KEVIN RATCLIFFE.

MY MEMORIES OF EVERTON.

It must be every kid’s dream, to go on and play football at the highest level, and even more exciting to do it for the club you supported from a very young age. To then become the most successful captain in that club’s history must be the proverbial icing on the cake, so step forward Kevin Ratcliffe.

Ratters as he is fondly known as, by hordes of adoring fans has put pen to paper to record his time in the Royal Blue of Everton. The book release timed perfectly to capture the Christmas market is a decent read for any fervent Evertonian, who like me, remembers those great, great days of the Eighties with much pleasure.
The book charts us back to Kevin’s earliest memories, growing up in an all Blue household. He talks of his heroes, Kendall, Harvey, and Ball, The Holy Trinity. The great Joe Royle was another player Kevin looked up to, but even at an early age the defenders always impressed him. Captain Supreme Brian Labone and full back Tommy Wright are two players who always caught the youngster’s eye.

His time at Everton began in the Summer of 1977, and some interesting documents are enclosed within the book. The substantial amount of £20 per week was paid on his first contract, but you get the feeling reading on that the cash did not matter as his pride in pulling on the Blue was there for all to see. In his early years chances for the first team were few and far between, until in the March of 1980 Mr Charisma himself, Gordon Lee threw him in at the deep end, for his first start against Manchester United at Old Trafford. Kev replaced that great, great, great Everton stalwart Billy Wright to make his Everton debut, and here the legend begins.

The Rat how he become to be known then goes on to recount his seasons at Goodison, talking about his pride in being the first captain in nearly twenty years to lift the FA Cup, the two League title wins and of course that memorable night in Rotterdam. The only down side of the book for me is that from 1984 till 1987 Everton were virtually unstoppable, and these three exciting seasons are given just three pages of text. I would love to have heard tales of the dressing room banter, the nights out after the great games, the infamous Howard Kendall days out, and the characters he played with in a lot more detail. Also a true insight into the banning of Everton’s greatest side from Europe’s premier competition, and the chance that slipped him by to maybe be the first captain to lift The European Cup for our great club. The mass exodus of players that led to the break up of an utterly fantastic side, does not even herald a mention, and his disappointment at being told he was no longer needed at Goodison, would for me have been an interesting insight into Kev’s state of mind. The best part of the book, is twenty plus pages detailing Everton’s and Wales’s finest games that he appeared in. Reading this section brought back some terrific memories, and as I was reading them it felt like I was transported back twenty odd years, oh to live them times again.

Some fantastic photo’s have been found for this publication, and on that point the book cannot be faulted. If you are looking for this book as a fly on the wall time at Everton, you may be disappointed, but on saying that I found the book to be an enjoyable read, and I think most Blues fans would enjoy flicking through it, and enjoy been taken back to the crazy days of the 1980’s. Lavington (10/11/03)

Blue Kipper says(out of 5)

See The Rat Signing Copies of The Book