Harry Catterick will be remembered as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, Everton manager in their long illustrious history. Throughout the 1960s Catterick ‘accrued more top-division points … than [Don] Revie, [Matt] Busby, [Bill] Nicholson, [Bill] Shankly, [Joe] Mercer or anybody else’.[1] Catterick won Division 1 twice (1962-63, 1969-70), the FA Cup (1966) and the Charity Shield twice (1963, 1970), during this period and he is remembered as a successful manager during his time at Everton. As well as this, Catterick is Everton’s longest serving manager with his twelve years he spent with the club.[2] His tenure at Everton coincided with the money of chairman John Moores and the combination of Catterick and Moores proved successful.
Many of the stories that praise Catterick all list his faults as a reason as to why he is not more fondly remembered, especially in comparison to Shankly. When Shankly retired it was met by mass upset amongst Liverpool supporters, it was discussed that if Catterick did this at Everton their fans would ‘possibly not be upset’.[3] Catterick’s quiet nature means that, according to Sawyer, attention at the time was drawn toward ‘Don Revie, Bill Shankly, Bill Nicholson and Sir Matt Busby’, and they are ‘mentioned as being the great managers of the era while Harry doesn’t’.[4] There must be more of a reason behind this other than Catterick being a quiet man.
A neglected story about Catterick relates to his assault by several Everton fans. When discussing Shankly’s relationship with the fans the idea that something like this could happen to him seems implausible. Yet, in 1966 Catterick was approached by Everton fans after a game where he had dropped Alex Young for the young striker Joe Royle, there was a ‘small group of hooligans’ who attacked Catterick who was only ‘two or three weeks out of hospital’, he suffered ‘a sprained ankle and a bruised shin’.[5] Catterick was attacked for bringing in a man who went on to score over one hundred goals for the club and later managed them. This illustrates that Catterick’s decision may have been justified. Many Everton fans deny this attack actually occurred, yet the opposition he faced is important. It is certain that he did not deserve to be attacked and that these attackers do not represent all Everton fans. Nevertheless, for a group of Everton supporters to be so irate highlights a key issue of Catterick. He did not build a strong enough relationship with the fans due to the fact he was unapproachable. Shankly was said to have carried shopping for the elderly and play football with local children. Catterick was far removed from his community and this is an extreme repercussion for this.
Another example of fan disapproval to Catterick’s removal of Alex Young from the starting line-up came around this period. During the game one fan came onto the pitch holding a placard that read “Sack Cattrick Keep Young”.[6]
This was only one man on the pitch, who managed to spell Catterick wrong which ‘says a lot about the supporter’, but this again displays angst towards Catterick from some Everton fans.[7] Everton supporters described him as ‘a cold man, he was hard to like’, he did not create a strong bond with the fans.[8] This no doubt tarnishes his image as a successful manager.
As much as securing the signing of Alan Ball must be considered when praising Catterick, the sale of Ball was equally as significant. The season after winning the league with Catterick’s Everton, he was 26 years old and seemingly at the peak of his footballing powers. Everton did not need to sell Ball, though when Arsenal came in with a record offer of £220,000 Catterick accepted and Ball was to leave Everton. This is a decision that has gained criticism from many and dampened Catterick’s legacy. Ball and Catterick have both said it was a good decision business wise to sell a player when his career was nearing a close, and to receive such a hefty sum of money for his services was impressive. As a supporter of a football team it can be hard to view a footballing decision through the eyes of a businessman. Catterick was aiming to do the best for Everton by receiving a fee for a player that he felt had reached his potential, believing he would not receive a bid of this ilk ever again. Yet selling one of the best players at your football club to a title rival the year after you have won the league will always raise eyebrows amongst fans.
The sale of Ball was not uncharacteristic for Catterick. The Everton team of this period has often been associated with John Moores’ money, however Catterick acquired a lot of money for the club through sales of important players. ‘Players like Jimmy Gabriel, Alex Young, Roy Vernon, Derek Temple – yes and Fred Pickering – were transferred for hefty sums’.[9] All these, combined with the sale of Ball, illustrate that Catterick viewed football through the eyes of a businessman. Not only did Catterick make Everton successful but Hodgson points out that he, provided ‘considerable financial profit too, for Mr. Catterick never forgets that his chief concern is to preserve financial stability’.[10] It could be argued that the chairman and owners should preserve financial stability, Catterick should have been more focussed on winning football matches and trophies with the financial stability that Moores’ finances were providing. This does not make him a bad manager, Shankly was too kind to many of his players and that can be attributed as a fault of his. Catterick’s ability to take a step back and view football through the eyes of business would have benefitted Everton financially. Anyhow, this could all be attributed to the slump of Everton at the end of Catterick’s tenure and the following years at Everton. For the owners of the club Catterick’s decisions may have been praised, yet for fans it is easy to understand their distress. Perhaps if Catterick had have been more selfish he could have used the Moores money to dominate English football. He chose the long-term financial security over the short-term success of Everton. Of course, Catterick did achieve a lot in his career at Everton, but given the financial might that he had compared to many clubs, including Liverpool, he should have won more.
Catterick’s record in the 1960s is highly impressive; however, it is important to discuss the 1970s when analysing his Everton tenure. At the beginning of the new decade Catterick was labelled ‘a manager for the 70s’, this never came to fruition and Catterick’s legacy is certainly better viewed through his successes of the 1960s.[11] Nevertheless, it is very important to mention the health issues that Catterick encountered during the 1970s. Catterick afforded some of the blame of this slump to winning the Division 1 League Title in the 1969-70 season. Catterick claimed that “As soon as you win the title you are there to be shot at – and – everyone is so much more determined to beat you”.[12] It must be said that the main reason for Everton’s 1970s slump was Catterick’s health. In January 1972 Catterick suffered a heart attack ‘while driving home from Sheffield’, he was not fit for the job yet too proud to step away.[13] This is very similar to the years that Shankly struggled, Shankly had to display a lot of strength to turn around his fortunes yet Catterick did not have the strength to do so due to ill health.
Catterick deserves great praise for winning the Division 1 League Title twice and the FA Cup, as well as signing Ball. Having analysed his faults above it illustrates that Catterick was certainly not faultless. Supporters of any football club understand their team better than anyone else, for Catterick to face the varying degrees of opposition he did from the fans is important. He was bold in making changes, the decision of dropping Pickering and selecting Trebilcock won him the FA Cup, the decision to replace Young with Royle won him a sprained ankle. He upset fans with team selection and sales of big players, like Ball. These decisions will certainly tarnish his image as a great manager, they are also reasons as to why he did not win more with the vast resources he had available. Catterick no doubt had many positives, yet his criticisms are vital to understand his managerial career at Everton.
Catterick was a quiet man who suffered bad health and this is one reason he is overlooked. He was manager of one of the best teams in the country for the 1960s and he achieved relative success and accumulated more points than any other manager for that decade. He ruled Everton strongly and singularly, he said; “The decisions that matter are the ones that only I can make”.[14] It was his lack of attention to the media that means he is often overlooked, but he knew ‘full well that the manager of Everton will never need publicity’.[15] He did not want nor need extra attention to do his job. This works well when you are winning, but when results began to turn it is a lot harder to support a man who does not speak up for himself.
He has been described by Sawyer as ‘visionary, introverted, erudite, secretive, demanding, ambitious to the point of ruthlessness, yet sometimes surprisingly kind and thoughtful’.[16] This confused definition is perhaps the best conclusion of Harry Catterick and his role at Everton. It is hard to say that he was not one of the greatest managers of the era, his league successes speak for themselves. He made some great transfers and built a squad centred around fresh players and nurtured talents, yet his sale of big players infuriated supporters. Catterick can be praised for accumulating funds for Everton, yet with the money that Moores was pouring into the club many of these sales appear unnecessary. Catterick’s 1960s consistency is tarnished by his 1970s slump, but this was largely due to ill health. All in all, Catterick was a great manager who had a distaste for the media and was a quiet man. This means his whole career has, to many, been lost in history. The perfect way to view his career is by viewing it against Shankly. Shankly achieved more, but not a lot more, than Catterick. It was Shankly’s personality that means he will be remembered and his successes added to this. Catterick’s quiet persona takes away from his success. It is through analysing his career, that it becomes clear Catterick’s role in the golden age of football in Liverpool during the 1960s was hugely significant. Catterick and Shankly both won two Division 1 League Titles and the FA Cup in the 1960s, this illustrates how similar the two men’s achievements were. He achieved a lot for Everton but not quite enough to surpass his Merseyside neighbour from the period 1959 to 1974, and not as much as he should have given his resources. When focussing on the 1960s Catterick is certainly an equal to Shankly, yet in the 1970s Catterick’s Everton faltered and Liverpool flourished under Shankly.
The sheer fact his teams are labelled the Cheque-book Champions, tarnishes his legacy and role in building these teams. It is very unfair that his tenure is remembered for the money he had available as he was a very talented manager. Indeed, ‘It would be foolish to claim that the cheque book is an insurance policy for glory’.[17] No amount of money guarantees any football team any success. Catterick achieved his fair share of successes in football management. The trophies he accrued for Everton during this period, certainly place him as a significant reason behind the golden age of football in Liverpool during this period.
Catterick has been described by many different people in differing ways. For example, George Best said that ‘Catterick struck me as being a grumpy old bugger’, when he was negotiating over a possible transfer to Everton.[18] As much as Catterick has not been coined as a passionate man, the description of grumpy is not necessarily one that is shared by many. This may coincide with Ball’s idea of a ‘fearful dictator’, but Ball was keen to add that Catterick was very charming during transfer negotiations. [19] Perhaps the best description is provided from Shoot Magazine; ‘Catterick has a disarming manner. He doesn’t make a lot of noise but he gets things done and he only asks to be judged on his results’.[20]
ARTICLE BY PETER JONES
TWITTER @PeterKennyJones
WEBSITE https://peterkj.wixsite.com/football-historian
REFERENCES
[1] D. Taylor, ‘Everton’s Harry Catterick is the forgotten great of British managers’, at https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2014/nov/29/everton-harry-catterick-forgotten-great-manager accessed 18 Dec. 17.
[2] T. Matthews, Who’s Who of Everton (Edinburgh, 2004), p.293.
[3] Interview with T. Waller, 18. Sep. 2017.
[4] R. Sawyer, Harry Catterick: The Untold Story of a Football Great (London, 2014), p.13.
[5] Liverpool Echo, ‘Harry Catterick Story Part 3: The Day The Catt was ‘assaulted’ by fans’, at http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/harry-catterick-story-part-3-3388691 accessed 18 Dec. 17.
[6] ToffeeWeb, ‘One of the most enduring images from Everton’s 1960s history’, at http://toffeeweb.com/season/08-09/comment/fan/9327.html accessed 18 Dec. 17.
[7] Interview with T. Waller, 18. Sep. 2017.
[8] Interview with B. Dunning, 13. Sep. 2017.
[9] ‘Catterick: Man at the Top for Ten Years’, Charles Buchan’s Football Monthly (London, April 1971).
[10] D. Hodgson, The Everton Football Book: League Champions 1969/70 (London, 1970), p.17.
[11] ‘The Sweet Science of Everton’, Charles Buchan’s Football Monthly (London, October 1970).
[12] ‘Watch Derby! Warns Catterick’, Charles Buchan’s Football Monthly (London, September 1971).
[13] I. Ross & G. Smailes, Everton: A Complete Record (Derby, 1993), p.244.
[14] D. Hodgson, The Everton Football Book: League Champions 1969/70 (London, 1970), p.24.
[15] Ibid.
[16] R. Sawyer, Harry Catterick: The Untold Story of a Football Great (London, 2014), p.27.
[17] ‘What Did You Win? That’s All that Matters These Days’, Charles Buchan’s Football Monthly (London, July 1963).
[18] C. Shindler, George Best and 21 Others (London, 2004), p.90.
[19] A. Ball with J. Mossop, Alan Ball: Playing Extra Time (London, 2007), p.74.
[20] ‘An uphill task for Harry Catterick’, Shoot Magazine (London, 24. Apr. 1976).
#TheToffeeBlues #HarryCatterick #Everton #19611973 #History #JohnMoores #BillShankly #DonRevie #MattBusby #BillNicholson #JoeMercer #JoeRoyle
