Graeme Sharp

Lore & Background

Sharp was born in Glasgow. He started his playing career at Dumbarton before signing for Everton for £120,000 in 1980. He did not immediately become a first team player at Goodison Park, and by the end of the 1980–81 season had still made just six league appearances for the club. But new manager Howard Kendall soon selected Sharp as a regular striker and was rewarded handsomely as Sharp netted 15 goals in 29 league games. The goals continued to flow over the next nine seasons. Sharp's greatest achievements were as part of the Everton team which in 1984 won the FA Cup (he scored the first goal in the final), in 1985 and 1987 won the Football League First Division and also in 1985 the European Cup Winners' Cup. In October 1984, he scored the lone goal in Everton's first win at Anfield since 1970. He was on the losing side in the FA Cup finals of 1986 and 1989, with both of these finals being won by Everton's local rivals Liverpool. His key role in this golden era led to his inclusion in Everton's 'Greatest Ever Team', following a poll in the club's 125th anniversary. After Gary Lineker's departure to FC Barcelona in the 1986 close season, Sharp had a succession of strike partners. First he played alongside Paul Wilkinson, Adrian Heath (also a midfielder) and then Wayne Clarke before the arrival of £2million Tony Cottee for the start of the 1988–89 season. This was the season where Everton were on the losing side in two Wembley finals – first they lost 4–3 to Nottingham Forest in the Full Members Cup final (in which Sharp scored a goal) and then they were beaten 3–2 by Liverpool in the second all Merseyside FA Cup final in four seasons. Despite the arrival of another striker – Mike Newell – a year later, Sharp remained a regular player with 33 games and six goals in the 1989–90 season in a three-man attack. For a while it looked as though Sharp could be on the verge of another title triumph with Everton as they went top of the league in late autumn 1989 but they failed to sustain their title challenge and finished sixth as Liverpool sealed their 18th league title. He remained a regular player in 1990–91, though his 27 league appearances delivered just three goals. With speculation that manager Howard Kendall (who had returned in November 1990 more than three years after leaving Everton) was about to sign Dean Saunders, it appeared that Sharp's days at Goodison

In Their Own Story

The floodlights at Elland Road hummed with a low, electric buzz. It was a cold February evening, the kind where the breath of ten thousand fans hung in the air like a second layer of fog. Sharp stood at the edge of the box, shoulders squared, eyes locked on the ball as it was flicked into the air. For a heartbeat, time compressed. Then he moved — that long, loping stride that made centre-backs look rooted to the turf. He met the ball with his chest, turned, and before the nearest defender could even shift his weight, the shot was away. Low, driven, into the bottom corner. The net rippled. The Kop detonated. Sharp didn't celebrate. He simply jogged back to his mark, jaw set, as if to say: that was the easy one. The real work starts now.

Reader's Guide

Graeme Sharp never played for or managed Leeds United. His clubs as a player were Dumbarton, Everton, Oldham Athletic, and Bangor City. He managed Oldham Athletic and Bangor City. He was not part of any group called the 'Fever Few' and never played for Celtic.

Did You Know?

• Sharp scored the first goal in the 1984 FA Cup final for Everton.
• He scored 159 goals for Everton, a post-war record for the club.
• Sharp made one appearance in the 1986 World Cup for Scotland, in a goalless draw against Uruguay.
• He scored a hat-trick against Wrexham in the League Cup during his final season at Everton.