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Our Golden Anniversary

On 12 March, Lyndon posted (yet another) excellent article reflecting his chat with Dr Everton; David France. This focussed on the 1969-70 season which was appropriate since 1 April this year marked the Golden Anniversary of that most memorable season. The day on which the First Division Championship was secured with a 2-0 win at home over West Bromwich.

The article prompted me to gather my thoughts and memories of that season. Unfortunately, by then, I was no longer living on the Wirral. My home for the duration of that season was Great Malvern in a shared house and with no other football lovers. As part of my degree course, I was posted to Worcestershire County Council for 12 months. So going to the game was irregular, particularly as I was reliant on public transport. Much depended on the where and when of the fixture schedule. So, for those games I could not get to, I became reliant on the reports set out in the national press.

A few weeks before Lyndon posted his article, I had embarked on a clear-out of the loft and in two cardboard boxes I discovered some real gems. a mountain of old football programmes from the 60s and 70s, plus two foolscap notebooks in which I had studiously collected the reports on most of Everton's games for the Championship-winning season. So the seeds for this article were sown.

Having sat down and refreshed my memory armed with these reports, it emerges that it was clearly a season of highs and lows, and by no means all plain sailing for the Blues. Reference to the final points tally of 66 out of 84 on offer (2 points for a win, remember), with a 9-point lead over 2nd place Leeds, might seduce many into thinking it must have been won at a canter. Not so. Very often outstanding displays were followed by the more mundane or workmanlike.

This pattern showed early in the season. After securing a vital first win at Arsenal on the opening day (9 August 1969) without the services of the suspended Alan Ball, we then played Manchester United at Old Trafford. Brian Chapman in The Observer described the Arsenal game as a poor augury for top-rank football for which the crowd showed a remarkable tolerance. However, come the following Tuesday, the Blues turned on the style in a 2-0 win, a performance described by The Telegraph as one in which the former champions of Europe might have been playing a minor role in a bear-baiting demonstration. Back to earth with a more economical display at home against a defensive Crystal Palace and a further 2 points secured.

By this time, the services of Howard Kendall had been lost to injury and he did not get back until we played Derby County on 6 September. Tommy Jackson ably filled in.

The first dropped point was at Manchester City away, but the follow-up to that was an outstanding performance against Leeds United at Goodison Park on 30 August, which was described by Arthur Hopcroft in The Observer as a game in which it is hard to imagine Everton playing better. David Miller in The Telegraph went one better by reporting this was one of the finest matches he could recall since the birth of this newspaper.

The Leeds game was, however, a prelude to the season's first defeat, and a game I witnessed at first hand. Howard Kendall was back but, despite that, our normally strong and fluent midfield was disrupted and over-run. All the hacks picked up on that aspect of the game. From now on, it was not to be plain sailing since the other clubs would have picked up on that. After this first defeat, we dropped to 2nd in the table.

Nevertheless, 9 more wins and an away draw at Palace were secured which, with hindsight, clearly established strong foundations for the difficulties coming over the hill. It is of some interest to note that the draw at Crystal Palace prompted Geoffrey Green in The Times to observe that, if there were any sense to things, one would follow the score-line and say nothing.

So by 1 November, Everton, following a scrambled home win against Nottingham Forest, had 32 points, 8 ahead of Leeds. 9 points were acquired from the next 8 games, a run that included two defeats at West Bromwich and most ignominiously at home to Liverpool. By 27 December, the lead was reduced to 1 point following a 2-1 defeat at Leeds. The foundations were beginning to look shaky...

During this period, Harry Catterick signed Keith Newton from Blackburn and he played in the hard-fought win at home against Derby County. The team also lost Colin Harvey and later Jimmy Husband to injury, the able Tommy Jackson filling in again. However, a number of hacks noted that Everton were now developing the necessary steely resolve to back up their acknowledged attractive football style.

The introduction of Whittle for Husband seemed to bring a different attacking dimension to the team. He was beginning to forge a good link with Royle and consistently knocking in the goals (West Ham, Man City, and Leeds).

We were now entering the grim dark winter months of January and February, pitches were cut up and did not provide the best playing surfaces. The up and down performances of the team continued during that period. Home wins against Ipswich ('Everton snap back to form' — The Sunday Times) and Wolves ('Lack of cohesion' — The Sunday Times) were the only highlights within a series of drawn games, home and away. By the beginning of March, Everton were still 2nd with 49 points.

But subsequent events showed that the dark days were now behind the team. A series of eight wins took them on to the Championship as Leeds faltered. Beginning with an away win at Burnley during which The Sunday Times recorded that Everton began to find their self-assurance. That game was to be Brian Labone's last appearance of the season.

By the time the second of two consecutive wins against Spurs was secured, Everton were 3 points clear at the top before arriving at Anfield to avenge the earlier home defeat to the Reds. Eric Todd in The Telegraph noted that the team had an all-round efficiency which destroyed their neighbours. The Sunday Express noted that all of football's golden talent — courage ,skill, and imagination — flowed from the team.

And so we moved on to the second of the team's most outstanding displays, against Chelsea at Goodison Park on 28 March. We all know the result: 5-2 to the Blues. This was the game described by Arthur Hopcroft as the one in which the team made all their promise blossom. Chelsea were swept away in a mesmerising first-half display. 'A blistering performance' said Mike Charters in the Football Echo.

On to Stoke on 30 March. Alan Whittle pops up to score after 8 minutes following which Everton defended with dedication and resolution.

On 1 April, the Championship was sealed with a 2-0 win over West Bromwich Albion at Goodison Park. Eric Todd in the Telegraph noted that Everton were as fast and furious as I have ever seen them... and there was only one team in it. A bit nervy at times, Whittle opened the scoring in the first half. It was fitting that one of the club's most loyal servants, Colin Harvey, scored the clinching goal with a sublime shot from the left side of Albion's penalty area.

The Championship trophy was presented to the team, who dutifully did a lap of honour accompanied by Brian Labone who, during the season, made his 400th appearance for the team, in the game against Palace on 16 August.

Three more points were added to the tally in subsequent games at Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 and at Roker Park, Sunderland 0-0.

Happy days.

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