1984–85 Everton F.C. season

Everton
1984–85 season
Chairman	Philip Carter
Manager	Howard Kendall
First Division	1st (champions)
FA Cup	Runners-up
League Cup	Fourth round
FA Charity Shield	Winners
European Cup Winners' Cup	Winners
Top goalscorer	League: ; Graeme Sharp (21); All: ; Graeme Sharp (27)
Highest home attendance	51,045 v Liverpool (23 May 1985)
Lowest home attendance	16,277 v University College Dublin (3 October 1984)
Average home league attendance	32,131
	← 1983–84 1985–86 →

During the 1984–85 English football season, Everton F.C. competed in the Football League First Division and finished as champions for the first time in 15 years, also winning the European Cup Winners' Cup.

Season summary

Everton enjoyed a hugely successful season, winning the First Division with 90 points (13 more than runners-up Liverpool) and the Cup Winners' Cup with a 3–1 win over Rapid Vienna. In recognition of these achievements, Howard Kendall was voted Manager of the Year while goalkeeper Neville Southall and midfielder Peter Reid picked up the FWA Footballer of the Year and PFA Players' Player of the Year awards respectively. Domestically, the only downside to the season was the FA Cup Final defeat to Manchester United which prevented Kendall's team from completing a domestic double and continental treble. Further disappointment would follow when UEFA's blanket ban on English clubs following the Heysel stadium disaster denied Everton the opportunity to compete in the following season's European Cup.

Everton had ended the 1983–84 campaign by beating Watford 2–0 in the FA Cup final to claim their first piece of silverware for 14 years. Kendall saw little need to make major alterations to his squad although midfielder Paul Bracewell was a notable acquisition, signed for £425,000 from Sunderland, and another was made a few weeks into the new season when Everton paid Birmingham City £100,000 for Pat Van Den Hauwe who quickly made the left-back spot his own. Southall was by now established as first-choice goalkeeper with the defence augmented by right-back Gary Stevens and the centre-back pairing of Derek Mountfield and skipper Kevin Ratcliffe. Reid and Bracewell were flanked in midfield by Trevor Steven and Kevin Sheedy while Graeme Sharp and Andy Gray ended the season as the regular forward line after a serious knee injury suffered against Sheffield Wednesday ended Adrian Heath's season prematurely.

Although the season opened with victory over Liverpool in the Charity Shield, Everton's league campaign began poorly with a 4–1 thrashing by Tottenham Hotspur at Goodison Park followed two days later by a 2–1 defeat at West Bromwich Albion. However, a Kevin Richardson goal gave them victory at Chelsea on the last day of August and they went through September unbeaten, notching up further away wins at Newcastle United and Watford, although three home matches produced only a narrow win over Coventry City and two draws.

October began with defeat at Arsenal but Everton then found their best form with successive victories over Aston Villa, Liverpool and Manchester United. Sharp's wonder goal clinched their first win at Anfield since the 1969-70 championship season and they were arguably even more impressive in beating Ron Atkinson's United the following week. Sheedy (twice), Heath, Stevens and Sharp scored in a 5–0 win that in no way flattered Everton. As if to prove a point, they went to Old Trafford three days later and beat United again, this time in the third round of the Milk Cup.

A 3–0 win over Leicester City saw Everton go top of the league and further victories over West Ham United and Stoke City cemented their position. However, a shock home defeat by Grimsby Town in the Milk Cup triggered a dip in form that saw Everton win only once in six matches and a 4–3 defeat by Chelsea at Goodison just before Christmas saw them surrender the leadership to Tottenham.

Thereafter, Everton were virtually unstoppable. A 2–1 win at Sunderland on Boxing Day began an unbeaten run of 28 matches which saw them collect 50 out of a possible 54 league points and reach two cup finals along the way. They reclaimed top spot in January by beating Newcastle 4–0 and victory at Tottenham at the start of April opened up a four-point lead with games in hand on their closest challengers. A 2–0 win over Queens Park Rangers on 4 May secured the title with five league matches still to play.

The Cup Winners' Cup campaign began with a surprisingly tight aggregate win over University College Dublin but Everton breezed past Inter Bratislava and Fortuna Sittard to set up a semi-final against Bayern Munich. After a goalless first leg in West Germany, they fell behind to a Dieter Hoeness goal at Goodison but roared back to reach the final thanks to goals from Sharp, Gray and Steven. Rapid Vienna were no match in Rotterdam's Feyenoord Stadium and goals from Gray, Steven and Sheedy clinched Everton's first ever European trophy.

In the FA Cup, Everton beat Leeds United, Doncaster Rovers and non-league Telford United without too much difficulty but needed a late Mountfield equaliser in the quarter-final to take Ipswich Town to a replay which they won courtesy of a Sharp penalty. In the semi-final against Luton Town, they were again trailing with time running out when Sheedy equalised with a free kick, and Mountfield headed the winner near the end of extra time.

Ultimately, the final against Manchester United - played just three days after the Cup Winners' Cup final - proved a match too far and Everton went down to a single Norman Whiteside goal in extra time. It could not take the shine off what is regarded by many as the greatest season ever in the history of the club.

Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	GK	ENG	Jim Arnold
—	GK	WAL	Neville Southall
—	DF	ENG	Ian Atkins
—	DF	ENG	John Bailey
—	DF	ENG	Alan Harper
—	DF	ENG	Darren Hughes
—	DF	ENG	Derek Mountfield
—	DF	ENG	Darren Oldroyd
—	DF	WAL	Kevin Ratcliffe (captain)
—	DF	ENG	Gary Stevens
—	DF	WAL	Pat Van Den Hauwe
—	MF	ENG	Paul Bracewell
—	MF	ENG	Terry Curran


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	MF	ENG	Jason Danskin
—	MF	ENG	John Morrissey
—	MF	ENG	Peter Reid
—	MF	ENG	Kevin Richardson
—	MF	ENG	Neill Rimmer
—	MF	IRL	Kevin Sheedy
—	MF	ENG	Trevor Steven
—	MF	ENG	Derek Walsh
—	FW	SCO	Andy Gray
—	FW	ENG	Adrian Heath
—	FW	SCO	Graeme Sharp
—	FW	ENG	Robbie Wakenshaw
—	FW	ENG	Paul Wilkinson

^[1]

Transfers

In

Paul Bracewell - Sunderland, £425,000, May 1984
Pat Van Den Hauwe - Birmingham City, £100,000, September 1984
Ian Atkins - Sunderland, £100,000, November 1984
Paul Wilkinson - Grimsby Town, £250,000, March 1985

Out

Mark Higgins - retired, May 1984
Ian Bishop - Carlisle United, October 1984
Alan Irvine - Crystal Palace, October 1984
Andy King - Wolverhampton Wanderers, January 1985
Ian Macowat - Gillingham, January 1985
Stuart Rimmer - Chester City, January 1985

Results

Charity Shield

18 August 1984	Everton	1–0	Liverpool	London
	Grobbelaar (o.g.) 56'			Stadium: Wembley Attendance: 100,000

^[2]

Canon League Division One

25 August 1984 1	Everton	1–4	Tottenham Hotspur	Liverpool
	Heath 16' (pen.)		Falco 39' Allen 41', 55' Chiedozie 51'	Stadium: Goodison Park Attendance: 35,630

27 August 1984 2	West Bromwich Albion	2–1	Everton	West Bromwich
	Hunt 57' Thompson 80'		Heath 89' (pen.)	Stadium: The Hawthorns Attendance: 13,464

31 August 1984 3	Chelsea	0–1	Everton	London
			Richardson 57'	Stadium: Stamford Bridge Attendance: 17,734

4 September 1984 4	Everton	1–1	Ipswich Town	Liverpool
	Heath 78'		Gates 64'	Stadium: Goodison Park Attendance: 22,314

8 September 1984 5	Everton	2–1	Coventry City	Liverpool
	Steven 72' Sharp 81'		Gibson 35'	Stadium: Goodison Park Attendance: 20,013

15 September 1984 6	Newcastle United	2–3	Everton	Newcastle-upon-Tyne
	Beardsley 12' (pen.) Wharton 46'		Sheedy 25' Steven 52' Gray 88'	Stadium: St. James' Park Attendance: 26,944

22 September 1984 7	Everton	2–2	Southampton	Liverpool
	Mountfield 5' Sharp 9'		Moran 39', 54' (pen.)	Stadium: Goodison Park Attendance: 22,354

29 September 1984 8	Watford	4–5	Everton	Watford
	Reilly 15' Mountfield 55' (o.g.) Callaghan 70' Barnes 87'		Steven 33' Heath 34', 45' Mountfield 61' Sharp 72'	Stadium: Vicarage Road Attendance: 18,335

6 October 1984 9	Arsenal	1–0	Everton	London
	Nicholas 45' (pen.)			Stadium: Highbury Attendance: 37,049

13 October 1984 10	Everton	2–1	Aston Villa	Liverpool
	Sharp 26' Heath 74'		Withe 43'	Stadium: Goodison Park Attendance: 25,089

20 October 1984 11	Liverpool	0–1	Everton	Liverpool
			Sharp 48'	Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 45,545

27 October 1984 12	Everton	5–0	Manchester United	Liverpool
	Sheedy 5', 24' Heath 35' Stevens 81' Sharp 86'			Stadium: Goodison Park Attendance: 40,742

3 November 1984 13	Everton	3–0	Leicester City	Liverpool
	Steven 55' Sheedy 59' Heath 80'			Stadium: Goodison Park Attendance: 27,784

10 November 1984 14	West Ham United	0–1	Everton	London
			Heath 78'	Stadium: Upton Park Attendance: 24,089

17 November 1984 15	Everton	4–0	Stoke City	Liverpool
	Heath 28', 34' Reid 69' Steven 73'			Stadium: Goodison Park Attendance: 26,705

24 November 1984 16	Norwich City	4–2	Everton	Norwich
	Deehan 15', 64' Gordon 17' Donowa 25'		Sharp 27' Sheedy 50'	Stadium: Carrow Road Attendance: 16,925

1 December 1984 17	Everton	1–1	Sheffield Wednesday	Liverpool
	Sharp 29' (pen.)		Blair 8'	Stadium: Goodison Park Attendance: 35,440

8 December 1984 18	Queens Park Rangers	0–0	Everton	London
				Stadium: Loftus Road Attendance: 14,338

15 December 1984 19	Everton	5–0	Nottingham Forest	Liverpool
	Sharp 20', 76' Sheedy 32' Steven 43' Reid 50'			Stadium: Goodison Park Attendance: 22,487

22 December 1984 20	Everton	3–4	Chelsea	Liverpool
	Bracewell 35' Sharp 69' (pen.), 88' (pen.)		Davies 9', 40', 72' Pates 61'	Stadium: Goodison Park Attendance: 29,887

26 December 1984 21	Sunderland	1–2	Everton	Sunderland
	Proctor 66'		Mountfield 12', 19'	Stadium: Roker Park Attendance: 19,714

29 December 1984 22	Ipswich Town	0–2	Everton	Ipswich
			Sharp 61', 86'	Stadium: Portman Road Attendance: 16,045

1 January 1985 23	Everton	2–1	Luton Town	Liverpool
	Steven 11', 69'		Harford 80'	Stadium: Goodison Park Attendance: 31,682

12 January 1985 24	Everton	4–0	Newcastle United	Liverpool
	Sharp 17' Mountfield 32' Sheedy 62', 86'			Stadium: Goodison Park Attendance: 32,156

2 February 1985 25	Everton	4–0	Watford	Liverpool
	Stevens 56', 62' Sheedy 69' Steven 77'			Stadium: Goodison Park Attendance: 34,026

23 February 1985 26	Leicester City	1–2	Everton	Leicester
	Lynex 81'		Gray 66', 82'	Stadium: Filbert Street Attendance: 17,345

2 March 1985 27	Manchester United	1–1	Everton	Manchester
	Olsen 36'		Mountfield 41'	Stadium: Old Trafford Attendance: 51,150

16 March 1985 28	Aston Villa	1–1	Everton	Birmingham
	Evans 83' (pen.)		Richardson 42'	Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 22,625

23 March 1985 29	Everton	2–0	Arsenal	Liverpool
	Gray 27' Sharp 89'			Stadium: Goodison Park Attendance: 36,387

30 March 1985 30	Southampton	1–2	Everton	Southampton
	Jordan 90'		Richardson 48', 51'	Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 18,754

3 April 1985 31	Tottenham Hotspur	1–2	Everton	London
	Roberts 73'		Gray 9' Steven 62'	Stadium: White Hart Lane Attendance: 48,108

6 April 1985 32	Everton	4–1	Sunderland	Liverpool
	Gray 34', 37' Steven 50' Sharp 68'		Wallace 1'	Stadium: Goodison Park Attendance: 35,978

16 April 1985 33	Everton	4–1	West Bromwich Albion	Liverpool
	Atkins 3' Sharp 26', 78' (pen.) Sheedy 54'		Grealish 66'	Stadium: Goodison Park Attendance: 29,750

20 April 1985 34	Stoke City	0–2	Everton	Stoke-on-Trent
			Sharp 23' Sheedy 46'	Stadium: Victoria Ground Attendance: 18,258

27 April 1985 35	Everton	3–0	Norwich City	Liverpool
	Mountfield 42' Steven 48' Bracewell 56'			Stadium: Goodison Park Attendance: 32,085

4 May 1985 36	Sheffield Wednesday	0–1	Everton	Sheffield
			Gray 26'	Stadium: Hillsborough Attendance: 37,381

6 May 1985 37	Everton	2–0	Queens Park Rangers	Liverpool
	Mountfield 24' Sharp 82'			Stadium: Goodison Park Attendance: 50,514

8 May 1985 38	Everton	3–0	West Ham United	Liverpool
	Gray 12' Mountfield 43', 78'			Stadium: Goodison Park Attendance: 32,657

11 May 1985 39	Nottingham Forest	1–0	Everton	Nottingham
	Birtles 10'			Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 18,784

23 May 1985 40	Everton	1–0	Liverpool	Everton
	Wilkinson 67'			Stadium: Goodison Park Attendance: 51,045

26 May 1985 41	Coventry City	4–1	Everton	Coventry
	Regis 4', 47' Adams 17' Gibson 78'		Wilkinson 42'	Stadium: Highfield Road Attendance: 21,224

28 May 1985 42	Luton Town	2–0	Everton	Luton
	Nwajiobi 3' Hill 39'			Stadium: Kenilworth Road Attendance: 11,509

^[2] ^[3]

Pos	Club	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Everton	42	28	6	8	88	43	+45	90
2	Liverpool	42	22	11	9	68	35	+33	77
3	Tottenham Hotspur	42	23	8	11	78	51	+27	77

Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points

European Cup Winners' Cup

19 September 1984 1st Round 1st Leg	University College Dublin	0–0	Everton	Dublin
				Stadium: Tolka Park Attendance: 9750

3 October 1984 1st Round 2nd Leg	Everton	1–0	University College Dublin	Liverpool
	Sharp 10'			Stadium: Goodison Park Attendance: 16,277

24 October 1984 2nd Round 1st Leg	Inter Bratislava	0–1	Everton	Bratislava
			Bracewell 6'	Stadium: Štadión Pasienky Attendance: 15,000

7 November 1984 2nd Round 2nd Leg	Everton	3–0	Inter Bratislava	Liverpool
	Sharp 12' Sheedy 43' Heath 63'			Stadium: Goodison Park Attendance: 25,007

6 March 1985 Quarter-Final 1st Leg	Everton	3–0	Fortuna Sittard	Liverpool
	Gray 47', 74', 77'			Stadium: Goodison Park Attendance: 25,782

20 March 1985 Quarter-Final 2nd Leg	Fortuna Sittard	0–2	Everton	Sittard
			Sharp 15' Reid 75'	Stadium: De Baandert Attendance: 16,425

10 April 1985 Semi-Final 1st Leg	Bayern Munich	0–0	Everton	Munich
				Stadium: Olympiastadion Attendance: 67,000

24 April 1985 Semi-Final 2nd Leg	Everton	3–1	Bayern Munich	Liverpool
	Sharp 48' Gray 75' Steven 86'		Hoeness 37'	Stadium: Goodison Park Attendance: 49,476

15 May 1985 Final	Everton	3–1	Rapid Vienna	Rotterdam
	Gray 57' Steven 72' Sheedy 86'		Krankl 85'	Stadium: Stadion Feijenoord Attendance: 40,000

^[2]

Milk Cup

26 September 1984 2nd Round 1st Leg	Sheffield United	2–2	Everton	Sheffield
	Morris 43' (pen.) Edwards 70'		Sharp 69' Mountfield 78'	Stadium: Bramall Lane Attendance: 28,383

10 October 1984 2nd Round 2nd Leg	Everton	4–0	Sheffield United	Liverpool
	Mountfield 6' Bracewell 56' Sharp 67' Heath 74'			Stadium: Goodison Park Attendance: 18,740

30 October 1984 3rd Round	Manchester United	1–2	Everton	Manchester
	Brazil 23'		Sharp 42' (pen.) Gidman 84' (o.g.)	Stadium: Old Trafford Attendance: 50,918

20 November 1984 4th Round	Everton	0–1	Grimsby Town	Liverpool
			Wilkinson 90'	Stadium: Goodison Park Attendance: 26,298

^[2]

FA Cup

4 January 1985 3rd Round	Leeds United	0–2	Everton	Leeds
			Sharp 40' (pen.) Sheedy 85'	Stadium: Elland Road Attendance: 21,211

26 January 1985 4th Round	Everton	2–0	Doncaster Rovers	Liverpool
	Steven 19' Stevens 33'			Stadium: Goodison Park Attendance: 37,537

16 February 1985 5th Round	Everton	3–0	Telford United	Liverpool
	Reid 67' Sheedy 71' (pen.) Steven 87'			Stadium: Goodison Park Attendance: 47,402

9 March 1985 6th Round	Everton	2–2	Ipswich Town	Liverpool
	Sheedy 5' Mountfield 85'		Wilson 15' Zondervan 31'	Stadium: Goodison Park Attendance: 36,468

13 March 1985 6th Round Replay	Ipswich Town	0–1	Everton	Ipswich
			Sharp 76' (pen.)	Stadium: Portman Road Attendance: 27,737

13 April 1985 Semi-Final	Everton	2–1 (a.e.t.)	Luton Town	Birmingham
	Sheedy 86' Mountfield 115'		Hill 37'	Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 45,289

18 May 1985 Final	Manchester United	1–0 (a.e.t.)	Everton	London
	Whiteside 113'			Stadium: Wembley Attendance: 100,000

^[2]

References

[1] 1984-1985 Summary: Appearances and Goals

[8485results-2] Everton's Record in 1984-85 - evertonresults.com

[lineups-3] Historical Lineups 1984-85

[1]

[2]

[3]