Ahead of Friday's anniversary of the Club's 1985 European Cup Winners' Cup triumph, the latest Official Everton Podcast is all about the late, great Howard Kendall.
Peter Reid and Adrian Heath, who contributed so much to Everton's trophy-laden spell in the mid-1980s, are joined by Howard’s son, Simon, as they discuss what made the Blues' most successful boss the master tactician, man manager and legendary figure he was.
Although, as Simon recalls, there were some dark days before Howard turned things around at Goodison Park when his father had to do his utmost to shield the family unit from the pressure.
“He always protected the players and he brought that protection to the family as well,” Simon tells the podcast. “I don’t remember him bringing any pressure home during those periods and it having any impact on family life.
"We were aware of it, obviously. When you walk out of the house and you see ‘Kendall Out’ painted on your garage door, you know there are problems.
“I had been the Everton mascot against Aston Villa on my ninth birthday [in December 1983] and I only found out many years later that my mum and dad were very close to pulling me out of doing it because they weren’t sure what the reaction of the crowd was going to be like.”
CLICK HERE TO BUY OR RENT HOWARD'S WAY
CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO THE PEOPLE'S PLACE
Howard famously went on to bring the good times back to the blue half of Merseyside, and it was thanks to his early influence that Heath was a part of it all.
“I go back to when I was 15 years old at Stoke City and I was Howard’s boot boy,” says Heath. “He would even speak about Everton in those days.
"I got into the first team quite early, things went well and a number of clubs were mentioned. But Howard always spoke to me about signing for Everton. ‘That’s where you want to be, you want to be a part of the next great Everton side' he would say.”
Reid explains how on the night he was presented with the PFA Player of the Year award in 1985 it was Kendall who led the celebrations and also describes the emotions he felt delivering a touching and powerful eulogy to his former boss at a packed Liverpool Anglican Cathedral following his passing in October 2015.
“I had nothing written down it just came from the heart - and that’s the way he was," says Reid. "He wasn’t just a great football man, he was a great man.”
Don’t miss a moving, poignant and humorous latest edition of the Official Everton Podcast. Listen via the player below or by heading to our SoundCloud page here.
You can also listen via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or by searching 'Everton' on your preferred podcast app.
Everton - Howard's Way tells the full story of Howard Kendall's glorious trophy-winning team in the 1980s and tales from Merseyside during that era.
All proceeds from the documentary will go to fund The People's Place, Everton's purpose-built mental health facility close to Goodison Park.
Click here for details of how to watch Howard's Way.
CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO THE PEOPLE'S PLACE
