This book is dedicated to:
My wife, Carolyn, who has stood by my side since June 1996 and supported me through thick and thin and sick and sin. I am so fortunate to have her in my life even though it was touch and go a good many times.
My daughter Gemma – I am so grateful that we eventually had the opportunity to bond as father and daughter, having left her at a very young age.
My extended family – the Everton family – especially the fans who have supported me past and present. My time at ‘the People’s Club’ was without doubt the best days of my life, 100 per cent on and 100 per cent off the field! Thanks for the great memories.
CONTENTS
Title Page
Dedication
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
FOREWORD BY HOWARD KENDALL
FOREWORD BY TERRY VENABLES
INTRODUCTION
1 LONDON CALLING
2 BOUNCING BACK
3 CRAZY GANG WARFARE
4 OUT OF THE BLUE … AND OVER THE MOON
5 SWEET DREAMS WITH THE TOFFEES
6 ENGLAND EXPECTS …
7 HEART WITH A MERSEY BEAT
8 A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH
9 A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN
10 WHAT HAPPENS ON TOUR …
11 SWEET FA IN THE CUP
12 ALL CHANGE
13 WINNING – AND LOSING – MY SPURS
14 FATAL ATTRACTION
15 FINAL WHISTLE AT THE DEN
16 LIFE’S A BEACH
17 IN LEAGUE WITH THE DEVIL
18 UNSUNG HEROES
EPILOGUE: BOYS DON’T CRY
Plates
Copyright
Without sounding like a bimbo pop singer collecting a fake gold gong at the MTV awards, I really do need to thank the following people as, without their help, friendship and guidance, there would be no story to tell:
Howard Kendall – thanks for giving me, a Second Division full-back, the chance to play in the big league. I hope I justified the faith you had in me. It was an absolute honour to play for a manager and gentleman such as yourself.
Colin Harvey – nothing much changed besides a few players coming and going, but the respect for Colin has remained, the same as it has for Howard. I regret not taking the improved contract offered to me before my move to Spurs. I really enjoyed working under Colin’s management, even though I let him down on the odd occasion – I apologise for that, and thanks for putting up with me!
Terry Venables – a man respected by so many, including myself, even though I went walkies a couple of times! I enjoyed every moment of the three years I worked under Terry and thank him for giving me the opportunity to do so.
Mick McCarthy – when things were not going too well for me he saw something in me and saved me from the scrap heap after a bastard named Ardiles did his best to end my career prematurely. Mick is as straight as they come and, apart from his hair, there are no grey areas! We had our fall-outs but I regard him as a fantastic person. Thanks, Mick – all the best.
Mike England – playing for Wales under Mike was an absolute pleasure. Mike was one of the easiest people I ever had the good fortune of playing for and I say that with the utmost respect and wish him all the very best life has to offer.
Nick Trainer – where do I begin? I’d hate to think where I would be today if it wasn’t for this fella. He has been a good friend for many years and I hope we have many more years of the same. Thank you for always being there.
John and Lynne Smith – I have known John, Lynne and the Smith family for a number of years and love and respect them as my own family. I hold them very close to my heart and look forward to seeing them at every opportunity and thank them for always being there for me. Please say hello to all in the Rehab, Lark Lane.
Joe Bennett Snr, Joey Bennett Jnr and family – catching up with you all after 25 years was a great occasion; we shared a lot of good times back in the day. Could you also say hello to all in the Canfield.
Andy Nicholls – without you, pal, this book would not have been possible. Thanks for all the hard work you have put into this project and for some great laughs along the way … ‘Un-ban the Everton 1!’
Pat
As I was coming towards the end of my career at Birmingham City, a teenaged London lad was embarking on his and, although I only saw him a few times during training, I thought that even at such a young age he was special. That was in 1977 and, about six years later, I went back to my old club and paid just £90,000 to sign the player who, although still a bit raw, was worth a punt at that kind of money. Hence Pat Van Den Hauwe joined Everton Football Club – it was money well spent!
I had sent my chief scout, Terry Darracott, to have a look at Pat on several occasions and his reports echoed my sentiments that he was a player worth adding to our fast-improving squad at Goodison Park. After a couple of tough seasons, Everton had just won the FA Cup and I believed were in with an excellent chance of competing for honours both at home and in Europe. We had a young, energetic side with one or two older, more experienced players like Peter Reid and Andy Gray helping the less seasoned professionals along the way.
I already had a very good left-back at the club in John Bailey but lacked cover in that area so made the decision to approach Birmingham for Van Den Hauwe. I was fully aware that he had a bad-boy reputation but that probably made the move more likely to go ahead as they were shipping a few players out having been relegated, and most of them seem to have been tagged with a similar image to Pat’s. That proved to be the case as, after a tentative enquiry, I was told in no uncertain terms that if I wanted him, I could have him!
We met and discussed terms in a restaurant near my home and I was impressed with his eagerness to play for me. Money was never an issue with Pat and we had a pleasant afternoon. Before I left, we shook hands and, in principle, agreed that he would join us. I wanted the deal to be kept secret as I was worried some other clubs may be sniffing around him so was delighted when I met him in the morning and he reiterated his desire to join us. I did notice he smelled heavily of booze – in fact, he reeked of it – but I decided against ticking him off. If joining a fantastic club like Everton isn’t a reason to celebrate with a drink or two, what is?
He turned out to be a far better player than we could ever have imagined and soon I had international managers enquiring about him and, although he opted to play for Wales, I believed he could have represented England and not looked out of place alongside the country’s finest players.
Pat was so talented that when he played at centre-half for me when called upon he was often our best player on the pitch, a truly great athlete but also a very talented footballer. I think the ‘Psycho’ tag was unjustified as he was not a dirty player. Hard and tough, yes – dirty, no.
Of course, off the field he would keep me on my toes; he was a colourful character who loved a social drink and the odd night