Seven Days That Destroyed a Decade!

Everton in 1971 had a unique opportunity to establish themselves as a power in Europe and as the top team on Merseyside. One week in March crushed those dreams. It took Everton nearly fifteen years to reach those heights again.

On Tuesday 01 April 1970, Everton clinched the League Championship for the seventh time in their history by beating West Bromwich Albion 2- 0 at Goodison Park in front of a crowd of over 58,000 ecstatic supporters. Everton finished the season with 66 points, nine points clear of runners up Leeds United. It was the biggest title winning margin since Manchester United won the League in 1956 and it was the second highest number of points achieved by any team since World War Two. Everton fans had every reason to expect a continued decade of success in the seventies but it never really happened for them. One week in March 1971 saw those dreams become a nightmare from which the club took years to recover.

The 1970/71 season kicked off with Everton playing the Charity Shield opener at Cup Winners Chelsea. It appeared to be business as usual as Everton beat one of their potential challengers 2-1. Everton then commenced their league campaign by not winning any of their first six league matches, drawing three and losing three. Already the defence of the title was looking weak.

The competition that all Everton fans were looking forward to was the European Cup and the final was to be played at Wembley. Manchester United had demonstrated in 1968 that playing this game in your own country offered a distinct advantage. The European Cup appeared to be wide open this season as established European giants such as Real Madrid, Barcelona, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus and Benfica had failed to qualify for the contest this year. Now, the little known Cagliari were representing Italy. Surely this offered Everton a serious possibility of winning the European Cup Most Everton fans would have happily sacrificed their League ambitions for the ultimate prize.

The last time Everton participated was in the 1963/64 season when they were drawn against Italian giants Inter Milan. After losing the second leg 1-0, Everton exited the Cup at the first stage. It was little consolation that Inter Milan went on to win the cup that year. This season Everton were drawn at home to the Icelandic champions, Keflavik.

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On Wednesday 16 September 1970 , the Goodison Park faithful settled down to witness a comfortable victory. But, Everton being Everton contrived to make life incredibly difficult for themselves. After only 12 minutes, Gordon West mishandled a cross and Keith Newton in trying to clear, hit the ball against his goalkeeper to give Keflavik an unexpected lead. A few minutes later another miscalculation by West almost led to a second goal for Keflavik. Some nervy supporters started to barrack West for his nervy display, he hardly endeared himself to the crowd by responding with a V sign.

Thankfully, normality was restored as Ball equalised before half time and then scored a hat trick as Everton ran out comfortable 6-2 winners. Harry Catterick had not been impressed with his goalkeeper as another mistake from West led to Keflavik's second goal. Two days later Catterick announced that he was dropping West from the team. His replacement was reserve keeper Andy Rankin. He had proved a capable deputy in the past but had not made a first team appearance for over three seasons.

Two weeks later, Everton travelled to Iceland for the return leg. Although the match was in danger of being called off due to incessant heavy rain, Everton ran out comfortable 3-0 winners with goals from Royle and Whittle. Still, for the first time in their history Everton were through to the second round of the European Cup, unlike the current holders Feyenoord who had fallen at this stage.

The draw for the next round paired Everton with Borussia Moenchengladbach, the champions of West Germany who had just retained the Bundesliga title. They were a very strong side which included Bertie Vogts and Gunter Netzer and they were arguably the strongest team left in the contest. If there was any consolation for Everton, it was that the second leg was to be played at Goodison Park.

On the 21 October, Everton played the first leg in West Germany, hardly full of confidence after having lost 4-0 away to Arsenal the previous Saturday. In addition to the travelling Evertonians , over 5000 British soldiers based in the nearby NATO camp were cheering on the Blues. Borussia Moenchengladbach dominated the first half with Gunter Netzer spraying the ball around from midfield and Everton defending for their lives. Bertie Vogts gave the Germans the lead and Everton were fortunate to only be one goal down at the interval.

The second half started with a controversial goal in Everton's favour. The German goalkeeper Wolfgang Kleff had decided to pick up the toilet rolls that had been thrown onto the pitch by the visiting supporters at half time when Howard Kendall sent in a shot from outside the penalty area that flew into the net. Despite strong German complaints, the goal stood, and Everton had grabbed a vital away goal. At the end of the match, the 1-1 draw suited Everton far more than the home team.

On 04 November, a crowd of 43,000, who made their way to Goodison were to witness one of the most memorable evenings in the club's distinguished history. After just twenty-four seconds, Everton made the dream start. Johnny Morrissey put over an innocuous looking cross which Wolfgang Kleff somehow misjudged as it skidded off a soaked pitch and went past him into the net. This goal put Morrissey into the record books as the first Everton player to score for the club in three different European competitions, following his goals in the Cup Winners Cup and Inter Cities Fairs Cup.

On thirty- four minutes, from a free kick, the ever- dangerous Gunter Netzer floated a cross into the penalty area where Herbert Laumann put in a header which Andy Rankin could only parry away. Laumann reacted quicker than the covering defenders to score the equalising goal. The tie was level on aggregate at 2-2. Both teams had opportunities to win the game, but the scores were still tied at the end of extra time which meant for the first time ever in the European Cup, the game was to be decided via the newly introduced concept of a penalty shoot- out. Everton won the toss and opted to have the penalties taken in front of their fanatical fans in the Gwladys Street End.

Joe Royle, Everton's prolific striker, took the first penalty which was saved by Kleff. Sieloff stepped up to give the visitors the lead. Ball scored to level the tie and then the goal-scorer Laumann hit his penalty wide. Morrisey and Kendall scored for the Blues, Heynckes (the future manger) and Kopple (who wore a toupee throughout the match!) netted for the Germans. Both teams were level on penalties at three each, with one set of penalties remaining.

Everton fans were quite surprised to see the veteran defender Sandy Brown walk up to take the next kick. His last goal at Goodison had been a fantastic header which unfortunately gave Liverpool a three nil lead the previous season! Brown converted the penalty calmly, it was his last ever goal for the club. Ludwig Muller stepped up to take the final penalty but Andy Rankin dived to his right and palmed the ball away. Cue bedlam on the terraces as Everton had progressed to the quarter finals of the European Cup!

In January, Everton also started to make progress in the F.A. Cup. It helped that Everton were to be drawn at home in every round. In the Third Round Blackburn Rovers were dispatched 2-0, then Middlesbrough were defeated 3-0 and in the Fifth Round, Derby County were beaten 1-0. Everton were now in the quarter- finals to face Fourth Division Colchester United, who had sensationally beaten Leeds United in the previous round. As expected Everton strolled to a 5-0 win. Everton were now through to the semi- finals of the F.A. Cup without conceding a goal. On Monday, the draw gave them a tie with arch rivals Liverpool. The next day on Tuesday 09 March 1971, Everton resumed their quest for the European Cup.

Everton had been pleased with the draw for the last eight of the European Cup, which paired them with the Greek Champions Panathinaikos, arguably the weakest team left in the contest. They had avoided more difficult opponents in Ajax and Celtic who had been paired together. The Greek team were managed by the legendary Hungarian forward Ferenc Puskas .However the ever cautious Everton manager Harry Catterick warned that the opponents were a “much under-rated team”.

Panathinaikos had been well drilled by their manager. Their defence was well organised and they were not afraid to use some of football's darker arts to achieve a result. Everton winger Jimmy Husband was targeted by the Greek defence and had to leave the pitch after only seven minutes after a crude challenge by Domazos which damaged his knee. Everton totally dominated the play, Royle and Ball missed clear chances to score and Wright's header hit the bar. It seemed inevitable that the goal would come after all this pressure. It finally came in the eighty second minute, when totally against the run of play, the Greeks scored with their first shot on goal from Antoniadis.

The fans could not believe their eyes as the Greek players celebrated wildly. Everton threw everything into a last gasp effort to salvage something from the tie. Finally in stoppage time, from their seventeenth corner of the match, David Johnson managed to grab an equaliser for Everton with the last kick of the game. But the away goal had given the Greeks the advantage and a 0-0 result in Athens would see them through.

So for Everton everything was to hinge on one week in March. On 24 March they travelled to Panathinaikos for the second leg of their European Cup game and then on Saturday 27 March they were to face arch rivals Liverpool in the semi -finals of the F.A. Cup at Old Trafford. The possibility of appearing in two Wembley finals and achieving a unique European and F.A. Cup double was still a possibility. Destiny was in their own hands.

Harry Catterick had been warned by the ex- Everton player Billy Bingham, who was now managing in Greece, of the type of “welcome” the team should expect. Everton flew out on Tuesday 23 March to Athens. The team had rather naively decided to stay in a hotel on the outskirts of Athens. It was a bad move. On arrival they encountered Police patrolling the grounds to keep the local supporters at bay. All night before the game, Greek fans drove around the hotel grounds on motorbikes and scooters to keep the Everton squad from sleeping. Some sneaked into the hotel and ran down the corridors screaming and banging on doors. Many players had a very disturbed night's sleep.

Everton arrived the following evening at the dilapidated 25,000 Leoforos stadium. Panathinaikos were the first ever Greek team to progress this far in the European Cup and everyone wanted to see the game. The pitch was dusty and uneven which prevented Everton from playing their normal passing game. The Greeks had also been offered a huge bonus of £2000 each if they qualified which increased their motivation even more. The levels of hostility directed towards the Everton team were off the scale. The Everton players sitting on the bench were subjected to a constant stream of phlegm from the home support. Everton's John Hurst had two fingers stuck in his eyes by one of the Greek defenders. Alan Whittle was hacked down inside the penalty area, but the referee awarded a free kick outside the area! The home team were determined to hang on to their advantage by any means possible as a goalless draw would see them through. Even the renowned football correspondent, Brian Glanville wrote that the referee Robert Helies had “outrageously favoured.” the Greek team. Catterick went to his grave convinced that the official had been bought.

The Greeks held on for a 0-0 draw which saw them through to the semi- final. Harry Catterick could not hide his disappointment: when asked if Panathinaikos had played better than at Goodison, he tersely replied “they had a better referee”. He took out his frustration on the team storming into the dressing room and shouting, “You bastards have cost me five grand tonight”. Apparently, that would have been his bonus for winning the tie. With a crucial F.A. Cup semi- final three days away these were hardly the words of consolation and encouragement the team were expecting to hear. Everton had blown their chance of winning the European Cup, little did the watching Blues fans realise that it would be another thirty four years before they would be in the competition again.

The F.A. Cup was now Everton's only possible route into Europe. As the demoralised team flew in to Manchester, Harry Catterick took ill on the plane and was not seen again until after the Liverpool game. The players just wanted to return home to relax and recuperate but Catterick had arranged instead for the team to stay in Lymm in Cheshire and travel back to Merseyside for training. In one final twist, Everton had to decamp to a hotel in Blackburn the evening before the game as Liverpool had booked their hotel in Lymm! Not an encouraging omen! On match day , the Everton players encountered Bill Shankly who indulged in some highly effective mind games ,taunting his opponents by claiming “I'd have climbed out of my coffin rather than miss a semi- final”. The barb hurt. When the team needed him, he was nowhere to be seen.

Everton, in front of a capacity crowd of 62,000 started the game strongly knowing full well that their season depended on a positive result. After ten minutes, Alan Ball scored to give Everton a well -deserved lead. At half time, Everton appeared to have the edge. Then, five minutes into the second half, Everton suffered a crucial blow when commanding defender Brian Labone went off with a hamstring injury. The loss of Labone was a massive blow and a huge boost to Liverpool. Substitute Sandy Brown struggled to cope with the aerial threat of John Toshack and Liverpool started to dominate. Two goals from Evans and Hall sealed the tie for the Reds. The misery of Evertonians everywhere was complete.

Joe Royle described those two cup defeats as “the week the team died”. Howard Kendall reflected “that was the day we handed the baton of Merseyside football supremacy to Liverpool”. Catterick blamed his absence for the defeat claiming that he would have handled things differently when Labone came off injured. It didn't matter. The dream was over. The chance of glory had been squandered, Everton would not be playing at Wembley after all.

The following Tuesday, Everton played a home league game against West Ham in front of their lowest attendance of the season, 29,000. They lost 1-0. They only managed to win one of their remaining nine games. Everton finished in fourteenth position, the worst defence of a title since Ipswich Town in 1963. By the end of the year, Alan Ball had been sensationally sold to Arsenal. The next month, Catterick suffered a heart attack and by the end of following season he was no longer in charge. Everton fans who had grown up watching the Holy Trinity of Ball, Harvey and Kendall now had to suffer as players such as Bernie Wright and Rod Belfitt wore the royal blue jersey.

Everton in 1971 had a unique opportunity to establish themselves as a power in Europe and as the top team on Merseyside. One week in March crushed those dreams. It took Everton nearly fifteen years to reach those heights again.



Reader Responses

Selected thoughts from readers

Peter Lee
Posted 09/05/2018 at 06:49:59
Remember it all, too well. The mystery remains about why a team that had built to a sublime crescendo to win the league in such style deteriorated so quickly. The 70-71 season was like chalk and cheese compared to what had gone before and to this day I don't know why, nor have I seen much by way of explanation from players at the time.
Ian Hollingworth
Posted 09/05/2018 at 07:16:28
Fantastic article and a great reminder of how unlucky we are or how bad we are at seizing our opportunities depending on how you look at it.
Paul Birmingham
Posted 09/05/2018 at 07:31:18
What an epic and on par with any Greek- ancient classic!

It sums up perfectly the plight of the club and bar the mid eighties, and a few Golden years, the club has been lost in by gone times, with its spineless board, lack lustre approach and neglect of the club. This is in my life time.

Unthinkable to think but some people may have to wait a lifetime to see EFC,win a trophy.

Derek Thomas
Posted 09/05/2018 at 09:25:11
We were not the Invincible Team of the season before. The same happened in 63-64 Vs Inter. Any semblance, even half the form would've seen them all off. But poor form, post world cup hangover, injuries all contributed, along with Cattericks failing health. But there were some iffy Reffs decisions and not just in Greece.

Everton That...not for the first time and definitely not for the last.

Dennis Stevens
Posted 09/05/2018 at 10:15:43
Ah, sad memories, so very sad. It makes you want to cry all over again! I still feel that a big part of the problem, subsequently, was not replacing a clearly ailing Catterick much more swiftly. A new manager should have been appointed in '72. I'm sure it would never have happened, but history could have been dramatically changed if that man had been Bob Paisley!
Alan Wood
Posted 09/05/2018 at 11:09:00
I remember it well.I was only 16 however leaving Old Trafford after the semi defeat was one of the worst feelings I have ever had after a game!!That includes the '77 defeat after Hamilton's 'goal.the last minute goal at Elland rd. V West Ham. The last minute goal v City in semi at Villa. It's great being a blue!!
Chris Hockenhull
Posted 09/05/2018 at 11:22:19
Great rundown of those events of 1971. It certainly brought it all home for me. I was 14 and Everton had been my passion since 1963. They were the only interest I had. The season had begun with me having my first season ticket in the paddock. The expectations were high yet those opening 2 games of the season - home games v Arsenal and Burnley immediately showed cracks were evident. We snatched a point from the second game and the third home game in blistering sunshine against Man City led to a 0-1 defeat. What could have been a great opportunity to start the season with intent had flopped before things were up and running. Also - having led twice at Elland Road against our NO 1 threat of our crown - led to a 2-3 defeat so all was not good.

I recall the shakey start v Keflavik and how the crown turned on West and his reaction before they turned it around. With Rankin back in the side we had a 4 win run in September which gave a very brief indication that things could we back to normal but alas it all ebbed away again. Also the 2-0 lead at Anfield being surrended to a 2-3 defeat was another crashing blow. The purchase of Henry Newton and a 0-4 debut at Highbury summed it all up. I could never get the need for that signing and he never found a true position in the side often being played at full back . The highlight was the Borrusia game played in torrential rain. As 1971 rolled on it was clear that the cups were the only opportunity to get something from such a shoddy season and Everton seemed better suited to these one off games. The first leg against the greeks was one of THE most one sided games Ive attended.David Johnson's last minute equaliser in the Street End - continuing his amazing statistic of scoring in every level in his debut in games - gave scant reward to the bombardment I had witnessed. Yet that away leg was intiminating and the odds were against us on every level as the feature tells.(There are highlights on YouTube but they only show the home team's efforts but the get a blimpse of the conditions they were played under)

I was in the old scoarboard end of Old Trafford behind the goal the following saturday. After Ball scored we were in total control. I recall a big bust up in the stand during the game. Also Morrisey clashed with Smith and was covered in blood (the are pictures of it on the Grand Old Team's photo pages) and he carried on with a blood soaked sponge as if nothing had happened!

The Labone injury (which basically was the beginning of the end for his career) was the turning point. With his central dominance gone Liverpool just started pumping long balls in the space where he no longer was and Toshack won everything. The inevitable happened.

A season of such promise gone in a week and the following midweek game (I can't remember against whom was an insipid poorly attended affair and the end of the season couldn't come quickly enough(happened in those days too!!). I recall the final game against relegated Blackpool being played out in thunderstorm conditions with Ball blasting a sot from about 5 yeards out in the Street End that goalie Burridge took right in the nether regions to even put out for a corner. The photo of Ball's face summed up the entire experience of that season.

It was never to be the same again for a long long time. Even the following season's pre season game at Goodison had an air of loss about it and when newly promoted Sheffield United won at Goodison on the opening day of the 1971 - 72 season it was a feeling of here we go again.

It was the beginning of changes for me too. No longer were Everton the only interest I had in life at the end of that season. I was growing up and things were changing on many levels. The figure of Bob Dylan entered my life around the time of that fatefull week and my eyes were turned. Though I continued on at Goodison for the next 40 odd years things were never really the same again. The dream of that great bunch of players from those days had gone forever. Times certainly had a changed that week in March!!!!

Peter Mills
Posted 09/05/2018 at 12:45:34
A good article Paul.

The Moenchengladbach game at Goodison was one of the best atmospheres I’ve known at the ground. The home game against Panathinaikos was very frustrating, despite the last gasp equaliser by David Johnson.

As I recall the FA Cup semi-final, Brian Labone did not leave the pitch immediately he was injured and Joe Royle came back and supplemented the defence very well. Poor Sandy was just not good enough in the air when he came on as sub.

Terry Underwood
10 Posted 09/05/2018 at 12:58:33
An interesting and informative read. Sadly symptomatic of being a blue in recent times. Lots of promise followed by crushing disappointment. At least I can no longer be disappointed because my expectations are so low.
Steve Ferns
11 Posted 09/05/2018 at 16:49:42
Excellent article. Nice to read the particulars about how Catterick’s glory days came to an end. I wasn’t born for almost a decade after that, so it’s great to read the old stories.
Gerry Morrison
13 Posted 09/05/2018 at 17:31:37
Great read Paul, thanks.

The fact that I remember all those games vividly, but can't remember much about last week's match is disturbing in several ways. Andy Rankin's penalty save in the European Cup is one of my greatest Goodison memories. I was in the pen that night, (no sign of Bill), which was unusual, as I had a season ticket from 1969 on. The sheer joy of the occasion will never leave me.

Panathinaikos seemed like an easy draw after that; and like everybody else I felt we had been robbed over there. I have hated them ever since.
Liam Reilly
14 Posted 09/05/2018 at 18:03:21
Great article; I was hooked throughout and even though I knew it didn't end well, I couldn't help hoping!

I was only a nipper at the time so don't remember this; but what strikes me is that regardless of the decade Everton always seems to find a way to disappoint and those darn reds are usually involved.

Mike Bell
15 Posted 09/05/2018 at 19:57:38
A great read as usual, Paul. My brother in New Zealand will enjoy it too.
Neil Lawson
16 Posted 09/05/2018 at 20:14:57
So long ago but so fresh in my memory. The penalty shootout is simply unforgettable but I was outside the Gwladys St Stand when David Johnson equalised!

Oh for the excitement and passion experienced then to return now.
Peter Fearon
17 Posted 09/05/2018 at 22:09:14
Yes I was there for every soul destroying minute. It was worse than the printed word can convey.
Jay Wood
[BRZ]

18 Posted 10/05/2018 at 12:39:57
I have long held the belief, as the author details, that this was the most pivotal sequence of events to impact on our club in the past 50 years. Not Heysel, or whoever sat in the position of power at Everton since then.

We were on the cusp of greatness, real domination, but we didn't get over the line in the two cup competitions Paul references. This coincided with a rapid decline in Harry Catterick's health and strange, damaging decisions were made which broke up too early an extremely talented - and still youthful - team.

Selling Alan Ball? Madness!

Nor were we very inspired in our managerial appointments.

Maybe this (finally!) is the summer of change, long overdue. Moshiri has got an awful lot wrong since he arrived. He needs to start getting an awful lot right, starting now.

Brian Denton
19 Posted 10/05/2018 at 17:16:21
I actually went to Greece for the return leg. I was 12. It was both depressing and a bit scary.

I also went to the semi a few days later, right at the back of the Scoreboard End, which was open in those days.

There was a banner in the Street End at the midweek game v West Ham after that disastrous week: it said "We still love you Everton". This f***ing club - it gets in your blood, like syphilis!

Don Alexander
20 Posted 10/05/2018 at 22:33:23
Selling Bally was just insane but the events described had no right to derail us for the years and years it did. We were weak in terms of ownership and management, unlike a certain other club who were never allowed to feel sorry for themselves for a day, never mind a decade, as they began their year-in year-out success in winning in Europe.

I thought the Kendall mk.1 team had the makings of emulating the neighbours at least but Heysel did for that and we reverted to weak ownership and management in a never-ending cycle whilst the rest of the Premier League chosen ones went onward and upward. It'll persist whilst Kenwright's involved.

Jack Convery
21 Posted 13/05/2018 at 12:07:05
The week the music died. I was 11. Waited until 1984 to see us win a cup. The mid 80s were great and then it all fell apart again and is still despite the cup win in 95. We are the classic car left in a field to rust.

Is Moshiri the man to restore us to what we once were? I really hope so, but being an Evertonian I very much doubt it. Ce la vie of a blue.
Peter Fisher
23 Posted 20/05/2018 at 21:47:13
A good overview of the main circumstances the 1968-70 team had a dramatic fall from grace.

I attended the games against Panathinaikos at Goodison and the FA Cup semi final at Old Trafford against Liverpool.

My recollection of the Greek side was that Everton went into the match after an upturn in form in early 1971.

The Greek side targeted Jimmy Husband early on, and after knee high tackles near the Goodison Road terracing was carried off with an injury that brought his season to an end. For older supporters it was on the same touchline that Dave Mackay launched a tackle on Jimmy Husband in the league cup tie against Derby in October 1968 that put him out for months.

How the Greek side were able to target our most dangerous attacker was a mystery given there was no real TV coverage of games back then.

However it was later revealed that Liverpool FC offered the Greek side use of their training ground at Melwood, which they gratefully accepted. It goes without saying that its unlikely any of Liverpool's European opponents were ever granted the use of Belle field before important games at Anfield!

Everton paid the penalty of not having a top finisher to put away some of the clear chances they had against the Greek side.

The club tried to sign the Scottish striker Colin Stein in October 1968 after a sterile performance against West Brom in the FA Cup final the previous May.

I worked with an Everton shareholder in 1968 who told me the deal was scuppered by Steins manager at Hibernian, Bob Shankly who told him he'd never play for Scotland if he joined Everton.

Stein went on to join Rangers and became a top striker.

When Everton played Liverpool in the 1971 semi final we started off playing well and with authority.

Leading 1-0 at half time friends standing nearby who supported the Reds couldn't see a way back.

What I vividly recall was at the start of the second half, Tommy Smith, Lloyd, and Hughes carry out a series of horrendous tackles on Alan Whittle and Joe Royle that saw them drift out of the game.

There is a short film of this game on now on You tube.

When Brian Labone went off injured senior players like John Hurst and especially Keith Newton fell away, and we finished poorly.

The 1968-70 team was described as the best English post-war team by the Wolves Chairman John Ireland, who was also a top official in the FA. This was after a master class against Wolves in January 1969.

Sadly the team only won one major trophy, failing to score in the 1968 FA Cup final and the 1969 Semi final v Man City, after doing the league double on both City and West Brom in the respective seasons they lost the Cup games.

It wasn't until Andy Gray arrived that we got the man for the big occasion, who did it when it mattered. His key goals helped the trophy haul during Kendall's glory years in the mid 1980s.

Peter Reid also showed he was the best midfield leader in England during that period.

If the Everton side of 1971 would have had those two exceptional talents we would have responded better to the type of destroying tactics that helped create those seven days in 1971


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