RIP Howard Kendall

Everton great Howard Kendall passed away today. Kendall won first division league titles, F.A cup and Euro cup winners cup. Obviously an Everton legand but as a MAN UTD fan I have to question the timing of this seeing as we have to play Everton today who will no doubt be UP FOR IT.

Discuss

I don't think he chose today just to make Everton raise their game.

Very sad loss to the game, was a top drawer manager for the Toffees and he built a very very good side back then in an era that was dominated by their close rivals.

OneTwo and Hero are absolutely right in their praise of Howard Kendall the manager but I would also pay considerable tribute to him as a player. An extremely fine midfielder who played a major role in Everton winning the league in 1970. Imo the best English player in the last half-century never to win a full international cap.

Further deserved tributes were paid to Howard Kendall on Match of the Day 2 tonight. Particularly liked Graeme Sharp's praise of the ''magnificent midfield of Kendall, Harvey, Ball''. The Holy Trinity.

Well said guildford, incredible to think he never played for England, but that shouldn't diminish his standing as one of the very best English mid-fielders of his era.
Not surprising he was successful as a manager, just sad that he left us so soon.
PS: Not a very good life expectancy in those great Everton teams he graced as a player . . . . . . .

Quite the turn out at Kendall's funeral, a who's who of the great and the good.
Wonderful recognition of an extraordinary life.

I played golf a couple of years ago with Ian Marshall in a pro-am. Marshall started his career at Everton at the time Kendall was managing and went on to play for Ipswich, Leicester and Oldham amongst others.

Now I take old footballers stories with a pinch of salt but his main topic of conversation revolving around Kendall was his legendary drinking habits and the plentiful bottles of wine stashed around his office for daily consumption.

Now there is no question there was a major drinking culture around football during that period and I am sure that Marshall's tales were suitably exaggerated in the passing of time, but I always admired Howard and I did think at one stage he might have got the England job. I hope that his early demise was not partially self-inflicted.

I would think his drinking habits had at least a little to do with his death.

Back to his Everton team. I can still name the starting XI which says a lot about how well that team stick in the mind. A shame they never had a chance to win the European Cup.

I mentioned earlier that Kendall's Everton Championship team has a pretty dismal life expectancy. Would think half are already using jumpers for celestial goalposts.
Blue, Were you around for your boys' Cup win over Leeds?

kwinigolfer wrote:I mentioned earlier that Kendall's Everton Championship team has a pretty dismal life expectancy. Would think half are already using jumpers for celestial goalposts.
Blue, Were you around for your boys' Cup win over Leeds?

Sadly, that's pretty much so, Kwini.

Gordon West, Keith Newton, Sandy Brown, Brian Labone, Alan Ball and now Howard Kendall no longer with us.

That 69/70 Everton side didn't have long in the sun but they were a very fine team and deserve to be better known.

Yes kwini I was about, although still in primary school short trousers. My schoolboy football team was Chelsea and the great side that included players such as Osgood, Hutchinson, Hudson, Charlie Cooke, Chopper Harris and Peter "The Cat" Bonetti amongst others. As a treat Dad would occasionally take us to watch the team and those trips to Stamford Bridge in the 1970's are some of my most powerful and vivid memories as a youngster.

Used to watch that lot, mostly in evening kick-offs when working in Chiswick & Putney. Great entertainment despite ambivalence about Chelsea! Osgood the most talented, potentially complete footballer I ever watched. Often saw him at Newbury with Mick Channon . . . .
Some early showers there, too, incl Peter Houseman.

Kwini and Blue - yes, Chelsea around that time were another very good side with the right mix of skill and clout.

Charlie Cook was often reckoned to be 90% proof as he did his magic on the wing but somehow is still with us. Others less fortunate are Peter Osgood, Peter Houseman, Ian Hutchinson and Keith Weller. Alan Hudson remains but sadly in poor health.