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The 1970 champions / Original feature

The Holy Trinity: how Everton built a champion midfield

Alan Ball, Colin Harvey and Howard Kendall were exceptional individuals. Their training, roles and teammates explain what made the partnership work.

Bramley Moore editorial · Reviewed and expanded · 4 minute read

Three names are usually enough: Ball, Harvey, Kendall. Everton's Holy Trinity has become a shorthand for the football of Harry Catterick's 1969/70 champions. The shorthand is affectionate, but it can conceal the interesting part. These were not three interchangeable artists. Their effectiveness depended on different strengths, practice together and a team that gave their work purpose.

Three routes into one midfield

Colin Harvey came through Everton's own system and made his senior debut against Internazionale at the San Siro in 1963. Alan Ball arrived from Blackpool after winning the 1966 World Cup with England. Howard Kendall followed from Preston North End in 1967. Catterick combined a developing homegrown player with two significant recruits, rather than buying a finished unit.

That was part of a wider approach. Rob Sawyer's study of Catterick describes a manager blending players developed at Everton with selected outside signings, backed by the improvement of Bellefield as a training base. The midfield's eventual understanding was therefore connected to how the club recruited and worked during the week. It was not simply a fortunate meeting of three gifted men.

Understanding had to be practised

Harvey's recollections for the Heritage Society make Ball's effect unusually clear. He remembered the newcomer raising everybody's expectations and prompting him to work harder at his own game. He also described Kendall's tackling and passing range, and recalled the three midfielders developing moves together when a Saturday performance had not worked. This is a player's account of adjustment and repetition, rather than a claim that the partnership needed no instruction.

Catterick similarly recalled small-sided indoor games at Bellefield, where quick decisions and close control mattered. Those details explain the relationship better than the word “telepathy”. When a player has repeatedly seen a teammate respond to pressure, he can release a pass earlier. The apparent instinct on matchday may be the visible result of situations rehearsed away from the crowd.

Harvey also resisted a neat division between a creative player and a worker. He described himself as a midfielder who travelled between the boxes and tackled. That challenges the temptation to give each member of the trio one decorative quality. Skill included recovering the ball, making another run and choosing when to move it on.

What their title season delivered

The league campaign began with wins at Arsenal and Manchester United, followed by home victories against Crystal Palace and United. In the opening month Everton also beat the reigning champions Leeds 3–2. Those results established that this was a side capable of winning away as well as using Goodison effectively. The midfield's reputation rests on a sustained contest against other teams, not an isolated exhibition.

By the finish, Everton had 29 wins and 66 points from 42 games, with two points awarded for a victory. Leeds finished nine points behind. Everton scored 72 and conceded 34. The defensive figure belongs alongside the passing and goals: the champions controlled enough of the season to win comfortably, and that required work throughout the side.

A match to start with: Chelsea, March 1970

The 5–2 victory over Chelsea on 28 March is a useful entry point into the archive. Kendall scored almost immediately and Ball added a second within the opening minutes. Joe Royle then scored twice, before Alan Whittle made it five. Chelsea's two replies arrived afterwards. The scorers show midfield involvement and the importance of the players finishing ahead of them.

The teamsheet also prevents the past being tidied into one permanently unchanged eleven. Roger Kenyon played in central defence that afternoon and Ball was captain. A great side still deals with absences and changes of personnel. Looking beyond the three celebrated names makes room for the players whose contribution ensured the team continued functioning.

Four days later, Everton secured the championship with a 2–0 home win over West Bromwich Albion. Whittle scored first and Harvey added the second. It is an appropriate finishing image: a member of the Trinity on the scoresheet, but a teammate beside him in the record. The title belonged to the squad Catterick had assembled.

How to look at the Trinity now

When watching surviving footage, follow the player who has just passed rather than only following the ball. Does he offer another angle? Who occupies the space he leaves? Watch the nearest midfielder when Everton lose possession. This is a practical way to see partnership at work, and it keeps historical appreciation attached to football actions.

The standard the trio offers a new Everton era is specific: technical ability strengthened by movement, commitment and familiarity. Ball's arrival could improve Harvey; Kendall's strengths could help both. That is a richer ambition for a midfield than finding three famous names to imitate. It asks how the players make one another better.

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Sources and editorial note

An original historical feature, checked and expanded on 21 October 2026. Match records establish dates, scores and selections; assessments of their significance are our editorial interpretation. The sources below distinguish club records, archived testimony and independent statistical research.

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