Heroes & Villains – Everton
Hero – Howard Kendall
Howard Kendall was a great player in his time, forming part of the ‘Holy Trinity’ in Everton’s midfield in the 1960’s alongside Alan Ball and Colin Harvey.
Kendall joined Everton from Preston North End, where he reached the FA Cup Final in 1964. He played in the defeat to West Ham United at Wembley at the tender age of 17.
In his time at Goodison Park, Kendall won the League Championship, Charity Shield and reached a second FA Cup Final, where he was on the losing side yet again. He became Everton’s captain for three years before being sold to Birmingham City.
Kendall returned to the club as player/manager in 1981, making four appearances before deciding to concentrate on managerial duties.
In Kendall’s six years in charge, Everton won the league title twice and the FA Cup once. They picked up three Charity Shields and won the 1985 Cup Winners Cup.
Everton also reached two other FA Cup Finals, losing to Manchester United and neighbours Liverpool. They also finished runners-up in the league.
Kendall left Goodison Park in 1987 as he grew frustrated by the lack of European football due to the ban imposed on English clubs from 1985.
He returned for a second spell in charge in 1997 but left after the club stayed in the Premier League on the last day of the season. Despite this perilously close shave with relegation, Kendall has still gone down in history as an Everton great.
Villain – Alex Nyarko
Nyarko suffered the embarrassment of a fan of his team coming on and offering to take his place as he was that rubbish!
In the Summer of 2000, Walter Smith signed Nyarko from Lens for £4.5 million and handed him a five-year contract.
Smith told the press before the Ghanaian’s debut against Leeds that he was in the “Patrick Vieira/Emmanuel Petit mould” . Nothing like a bit of pressure from your manager before your first game in English football!
Over the course of the 2000/01 season, Nyarko played 32 times for The Toffees before the incident involving the Everton fan at Highbury.
Nyarko then went out on loan to Monaco and PSG in France before returning to the club. He played eleven times in the 2003/04 season for the club before leaving at the end of the season.
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