Happy Birthday to the man i consider to be the #1 all-time Evertonian- as he fits into more categories than anyone i can think of.... A scouser, a boyhood fan on the terraces, youth player, legendary first team player, youth coach, reserve team coach, first team coach, manager, league title winner, fa cup winner....and of course part of the Holy Trinity.
For me, Colin epitomises the combination of skill, finesse and heart of those Catterick years and devoted around 40 years of his life working at Everton. I’m not old enough to have seen him play live but when looking at all that footage of Colin, which I have a good collection of, he looks such a modern player who wouldn’t be out of place in a midfield three with the likes of Xavi & Iniesta.
Him and Howard proved to be a dream ticket…and as many ex-players have said, our fortunes turned once he was promoted to 1st team coach and implemented a pressing game (which he’d been doing in the reserves). This benefitted Peter Reid as much as anyone and he soon became an Everton great. My fave clip of Colin and Howard together is the 84 Cup Final (I think) when we’re 2-0 up with a few mins to go and Howard playfully pushes Colin as if to say “we’ve done it” but Colin’s still concentrating on the game as if to say “it’s not over yet”. Also, in Reidy’s book he describes how Colin laid into the players when they were 2-0 down at half-time vs the RS…in a testimonial!!! Stressing how important it was not to give them any advantage even in pre-season- we went out and won the game 3-2.
Colin’s my father-in-laws’ all-time favourite player and my all-time favourite Evertonian. Him not succeeding as our manager was one of the saddest things I’ve experienced as a fan, and as mentioned before, his description of when he knew he would be sacked brings a lump to the throat. Gentleman and legend.
The likes of Rooney called his 'biggest influence' and the similar plaudits from Ratcliffe and Osman and so many others spanning many years, and who Big Nev said recently "when I think of Everton, i think of Colin, he is Everton in a nutshell". High praise indeed.
