The Forgotten Champions 1986/1987 Everton's Last Title

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It's a book about our 1987 league title win. Paul McParlan is the author, and there's interviews with Alan Harper Paul Power and Kevin Ratcliffe. I've my copy ordered off amazon. It should make for interesting reading anyway. We live in hope to see Everton finally get back to those heady heights again, in the hopefully not too distant future.

Official launch at Pritchard's bookshop Crosby Village at 11.30am on Saturday 9th October with the author, Graeme Sharp and Brian Viner.
 
Great team, I remember getting home after the game when they had lifted the trophy and me and my mate were running all around the street with our scarves above our heads, I was only 7 but still remember the trophy being paraded, I was in the Lower Bullens. Then I remember not long after going to Goodison to have my picture taken with the league trophy.
 
They’re more “forgotten” than the 85 team, I’d say. Everyone over the age of 12 can name the 85 team 1-11 plus subs, wouldn’t say the same about the 87 team. But that’s more to do with the Cup Winners’ Cup, and reaching the FA Cup final helps.

I’d say 1970 with The Holy Trinity and Royle, Labone etc. is more revered too.

I’d guess with the European ban, the crumble that followed, the fact there hadn’t been a drought beforehsnd etc, the 87 title win isn’t celebrated so much. But not forgotten, definitely.

OK off the top of my head and no googling:

Gordon West
Sandy Brown
Tommy Wright
Brian Labone
John Hurst
Johnny Morrisey
Howard Kendall
Colin Harvey
Alan Ball
Joe Royle
Alan Whittle
Jimmy Husband


I know that's 12 but am I close????? :Blink:
 
OK off the top of my head and no googling:

Gordon West
Sandy Brown
Tommy Wright
Brian Labone
John Hurst
Johnny Morrisey
Howard Kendall
Colin Harvey
Alan Ball
Joe Royle
Alan Whittle
Jimmy Husband


I know that's 12 but am I close????? :Blink:
Impossible to forget. Just sing the Hari Krishna song ;)
Gordon West, Tommy Wright, Sandy Brown, Howard Kendall, Brian Labone, Colin Harvey, Jimmy Husband, Alan Ball, Joe Royle, John Hurst, Johnny Morrissey, Harry Catterick -Harry Catterick - Harry Catterick - Harry Catterick - Harry Catterick.
 

….Van den Hauwe playing a key role filling in as CB is my memory, what a class act he was.

I seen him out once in the Red house in Old Swan with some woman when he was playing for us, he was out injured and I turned round and said to him “What are you doing out, you’re supposed to be injured” he didn’t say anything, he just turned round and gave me this look, you could see from the look why he got the nickname Psycho Pat. lol
 
My first season going the game with my arl fella, I was 6 years old and we had season tickets in the lower gladdy, so I timed it very well. I used to stand on the corner of one of the raised sections at the back, always remember the game when we got presented with the trophy against Luton and they tried to boot us off the pitch.
 
Impossible to forget. Just sing the Hari Krishna song ;)
Gordon West, Tommy Wright, Sandy Brown, Howard Kendall, Brian Labone, Colin Harvey, Jimmy Husband, Alan Ball, Joe Royle, John Hurst, Johnny Morrissey, Harry Catterick -Harry Catterick - Harry Catterick - Harry Catterick - Harry Catterick.

And @Bluerover ... good memories you guys have!

Just one addition ... I think Keith Newton took over at left back about 2 weeks after Sandy Brown's famous own goal in early December '69.
 
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I seen him out once in the Red house in Old Swan with some woman when he was playing for us, he was out injured and I turned round and said to him “What are you doing out, you’re supposed to be injured” he didn’t say anything, he just turned round and gave me this look, you could see from the look why he got the nickname Psycho Pat. lol
He doesn't like scousers.
 

I bet those of you lucky enough to have been witness the '87 league win, can't of envisioned it would have been our last.

Call me pessimistic, but football looks about ready to eat itself. If we ever win the league again, I think whichever guise either us or the league will be in, will make it the 1st, rather than 10th title.

Just a shame all I have is 95. Moyes's era could easily of been a League Cup here, an FA Cup there. Even an Europa. We'd of beaten St Petersberg in that final. We already had in the group stage (twice if my memory serves me right).

I hate the closed shop football has become
 
And in part because so many players contributed a cameo that season it was not quite the same 12-14 players as it was in 1985. It was a tremendous achievement of squad management in 1987.
Outstanding achievement to recover from the devastating dissapointment of the previous season, to win the league so comfortably, despite half of Howards best players missing for half the season! But people like Wayne Clarke Neil Adams Kevin Langley and Paul Wilkinson, those lads didn't have long careers at Everton, but they all made a contribution to that title win. Wayne Clarke in particular, with those goals late in the season.

It was a real team effort, and if 1985 wasn't enough to convince people, then 1987 proved beyond doubt what a great manager Howard Kendall was. Obviously we saw with the neighbours how well promoting from within worked for them, so at the time it made sense to hire Colin Harvey as Howards successor. But of course as we all know it didn't really work out. Although we were unlucky in both FA Cup and Full Members Cup finals in 1989.
 
I really don't buy the notion that the 87 title is in any way forgotten. It can't be because, for most, the 87 side was simply the 85 side with injuries. It is, essentially, the crowning glory of the great mid-80s side as it copper-fastened them as a great team. That's what second titles do.

Where it is overshadowed is in the quality and excitement of the football - but, again, that is because the players who came in for our injured stars were, generally, just not as good. Paul Power is the only player from the 87 side that would have in any way improved the 85 side.
 
Shame the seeds of the rot had already set in though. I was only two but reading Kendall’s and Harvey’s books we already had no foresight to stay at the top of the summit. We just copied the reds and thought it would work for us. Good as them players were in helping us win the league they weren’t bought for long term success. It kills me that I don’t think I will see us win one European trophy or a league title when my life should of been full of them. Heysel. The tories, the reds, and board can all rot in hell.
 

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