Walter Smith’s Everton reign was a tumultuous time for the club both on and off the pitch.
The world of football has been paying tribute to Smith this week after his death aged 73 on Tuesday following a long illness.
Smith was in charge of the Blues for almost four years between 1998-2002, a period that including his star player being sold behind his back, a change of ownership, a centre-half crying on the touchline, a player asking to be substituted after an irate fan ran on to the pitch and offered him his shirt plus two of his squad crossing Stanley Park to join Liverpool.
Here are 10 matches that defined the Scot’s tenure at Goodison Park.
November 23, 1998: Won 1-0 v Newcastle United (home)
Michael Ball’s 18th minute penalty was the major piece of action on the field but there was far more going on behind the scenes.
With the banks closing in on Peter Johnson after a summer of spending the club couldn’t afford, the Everton chairman, who Smith nicknamed ‘Jinky’ after former Celtic winger Jimmy Johnstone, was cashing in on his most valuable asset by arranging to sell Duncan Ferguson to that night’s opponents without his manager’s consent.
Barely three months into the job, an irate Smith might have decided to walk but it was the former Tranmere Rovers chief who would first leave his position of chairman and then ultimately the club.
February 17, 1999: Won 5-0 v Middlesbrough (home)
Let’s not kid ourselves, Goodison Park in Smith’s first season was far from being a goalfest.
A 0-0 stalemate against Aston Villa on the opening day of the campaign set the tone for the slog ahead.
That was the first of seven goalless matches at the ground by January 9 and Everton had netted just three times on home turf until this night when they finally found their shooting boots against the Teessiders.
Former Boro boy Nick Barmby bagged a brace while Oliver Dacourt, Marco Materazzi and David Unsworth also found the net.
May 8, 1999: Won 6-0 v West Ham United (home)
As mentioned previously, Smith’s Everton would often labour in front of goal for long periods before blowing an opponent away and this was another such instance.
The Boro thrashing had failed to prove a turning point and things got worse for the Blues before they got better.
A 2-1 home defeat on Easter Monday saw them drop into the relegation zone but a new loan signing making his home debut that day would drag them out of the mire.
Kevin Campbell netted an incredible nine goals in the subsequent five games to steer Everton to safety, culminating in this hat-trick display against the Hammers as Ball (penalty), Don Hutchison and Francis Jeffers also scored to secure the club’s top flight status for another year.
September 27, 1999: Won 1-0 v Liverpool (away)
Smith’s only Merseyside Derby victory in eight attempts and Everton’s last success away to their neighbours for over 21 years was achieved by a goal in front of the Kop from Campbell – now signed on a permanent deal – just four minutes into the contest.
Jeffers and home goalkeeper Sander Westerveld were both sent off for trading punches with each other on 74 minutes – resulting in defender Steve Staunton having to don the gloves – while a young Steven Gerrard also saw red in stoppage time for a horror challenge on the Blues’ match winner.
The pair would find themselves reunited in the toilets at an Albert Dock restaurant later that night with Campbell dropping his trousers to show Gerrard the stud marks on his thigh.
As the now Rangers manager recalled: “When you’re 19 and there’s a man-mountain stood in front of you with a cob-on there’s only one thing you can do..... I apologised for the tackle and shook his hand.”
October 24, 1999: Drew 4-4 v Leeds United (home)
Another game that shows things often went from famine to feast when it came to goals under Smith.
Everton led three times, twice through Campbell (4, 28) and then Hutchison (37) but were pegged back on each occasion by Michael Bridges (15), Harry Kewell (35) and then Bridges again (67).
With 18 minutes to go, Jonathan Woodgate finally put David O’Leary’s Yorkshiremen ahead but David Weir earned a share of the spoils with a last-minute equaliser.
December 26, 1999: Won 5-0 v Sunderland (home)
A Boxing Day present for Blues who celebrated Johnson’s sale of the club to Bill Kenwright’s consortium.
Smith’s side saw out the old millennium in style as Hutchison (2), Jeffers, Mark Pembridge and Campbell all scored to thrash Peter Reid’s side.
August 23, 2000: Won 3-0 v Charlton Athletic (home)
With Nick Barmby, John Collins and Hutchison all departing that summer, Smith was forced to completely rebuild his midfield and drafted in Thomas Gravesen, Alex Nyarko, Paul Gascoigne and Niclas Alexandersson.
However, it was the return up front of Ferguson from Newcastle United that grabbed the most attention among Evertonians and the striker came off the bench on his second Goodison debut to supplement Jeffers’ opener with a brace in the last six minutes.
January 27, 2001: Lost 3-0 v Tranmere Rovers (home)
Arguably the most-embarrassing result in Everton’s entire history as they were torn apart on their own turf in the ‘other’ Merseyside Derby against their neighbours from ‘across the water.’
John Aldridge’s side were heading for relegation to the third tier of English football but made a mockery of the respective clubs’ league placings by triumphing emphatically thanks to a Steve Yates brace and Jason Koumas strike.
September 12, 2001: Drew 1-1 v Crystal Palace (home), lost 5-4 on penalties
Taken in isolation this game – played the day after the terrorist strike on New York City’s World Trade Center twin towers shook the world – does not seem particularly remarkable but it proved to be the culmination of events.
For the fourth consecutive season under Smith, Everton were eliminated from the League Cup by a lower division side.
Their previous disappointments had come against Sunderland (also on penalties) plus Oxford United and Bristol Rovers, with the latter pair both over two legs.
March 10, 2002: Lost 3-0 v Middlesbrough (away)
There was nowhere to hide for Smith or his team as a three-goal blast in the space of just three minutes before half-time destroyed their FA Cup hopes in a quarter-final broadcast live to the nation on BBC One.
With just one win in his previous 13 Premier League matches, time had run out for Smith on Merseyside and he was replaced by fellow Scot David Moyes.
