Sheedy leaves Everton Academy role

I hope it was a decision he made and that he felt it was time to enjoy his life and time with his family.

How lucky we were to see him play for us, it was truely a joy to see his left peg like a wizards wand, creating magic for us and chaos for the opposition.

I suppose THAT goal when he plonked it in one corner, was told to take it again, then promptly plonked it in the other...leaving the Keeper stranded on both occasions, stands out amongst the many great moments

So many great memories that a special player gave us and I hope he gets all due credit for his services to our club. Truely an Everton great...and even more special because we robbed him from the other lot.

We won't forget you Sheeds and thanks for all those great moments you gave us.

Wishing you well for the future.

Thanks for the memories!

Absolute first-rate legend.

My all-time favorite as well... just finished his autobiography, which was a gift from Kev Johnson on my trip to Goodison in April.

Hate to see him leave the club. Hope it's just for family time, or a new opportunity, or a desire to travel, or whatever... and NOT health-related.

All the best to you, magic #11.

Hope this is an amicable parting and he'd moving on to Club management elsewhere to earn his stripes.

A better left foot I doubt I'll ever see and one of my favorite all time Everton players.

What we all forget is we played better than any team ever for the first 30 minutes and then they scored twice and it was that other hero, Degsy Mountfield who scored a late equaliser and we won the replay at Portman Road.

Great Memories of a great player. Both of them!

All the best Sheeds. You gave me some of my best days as a Blue.

I only got to watch the Rapid game on TV and remember they were still showing their goal replay and a split second later Sheedy cracked it home. F... 30 years ago!!! What's happened

Kevin Sheedy; our left winger / left sided midfielder. Not particularly quick, indeed quite slow. Power was not a word you would associate and arguably never liked to put a foot in where it even looked like it might hurt. Effort? My best friend (RIP Dave) used to joke that he only covered the same 20m stretch of turf on the left hand side of the pitch either side of the half way line (exaggeratingly) and never ever broke sweat.

Because he didn't need to. Skill, craft and sheer guille bewildered and defeated many an oppenent.

Not to mention that magic wand of a left foot!!

Everton great and a joy to watch.

I hope he's not been forced out given there's been no explanation from the club.

Sheedy is Everton royalty and worth a billion Wayne Rooneys.

Secondly, and given he has been a fantastic player, coach and servant, wouldn't this news be handled with a little more celebration by the club?

Unless it is illness, and I hope not, I fear there might have been a falling out.

It's always difficult for us to assess coaching abilities, but Sheedy has been directly involved in the development of many internationals over the last 10 years or so. therefore, he seems to be at least a very good coach.

Sheedy always seemed to be passed over for promotions and whilst Unsworth and Ferguson moved up the age ranges he either stayed low or went lower (from U21s to U18s if I recall correctly). I think that was Sheedy's decision. Maybe he wants to enjoy his time and not have the demands of day to day grind on the training pitch, working weekends, and spending evenings watching youth matches up and down the isles.

He's not loaded, that's for sure, but he's earnt more than enough to have a comfortable retirement. I certainly hope that's all it is. And wish him many happy days on the golf course.

My favourite was Johnny Morrissey, one of my all time greats. Loved watching him play and he wouldn't be messed about with by any defender.

I hope Sheeds has just decided that the golf course offers a better future for him and, as others have said, it's not illness related. Wonderful player, decent man.

His father had a grocers shop in Brownlow Hill near the bullring and if memory serves me right Johnny took the rap for handling a batch of stolen cigarettes.

Regarding Johnny Morrissey, whatever he was charged with, he walked out of the court having been found not guilty.

It is not a private matter and the lack of any reason for his departure after such a long association with the club is disconcerting and does not sit well with me.

What a way to get yourself doomed! :) You got yourself hooked at a great time. With any decent looks from the Gods, we are about to start on another, perhaps even greater, time!

In my all time Everton team to grace the Goodison turf. The two freekicks against Ipswich, into opposite corners, were unreal,, and back then the football was a lot heavier, especially on a wet pitch, to clear the wall, was remarkable. Nothing like the ball Beckham used.

As others have said, a wonderful left foot; a wonderful footballer, mysterious way in which this news has leaked out.

No matter what; why or wherefore I join the majority on this thread in wishing him nothing but the best for the future.

The rumours going around then was that Everton had signed two wingers:

Benson and Hedges.

For me personally, the guy is in the top 10 of Goodison greats. Legend.

Thanks for clarifying the ciggies thing, Dave. I had forgotten the outcome of the case. Along with Tommy Ring and Stevens, probably my favourite winger. For any team.

No chance. Straight from the kick, the ball is at Sheedy's left foot in the area, and he clips it superbly into the roof of the net. It brings tears to my eyes remembering it, I have a photo autographed by Kevin of that moment on my office/study wall, I was only showing it to my 2-year-old grandson yesterday!

I hope to hell it's not a private matter, that there's a perfectly open and disclosable reason for a 57-year-old man to suddenly leave a job he loves. Even if the reason is that the "men in suits" kicked him out.

Just as long as it's not something else.

Anyway back to wingers and nostalgia, we should include the great Shirley Temple and Alex "Chico" Scott. Great memories.

Probably my all-time favourite Everton player – growing up in Liverpool as a kid of 11 years old in 1985, he was my idol!

The man who's very name was a Masai War Chant (BBC commentary).

As many goals scored as "The Red Haired Dynamo", Alan Ball. One foot so sublime that he didn't need two.

It has been our pleasure, our privilege. Deeply wish that you were not departing. Whatever you do, nothing can tarnish the sheer magnificence.

The twice taken free kick, slotted!
The aerial flip and volley, slotted!
The Elland Rd corner, rebounded and slotted!

Kevin Sheedy true Everton Legend!

Shame that he has walked away from the job and club that he has served so well for years.

Why do people read so much into this, that probably, does not exist?

I think having survived a cancer scare, he probably thinks, now, is the time to retire, and enjoy my life, away from football.

He will not be signing on tomorrow!

Sheedy; wonderful player, top man. On the other hand, the game has changed a lot in recent years. It's much more scientific and it's big business. It's not enough to run an academy as a Boy Scouts troop with a bunch of happy losers in the hope that once in a while someone will hit the big time. I'm not saying that as a criticism of Sheedy – I'm explaining the culture 20 years ago versus now.

It's possible that Sheedy is seen as yesterday's man. The father figure type coach doing his best to help each kid grow as a player and a man. It's possible that Moshiri doesn't give a shit about helping a 17-year-old forge a career at Brentford and he wants a more ruthless culture at the club with the sole focus being on producing Everton players.

I've read Sheedy interviews before where he said his focus was on trying to get as many kids as possible to have a professional career – wherever that may be. I also remember him complaining about Moyes not caring about the U18s. So I think maybe we have a clash of cultures here.

Unsworth has money to burn and is expected to produce top talent with the U23 while Sheedy is saying "Hey, give this kid a chance maybe he won't make Everton first team but he could be a lower level pro."

If that is the case I think it's sad. I feel sorry for the man and wish him well. But that's the way of the world.

Everton legend.

How can 'Moshiri' suddenly be demanding a more ruthless academy structure when it is arguably the best academy in the country as proven by representation at youth international level and our own first team? 'To help each kid grow as a player and a man' is practically the academy ethos, not in the least exclusive to Sheedy. And Moshiri is supposedly tearing it all up when it is one of the few things old Bill had to woo him with in the first place?

How can you think Unsy has all the attention and money for the U23s whilst Sheedy had nowt for the U18s? Where do you think the vast majority of the U23s come from? That is how academies function.

He has dedicated many years to developing young players at Everton and should be thanked fulsomely by the club for his services. He is a true Everton legend, a wonderful footballer whose sustained contribution to Everton in the 1980s is on a par with Southall. I loved watching him play and loved him even more when he flicked the Vs to the Kop.

I hope he enjoys a happy and healthy retirement.

Any statement from the club will reference his commitment to the club, professionalism etc and how we wish him well for the future. Any statement from Sheedy will mention how much he has enjoyed his time at the club but it is time to move on etc.

Talk about "men in suits" and a change in culture is way too much conjecture.

Trevor Steven on one wing and Sheeds on the other!

How much would we gratefully shell out today for that pair? £150M?

One floated across Gods' Acre and could leave an opponent begging for the final whistle from ten minutes.

The other only ever wore the one pair of crystal clean white shorts throughout his entire career. He could flip a game (at will) neatly & completely upon its head. He could turn a crowded house from scratching their heads into a seething mass of true blue belief.

Kevin Sheedy, Legendary Left Foot, Wizard.

Players from 1 to 11 attacking the ball (you where allowed to put a challenge in back then), everything on the front foot, weighted passes, passes into space for players to run onto, players reading the game and reacting to situations defending or attacking.

I don't think players are allowed to think for themselves in today's game. Coaches with reams of paper or laptops... everything is premeditated. Perhaps Kevin's methods is old school and doesn't fit in. I hope he is staying in the game

And regards your gossip about negative goings on with the Under-23s I have a direct source telling me that Unsworth does have a reputation for doing things differently compared to some other clubs.

But what I have been told is that it is all about producing winners and mentally tough and professional players. I would suggest that the success of his team and the potential of the players he is bringing through suggests that it is far from negative.

I'm hearing that Koeman, has separated the squads and Unsy, who I always thought was alright, must have let last years title win go to his head. Don't think there is anything wrong with having a winning mentality, especially for someone like Sheedy, who's actions always spoke more than words.

Might have been getting told a load of shite, and will find out one way of another soon enough, because if people get sacked, they usually get replaced by someone else, who could be An old mate perhaps?

Peter (#53), google the highlights and watch Sharp, bring it down and put it on a plate for Sheedy, get yer 2-year-old grandson to watch it with you, mate!

Remember, neither he nor Unsworth were hired by Koeman. Whether it be in business, politics or sports, holdovers from previous administrations do tend to be replaced eventually.