Football Poets

FROM OFFICIAL PROGRAMME
EVERTON v WEST BROMWICH A.
SATURDAY, 17th SEPTEMBER, 1966

Eleven days from now, Everton set off once again on another venture into Europe-their fifth in five years. They have played in the European Champions’ Cup once, the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup three times and this season it is the Cup Winners’ Cup, which is a record unequalled in that time by any other British club. They start off with a preliminary round tie against the Danish Cup holders, Aalborg, who have already been vetted by manager Harry Catterick, and he reports their ability as a little better than the Norwegian sides whome Everton have alredy conquered in the Fairs Cup and in pre-season warm-up matches.The dashing Danes should not present too much of a problem to Everton-s progress but the indications are clearley there that European competition generally is going to be tougher this season than ever before for any English club.
The reason ? England’s success in the World Cup!
For the next four years England are world champions and it will be a natural reaction for every side playing against an England team at national or club level to want to beat them. So English football, with Everton its representative in the Cup Winners’ Cup competition, has to settle down to the much more difficult job of trying to stay on top. Clubs who went to the Continent for pre-season friendlies discovered that the opposition was anything but friendly. They found a harsh competitive spirit which was not what the club managers were looking for in bringing their men to match fitness in time for the opening of our League season. Teams playing in West Germany, the beaten World Cup Finalists of course, had a gruelling time.
Aston Villa, Manchester United and Chelsea all played there in early August, and each had a man sent-off. The most telling comment on their common experiences came from Mr. Dick Taylor, the Aston Villa manager. He said “Any English team going into Europe this season must be prepared for anything. Now that England are champions, the Continentals regard a win over an English side as the greatest of honours. ”
So Everton, be prepared! They had a taste of just how rugged a game can be when national prestige becomes paramount in their battle of Nuremberg almost a year ago. You can depend upon it that every facet of their European opponents will have been thoroughly checked and a plan of campaign prepared with strength and weaknesses down to the last detail. Before Everton played Ujpesti Dozsa, in Budapest last season, I saw the scouting reports which had been drawn up, assessing the Hungarian team. I was astonished at the detail and tremendously expert approach which had gone into the work and quite obviously all the Everton players had been comprehensively briefed on what to expect from the Magyars. But although a manager can advise and instruct his players on what to watch for, it is unhappily true that some of them can forget in the heat and tension of a vitally
important game. This is undoubtedly what happened in Budapest.Special attention had been given to the danger of that big, powerful wing half Solymozi when he took free kicks from 30-40 yards out. His trade mark was the swerving kick, hit hard and low into the goalmouth. He delivered it twice early on,the Everton defence was not prepared and the result-two goals down.
“The best laid schemes of mice and men etc. etc. ”
But the briefing and the preparation goes on to the same degree all the time.
Mr Catterick, after his scouting mission to Aalborg, will have drawn up a blueprint for his players to follow and the same care will be taken against this side of Danish unknowns as it would be if they were facing Inter-Milan or Benfica. European competition is the added spice for football followers and those on Merseyside have had the fullest ration possible in recent years. The current season could be the best of them all and we all hope that the realisation is going to be as gripping as the anticipation.