BoysInBlue
Player Valuation: £50m
We're now coming up to the 20th anniversary of Peter Johnson buying the club from the Moores Family, so I thought that I'd start a thread on it, for people's memories on this period.
The 'Independent Blues Say Johnson Must Go' protest at the Charlton away game, Nov 28, 1998 (2 days later, Johnson resigned, although he didn't sell up and officially leave until a year later):
Everyone always talks about the current board and current chairman (this thread is specifically about Johnson and his leadership), but I think not a lot is said about the Peter Johnson years and all that it entailed. This man oversaw the club 1994-1998 and in that time:
- Saw us nearly relegated on the last day twice.
- Won the FA Cup.
- Saw us play in Europe for the first time in 10 years.
- Broke the club's transfer record for buying players 4 times, for Daniel Amokachi (£3m), Duncan Ferguson (£4.4m) Andreij Kanchelskis (£5.5m) and Nick Barmby (£5.75m).
- Improved the club's infrastructure: oversaw the building of the Club's Megastore, the first new building inside the Goodison footprint in nearly 25 years.
- Introduced the wildly unpopular Dixie mascot; the dropping of Z-Cars before match, replaced with '2001: A Space Odyssey'; as well as a fans band that played trumpets and drums during the game, in the lower Bullen Road stand, all dropped within a few months.
- Broke the club's transfer record for selling a player - Andreij Kanchelskis (£8m).
- Appointed 3 managers, Joe Royle, Howard Kendall and Walter Smith.
- Sacked 2 of them, Royle after 2 & 1/2 years, Kendall after a 1 year.
- Sold a player (Ferguson) behind the manager's back (Smith).
- Forced out of Goodison by fan power.
All of this inside 4 years!
There's a good summary of the Johnson era on Toffeeweb: http://www.toffeeweb.com/club/business/chairmen/Johnson.asp
Johnson later referred to his 4 years at Everton as 'wasted years': http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/spor...s/david-prentice-despite-wasted-years-3325686
From Wembley delight in 1995:
To despair and police escorts at Goodison for his own safety 3 years later:
Right hand man Clifford Finch on the left with Johnson, head in hands.
Finch was Everton's Commercial Director during this period and came out with many of the ideas - the Megastore was his baby, but also Dixie the foam mascot, the bands, Everton lemonade and chocolate, etc.
He was painted as a buffoon and Johnson's troubleshooter, but an article in the Echo 7 years ago, plus comments from Joe Royle said otherwise:
http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/johnsons-right-hand-man-forever-3521607
So how should Johnson's era be remembered? It was a tumultuous time, the exact opposite of what we have now (in numerous ways, good and bad).
Money was put into the club, but it was put in by someone who was a lifelong LFC fan and former LFC season ticket holder, who had also owned Tranmere Rovers (and would do so once again upon leaving Everton), and who wanted his money back and was always looking to balance the books, regardless of the fans wishes and feelings. Johnson was a hard-nosed businessman first and foremost. He shamelessly binned off Royle after 2 & 1/2 years, and he treated Kendall like dirt when he was getting rid of him (and should never have appointed him in the first place). He had big ideas for transforming the commercial side of the club, first through the building of the Park End stand, and then through his controversial attempts to build a new stadium, first at Gillmoss, then at Kirkby Gold Course. He cooked his own goose by selling the fans idol, Duncan Ferguson behind Walter Smith's back. I'll always remember the bit on the local news when it was announced that Johnson had finally resigned (November 30th, 1998). He left Goodison in a fast car, parked by St Lukes, and it was chased by a group of scally kids, one kicking the car and the other trying to jump on the back of it as it sped away, all shown on the news. Johnson was hated by the majority at the end, for what he'd done to Everton.
What does everyone think, from those who remember this period like me?
The 'Independent Blues Say Johnson Must Go' protest at the Charlton away game, Nov 28, 1998 (2 days later, Johnson resigned, although he didn't sell up and officially leave until a year later):
Everyone always talks about the current board and current chairman (this thread is specifically about Johnson and his leadership), but I think not a lot is said about the Peter Johnson years and all that it entailed. This man oversaw the club 1994-1998 and in that time:
- Saw us nearly relegated on the last day twice.
- Won the FA Cup.
- Saw us play in Europe for the first time in 10 years.
- Broke the club's transfer record for buying players 4 times, for Daniel Amokachi (£3m), Duncan Ferguson (£4.4m) Andreij Kanchelskis (£5.5m) and Nick Barmby (£5.75m).
- Improved the club's infrastructure: oversaw the building of the Club's Megastore, the first new building inside the Goodison footprint in nearly 25 years.
- Introduced the wildly unpopular Dixie mascot; the dropping of Z-Cars before match, replaced with '2001: A Space Odyssey'; as well as a fans band that played trumpets and drums during the game, in the lower Bullen Road stand, all dropped within a few months.
- Broke the club's transfer record for selling a player - Andreij Kanchelskis (£8m).
- Appointed 3 managers, Joe Royle, Howard Kendall and Walter Smith.
- Sacked 2 of them, Royle after 2 & 1/2 years, Kendall after a 1 year.
- Sold a player (Ferguson) behind the manager's back (Smith).
- Forced out of Goodison by fan power.
All of this inside 4 years!
There's a good summary of the Johnson era on Toffeeweb: http://www.toffeeweb.com/club/business/chairmen/Johnson.asp
Johnson later referred to his 4 years at Everton as 'wasted years': http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/spor...s/david-prentice-despite-wasted-years-3325686
From Wembley delight in 1995:
To despair and police escorts at Goodison for his own safety 3 years later:
Right hand man Clifford Finch on the left with Johnson, head in hands.
Finch was Everton's Commercial Director during this period and came out with many of the ideas - the Megastore was his baby, but also Dixie the foam mascot, the bands, Everton lemonade and chocolate, etc.
He was painted as a buffoon and Johnson's troubleshooter, but an article in the Echo 7 years ago, plus comments from Joe Royle said otherwise:
http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/johnsons-right-hand-man-forever-3521607
So how should Johnson's era be remembered? It was a tumultuous time, the exact opposite of what we have now (in numerous ways, good and bad).
Money was put into the club, but it was put in by someone who was a lifelong LFC fan and former LFC season ticket holder, who had also owned Tranmere Rovers (and would do so once again upon leaving Everton), and who wanted his money back and was always looking to balance the books, regardless of the fans wishes and feelings. Johnson was a hard-nosed businessman first and foremost. He shamelessly binned off Royle after 2 & 1/2 years, and he treated Kendall like dirt when he was getting rid of him (and should never have appointed him in the first place). He had big ideas for transforming the commercial side of the club, first through the building of the Park End stand, and then through his controversial attempts to build a new stadium, first at Gillmoss, then at Kirkby Gold Course. He cooked his own goose by selling the fans idol, Duncan Ferguson behind Walter Smith's back. I'll always remember the bit on the local news when it was announced that Johnson had finally resigned (November 30th, 1998). He left Goodison in a fast car, parked by St Lukes, and it was chased by a group of scally kids, one kicking the car and the other trying to jump on the back of it as it sped away, all shown on the news. Johnson was hated by the majority at the end, for what he'd done to Everton.
What does everyone think, from those who remember this period like me?
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