Re: An Everton View. "BREAKING NEWS" NOW
I was seven year`s old...and had just moved house from the 70`s slum that was belfast, wrecked by decades of bitter sectarian violence, My mum had decided to get us out of there and we moved to antrim town only 17 miles outside the city but i was like another world.
The year was 1976...All the young lads played football here on grass , i hadnt seen to much of the green stuff! What with living in the concrete jungle. So soon i had became very fond of the old game and so began the love story of my life. One morning my eldest sister maria had asked if i wanted a football kit with the money i had saved up , she was to go into Belfast later in the day to do some shopping so i said "yes please" and left it at that "Brian" she said "what team do you want"? well i didnt have a clue and just asked for a blue and white kit. Some hours later maria arrived home , i can still feel the excitement! then she handed over the bag , i opened it eagerly and there it was in all its glory, "what team is it"? i asked, "its everton silly" she replied , well , i had heard of them on the t.v. and stuff. It was the kit with the umbro design down the sleeves like in the picture below....
worn by my hero BOB LATCHFORD.
So you see an innocent boy with an innocent reason for becoming an Evertonian, i didnt have a father figure as dad was left behind in Belfast (long story) Nor did i have any brothers , so in a nutshell i didnt have any one to cloud my judgement! I didnt decide to be an Evertonian nor was i talked into it
I was chosen!!
Evertonians are born , not manufactured, we do not choose we are Chosen! Those who understand need no explanation, Those who dont Dont Matter!
1977 was the year and as i recall gordon lee was at the helm, it was a very different game from today but better in some ways (passion) but worse in others (hooliganism). First big memory i guess was the 164th merseyside derby at goodison and we had not beaten liverpool in years, a very tense athmosphere as you can imagine, it was a hazy late autum afternoon and towards the end of the game up popped Andy King to score a screaming 25 yarder (google it) past the helpless ray clemence to win the game , i can remember the celebrations after , it was like we had won the treble.
ANDY KING WEARING MY FIRST EFC KIT..
Well after that i was smitten! 1980 was the year and we had made it to the F.A. cup semifinal against west ham at villa park , brilliant game which ended in a 1-1 draw and on to elland road leeds for a sellout replay the following tuesday night, this game was so exciting but in the final minute frank lampard (senior) scored with a breath taking diving header from the edge of the box to send west ham to wembley! It broke my heart, i went to bed and cried my eyes out in my blue everton shirt, the next morning when i awoke i had forgotten the previous evenings events but only momentarily as my mum blasted the radio from the kitchen" and now the sports new`s" the reporter announced, off i went to scholl with a heavy heart.
These are the days that i often visit in the archive of my mind,I used to dream of pulling on the everton shirt as all little boys do. I think to enjoy the game to the maximum you would have needed to play the game at any level, as a boy my room would be covered in posters of my hero`s like messers latchford and king to sharp and reidy to lineker and inchy heath to name but a few.
Gary Lineker..
Yes EVERTON a the team of the eighties and it serves me great memories of joyous happy times.
we won trophy after trophy spanning a period of 6 years, my biggest regret is that we didnt get the chance to take our place in the european cup twice as we were at the time one of the strongest teams in european football but all english clubs got banned for five years thanks to hooliganism from a club i shall not name but they know who they are because there always talking about there history "right"
So these days things are on the up for this very proud Giant of a club , im very proud to be an Evertonian, I have no regrets following this club for the last 32 years all be it from my armchair, Football and Everton football club in particular take up a large part of my life, i wouldnt have it any other way,
I thank my sister maria (R.I.P.) for guiding me to become a
BLUE4LIFE.
