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

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, with Van Den Hauwe at left-back. 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

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

Pos. Nation Player
GK  ENG Jim Arnold
GK  WAL Neville Southall
GK  ENG Bobby Mimms
DF  ENG Ian Atkins
DF  ENG John Bailey
DF  ENG Alan Harper
DF  ENG Darren Hughes
DF  ENG Derek Mountfield
DF  ENG Darren Oldroyd
DF  WAL Kevin Ratcliffe (captain)
DF  ENG Gary Stevens
DF  WAL Pat Van Den Hauwe
MF  ENG Paul Bracewell
MF  ENG Terry Curran
Pos. Nation Player
MF  ENG Jason Danskin
MF  ENG John Morrissey
MF  ENG Peter Reid
MF  ENG Kevin Richardson
MF  ENG Neill Rimmer
MF  IRL Kevin Sheedy
MF  ENG Trevor Steven
MF  ENG Derek Walsh
MF  ENG Andy King
FW  SCO Andy Gray
FW  ENG Adrian Heath
FW  SCO Graeme Sharp
FW  ENG Robbie Wakenshaw
FW  ENG Paul Wilkinson

[1]

Transfers

In

Out

Results

Charity Shield

Date Opponents H / A Result
F–A 		Scorers Attendance
18 August 1984 Liverpool N 1–0 Grobbelaar 56' (o.g.) 100,000

[2]

First Division

Date Opponents H / A Result
F–A 		Scorers Attendance
25 August 1984 Tottenham Hotspur H 1–4 Heath 16' (pen.) 35,630
27 August 1984 West Bromwich Albion A 1–2 Heath 89' (pen.) 13,464
31 August 1984 Chelsea A 1–0 Richardson 57' 17,734
4 September 1984 Ipswich Town H 1–1 Heath 78' 22,314
8 September 1984 Coventry City H 2–1 Steven 72', Sharp 81' 20,013
15 September 1984 Newcastle United A 3–2 Sheedy 25', Steven 52', Gray 88' 26,944
22 September 1984 Southampton H 2–2 Mountfield 5', Sharp 9' 22,354
29 September 1984 Watford A 5–4 Steven 33', Heath 34', 45', Mountfield 61', Sharp 72' 18,335
6 October 1984 Arsenal A 0–1 37,049
13 October 1984 Aston Villa H 2–1 Sharp 26', Heath 74' 25,089
20 October 1984 Liverpool A 1–0 Sharp 48' 45,545
27 October 1984 Manchester United H 5–0 Sheedy 5', 24', Heath 35', Stevens 81', Sharp 86' 40,742
3 November 1984 Leicester City H 3–0 Steven 55', Sheedy 57', Heath 79' 27,784
10 November 1984 West Ham United A 1–0 Heath 78' 24,089
17 November 1984 Stoke City H 4–0 Heath 28', 34', Reid 69', Steven 73' 26,705
24 November 1984 Norwich City A 2–4 Sharp 27', Sheedy 50' 16,925
1 December 1984 Sheffield Wednesday H 1–1 Sharp 29' (pen.) 35,440
8 December 1984 Queens Park Rangers A 0–0 14,338
15 December 1984 Nottingham Forest H 5–0 Sharp 20', 76', Sheedy 32', Steven 43', Reid 50' 22,487
22 December 1984 Chelsea H 3–4 Bracewell 35', Sharp 69', 89' (2 pens) 29,887
26 December 1984 Sunderland A 2–1 Mountfield 12', 19' 19,714
29 December 1984 Ipswich Town A 2–0 Sharp 61', 86' 16,045
1 January 1985 Luton Town H 2–1 Steven 11', 69' 31,682
12 January 1985 Newcastle United H 4–0 Sharp 17', Mountfield 32', Sheedy 62', 86' 32,156
2 February 1985 Watford H 4–0 Stevens 56', 62', Sheedy 69', Steven 77' 34,026
23 February 1985 Leicester City A 2–1 Gray 66', 82' 17,345
2 March 1985 Manchester United A 1–1 Mountfield 41' 51,150
16 March 1985 Aston Villa A 1–1 Richardson 42' 22,625
23 March 1985 Arsenal H 2–0 Gray 27', Sharp 89' 36,387
30 March 1985 Southampton A 2–1 Richardson 48', 51' 18,754
3 April 1985 Tottenham Hotspur A 2–1 Gray 9', Steven 62' 48,108
6 April 1985 Sunderland H 4–1 Gray 34', 37', Steven 50', Sharp 68' 35,978
16 April 1985 West Bromwich Albion H 4–1 Atkins 3', Sharp 26', 78', (pen), Sheedy 54' 29,750
20 April 1985 Stoke City A 2–0 Sharp 23', Sheedy 46' 18,258
27 April 1985 Norwich City H 3–0 Mountfield 42', Steven 46', Bracewell 56' 32,085
4 May 1985 Sheffield Wednesday A 1–0 Gray 26' 37,381
6 May 1985 Queens Park Rangers H 2–0 Mountfield 26', Sharp 82' 50,514
8 May 1985 West Ham United H 3–0 Gray 12', Mountfield 43', 78' 32,657
11 May 1985 Nottingham Forest A 0–1 18,784
23 May 1985 Liverpool H 1–0 Wilkinson 67' 51,045
26 May 1985 Coventry City A 1–4 Wilkinson 42' 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

Date Round Opponents H / A Result
F–A 		Scorers Attendance
19 September 1984 Round 1
First leg 		University College Dublin A 0–0 9,750
3 October 1984 Round 1
Second leg 		University College Dublin H 1–0 Sharp 10' 16,277
24 October 1984 Round 2
First leg 		Inter Bratislava A 1–0 Bracewell 6' 15,000
7 November 1984 Round 2
Second leg 		Inter Bratislava H 3–0 Sharp 12', Sheedy 43', Heath 63' 25,007
6 March 1985 Quarter-final
First leg 		Fortuna Sittard H 3–0 Gray 47', 74', 77' 25,782
20 March 1985 Quarter-final
Second leg 		Fortuna Sittard A 2–0 Sharp 15', Reid 75' 16,425
10 April 1985 Semi-final
First leg 		Bayern Munich A 0–0 67,000
24 April 1985 Semi-final
Second leg 		Bayern Munich H 3–1 Sharp 48', Gray 75', Steven 86' 49,476
15 May 1985 Final Rapid Vienna N 3–1 Gray 57', Steven 72', Sheedy 86' 40,000

[2]

League Cup

Date Round Opponents H / A Result
F–A 		Scorers Attendance
26 September 1984 Round 2
First leg 		Sheffield United A 2–2 Sharp 69', Mountfield 78' 28,383
10 October 1984 Round 2
Second leg 		Sheffield United H 4–0 Mountfield 6', Bracewell 56', Sharp 67', Heath 74' 18,740
30 October 1984 Round 3 Manchester United A 2–1 Sharp 42', (pen.), Gidman (o.g.) 84' 50,918
20 November 1984 Round 4 Grimsby Town H 0–1 26,298

[2]

FA Cup

Date Round Opponents H / A Result
F–A 		Scorers Attendance
4 January 1985 Round 3 Leeds United A 2–0 Sharp 40', (pen.), Sheedy 85' 21,211
26 January 1985 Round 4 Doncaster Rovers H 2–0 Steven 19', Stevens 33' 37,537
16 February 1985 Round 5 Telford United H 3–0 Reid 67', Sheedy 71', (pen.), Steven 87' 47,402
9 March 1985 Round 6 Ipswich Town H 2–2 Sheedy 5', Mountfield 85' 36,468
13 March 1985 Round 6
Replay 		Ipswich Town A 1–0 Sharp 76' (pen.) 27,737
13 April 1985 Semi-final Luton Town N 2–1 (a.e.t.) Sheedy 86', Mountfield 115' 45,289
18 May 1985 Final Manchester United N 0–1 100,000

[2]

References

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