With both teams safely through to the semi-finals, Merseysiders of both blue and red persuasion, will have a Merseyside derby clash at Wembley in the Capital One Cup final high on their Christmas wish list this year.
In recent years the blue half of this proud footballing city, have underperformed and we have to go back over thirty years to 1984, when Everton last appeared in a League Cup final, ironically against their illustrious neighbours. At that stage Howard Kendall’s reign was in its infancy.
They made a tentative start in the second round against lowly Chesterfield. Having won the away leg by a solitary goal, they were held to a 2-2 draw at Goodison Park. The next two rounds of the then named Milk Cup, saw them dispatch first division opposition in the shape of Coventry and West Ham.
Their reward was an away tie in the quarter finals against giant-killers Oxford from the second tier, who had already disposed of Manchester United and Newcastle. This away tie at the Manor Ground has entered Everton folklore as the spark that ignited Everton’s great success, capturing four trophies in four seasons.
Prior to this game, some seemingly knowledgeable souls within the game were calling for Howard Kendall’s head and it seemed justified criticism when Bobby McDonald scored for Oxford in the 67th minute. A late equalizer from Adrian Heath, when he latched on to a back-pass by the hapless Kevin Brock, saved Kendall’s blushes and the rest is history as they say. A 4-1 drubbing of Oxford in the replay at Goodison Park followed.
Their semi-final encounter with Aston Villa gave Everton the opportunity to exact revenge for defeat at the hands of the Midlands club, in their only appearance in the final hitherto in 1977.
On that momentous occasion it was at the third time of asking that Villa finally put Everton to the sword! In an epic second replay encounter, goals by two Everton stalwarts, Bob Latchford and Mick Lyons, would not be sufficient to lift the trophy, as a brace of goals from Brian Little and one from Chris Nicholl proved decisive. However Kendall’s class of ’84 would emerge victorious, winning 2-1 on aggregate.
A daunting proposition awaited the Toffee Men under the twin towers, with Liverpool having won the League Cup the previous three seasons. These were heady days indeed for the Reds, who reigned supreme in the coveted European Cup on no fewer than four occasions between 1977 and 1984.
There were ominous signs for Evertonians, given some of the hit songs in the UK pop charts during the course of the season! During September 1983 UB 40’s hit song Red, Red Wine topped the charts and the following February the German pop star Nena struck gold with the hit song, 99 Red Balloons!
Much to everyone’s surprise, Everton were the better side and indeed had the referee spotted an Alan Hansen hand-ball offence on the Liverpool goal line, the blues might have emerged victorious.
In the replay at Maine Road, it was normal business resumed as a 21st minute Graeme Souness goal set Liverpool on their way to a remarkable treble of League Cup, League Championship and European Cup, during Joe Fagan’s first season in charge!
Despite emerging second best, Everton would taste Wembley glory a couple of months later when they defeated Watford 2-0 in the F.A. Cup final, with Graeme Sharp and Andy Gray on target. During the next four years, Everton proceeded to win two League titles and the European Cup Winners Cup, when they defeated Rapid Vienna 3-1 in the final at Rotterdam.
Success in the League Cup, now named the Capital One Cup would be new territory for the blues, who since the competition’s inception in the 1960-61 season, have only reached the semi- final stage on four occasions, with two defeats at the final hurdle. In sharp contrast, Liverpool’s record is highly impressive with eleven final appearances and eight victories.
It is over twenty years since Everton won their last silverware, F.A. Cup glory in 1995 when Joe Royle’s men defeated Manchester United, thanks to a solitary goal from Paul Rideout.
A trophy would do much to relieve the pressure on Roberto Martinez, giving Everton fans the opportunity to enjoy the sweet taste of success, daring to believe that history might well repeat itself, with success in the Premier League and on the European stage just around the corner!
As far as the red half of Merseyside is concerned, it is indeed early days for Jurgen Klopp, but he would do well to remind himself of Liverpool’s huge expectations! In Kenny Dalglish’s final season at the helm in 2011-12, winning the League Cup, reaching the final of the F.A. Cup and finishing eighth place in the Premier League was not deemed sufficient to save his skin!
