Rob Sawyer
The Everton FC Heritage Society’s first season of talk and social evenings was successfully launched on 8 January and superbly hosted by the Denbigh Castle team in their function room. Dire weather reports of the approaching Storm Goretti did not deter a full house of Evertonians (from as far afield as the USA, Isle of Man, Northern Ireland and Anglesey) turning up to hear Gavin Buckland and Rob Sawyer discuss the Everton careers of Harry Catterick and Howard Kendall and their legacies.
The programme is the brainchild of the Society’s vice-chair Mike Royden, and adds another strand to the impressive range of activities undertaken by the group which was founded in 2008.
The evening opened with the Society’s chairman Ken Rogers welcoming attendees and reflecting briefly on his own interactions with the two Everton managerial giants. Mike Royden (who had ‘tech support’ on the night from son and Society videographer/Heritage Show host Lewis Royden) then gave a brief overview of the Society’s many areas of activity, before handing the floor to Gavin and Rob. The two Toffees historians went through Catterick and Kendall’s’ careers, had a wide-ranging discussion on what shaped them as players and managers, how they brought success to Goodison and considered the similarities and differences between them. The question of who was the greatest gaffer was left open! The evening ended with a lively Q&A session with some thought provoking (and often witty) contributions from the audience. The discussion continued into the night at the bar, several still there gone midnight!
The next event is scheduled for 5 February at the same venue and, as a rule, future events will be on the first Thursday of the month. Visit the dedicated Everton Heritage Society Social/Talks evening webpage for full details, including ticketing information, future programme, location and timings or follow the Society’s social media channels for more information. (Follow us on Twitter/FB/BlueSky/Instagram – click top right of this page).
