 Welcome to Toffy TV, and joined by Rob Sloan, who has made the brilliant Howard's Wave film. Good to see you. Good to see you. Last time we spoke on camera was back in April when things were just kicking off. I know obviously you'd had a plan and everything else, but starting to... I hadn't shot much. No, no, just about to start trying to put everything together when you're getting the shooting done and all of that. And now, six months later, we're at the end of that journey. You've lost a bit more here. Yeah, have you noticed that? I've just noticed it. Mine's going to be darker than yours, as you've lost to us. Very good. I mean, what's it been like the six months? Well, April-May was crazy, because we had... There was a sort of limit if I was going to be able to make it this year. Had to be busy in April-May, had to get lucky with some schedules. Had to be able to get over to Australia and get back and then just get straight onto Liverpool. And the good thing is a number of the players still live around Liverpool. So we were doing three, four interviews a day to try and get it done. Cameraman was delighted because they earned the same, whether they do one thing in a day or four things a day, they get the same money. So I'm cramming it in and they're like, really, do you not think we should do that tomorrow? I'm like, no, I think we should do it today. The lights better today. There were some great bits of fortune. I was in the central library and somebody came over and said, are you the chap making the film about Everton in the 80s? I said, yes. Did you know that the Everton collection is here and I didn't? I should have, but I didn't. So we went down into the treasure trove there and the trophy was there and I put pics out and people have seen that the Canon League trophy was there. No, other stuff that we didn't put out, ballies boots, the original white boots were down there. So that was amazing. So that was brilliant. But that was a bit of luck. And then the subuteo stuff that you may have seen, so that was again, somebody just tweeted it and I had to see it and I thought, God, those are amazing. The detail was amazing. So got hold of the guy that had got them made for him, they spoke for him. And he said, yeah, come on, film them. And then spoke to Thomas Regan, do you know Thomas? He wouldn't tell me how he did it. I was thinking like it must be like a mini stencil or something like that. But what a talent he is. And then went to film. And the guy who got them had actually got a stadium, a replica Goodison, but not just a replica Goodison. It was a replica Goodison from that era, the 80s. So he got the buying unit team, the Everton team, and the stadium as close as he could to what it was like. So that was a fun fair, that one, that was brilliant. So those little things came along and then we did an extra little bit of filming with Kevin Sheedy, which was grey and all the players bought into it as I hoped they would. And I think they all come across really well. That was important when I was watching it back. You have to think they're going to be sitting there watching this. So are they happy with how they come across? Do they have enough screen time? And every one of them had a story and I sort of ticking them off that Neville gets his time and Gary and then you go through it. So one to eleven and then Alan Harper and Kevin Richardson and they all have their moment in the film. And so from that point of view I'm happy with it. It was a really busy time but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't great fun because it was and I'll never do anything. I've done some things before in my life that I've really enjoyed and I've worked with Sevier and Sevier by Asteris was my absolute hero as a kid, as a golfer and got to work with him and it was brilliant, it was amazing and did some superb things there. But for a condensed period of time to be making a film about the team that has sort of 45 years near enough been such a central part of my life and still are ridiculously on weekends when they can sort of ruin the mood like recently. It has been, it was great fun and I sort of worry about come middle of November what I'll do because nothing will feel quite as exciting as doing this for what's been sort of two years. I mean you just darn, you put a darn on it there haven't you? What will I do after that? I missed those flights to Australia and Minnesota and places. Well we didn't have to go cos Adrian came over here. I wasn't excited about sitting on a plane in the back of the plane for 20 hours and then literally filming for a day and getting back on the plane. But the stuff out there was good and the weather was kind which was important and once it's done you sort of, I look back now and I think we did quite a bit in a short period of time and then you're thrown into the edit suite and it really matters. Every scene really matters. I had an idea of what I wanted it to be and you know 10 different people would have made the film 10 different ways and I'm sure of that and two tribes came out and I love two tribes much more political than this will be. This is much more a celebration of that team, that era and we touch on all those things and I think we've got a really good soundtrack. One or two tunes we couldn't get for various reasons. Deacon Blue. But I think it's really close to the film I wanted it to be. It's lots of fun. The players tell lots of good stories. I hope people laugh and I hope people feel proud of that team. I'm sure they will. There's a bit of emotion in there as well. So you know if I had another crack at it I wouldn't do much differently. I mean that's the key thing and another key thing is it isn't just how a candle's life story. Just get that across because some people have took it on board as if it's Howard's life story but it isn't. It's about as far as I'm concerned and there'll be older people and us who will make challenge me on this but it's the greatest event inside of our era. Colin's interesting because I said to him we're talking about Biomunic and obviously every player has just said that was the night if I can take a game to the grace. I never occurred to me that somebody else might think that Colin Harvey said it's up there. Be one of my top five or six and then sort of went off down the path of his team in the late 60s and I was like alright. So yeah it's not about Howard's story. It's about him putting together that team in the style of the Magnificent Seven or the finding the players that needed to fit his team and then sort of introducing those players one by one in the film and then letting the story flow. Howard comes in, he brought in Alan Bailey, Mick Ferguson part of the Magnificent Seven. I'm going further and further down the pecanodder here I don't think there's anything for me. Maybe it was time for me to move on. Heathers push forward, sharp. It's a big thing isn't it? The Magnificent Seven and Five Gold Feig he were the size six feet in all that and Howard could, six foot one centre forward size five or six feet doesn't really work. Obviously out of that Magnificent Seven it was only Neville really who brought in Heath. Well now it is Neville. And he did piece this team together. I remember sitting talking to Andy Gray back in April through you obviously and him and Sharpie and then saying that when Gray coming he was looking on the dressing room there was no leaders everyone was a bit head down and looking at that team then I remember being in the street and we'd be coventrying the league up 2-1 and we'd be 1-0 and the lead comes on and we win the game 2 once Sharpie and Heath scored and you wouldn't have ever thought that 18 months later we'd be the greatest team in the land but often I do this I look at like a current team and go Is there a chance? Is there any way that this team could and it is a bit like that at times that sometimes things click together and before anyone says it I'm not saying everything will win the league but I'm just saying the way that team did come around because of the characters that Howard had put together Well 3 months later I'm talking about that 2-1 winning the league still in the Gladysly there was 9000 people there we'd be coventry I remember getting the 68 home with my bag of chips 2 months later we sat there and we'd draw 0-0 with coventry and people were throwing cushions down and we'd get beat by wolves and we'd go to Birmingham and we went 2-0 and I was at Stoke on the Saturday I see Birmingham, Stoke and Oxford are the games that players talk about and coventry as well but this is one of the things I'm sure people would love to see more archive than you can put in the film but the budget is the budget and you have to cash but Birmingham, Stoke and Oxford happened fairly quickly after each other Andy Gray and Peter He talk about it in the film and Neville as well they drew with Oxford but obviously Adrian's got and that was between those 3 games something was happening and they got it all right Andy Gray says that before the Birmingham game Howard says if it doesn't happen today I'm making big changes gotta do it a lot of you are and they win the game and then Stoke with the windows open and then Oxford and after that the momentum picked up pretty quickly they finished a season really strong finished 7, well from Birmingham maybe 18 league games you're not losing so one of the things I was a bit disappointed is Graham Sharp I think it's a game before the cup final or you know a Goodison game shortly before the cup final in 84 against QPR Graham Sharp scores an unbelievable goal and I wanted to get it in and the film at one point was 2.5 hours long and we have to trim it back and that goal was a casualty because it's a fantastic goal and if you haven't seen it I don't know whether it's on YouTube or not but I'd never seen it before and I texted him and said I've just seen this goal he scored and I've got to put it in and he's like oh cheers pal now I've got to tell him it's not in there but it's a typical him goal it's a volley from an acute angle and yeah it's brilliant but it's not in it's on the floor I was going to say when you're putting something together like this and obviously you start you start big and you have to chop everything back down was it difficult deciding horrible it's alright for my editors Australian mate of mine Mike Brook and he's a brilliant editor but he also comes at it as a neutral which is ideal really because otherwise it's amazing and you know the film's three hours and you're like but it's all good and he's like do we need that and I'm like yeah we need that and then you start to sort of debate it and what would happen sometimes is that he would get in early in the morning and so I would leave late at night and he'd get in earlier and he'd say I've made a few tweets and I'd look at it and I go oh really you think we need to leave that and he said look at it maybe look at it in a day's time or whatever but I think it's better but he was probably right and one thing I mentioned it to somebody earlier today that there was a great bit where so we've got Jim Rosenthal and Clive Tillsley in this film because Jim was doing all of ITV stuff and Clive was the Radio City commentator so they were both around the team a lot so we've got them to do stuff and it helps sort of narrate the film in bits and Jim said that ITV and BBC commentary teams and the presenting teams on the Cup final it was war so in terms of getting the players before and after the game there literally were fights oh this is great I love all this and he was saying to get the players at the end it was a big thing who's going to get the goal score and all that stuff and there's a nice there was in the film there was a nice scene where Bob Wilson sort of pulls a player towards him and he's got I think he's got Andy and he's got Kevin Ratcliffe and then Trevor Steven appears and he sort of leans in to make sure he doesn't lose Trevor Steven and says Trevor you know great game today the cross for Andy's goal there you know how was it and Trevor Steven says it was brilliant but I'm really tired now and Kevin Ratcliffe just looks at me and goes why what have you done and I thought it was brilliant because they're evidence so everything they say is brilliant and I loved it and I liked the Jim Rosenthal story before it that linked it together and I came in one morning and Brookie my editor chopped it out and he said I just think it's sharper, stronger, better without it and there were so many of those things where he was he was the editorial but you know I think I started off in newspapers and no one could tell me editorial he had it put together but he was right I was too, you can get too close to it and you need somebody to come in and say don't think yes, no, yes, no and we chopped a lot two and a half hours down to an hour 50 or 48 as it is that's a lot of stuff to lose a lot of chat because it wasn't all archive but yeah we lost some bits that I fought hard over but I don't think it should have been over two hours I think it feels okay it is tough, you feel like well I'd love to put it all on some of it I've put on the DVD extras where it's chat, so the stuff where they talk about the dressing room it's fascinating stuff but it's fascinating stuff to a certain audience and maybe it belongs on the extras and not I'd love to have put half an hour of Manchester United the 5-0 because most people haven't seen they've seen the goals but most people haven't seen how good we were in that game so we've stuck half an hour of that on the DVD extras because they could have scored 10 it's good to it's ropey footage but I think it's people will like that listen there the extras that you want to see there's a few bits on there that I was crying about nicking out but they're on the DVD extras so get the DVD make sure you get the DVD it's all out this tie's not too low is it Trevor's always a cool dude well he had the hair didn't he and I had a vision of say a choir didn't he a little bit of a fashion sense Martin Dobson one morning in the weight room at Burnley pulled my socks up first and foremost stood me up shoulders back pulled the socks up and he said I'm not dressed smart I think smart Is this a nervous period for you now because obviously we've got it's on the Liverpool Film Festival on the second I think November the second is the Liverpool Film Festival gala premiere they put it in quite a small screen and we've sold it out so I'm hoping that we go to a bigger screen I think Trevor's come into that one Peter Reid I think and hopefully I get Graham Sharp so a good occasion but the players couldn't all do that date and I so wanted them to have a celebration and as a team everyone kept saying you never get them all together because they've all got things to do but I just thought maybe there might be a date so I kept going back to them saying what about this date no I'm away, I'm here, I'm on holiday and I just kept thinking well there must be one and then we settled on November 11 as a date that most could do and then one or two of the other players started saying come on to write for me to say it but if Peter Reid says please can you do it it's different and I think that everybody would love to get together and this is a chance to do it and maybe there'll never be another one so they're going to get together on the 11 I think we've got everybody there and it all depends on Adrian and Minnesota but Colin's going to be there and I think it'll be and I really wanted that for them because to those of a certain age they were everything I was going through school in Cornwall Marsway but I used to sit there on a mundane assembly and your daydreaming and you're away with it all I'm thinking about is I want to get to Saturday or Wednesday but I want to get to the next game because we'll win it because that's what we did I film it, it's great to be in a team that's just winning, winning, winning and that's what we did I think there were two streaks in 84-5 where we won ten games on the truck all competitions and didn't lose the 25-26 games and only lost because we rested players because it didn't matter because we'd won the league we were unbelievable and it was the only time in my in my 50 years 45 of them support in Everton it's the only time that I've been able you just knew we were going to win games in April, 85 and I knew we'd win that game and I think the players knew they'd win that game it was just how many we'd score and on that particular day we scored three fantastic goals and they checked in a known goal Sharpy claimed it but that was what it was like and that's the only time in my life that period there where you just knew you were going to give somebody a do and I said to you earlier that nowadays you look forward to United last year we got a chance today then it wasn't we've got a chance today it was like we'll do these today and we'll give them a good kick and we did two three four Alan could play any position on the pitch and play it well that's how good Kevin Richardson they come in, they did a job, they went out five six seven eight we must have saved millions of pounds without them two we wouldn't have won anything ten eleven twelve mainly twelve Just then come back as well as a kid and you take it for granted because it starts happening every week where you're winning and winning and winning I was saying to Billy and you know our young lad who's made that last year's probably the best run he's seen of Evan for a while you know I used to want the opposition to score cos you'd know that we'd get a response from now I'm terrified when we give the opposition a corner it's that bad but I think then without the shadow I mean that game you're talking about he and Wallace scored after 85 seconds you know Sunderland and it was like we'll just wake up here and it's four won just a period towards that end of that season every game was a massive game and they never let you down they just delivered the late equalises that other teams seem to specialise in now we did that we did it in the semifinal I remember being at home in my room and I had a little black and white telly in my room I had been 15 and I remember switching it off I thought it was over and I remember being in my room thinking wow what a run that was and FA Cup final was such a big deal in those days to those of us that lived 250 miles away it was a really really big deal and to get to a final when it was a celebration of your team all day all day on the bus in the hotel fantastic and I really wanted that because it never happened for Everton and I remember 84 being the first time and just celebrate that day was just and then wanting it again and thinking that well Luton were one up and every time you heard the report from the ground because obviously it was different it was different I think the other game that day had the live radio from where I was so I think it was Man United Liverpool so that was the live commentary and then I remember turning my so I turned my tele off and I'd given up and I was just sort of sat in my room and I thought I'll just turn it on just to get confirmation I turn it on and Desline and saying well let's have a look at the two games and what they're up to now and I thought what's he mean and then the players just sat on the pitch and it was like one of those fantastically happy moments where you knew that you'd win that game then and we've equalised I didn't know how we'd equalised and we do a bit on that Luton game but we did in the film and Sheedy talking about how it wasn't his best hit but it was the only place he could put it and I think you might have seen the the tweet that I put up with the goal from a different angle we've got a couple of those from different angles and the fans going mental just off the charts and the Mountfield one is the same and you know Everton throughout the decades Everton have been the best at pitchy invasions we do a little bit of that with Frank Wilmot for the Liverpool game and Wimilman but that game and the fans and what they're doing I could only saw that on the telly but that Luton game the fans of I went to the 95 semi-final when we played Tottenham at Allendale and Everton had three sides of the ground Tottenham had more fans apparently but we had three sides of the ground it felt like a home game and that's the only time that I can say that I really experienced that because that was one of those rare occasions where you weren't sweating really because they won the game quite comfortably and generally I just watched it and thought that's amazing to be part of that and I hope and I think because the fans are a massive part they are now but they were then and that game and Notts County and Oxford and all these games when you can see how much it meant to the fans and Wembley in 84 when the bus arrives and we do a bit on that as well and the players talking about what it was like for them and we make fun of John Bailey and you need to see it but the fans would sort of desperate but expectant on that particular joy and then to see the joy that was following in 85 and the fact that they got to celebrate Wednesday, Saturday, Tuesday Saturday and that it's just people can't really understand what it was like and it was crazy and I was a school kid miles away in Cornwall and it was still amazing I mean that's the thing isn't it that's where I hold my Everton standards from now and so when people look and go Everton big club I automatically get transporter back to that when we were just bouncing I said something the other day on one of the videos we've done and it was if we don't uphold them standards as fans now and demand that that's where we want to go why would people who come into our club who've got the power to change stuff why will they then think well Everton should be up there they haven't been for years so we have to remember them times we have to drive them and that's why for me this particular film and I've said this to you for six years that we've been having these conversations I mean you did forget we'll throw about that at a different time but the six years we've been talking about is we've had conversations about this team falling through the cracks and everything because this is such a incredible incredibly incredibly important moment in evidence history should never be forgotten and has been by people and it should be something that fans of Billy's age you know young whippersnapper over there looks at and goes oh my god that team that I support that's what even the piv is probably I reckon he was around and he tried to tell me he's only 30 but I don't know but fans of that age look and go that's what we were that's what you've done I think a lot of the feeling is that what we could have carried on being and everyone feels that and when I say to people and people don't care they've heard it all before Leeds used to be a big club and how far do you want to go back Huddersfield and so on and so forth but we would have carried on the best team in Europe by far and we would have been the best team in Europe by far for at least five years and he's probably right and everyone go well, yeah but it wasn't our fault and things that happened we couldn't control them and we do that in the film and hopefully we do it the right way and it's not about blaming things it's about from our point it's a regret because I don't think we've ever really recovered from it well people say people go oh bitter ever so but we are bitter because we're bitter that we would have won the European Cup I've said it before but if that happens if Heisel happens in the 70s then there is no Liverpool dynasty they can't do the European Cup stuff that they did and went on to establish themselves as maybe the biggest club in the world and that is off the back of what they did then and if it happens in the 90s then United can't do it and that's just the fact and it is and there was a young team it was 24 average age something like that I mean I think Kev was 24 youngest captain around and it did and you can't say and five years later Sky are on board and football changes forever and it would be very difficult to imagine a scenario where five years after our latest league title if we're still in Europe and that squad stays together that young squad stays together the picture in 1992 because we would have been and because of that we slid away and just about held our status a couple of times but people I go to Saturday morning football and I tell people how's your film going it's going alright etc and someone will always chime in with Everton a big club and all that stuff and you think there's not a lot you can say but you can say that the fourth most successful English club you can say that but doesn't show us but it does show any so it's there's two sides to it I'm really happy that we got to make this film because it represented so much of my sort of childhood and I knew in the 70s what it was like to not quite be good enough so it wasn't like we were brought up on success and then we lost it we had the low and then we went out and it was just taken away when yeah I mean 20 hours many years ago and I still feel like what could we have done how many European cups would we have had and we can't talk about it because it didn't happen but we do talk about it because this bit did happen and at least we had that absolutely I mean finally where can we see it then how can we get old of it because every Evertonian really needs they need to buy it it's a new history it'll be amazing I haven't seen it but I've been there and seen some of the filming and different things it's a vital piece of your Everton collection and you need to get it because it defines it for me who we are as a football club we come from hard times a period of hard times the 70s started off winning the league in the 1970 and then we dropped off this was incredible and like Rob just said then it would have gone through the roof and it was taken away from us so and they're good guys they've got stories to tell the proper characters you couldn't really do this sort of thing and again what you've got so the change in room and the tight knit group and the fun that they had and I hope that that sort of fun and the fact that they ripped the mickey out of each other throughout the film that was important to get that across not all of it though obviously some of it couldn't go on no but yeah so how do we get the story to get all of it so the website evertonhowardsway.com there's all the details there but you can pre-order it now can I say that you can pre-order it on Amazon it'll be in HMV we've got a signing in HMV on the 11th actually so people should come along to that Gary Stevens, Trevor Stevens, Neville I think maybe a couple of others Derek is going to be there so you can there you can find out where you can download it so the Virgin and Skystore and Amazon and iTunes so you'll be able to download it obviously you'll be able to pre-order it go buy it so all those sort of things and I'd like to think that anybody who potentially would want to get hold of it would want to see it will be able to access is important brilliant big thanks to Rob for coming in good luck mate good luck but obviously we'll be, me and Pedal do a little bit more on this as well as we move towards the premiere of it and then some stuff after it as well and hopefully we'll speak to you around the premiere as well as we're about to unveil it to everybody for the world big thanks for watching, don't forget to subscribe don't forget to get over and check out all the details Rob's give you there to get your tickets out to buy your copy and all that very important, massive importance in our history so making it because it's been long long over to you thanks for watching see you later Ard Kendall was introduced as Everton's new manager and I am being appointed today to bring success to every football club to his positive influence as he changed the way we played Ard Kendall was tactically so aware of how to run through a brick wall for him that's what went through big tails come on bro, it's a lie he's got the light at the end of the tunnel once you look down at the tunnel it's a lie nothing else matters you were going in as a gladiator it's a blow back yeah third cup 1984, it's just to see a blue fan bang on the boscow and I've never heard anything or seen scenes like it these guys have been waiting years that was mind blowing it's great to be on the side where you consistently winning, winning, winning it's the ultimate you are champions when I think of Everton I think of Everton