of rejuvenation, development
and prosperity in the great city. Not many European cities can boast
a waterfront and skyline like “ours”, let’s just hope the planners and
developers can do justice to the stunning edifices from another prosperous
era in the cities history. I had a smile as wide as the Mersey tunnel.
It was great to be home.
The occasion was a reunion dinner for “the most successful team in the
clubs history” (The all conquering squad of 1984/85), at the cities
Crowne Plaza hotel. Many charities would benefit from the proceeds,
which is of course highly commendable, however some including myself,
felt that the £100 asking price was a little on the steep side
and in effect restricted the opportunity for some Evertonians to share
the experience. That said, I would not have missed it for the world.
The opportunity to spend the night with some of the greatest living
Evertonians is too good to miss. MC for the night, was none other than
Elton Welsby who seems to be an ever present when these nights come
around.
Philip Carter opened proceedings, with a eulogy to the great side and
management team, emphasising the fantastic team spirit that existed
throughout the camp. He went on to say that we had played 62 games in
all that season, with Neville Southall playing in all 62, followed by
“Ratters” playing in 60. Can you imagine asking some of today’s players
to turn out for 40+ games never mind 62? The talk was of what might
have been, had we overcome United to take the treble and how far the
team could have gone (more of that later). Apologies were given for
the absence of “Psycho Pat” and Kevin Richardson.
Following the meal, there was a Q&A session. The inevitable question
of the European ban and its effect on the club was fielded by “The Gaffer”.
As he normally does, Howard answered by suggesting that it is always
very difficult to speculate “what might have been” but confirmed that
in his opinion we were the best in Europe at the time and were robbed
of the opportunity to prove ourselves on the big stage. The team’s strength
he said was “we believed before every game that we could not be beaten”.
He also suggested that it was no coincidence that the club has seen
“lean” times since that era.
Some of the more senior players (Ratters, Reidy, Sharpy and Gray), all
gave heart-warming accounts of the times they spent together and as
usual Andy Gray emphasised what a privilege it had been to play for
the club, he says “gave me the most treasured memories of my playing
career”. Inchy talked about the worst night of his life (the night we
lifted the cup in Rotterdam). Unable to get down to the bench to sit
with the rest of the squad, he was a mere spectator to a game he would
have given his right arm to play in. Kevin Sheedy received the biggest
reception of the night. Maybe it is the fact that he defected from the
dark side, the two finger salute to the Kop or merely the fact that
we loved his skill and invention, something we long for from the current
side. Throughout the night, whenever his name was mentioned, the crowd
responded with shouts of “Sheedy, Sheedy”. Listening to these people
discussing their passion for the club and the empathy they felt with
the fans, really does make you realise why we still follow the club
through the “lean” years and what sets us apart from the “rent a crowds”,
that have proliferated since the emergence of the Premier League.
A number of items were auctioned, with some signed shirts and signed
boots reaching four figure sums respectively for charity. One of the
lads on our table won a replica of a Rapid Vienna shirt, signed by all
of the current squad to commemorate the night. After the auction, there
was a lull in proceedings which gave one of the lads “Rory” the opportunity
to perform his party piece. His “And We Love Our Everton” song (to the
tune of Alloute) was sung with great gusto by everyone. Sporting a Blue
wig, oversize fake microphone and despite the best efforts of the security
team, he conducted the crowd through verse after verse, singing the
praises of the squad from Neville to Sheeds. It was one of the highlights
of the night and saw even the “stuffed shirts” joining in, it was that
infectious. A half cocked firework display (the club crest illuminated
on the shores of the Mersey), heralded the start of the comedians (Sean
Styles) set. If any of you have tickets to the Kipper
bash on May 12th, then you are in for a real treat. Sean is a top
Evertonian and performing on the night. Believe me; he will be worth
the entrance fee alone. His mixture of humour and uncanny impersonations
will have you laughing your socks off. Definitely another highlight
of the night.
Once the evenings main events were over, it was time for a couple of
photo opportunities. You may recognise Ritchie and Rory’s flag from
Kipper snapshots, when it was photographed
and filmed at all of the big games during the last World Cup. One of
the funniest pictures is when the lads “relieved” the security guard
of the Canon cup. The look on the guys face is priceless.
Afterwards, it was off to Baby Cream to continue the festivities, which
finished for me at the Radisson Hotel at about 4:30 the following morning.
Believe me, when I left, the party was still in full swing. Some of
the players were there, including Paul (Wilko) Wilkinson, sporting gelled
back hair and resembling a pikey. His new look however, is a vast improvement
on some of his previous run out’s as the “King of the Mullets”. All
in all, it was a fantastic night in the company of great Evertonians
and the chance to reminisce about the most successful era in the clubs
history. Here’s hoping, that some of the younger Blues get the opportunity
to watch and enjoy an Everton side, with the steely determination, camaraderie
and silky skills that epitomised the team of 84/85.(27/04/04)
Thank
You To Steve Battle (Sunlink) For The Report.
