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AND THE BANNED PLAYED ON
BY THE END OF MAY 1985 HOWARD KENDALL'S EVERTON WERE NOT only the best team in England, but the finest in Europe. Following one of the most dominant campaigns in domestic history, the Toffees had romped to the First Division title with five games to spare, eventually finishing thirteen points ahead of their closest rivals. Although Manchester United thwarted the quest for a rare domestic double in the FA Cup final, Everton had showed potential for true greatness in the European Cup Winners' Cup. After a memorable aggregate victory over German giants Bayern Munich in the semi-final, the magnificent performance during a 3-1 triumph over Rapid Vienna in the final drew comparison with the finest post-war English teams. 'Everton under Mr Kendall seem capable of winning all the competitions they are in,' Bayern boss Udo Lattek said later. 'They are super fit and almost superhuman in their search for success.'
The individual strengths of Kendall's well-oiled machine were manifest. Neville Southall was one of the best goalkeepers on the planet; the resolute defence, led by skipper Kevin Ratcliffe, contained pace, power, and endurance. The Scottish striking duo of Graeme Sharp and Andy Gray may have been physical but possessed enough cunning and goalscoring prowess to trouble the best defenders. Prior to his unfortunate injury in December 1984, Adrian Heath was their antithesis, a diminutive and nimble forward who scored goals and made things happen for others. Nevertheless, the middle of the park transformed Kendall's side from a very good team to a potentially great one. Peter Reid and Paul Bracewell's relentless pressing denied the opposition oxygen and, in possession, the former's constant probing was complemented perfectly by his partner's flawless passing. On the left Kevin Sheedy opened out the pitch, his left foot a thing of wonder: the source of perfectly delivered crosses and beautifully crafted goals. On the opposite flank Trevor Steven combined balletic balance and rare individual skill with an eye for goal. Few quartets have contained more of the special mix of ingredients required for the perfect midfield. Beneath the team's exterior was a resilience and competitive desire possessed by only the finest.
With Kendall and Colin Harvey providing the right combination of leadership, man-management and top-class coaching off the pitch, those Everton fans returning from the Netherlands looked upon the mauling of Rapid Vienna as merely a dress rehearsal for the main act - an assault on the European Cup and the long-awaited chance to establish the club as a continental power. Brian Clough was commentating on the final in Rotterdam and asked at the end, 'On that performance, how long is this team going to rule Europe?' The answer was a fortnight. Events across the Dutch border meant Howard Kendall's Everton were the best European champions English football never had.
Heysel horror
The deaths of 39 spectators ensured that the 1985 European Cup final, between Liverpool and Juventus at the Heysel Stadium, Brussels remains one football's darkest days. The catastrophe was the latest in a long list of violent incidents involving English clubs and the national team over the previous decade-and-a-half, blighting both the reputation of the sport and the country.
FA chairman Bert Millichip (right) and FA secretary Ted Croker at Bradford City's Valley Parade ground, where 56 people died following a fire in early May 1985. By the end of the month things were to get even worse.
The list of shame is too long to cover in full. Lowlights include, in 1974, Tottenham Hotspur fans fighting with police and Feyenoord supporters in the same De Kuip stadium where Everton lifted the Cup Winners' Cup eleven years later. Upwards of 200 people were injured. In September 1983 the fans of both clubs renewed hostilities in the UEFA Cup and later that season a Tottenham supporter was shot dead in Brussels. Leeds United were banned from Europe after their followers laid waste to the Parc de Princes after the 1975 European Cup final. Two years later Manchester United were lucky not to suffer the same fate when their fans rioted in Saint-Étienne, with the second leg of their Cup Winners' Cup tie moved to Home Park, Plymouth. West Ham United were forced to play the second leg of their 1980 Cup Winners' Cup tie against Castilla behind closed doors after trouble in their away end at the Bernabéu. In chaotic scenes more than fifty fans were ejected and, during fighting after the game, one was killed by a bus outside the ground.
Two years later Aston Villa fans rioted at Anderlecht in their European Cup semi-final, resulting in forty arrests and 26 injured. During the aftermath, with fans of the national team having wreaked havoc in places like Luxembourg, Copenhagen, Turin, Paris and Basel, UEFA spokesman René Eberle warned: 'There is a feeling in Europe that enough is enough. There are lots of options open to us, from cautions and fines to the exclusion of clubs.' Not for nothing was hooliganism known at the 'English disease' on the continent. Although other countries like West Germany and the Netherlands possessed troublemakers, nobody else exported violence. It was against that backdrop of more than a decade of trouble - and the fact hooliganism held a regular place on the front and back pages - that the English authorities and their international counterparts were operating in the aftermath of Heysel.
30 May 1985
Within 24 hours of the final, FA chairman Bert Millichip and secretary Ted Croker were flying home from Mexico, where England were playing an end-of-season tour, on the orders of the Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher. After arriving at the association's Lancaster Gate headquarters, the pair spoke with Arthur McMullen, vice-chairman of the FA, and Jack Dunnett, president of the Football League. Croker had been on the UEFA disciplinary committee for a decade and knew exactly how European colleagues would react, so he and Millichip provisionally agreed a plan to withdraw English clubs from UEFA competitions for the following campaign. Dunnett rejected the proposal as prejudging the UEFA response. 'I felt that if we didn't announce we were withdrawing, the punishment meted out by UEFA later would be much more severe,' Croker revealed in his memoir, The First Voice You Will Hear Is.
31 May 1985
'Quarantine our sad, sick game,' proclaimed a Guardian editorial two days after Heysel, reflecting the view of most of the population who were disgusted by the scenes in Belgium and over previous years. During the morning, Liverpool announced their withdrawal from the following season's UEFA Cup. After talks with Thatcher, Millichip and Croker told the press on the doorstep of 10 Downing Street that all English clubs would be withdrawn from European competition. Croker added: 'It is now up to English football to put its house in order.' Although there was general support from clubs, the Football League claimed the decision was unnecessary and taken 'in an emotional atmosphere'. But as David Miller pithily responded in The Times, 'How many dead, it had to be asked, are needed to make it necessary?'
At Goodison there was understandable frustration. 'I just hope there is a change of heart within the next few weeks,' remarked Kendall, 'We worked hard all season to finish top of the League with the reward of a European Cup place. We were looking forward to it after a successful campaign on and off the field in the Cup-Winners' Cup.' Secretary Jim Greenwood attacked the timing of the ruling, commenting: 'We feel it would have been sensible for our FA to follow the same course as UEFA rather than be pressurised into what could prove to be an irrational decision at a time when emotions are running high.'
2 June 1985
With the ball now in their court, UEFA were expected to wait until July to pass judgement, but president Jacques Georges called an executive meeting at a day's notice. Unsurprisingly, Europe's governing body banished English clubs from their competitions 'for an indefinite period of time'. Three years earlier UEFA warned that, if hooliganism continued 'the punishments will get stiffer and stiffer, until the only solution is to kick out British clubs.' Now they were as good as their word. English football could not say it had not been warned. 'English clubs are having to pay the price of so-called supporters who come simply to plunder and kill,' Georges admitted. 'We are not talking just about the odd rocket or firework, but about those people who will end up setting fire to the entire stadium and burning the spectators alive.' As an additional sanction, Liverpool were subsequently banned for a further three years. Already considering legal action, Everton chairman Philip Carter responded: 'I think it is a bit premature for me to be saying anything about this announcement. I would rather wait and let the dust settle for a few days.'
The open-ended nature of the ban was not helpful, but the consensus was it could mean anything from two to five years. Meanwhile, the press, from red-top tabloid to stuffy broadsheet, were supportive of UEFA's actions. 'Europe is in no mood to play host to guests who can always guarantee to get...
