Everton FC: Black Magic

Article by Jim Thompsom

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Evertonians are a breed apart it seems in todays modern football world of Twitter, team line-ups pushed to your phone the minute they’re released and layer upon layer of debate on forums across a million platforms on three million devices.

You see, Evertonians still believe in hocus pocus, dark forces and are probably convinced that one of their founding directors ran over a cat along Goodison Road sometime in the late 1870’s.

This is because if you’re an Evertonian, you passion and support is underpinned by one undeniable truth.

If it CAN go wrong, it WILL!

Maybe this complex began around the time of the Shankly years across the Park when Everton seemed to slip into a quicksand of mediocrity in the dark Red shadow of Liverpool which still seems to endure today. The scruffy, concrete school yards of Merseyside late 1970’s rang with the sounds of the Red kids proclaiming their European glory whilst Evertonian kids remained steadfast behind the Blues in the monochrome, mind-numbing averageness of the Gordon Lee years.

One part of the famed Holy Trinity axis, Howard Kendall took the reigns at L4 in 1981 and proceeded to build a team that would, by the mid 1980s, dominate everything domestically and in Europe and would eventually list two Division One titles (that’s the Premier League to you kids), one FA Cup, one Cup Winners Cup (like a cross between the Europa League and Champions League kids) and lest we forget, three Charity Shields. The silverware gathered by May 1985 though was irrelevant. Everton had just won the League Title, were just about to storm Europe in the European Cup and Sky were also just about to change the face of football forever with their mega bucks TV money. For once, Everton had timed everything to perfection and were standing on the edge of something truly enduring.

Then, on 29th May 1985, Liverpool fans caused the tragic deaths of 39 Juventus fans at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels prior to the Europeans Cup Final and all English teams (that’s ALL English teams, not just the team involved in the incident) were banned from European competition until the 1990-91 season. Six years in the wilderness in which time Everton’s finest squad of players ever broke apart and the Blue half of Merseyside found themselves back in the football wilderness.

So when Liverpool fans call Everton bitter, there’s the reason right there. Everton fans aren’t envious of the success enjoyed by Liverpool over the years, it just continues to gnaw at the consciousness of every dyed in the wool Bluenose ‘what might have been’.

It seems since this defining moment, Evertonians belief in Satanic undertones influencing everything that we try to achieve is given further credence by circumstance.

Borderline corrupt refereeing ineptitude from Clive Thomas, to Clattenburg, to Collina with plenty more along the way to the most recent on Boxing Day this year from Phil Mitchell tribute act Lee Mason.

Injuries at key times to key players that many teams will claim as their own but it always seems so disproportionate for Everton.

Ask any Everton fan about a forthcoming game against a team or player in terrible form. With a twinkle in his eye he’ll quickly let you know that if you’re in a bad run of form, if nothing is going your way...things will soon turn for you against Everton. And so it has proved time and again over the years.

So Evertonians wistfully wait for the mid-1980s to come around again. The Smiths, Graeme Sharp and Andy Gray, Duran Duran, Neville Southall. The Blue Scousers know in their heart of hearts though that the footballing landscape has changed forever and the Kendall miracle can never be fully repeated. Still, they’ll keep throwing their turnstile money into the wishing well with their fingers crossed and a rabbit’s foot hanging around their neck with that slither of hope that the footballing Gods will one day smile up Goodison Road even if only for a short while.

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