Source: SKY_Sports
Howard's way
Howard Kendall told Goals on Sunday how taking a gamble on Andy Gray and Peter Reid turned Everton into champions of England.
Kendall popped into the studio on Sunday morning to reminisce on his times in charge at Goodison Park - and revealed things could have been so different had he not signed the injury-hit duo in the early 1980s.
With Kendall on the verge of being sacked by chairman Philip Carter amid frustrated fan protests, results began to pick up in 1984 when Everton reached the League Cup final and won the FA Cup.
And the following season the team would go on to eclipse their great rivals Liverpool by winning the league championship and the European Cup-Winners' Cup.
Kendall told Ian Payne and Chris Kamara that Gray and Reid helped to transform the mood in the dressing room.
He said: "I knew we had talent, but we had a young side and I felt we needed experience.
"They were hiding when things went wrong, gates were very low and we weren't winning home games which was important at a massive club like Everton.
"The pressure was on and there were leaflets going around the stadium saying 'Kendall out, Carter out'.
"So we took a chance and went for Peter Reid and Andy Gray - and I felt they would bring experience and character to the side.
"They both had serious injuries and it was a bit of a gamble. The surgeon asked how many games they'd played in the last two seasons - and it was about 30 for one and 20 for the other.
"I said if I got that number out of them then we'll have done well - and they played a tremendous part in helping the other players.
"They wanted the ball and Andy made things happen in the penalty area.
They were two vital signings."
Kendall said that what his side lacked in talent they made up for in belief and togetherness.
And he also revealed that he used to collect fines off the players when they misbehaved - but he spent the money in a novel way.
He continued: "We'd had a bad start in the league, but a great run in the League Cup and the FA Cup, getting to both finals. That's when they started to believe in themselves.
"We weren't necessarily the best team in the country, but there was a confidence in the players and they didn't believe they ever were going to be beaten.
"We went out the next season to prove that we were the best and we went on to win the league.
"They were a team off the pitch as well as on it and it was easy for me. I had good character in the dressing room and they got on together socially.
"I treated them as I would have liked to have been treated as a player myself. I did fine them, but we enjoyed the fine money when we got it together because we went for a Chinese lunch."
After leaving the club in 1987, Kendall returned to Goodison Park for two more spells in charge in 1990 and 1995.
And although he did not enjoy similar levels of success in the 1990s he said he had no regrets about going back.
"When you've spent so many years at one particular club you've got an affection with the fans," he said.
"I think that it was going well at Man City and it was going well and Sheffield United, but when the call came I couldn't resist."
