Unsung Heroes (3) Johnny Morrissey

‘Show him your arse alehouse!’

They were five words which I often heard from someone who stood near me in the Gwladys Street end from the mid to late 1960s. He wasn’t encouraging Johnny Morrissey in any literal way. In truth he was referring to the only part of Morrissey’s anatomy that most defenders saw as he sped away from them. 

Johnny Morrissey joined Everton from across Stanley Park at the start of the Championship winning 1962/63 season. According to the LFC History Website, he was sold for a ‘giveaway’ £10k without Bill Shankly’s knowledge or agreement. Shankly threatened to resign as a result! There’s a thought to ponder –

http://www.lfchistory.net/Players/Player/Profile/385

He went straight into Everton’s first team and scored in a 2 – 2 Draw against the reds at Goodison in September 1962. He quickly followed this up with a hat-trick against WBA in a 4 – 2 win. He scored a total of 7 goals as Everton took the title with a record 61 points. 

From 1966 he was a first team regular. He was known for his pace, crossing and a powerful shot. He was also known as a hard player – unusual for an outside left. Jackie Charlton had said that he kept a book where he listed players against whom he wanted to extract revenge. 

According to Colin Harvey, Morrissey clattered him in one match –

“We knew all about the so-called black book,” laughed Colin. “Johnny absolutely clattered Jackie one afternoon then went over to pick him up. As he bent over he muttered into his ear ‘you can put that in your ****ing book now!”

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/mersey-hard-men-johnny-morrissey-3433534

This led to the ‘alehouse’ nickname although he was universally known as Mogsy. But his toughness was combined with real skill. Colin Harvey again –

“He was an excellent crosser, with both feet. He would get up and down and put a good shift in every game. He was a real team player and when you put those qualities together you had a very good footballer.

“But he knew how to tackle, too!”

He famously scored the winning penalty against Leeds in the 1968 FA Cup Semi Final. His only previous penalty had been against Sunderland at the end of the 1966/7 Season when he was on his way to a hat-trick. He had volunteered because Alan Ball was suspended. Sadly, he was to be on the losing side in the final.

Two years later he got his second Championship medal, appearing in 41 of 42 games in that memorable season. One highlight was the coolest of strikes in the 3 – 2 away win at Wolves –

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amHkmBjymj8

He also scored twice in the 6 – 2 destruction of Stoke City in November 1969.

His fortunes declined after 1970 along with many of his colleagues. He appeared 314 times for the Blues, scoring 50 goals. 

There are may great names associated with Everton in the 1960s – Ball, Young, Vernon, Harvey, Royle, Kendall. Johnny Morrissey deserves his place among them as another if not ‘unsung’ then certainly less-sung hero!

Unsung heroes (2) Peter Farrell

The 5 players who have made the most league appearances for Everton are –

1.       Neville Southall – 578

2.       Ted Sagar – 463

3.       Brian Labone – 451

4.       Dave Watson – 423

5.       Peter Farrell – 422

It is surprising that the player who comes in at number 5 is not often listed among the all time Everton greats. But it is fair to say that from the mid-40s to the mid-50s he was Mr Everton. He joined in 1946 from Shamrock Rovers together with Tommy Eglington. He was Captain from 1948 to 1957 when he left for Tranmere Rovers.

Interestingly one of his greatest Goodison moments was when he played for Ireland. On 21^st September 1949 he scored for them as they beat England 2 – 0. This was England’s first ever defeat to 'foreign'opposition.

His years at Everton were not always easy. At the end of season 1950/1 we needed a point at Sheffield Wednesday to avoid relegation. There was to be no Wimbledon style escape as we crashed 0 – 6 and dropped to the old second division. Farrell remained as Captain. 

In March 1953 he scored as Everton lost 3 – 4 to Bolton in the FA Cup Semi Final. Bolton went on to lose to Stanley Matthews’ Blackpool in one of the all-time great finals. The following year, he famously led us back to the top, where of course, we have stayed ever since.

On February 18^th 1956 he played his 400^th game against Chelsea at Goodison in the 5^th Round of the FA Cup. Appropriately, Farrell scored the only goal to send us into the quarter finals.  

Sadly he was never to see the glory days of the Catterick years but his loyalty and dedication certainly laid the foundation for the future.

Farrell is usually described as a right half, a right sided central midfielder. He also played as an inside forward. 

There is an interesting feature about him in the September 1957 Charles Buchan’s Football Monthly - see the cover above with a rather scary toffee lady! This includes the memorable line –

‘Peter has not the advantages of an athletic physique. He stands at 5 ft 8 ins, weighs 12 st 7 lbs. so is a rather portly figure.’

They don’t write like that anymore!

The article goes on to say –

‘But he amply compensates by his wonderful agility, supreme anticipation and an uncanny position sense that usually takes him to the right place at the right moment.’

Never a bigger Evertonian

The great Dave Hickson said of him –

 “Peter Farrell was the captain and there was never a bigger Evertonian than him. I think he felt partly responsible for the relegation and he was so happy when we were promoted again.”

Farrell himself said of the promotion –

“We have no star man. Our success has been due to all-round work as a team and with such a great bunch of colleagues, my job as captain has been made easy.”

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/shamrock-scousers-everton-fc-hero-3380139

Many would say that he was star man but not one who craved the limelight.

For the record he played a total of 453 games scoring 17 goals.

I never had the chance to see him play. But from his records, character and achievements we can truly say that he is an Everton great.

A strange Derby - when the reds just kept on giving...

The Anfield Derby is the game that I look forward to the least. It feels like, in recent years Everton have turned up, been roundly thrashed, and then tried to get back to business. In truth we have ground out a few draws in the 18 years since we last managed a win. But a couple of 0 - 4 defeats and a 1 – 3 last season remain painful memories.

I actually felt more on edge yesterday than I might have done a few weeks ago. Following the hammering at Southampton, the Derby seemed like a dark shadow on the horizon. The worst seemed inevitable. We have then had three good wins, some encouraging performances and a new management team. It was a very dim glimmer of hope but a glimmer nonetheless. The glimmer was joined by a raised eyebrow with the news that Klopp had left out Coutinho and Firmino. An early Christmas gift?

As ever, I did not enjoy a single minute of the game itself. To be honest Liverpool were all over us. It was clearly part of the plan, to let them have the bulk of possession, to hang on in here and try and catch them on the break. The problem was that you actually need to have the ball for at last a few seconds for this to work.

Salah scored his obligatory goal and it began to feel like a matter of time before others followed. But it didn’t happen. We defended well – for a change. Pickford actually had very little to do. 

But most of all, Klopp & Co were remarkably generous. The gifts kept on coming. Mane found himself needing simply to pass the ball to his right, to guarantee Salah a tap in for number 2. He decided to go for glory. Klopp took the in form Salah off with the game still finely balanced, in score if not possession. Then the ever willing Lovren decided to shove Calvert-Lewin in the back when he was going away from the goal.

Rooney did not need a second invitation to almost send the goal into Stanley Park.

Klopp was clearly angry and his press conference will live long in the memory.

'But obviously we can have a test now to see who thinks it was a penalty. Hands up if you thought it was...three? What, everyone? Then I am really wrong obviously..'

But the reality is that Everton were organised and committed in defence. 

And Liverpool showered us with gifts for which we will be forever grateful.