Ian Bishop insists he has no regrets about leaving Everton after just a single first team appearance while also lifting the lid on his unusual meeting with rapper Vanilla Ice who was wearing a Liverpool shirt.
Scouser Bishop, who grew up on the Cantril Farm housing estate, went on to enjoy a long career in the game with the likes of Carlisle United, Bournemouth, Manchester City, West Ham United and Rochdale but his time at Goodison Park was restricted to a solitary 15-minute cameo as a substitute against Manchester United in a 1-1 home draw on May 5, 1984.
Speaking to the Bred A Blue podcast, Bishop was asked what he remembers from his senior debut almost four decades ago and said: “Fear… looking at their midfield, (Arnold) Muhren, (Remi) Moses, (Bryan) Robson, (Ray) Wilkins, sitting on the bench was probably worse than starting. I’m a realist so I do understand that there was an FA Cup final a couple of weeks later and people were getting rested.
“Maybe coming on in the graveyard shift, which everyone used to call it, wide left midfield with no pace, wasn’t the best for me but I’m thankful and grateful to Howard (Kendall) for giving me the opportunity. Coming through the ranks especially being a local lad and coming on at Goodison was great although it sort of was over in a flash and I don’t remember doing much to be honest.
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“But we didn’t lose the game so it was a great atmosphere and I remember warming up and the fans really getting behind me. Every time I came back to the club playing, I always got a great reception, which is really important to me.”
Bishop admits that it would have been difficult for him to break into what was Everton’s greatest ever side so he decided to try his luck elsewhere when Kendall presented him with the opportunity. He said: “I had a gauge of myself. When you look at Trevor Steven, Brace, Reidy, Sheeds and in the background Kev Rich, in terms of quality it was probably the best team in Europe at the time.
“Howard had given me my second year as a young pro so he obviously rated me or thought there was a possibility of me breaking through. He didn’t get rid of me, I’m going to put that straight, it was probably about three months into the new season that he pulled me in and said: ‘Look, Carlisle have come in, you’ve got nine months left on your contract, who’s to know when that’s up whether you’ll get another one, I think this will be a good opportunity for you to go and play Second Division football’.
“I just figured in essence looking at that team, it would have been tough for me to break in. It would have taken an injury or something.”
Now 58, Bishop, who had spells in the USA later in his career with Major League Soccer Miami Fusion – he was due to fly to New York City for a game on the day of 9/11 – and New Orleans Shell Shockers, has lived in Florida for many years now and sometimes helps out one of his former team-mates with his window cleaning business. It was while he was shimmying up and down the ladder on his rounds in the Sunshine State that he came to meet one of his pal’s famous customers, Robert Matthew Van Winkle a.ka. Vanilla Ice, whose 1990 hit Ice Ice Baby got to number one in the UK charts.
Bishop said: “He came out in a Liverpool shirt – of all things! He came out with a Liverpool shirt with Mane written on it.
“He’s got his helicopter in the garden, he owns two houses next door to each other so he just cuts a hole in a hedge and he walks between both. He’s a really nice fella… honestly.”
