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The Kendall years / Original feature

Howard Kendall, Bayern and the making of 1985

The team behind Goodison’s famous European night, and the demanding run that turned a semi-final comeback into a league and cup double.

Bramley Moore editorial · Reviewed and expanded · 4 minute read

Everton's 3–1 victory over Bayern Munich on 24 April 1985 survives as one of Goodison's defining nights. It deserves to be read as a football match as well as a memory of noise. Everton were behind at half-time, facing an opponent with an away goal, and had to change the tie without losing control of it. Howard Kendall's side solved that problem through the strengths it had spent several seasons assembling.

A team assembled over time

Kendall returned as player-manager in 1981. Everton's own managerial history records an extensive initial recruitment drive, including Neville Southall, but the eventual champions were not created in one transfer window. The 1984 FA Cup was the first major trophy of his managerial reign. A year later, the same project was competing successfully across a league season and two cup runs.

The chronology matters because it prevents a great team being mistaken for an instant discovery. Kendall needed to identify players, decide how their strengths fitted and allow partnerships to develop. Southall's place behind the defence, the understanding between midfielders and the choices up front became a structure in which individual quality could be repeated from one fixture to the next.

What the balance looked like

Peter Reid and Paul Bracewell gave Everton a central partnership; Trevor Steven and Kevin Sheedy supplied width. Ahead of them, Graeme Sharp, Andy Gray and Adrian Heath offered Kendall different attacking options during the campaign. The club's season account credits this spread of contributions rather than a single star. Behind them stood Southall, with Kevin Ratcliffe central to the defensive unit.

That arrangement helps explain why the side could sustain pressure. Wide players gave the opposition more than one area to defend, while two forwards could occupy defenders and contest deliveries. The midfield needed to support those attacks and deal with the next ball when possession broke down. These are functional relationships, not just famous names placed on a retrospective teamsheet.

The league season itself began with defeats to Tottenham and West Bromwich Albion. By October, Everton won at Anfield and then beat Manchester United 5–0 at Goodison. Those results indicate a team improving into its season, rather than one that was invulnerable from the opening afternoon. The early defeats belong in the account just as much as the victories.

The problem Bayern posed

The first leg in Munich finished 0–0. At Goodison, Dieter Hoeness scored in the 37th minute, leaving Everton behind at the interval. Bayern's away goal meant that merely drawing level would not be sufficient to reach the final under the competition's rules. Everton needed a second goal, while another concession would make their task considerably harder.

Sharp equalised early in the second half. Gray then put Everton ahead, and Steven scored the third late on. The sequence is important: an immediate response, a period still spent needing another goal, and finally a margin that gave Everton some security. Calling it a comeback is accurate; describing it as effortless would erase the problem the players actually overcame.

The starting side was Southall; Gary Stevens, Pat Van Den Hauwe, Ratcliffe and Derek Mountfield; Reid, Steven, Bracewell and Sheedy; Sharp and Gray. The goals came from both strikers and a wide midfielder. The match record shows a shared attacking contribution in the decisive half, giving substance to the idea of a team able to threaten in several ways.

Finishing the work

The semi-final did not award a trophy. Everton still had to protect their league position and win in Rotterdam. On 6 May they beat Queens Park Rangers 2–0 at Goodison to seal the title. On 15 May, Rapid Vienna stood between them and the European Cup Winners' Cup. Both occasions required a completed performance after the excitement of Bayern.

The European final remained goalless at half-time. Gray and Steven put Everton two ahead; Hans Krankl then reduced the deficit before Sheedy restored the two-goal margin. Everton won 3–1. Read beside the semi-final, the final provides another test of response: the team could recover from being behind and could also react when an opponent threatened a lead.

Three days later, Manchester United beat Everton 1–0 after extra time in the FA Cup final. The hoped-for treble was therefore not completed. That result needs no excuse to coexist with the league and European trophies. A demanding season can contain a genuine disappointment without changing the scale of what was achieved.

What carries forward

For Everton at Bramley-Moore, the useful lesson of 1985 is the connection between atmosphere and a team with the means to respond. Support mattered; so did preparation, complementary players and the ability to make another chance after a setback. Remembering the details gives future ambitions something firmer to stand on than a demand for the old ground's noise to return.

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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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