1984–85 Everton F.C. season

Everton
1984–85 season
ChairmanPhilip Carter
ManagerHoward Kendall
First Division1st (champions)
FA CupRunners-up
League CupFourth round
FA Charity ShieldWinners
European Cup Winners' CupWinners
Top goalscorerLeague:
Graeme Sharp (21)
All:
Graeme Sharp (27)
Highest home attendance51,045 v Liverpool (23 May 1985)
Lowest home attendance16,277 v University College Dublin (3 October 1984)
Average home league attendance32,131

During the 1984–85 English football season, Everton F.C. competed in the Football League First Division and finished as champions for the first time in 15 years, also winning the European Cup Winners' Cup.

Season summary

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Everton enjoyed a hugely successful season, winning the First Division with 90 points (13 more than runners-up Liverpool) and the Cup Winners' Cup with a 3–1 win over Rapid Vienna. In recognition of these achievements, Howard Kendall was voted Manager of the Year while goalkeeper Neville Southall and midfielder Peter Reid picked up the FWA Footballer of the Year and PFA Players' Player of the Year awards respectively. Domestically, the only downside to the season was the FA Cup Final defeat to Manchester United which prevented Kendall's team from completing a domestic double and continental treble. Further disappointment would follow when UEFA's blanket ban on English clubs following the Heysel stadium disaster denied Everton the opportunity to compete in the following season's European Cup.

Everton had ended the 1983–84 campaign by beating Watford 2–0 in the FA Cup final to claim their first piece of silverware for 14 years. Kendall saw little need to make major alterations to his squad although midfielder Paul Bracewell was a notable acquisition, signed for £425,000 from Sunderland, and another was made a few weeks into the new season when Everton paid Birmingham City £100,000 for Pat Van Den Hauwe who quickly made the left-back spot his own. Southall was by now established as first-choice goalkeeper with the defence augmented by right-back Gary Stevens and the centre-back pairing of Derek Mountfield and skipper Kevin Ratcliffe. Reid and Bracewell were flanked in midfield by Trevor Steven and Kevin Sheedy while Graeme Sharp and Andy Gray ended the season as the regular forward line after a serious knee injury suffered against Sheffield Wednesday ended Adrian Heath's season prematurely.

Although the season opened with victory over Liverpool in the Charity Shield, Everton's league campaign began poorly with a 4–1 thrashing by Tottenham Hotspur at Goodison Park followed two days later by a 2–1 defeat at West Bromwich Albion. However, a Kevin Richardson goal gave them victory at Chelsea on the last day of August and they went through September unbeaten, notching up further away wins at Newcastle United and Watford, although three home matches produced only a narrow win over Coventry City and two draws.

October began with defeat at Arsenal but Everton then found their best form with successive victories over Aston Villa, Liverpool and Manchester United. Sharp's wonder goal clinched their first win at Anfield since the 1969-70 championship season and they were arguably even more impressive in beating Ron Atkinson's United the following week. Sheedy (twice), Heath, Stevens and Sharp scored in a 5–0 win that in no way flattered Everton. As if to prove a point, they went to Old Trafford three days later and beat United again, this time in the third round of the Milk Cup.

A 3–0 win over Leicester City saw Everton go top of the league and further victories over West Ham United and Stoke City cemented their position. However, a shock home defeat by Grimsby Town in the Milk Cup triggered a dip in form that saw Everton win only once in six matches and a 4–3 defeat by Chelsea at Goodison just before Christmas saw them surrender the leadership to Tottenham.

Thereafter, Everton were virtually unstoppable. A 2–1 win at Sunderland on Boxing Day began an unbeaten run of 28 matches which saw them collect 50 out of a possible 54 league points and reach two cup finals along the way. They reclaimed top spot in January by beating Newcastle 4–0 and victory at Tottenham at the start of April opened up a four-point lead with games in hand on their closest challengers. A 2–0 win over Queens Park Rangers on 6 May secured the title with five league matches still to play.

The Cup Winners' Cup campaign began with a surprisingly tight aggregate win over University College Dublin but Everton breezed past Inter Bratislava and Fortuna Sittard to set up a semi-final against Bayern Munich. After a goalless first leg in West Germany, they fell behind to a Dieter Hoeness goal at Goodison but roared back to reach the final thanks to goals from Sharp, Gray and Steven. Rapid Vienna were no match in Rotterdam's Feyenoord Stadium and goals from Gray, Steven and Sheedy clinched Everton's first ever European trophy.

In the FA Cup, Everton beat Leeds United, Doncaster Rovers and non-league Telford United without too much difficulty but needed a late Mountfield equaliser in the quarter-final to take Ipswich Town to a replay which they won courtesy of a Sharp penalty. In the semi-final against Luton Town, they were again trailing with time running out when Sheedy equalised with a free kick, and Mountfield headed the winner near the end of extra time.

Ultimately, the final against Manchester United - played just three days after the Cup Winners' Cup final - proved a match too far and Everton went down to a single Norman Whiteside goal in extra time. It could not take the shine off what is regarded by many as the greatest season ever in the history of the club.

Squad

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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
— GK England ENG Jim Arnold
— GK Wales WAL Neville Southall
— DF England ENG Ian Atkins
— DF England ENG John Bailey
— DF England ENG Alan Harper
— DF England ENG Darren Hughes
— DF England ENG Derek Mountfield
— DF England ENG Darren Oldroyd
— DF Wales WAL Kevin Ratcliffe (captain)
— DF England ENG Gary Stevens
— DF Wales WAL Pat Van Den Hauwe
— MF England ENG Paul Bracewell
— MF England ENG Terry Curran
No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF England ENG Jason Danskin
— MF England ENG John Morrissey
— MF England ENG Peter Reid
— MF England ENG Kevin Richardson
— MF England ENG Neill Rimmer
— MF Republic of Ireland IRL Kevin Sheedy
— MF England ENG Trevor Steven
— MF England ENG Derek Walsh
— FW Scotland SCO Andy Gray
— FW England ENG Adrian Heath
— FW Scotland SCO Graeme Sharp
— FW England ENG Robbie Wakenshaw
— FW England ENG Paul Wilkinson

[1]

Transfers

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In

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Out

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Results

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Charity Shield

[edit]
Date Opponents H / A Result
F–A 		Scorers Attendance
18 August 1984 Liverpool N 1–0 Grobbelaar (o.g.) 100,000

[2]

First Division

[edit]
Date Opponents H / A Result
F–A 		Scorers Attendance
25 August 1984 Tottenham Hotspur H 1–4 Heath (pen.) 35,630
27 August 1984 West Bromwich Albion A 1–2 Heath (pen.) 13,464
31 August 1984 Chelsea A 1–0 Richardson 17,734
4 September 1984 Ipswich Town H 1–1 Heath 22,314
8 September 1984 Coventry City H 2–1 Steven, Sharp 20,013
15 September 1984 Newcastle United A 3–2 Sheedy, Steven, Gray 26,944
22 September 1984 Southampton H 2–2 Mountfield, Sharp 22,354
29 September 1984 Watford A 5–4 Steven, Heath (2), Mountfield, Sharp 18,335
6 October 1984 Arsenal A 0–1 37,049
13 October 1984 Aston Villa H 2–1 Sharp, Heath 25,089
20 October 1984 Liverpool A 1–0 Sharp 45,545
27 October 1984 Manchester United H 5–0 Sheedy (2), Heath, Stevens, Sharp 40,742
3 November 1984 Leicester City H 3–0 Steven, Sheedy, Heath 27,784
10 November 1984 West Ham United A 1–0 Heath 24,089
17 November 1984 Stoke City H 4–0 Heath (2), Reid, Steven 26,705
24 November 1984 Norwich City A 2–4 Sharp, Sheedy 16,925
1 December 1984 Sheffield Wednesday H 1–1 Sharp (pen.) 35,440
8 December 1984 Queens Park Rangers A 0–0 14,338
15 December 1984 Nottingham Forest H 5–0 Sharp (2), Sheedy, Steven, Reid 22,487
22 December 1984 Chelsea H 3–4 Bracewell, Sharp (2 pens) 29,887
26 December 1984 Sunderland A 2–1 Mountfield (2) 19,714
29 December 1984 Ipswich Town A 2–0 Sharp (2) 16,045
1 January 1985 Luton Town H 2–1 Steven (2) 31,682
12 January 1985 Newcastle United H 4–0 Sharp, Mountfield, Sheedy (2) 32,156
2 February 1985 Watford H 4–0 Stevens (2), Sheedy, Steven 34,026
23 February 1985 Leicester City A 2–1 Gray (2) 17,345
2 March 1985 Manchester United A 1–1 Mountfield 51,150
16 March 1985 Aston Villa A 1–1 Richardson 22,625
23 March 1985 Arsenal H 2–0 Gray, Sharp 36,387
30 March 1985 Southampton A 2–1 Richardson (2) 18,754
3 April 1985 Tottenham Hotspur A 2–1 Gray, Steven 48,108
6 April 1985 Sunderland H 4–1 Gray (2), Steven, Sharp 35,978
16 April 1985 West Bromwich Albion H 4–1 Atkins, Sharp (2 including 1 pen), Sheedy 29,750
20 April 1985 Stoke City A 2–0 Sharp, Sheedy 18,258
27 April 1985 Norwich City H 3–0 Mountfield, Steven, Bracewell 32,085
4 May 1985 Sheffield Wednesday A 1–0 Gray 37,381
6 May 1985 Queens Park Rangers H 2–0 Mountfield, Sharp 50,514
8 May 1985 West Ham United H 3–0 Gray, Mountfield (2) 32,657
11 May 1985 Nottingham Forest A 0–1 18,784
23 May 1985 Liverpool H 1–0 Wilkinson 51,045
26 May 1985 Coventry City A 1–4 Wilkinson 21,224
28 May 1985 Luton Town A 0–2 11,509

[2]

Pos Club Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Everton 42 28 6 8 88 43 +45 90
2 Liverpool 42 22 11 9 68 35 +33 77
3 Tottenham Hotspur 42 23 8 11 78 51 +27 77

Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points

European Cup Winners' Cup

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Date Round Opponents H / A Result
F–A 		Scorers Attendance
19 September 1984 Round 1
First leg 		Republic of Ireland University College Dublin A 0–0 9,750
3 October 1984 Round 1
Second leg 		Republic of Ireland University College Dublin H 1–0 Sharp 16,277
24 October 1984 Round 2
First leg 		Czech Republic Inter Bratislava A 1–0 Bracewell 15,000
7 November 1984 Round 2
Second leg 		Czech Republic Inter Bratislava H 3–0 Sharp, Sheedy, Heath 25,007
6 March 1985 Quarter-final
First leg 		Netherlands Fortuna Sittard H 3–0 Gray (3) 25,782
20 March 1985 Quarter-final
Second leg 		Netherlands Fortuna Sittard A 2–0 Sharp, Reid 16,425
10 April 1985 Semi-final
First leg 		West Germany Bayern Munich A 0–0 67,000
24 April 1985 Semi-final
Second leg 		West Germany Bayern Munich H 3–1 Sharp, Gray, Steven 49,476
15 May 1985 Final Austria Rapid Vienna N 3–1 Gray, Steven, Sheedy 40,000

[2]

League Cup

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Date Round Opponents H / A Result
F–A 		Scorers Attendance
26 September 1984 Round 2
First leg 		Sheffield United A 2–2 Sharp, Mountfield 28,383
10 October 1984 Round 2
Second leg 		Sheffield United H 4–0 Mountfield, Bracewell, Sharp, Heath 18,740
30 October 1984 Round 3 Manchester United A 2–1 Sharp (pen.), Gidman (o.g.) 50,918
20 November 1984 Round 4 Grimsby Town H 0–1 26,298

[2]

FA Cup

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Date Round Opponents H / A Result
F–A 		Scorers Attendance
4 January 1985 Round 3 Leeds United A 2–0 Sharp (pen.), Sheedy 21,211
26 January 1985 Round 4 Doncaster Rovers H 2–0 Steven, Stevens 37,537
16 February 1985 Round 5 Telford United H 3–0 Reid, Sheedy (pen.), Steven 47,402
9 March 1985 Round 6 Ipswich Town H 2–2 Sheedy, Mountfield 36,468
13 March 1985 Round 6
Replay 		Ipswich Town A 1–0 Sharp (pen.) 27,737
13 April 1985 Semi-final Luton Town N 2–1 Sheedy, Mountfield 45,289
18 May 1985 Final Manchester United N 0–1 100,000

[2]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ 1984-1985 Summary: Appearances and Goals
  2. ^ a b c d e Everton's Record in 1984-85
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