The Twohundredpercent Premier League Previews: Everton
As 1983 drew to a close, Everton Football Club was in a state of crisis. On New Years Eve, with just over 13,500 people rattling around Goodison Park like marbles in a tin box, they played out a dismal goalless draw against Coventry City which was seen by the nation that night on Match Of The Day. Two and a half weeks later, a late goal from Adrian Heath at The Manor Ground saved the club a draw against Oxford United in the quarter-finals of the League Cup. According to legend, Heath’s goal also saved Howard Kendall’s job, and this subsequently changed the history of the club. They won the replay against Oxford comfortably and, while they went on to lose in the final of that competition after a replay against Liverpool, they did win the FA Cup with a victory against Watford at the end of the season. A year later, they were the champions of England and the winners of the European Cup Winners Cup. At the time of Everton’s impending crisis at the start of 1984, it was almost fourteen years since their last major trophy. At the time of writing, it is a little over sixteen years since Paul Rideout’s goal won the FA Cup for the club against Manchester United, their last major trophy win. Everton Football Club continues to exist in the shadows...
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