Colin Harvey

Everton Giant - Year Inducted: 2007

Colin Harvey is a 100 per cent Everton Legend, having served the club as a player, coach and manager during a wonderful career.

Born into a passionate Evertonian family in November 1944, he made his senior debut at the age of 18 in the European Cup against Inter Milan at the Stadio San Siro in 1963.

Typically, he gave an excellent account of himself and a truly great Everton career was launched.

It was a further two seasons before young Harvey could describe himself as a regular but once established he became a permanent fixture.

He won an FA Cup winners medal in 1966, after scoring the semi-final winner, and was back at Wembley two years later as part of the Toffees team that lost the final against West Brom.

The 1969-70 season was a glorious one for Everton as the team stormed to the title, playing some exquisite football along the way - much of it in the middle of the park with the midfield trio of Harvey, Howard Kendall and Alan Ball proved far too good for most opponents.

Ball, of course, was also an England legend but the fact that Harvey won just one international cap and Kendall didn't win any is still a source of utter bewilderment amongst Evertonians.

That 1970 Championship success should have been the springboard for Everton greatness but for one reason or another it never happened and injury caught up with Colin Harvey.

Dubbed 'The White Pele' by the adoring Goodison faithful, Harvey joined Sheffield Wednesday in 1974 but after an uneventful stay in Yorkshire he was invited back to his spiritual home by Billy Bingham with a remit to coach the youth team.

He oversaw the emergence of the likes of Kevin Ratcliffe and Steve McMahon and was promoted to reserve coach in 1981. In 1983, with Howard Kendall now at the helm, Everton were really struggling and it was the promotion of Harvey to the first-team staff that prompted an astonishing revival. Between them, Kendall and Harvey orchestrated two League Championships, an FA Cup and a ECWC during the most glorious period in the club's history.

After the 1987 title triumph, Kendall was lured to Spain and the responsibility of command was handed to Harvey. It was a position that didn't sit naturally on the shoulders of such a modest and unassuming man but he still led Everton to an FA Cup final and a series of very respectable finishes in the First Division table.

Harvey left Everton again to join Graeme Sharp's regime at Oldham Athletic in 1994 but he was back three years later as youth coach again.

This time, he nurtured the talent of a certain Wayne Rooney as Everton reached the 2002 FA Youth Cup final.

Many, many professional footballers around the country owe a debt of gratitude to Colin Harvey and the world of football was the loser when he retired from the full-time game in 2003.

His nomination as the Everton Giant for 2007 was warmly greeted by Evertonians of all ages.