Neil Pointon

The championship-winning left-back reflects on signing for Howard Kendall, his development as a player under the great man's guidance and how much of an influence the Club has had on his post-Goodison career.

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I signed a blank contract – nobody would do that nowadays!”

When Neil Pointon found out Everton were interested in his services, nothing else mattered.

Not the remuneration and the length of the deal, nor any promises about playing time. The sheer fact the reigning champions wanted him was enough for a 20-year-old full-back from Nottinghamshire to put pen to an otherwise white piece of paper.

The Blues had just enjoyed the iconic success of the 1984/85 season which reaped the league title and the European Cup Winners’ Cup.

Manager Howard Kendall was in the market for cover at left-back for Pat Van Den Hauwe and opted to dip into the lower leagues for a youngster who had recently broken through at Scunthorpe United.

“In football, some people say you need to be lucky, but when a person of Howard’s stature comes along and wants to sign you from a small football club, it’s something you just jump at,” said Pointon.

“It’s every boy’s dream and I always wanted to be a footballer – I was doing that at Scunthorpe, but then you get ambitious. I was watching Everton come out of the shadows of Liverpool to win the FA Cup, the league and then the Cup Winners’ Cup and thought: ‘Wow, what a great club this must be to play for.’

“Then the opportunity actually came up – we played Preston away and after the game Howard and coach Micky Heaton dragged me into the boardroom. I signed a blank contract – nobody would do that nowadays! – I took to them both immediately and they never let me down.

“Howard said: ‘I’m not buying you for this year, I’m buying you for next year, but you’ll be training with us and playing for the reserves.’ It was for Everton Football Club and that’s all I needed to know.”