Everton FC History - Rotterdam 1985
Everton FC History - Rotterdam 1985 |
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I
had been to every league game home and away, all the home cup winners
games except THE BIG ONE!! The company I was working for at the time
were holding a product launch at the old Granada studios on the day
before and the day of the Bayern semi final. No amount of pleading
with my boss or even higher up the food chain, the MD could get me
off to go to the game. The product? those of you old enough may remember
an advert on the telly for ---A can opener! Yes a revolutionary can
opener, it was being launched in my sales region and I was the boy
to meet greet and glad hand customers, the company was southern based
so I was the token northerner! I remember coming out of the Bayern game and all we could think about was how to get the cash to go to Rotterdam. We came up with numerous schemes, the best one seemed to be tripping over a cracked flag and putting a claim in against the Corpy (some people made a living that way) but it would probably take 12 months to get a claim through so that idea didn’t last long. We opted not to get the 68 footy bus but to walk along Priory Rd and call in at Georges chippy for chips & a small fish with the bus fare we’d saved, I think it cost about 30p (it’s a long time since I walked along the street with a bag of chips with a hole torn in one end, I can smell them now mmmmmm) Anyway we walked the rest of the way to Tuebrook and then caught the 12 home, still trying to think of a way to get the cash (we were on the dole and this season had already cost us a fortune Cup semi and Final tickets plus every home game and the odd away etc.) When I got home I told my Dad about how fabulous the game was and about the atmosphere and without being asked he said ”I’ll lend you the money to go, if you want” I couldn’t believe my luck I got straight on the phone to my mate Jimmy Willo and told him what my Dad had just said “My Dad said the same!!!” he said.
As soon as the ticket info came out we rushed down to Goodison, they were selling the tickets in the old Toffee shop the one that never had the shutters off the windows and Perspex screens all around the counter. We were directed to the far left hand corner were they sold the programmes from on match days “Tickets are £11, but we can’t sell them to you until you can prove your going with one of the official coaches lads” said the woman in the Toffee shop. So we legged it around to Barnes on County but they hadn’t got there details sorted out yet, so we jumped a bus to town and tried our luck with WH Smith “Luxury coaches £39 and Executive coaches £49, but we can’t sell you any seats until you have proof that you have a match ticket” said the woman in WH Smiths. Oh my God how are we going to get our tickets when both the club & Smiths want proof of each other, after much arguing Smiths agreed to give us a letter to take to the ground saying that we were going on their coach. We got back to the ground and they accepted the letter and gave us the tickets, I tell you I know how Charlie Bucket must have felt when he found that golden ticket. Then it was back on the bus into town to show WH Smith the tickets and get our coach tickets (thank God for saveaways). Now for those of you who are wondering what the difference is between Luxury and Executive coaches, Luxury didn’t have toilets!!!!!! So we opted for the Luxury being the cheaper option.
We
waited by St Johns Gardens for the coaches the day before the game,
and when the coaches came they looked fabulous Cotter’s coaches of
Glasgow were the operators “I reckon these have got bogs” I said to
Jimmy “No we get nothing we haven’t paid for” he said. He was right
I was wrong. We boarded the coach and all the coaches set of in a
convoy across the city centre, the driver put “Here We Go” on blasting
it out as loud as he could and everyone we passed waved to us and
even some kids waved flags it really felt like we were so important
to all of them. Once on the motorway the driver announced in a thick
Glaswegian accent that all the service stations had banned any football
coaches from stopping at them, so no toilet stops until Dover!!!!
But some bright spark came up with the idea of cutting the top off
a Coke bottle, unscrewing the top and jamming the neck in the rubber
between the two coach doors making a funnel that when you were desperate
enough you could have a p*ss into and clean the side of the coach
at the same time!
My memory of the ferry is somewhat blurred all I can really remember is that we sailed with Townsend Torson and the ferry was called The Spirit of Free Enterprise the sister ship of the ill fated Herald of Free Enterprise that sank off the coast of Zeebrugge taking the life of many of it’s passengers. It was the early hours of the morning when we travelled through France, Belgium and Holland and almost everybody onboard slept except that is for Jimmy, me and the two lads who were sitting behind us I don’t remember there names but they were from Halewood. We just couldn’t sleep with the excitement at seeing the Blues in a European final. Jimmy got sick somewhere in France (as you do) all over the aisle, so now as well as having to put up with not having a toilet you had to risk the high speed puke skating rink to make your way to the door funnel! We arrived in Rotterdam in the early morning and the only place open was McDonalds so this was were everyone converged on for breakfast. We spent the afternoon in and out of the various bars trying to get a pint but having to make do with the tiny glasses they called beer, still it was good stuff. Then we got wind of a beer supermarket and went of and bought 2 crates of Orangeboom (it’s a lager not a tune) and sat outside drinking in the sun waiting for permission to cross the river and go to the match (the authorities had segregated the opposing supporters to the opposite sides of the river) Anyone who was there will remember the upside down looking cube like apartments, nearly getting run down by the trams and actually getting knocked down by the bikes on the cycle paths that we thought were pavements.
Anyway you all know the result of the game so I won’t go into that, just to say it was a fantastic night and a fantastic experience in all. There’s loads more I could say but I’m probably boring you already so I’ll shut up here. I’m married now with 2 daughters, I’m living in Ireland so there won’t be any European tour for me this season, but for all of you that do go to cheer on the Blues in Europe treasure the memories money couldn’t buy mine. Regards, Peter Kelly. Lower Granreaigh, Kilbrittain, Co. Cork, Ireland. (05/11/07) More
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