Well I Never...

Kushiro2

Roofer
When we sold Gary Lineker in 1985, his first appearance in an Everton shirt was in a pre-season friendly at Wigan. Gary scored and Everton won 4-1,


Look at the 20 year old centre back marking him:

first-game-for-everton-jul-25-85-v-walsh.png
 
A few more points about that photo.

The report says Lineker 'cleverly chipped the keeper' for his goal. Presumably that's what we can see.

Everton sub that day was 19 year old Ian Marshall.

Wigan manager Bryan Hamilton (yes him) was in London the previous day to attend an FA disciplinary hearing about his club's poor record the previous season, which included two red cards in six weeks for you know who, v Rotherham and York. Wigan's then boss Harry McNallly (Hamilton's predecessor) said 'the Rotherham one looked worse because their player pulled out of the tackle at the last moment'. Ha ha. It's a little known fact that, decades before they started the Will Grigg chant, Wigan fans sang 'Walshie's on fire, your attack is terrified'. Maybe.

The folowing week, in another pre-season game v Preston, Steve Walsh broke his leg. That meant that a proposed move to Leicester City was called off. Gordon Milne had been keen to sign him. It woud be a year later, after Hamilton arrived at Filbert Street, that the move was resurrected.
 
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