COLUMNIST PAUL TRAILL

Football With a Smile

This evening, I was lucky enough to attend a talk to highlight the playing and managerial career of a certain Mr Joe Mercer.

The night was organized by the Everton FC Heritage Society. Roughly one year ago I was privileged to be invited to a dinner organized by the great Dr David France, where I was introduced to a few of the guys whom devote so much of their time researching into the background? the history? the DNA of our club.

Chairman of the society is Paul Wharton. He does a great deal of unseen work which goes into the organization of nights like tonight?s and banging the drum about the heritage of our great club. The Everton FC vs CD Everton game in the summer?Paul had a big hand in that.

The main emphasis for this evening was a talk by football historian-writer Gary James who has just re-edited his book detailing the interesting history of Joe Mercer. The book was actually first written in 1993 and quickly sold out its couple of thousand copies. It has now been re-published and, from what I?ve heard this evening, would certainly be a worthwhile purchase for any supporter of Everton, Arsenal or Manchester City interested in the history of one of their greatest ever assets.

The evening was (fittingly) held in the Joe Mercer lounge at Goodison Park. It?s the first time I?ve been to the lounge and it's nice walking through the corridors and seeing team photos of our club over the years. I walked past the Boardroom also, which sends shivers down your spine a little bit? think how many big decisions have been made in that room over the years. It was a delight to see Mrs Mercer in attendance looking so well.

Gary James is a Manchester City fan and is very open in his appraisal of Joe Mercer that Everton was his biggest love. Gary explained how Mercer played his first game for Everton in an FA Cup fixture at the age of 20 I think though then he didn?t get the chance to play for Everton for the rest of that season. Regardless he was delighted to have done so, stating ?no matter what happens, I?ve now played for Everton and nobody can take that away from me? or something to that effect. He did however get into the team and it really was an Everton team on the up (winning the League Championship in the 1938-39 season), at a good age when WWII sadly intervened, hence disrupting the football league for much more serious matters.

Mercer made his mark in the forces (even ensuring Sir Tom Finney was able to get home to see his girlfriend after three years in service when the forces forbid him from doing so for whatever reason) and returned to play for Everton following the war. His right knee was not in great shape however and he could not play to his potential. The rumour is that Everton did not do their utmost to look after Mercer over this period and he was possibly getting a difficult time from then manager Theo Kelly for not applying himself enough in games even though his knee was the cause of his downfall. During this time the terrace support towards Joe Mercer never waivered.

As things transpired Mercer got his knee looked at by the then Arsenal physio and ultimately received an offer to play at Highbury. He was held in such high regard by the Gunners that they let him continue to live in Ellesmere Port, Wirral so he could continue with his grocer business also, so long as he was training at a club on Merseyside (as it turned out, he ended up training with Liverpool!). He just had to commute down to London for the games.

During the questions session I was tempted to ask how long it would have taken him to travel to London in those days without the benefit of the modern day two-hour Virgin trains from Lime Street, though I bottled the question as I anticipated more than a few funny looks. The number of goals he scored for Everton is open to debate though it seems it is either one or two?though he did also score one own goal.

As a younger player it was Mercer?s dream to lift the FA Cup. He did fulfill that dream eventually in 1950, defeating Liverpool with Arsenal amidst his nine year career at the Gunners. He also won two league titles in this time, eventually retiring following an injury? co-incidentally sustained playing against Liverpool.

His managerial career is also one of great interest with his time at Manchester City undoubtedly his most successful period. He also oversaw a seven game stint as caretaker manager of England, touring countries such as Yugoslavia in that period. He never got the opportunity to manage for Everton. Joe Mercer passed away in ill health on his 76th birthday in 1990.

For a man to be so revered by three clubs as large in stature as Everton, Arsenal and Manchester City is no mean feat. To still have a lounge at Goodison Park, murals at the old Maine Road site and a mosaic at the new Emirates Stadium all in tribute to Joe Mercer speaks volumes really.

All the above is just a slice of what I was educated this evening. I can?t wait to read the book.

Gary James, Football With a Smile

Official price: £19.95

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