First, I wish more than anything that this tribute wasn’t necessary. Howard Kendall was a wonderful human being, a manager I looked up to and someone that many people, including myself, have a lot to be thankful for. His loss at the age of 69 is a massive blow to all of us who held him dear, none more so than his family, and the sympathy of everyone at Everton is with them at this time.
The first thing I think of when I think of Howard is his sense of fun. We all know that football is a serious business and during his time in charge of Everton he was never anything but desperate to win. That competitiveness rubbed off on all of us, but within that culture was a desire to enjoy ourselves at the right times and that came from having Howard as manager. No one loved a laugh and a joke more than he did and I’ve always thought that was one of the main reasons why he was so successful.
It didn’t matter what company Howard was in — whether it be lords and ladies, knights of the realm, members of royalty, or ordinary people who shared his passion for football — he was always comfortable with them and he made them comfortable with him. That ease transferred itself to the dressing room. Howard was our manager and we always had total respect for him but he allowed us to be ourselves and that helped us to grow as men and as a team. He won our respect on his first day as manager just by coming in and getting the footballs out. This was his way of showing us that he wanted us to play and that was exactly what he did.
Something that has always baffled me is why Howard doesn’t get a bigger shout when the great managers of English football are mentioned. If you look at Howard’s achievements at Everton they really are remarkable. When he took over as manager in 1981 the club had gone 11 years without a trophy but within four years we had won the FA Cup, the League Championship and the European Cup Winners’ Cup. In 1987 we won the league again.
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Quality times, quality man: He will be missed by many
Nothing highlighted Howard’s character more than when I took this picture of him with Joe Fagan at Anfield (Bradley Ormesher, Times photographer, writes). It was at the end of the 1983-84 season, after the Merseyside clubs had won every trophy going.
Howard came over to Anfield to do the picture with the trophies in the boot of his Jaguar. “No problem, lad,” he said. You just couldn’t imagine the modern manager doing this; no PR person, no security, no adverts, just two old-fashioned football men with a stack of silverware.
I last spent some “quality time” with Howard a couple of years ago. I was invited to a pre-season friendly at Goodison by a friend. Howard was there and in great form. “I’m not that keen on watching the match, Howard,” I said. “Do you fancy staying in the bar for the second half?” “I’m not that keen on the first half either, lad!” he said. A great evening. He will be sadly missed by all who met him.
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All this was at a time when Liverpool had been at their most dominant so coming out on top in our city was a massive challenge. But Howard managed it. It should also be remembered that he was 38 when Everton won the league for the first time under his management. But after becoming the youngest player to appear in an FA Cup final in 1964, age clearly never prevented him from showing his ability.
As a player, a member of the Holy Trinity along with Alan Ball and Colin Harvey, his talent is still fondly recalled by all those fortunate enough to see him and it says everything about how successful he went on to be that he will be best remembered for what he achieved as a manager.
I count myself extremely fortunate to have played under Howard and there are countless others who would say the same. If I have a regret it’s that his understanding of the game and knack of getting the best out of players was not tapped into as much as it should have been.
For whatever reason, he didn’t get the opportunities that he should have done, either with the England team themselves or in the club game, but that was their loss.
For me, he was one of the greatest managers that this country has ever produced and I was lucky to have played for him and to have known him as a man. More than anything else, he was a gentleman in the truest sense of the word.
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● Graeme Sharp played for Everton from 1980-1991, winning two League Championships, the FA Cup and the European Cup Winners’ Cup under Howard Kendall’s management. Sharp scored 159 goals for the club, making him Everton’s top postwar goalscorer.