Howard Kendall’s playing career had already made him an Everton great before he masterminded the Club’s ascent to the European elite.
His achievements in the 1980s didn’t just cement his legendary status, they catapulted him out on his own as the man who had shaped the destiny of his football club.
His and his team’s exploits during that decade are still recalled with huge fondness as the Toffees won an FA Cup, two titles in three seasons and the European Cup Winners' Cup.
Kendall is, quite simply, the greatest and most successful manager the Club has ever had.
Before venturing into management, Howard had already tasted success as a player, helping the Blues to the 1970 league title.
One-third of the famous Holy Trinity of midfield maestros, which also included fellow Giants Alan Ball and Colin Harvey, the trio's mesmeric play proved the catalyst for the 1969/70 league title success.
Kendall had begun his playing career at Preston North End as an apprentice in 1961. He turned professional in May 1963 and played in the 1964 FA Cup final against West Ham United.
At the time he was the youngest player to appear in a Wembley final, aged 17 years and 345 days.
Originally a defender, Kendall joined Everton for £85,000 in March 1967, where he was moved into midfield with Ball and Harvey. After winning the title in 1970, Kendall became the skipper of the side for the next three seasons but the Blues struggled to build on their title triumph.
He was sold to Birmingham City in February 1974, helping the St Andrews club survive in the First Division during his time in the Midlands.
He then joined Stoke City in August 1977 for a fee of £40,000. Kendall became a player-coach a little over a year later and he thrived in the role, his performances earning him the club's inaugural player of the year award.
Alan Durban built the team around Kendall for the 1978/79 season as Stoke finished in third place, gaining promotion back to the First Division in the process.
However, despite Durban wanting Kendall to play for him in the First Division, Kendall decided to join Third Division Blackburn Rovers as player-manager - as his meteoric rise to managerial excellence began.
He stayed with Blackburn for almost two years before returning to Everton to play a handful of games, again as player-manager, prior to retiring from the playing side in September 1981.
He had succeeded Gordon Lee in that summer and he began plotting Everton's rise up the First Division table with an immediate, and plentiful, recruitment drive. Alan Ainscow, Jim Arnold, Alan Biley, Mick Ferguson, Mike Walsh, Neville Southall and Mickey Thomas became known as the Magnificent Seven – and were all enticed to Goodison by Kendall prior to the start of the 1981-1982 campaign.
Only Southall went on to make anything like a telling contribution, however. Nevertheless, finishing eighth at the end of his first season was a decent start for Kendall. Seventh at the end of the next season wasn't too bad either, but there was still plenty of scope for improvement…and it came, eventually, the following year.
The 1983/1984 season will go down as a genuine watershed for Everton. It had everything…including a fans' campaign for Kendall to be sacked.
Six wins in 21 league games left the Toffees in a precarious position in the First Division table and supporters voted with their feet - with just 13,659 spectators sitting through a tedious 0-0 draw with Coventry at Goodison on New Year’s Eve.
The crowd may have been sparse but the chants of 'Kendall Out' must have been deafening for a man who was desperate to turn things around.
The Chairman stood by his man, Kendall stood by his players, Kevin Brock inadvertently teed up Adrian Heath for a late League Cup equaliser at Oxford United in January, and, sure enough, the tide began to turn.
Everton reached the League Cup Final, only to lose to Liverpool, but then went one better by lifting the FA Cup, defeating Watford at Wembley.
The best, though, was yet to come. Everton's magnificent finish to the 1983-1984 season brought heightened expectations…and Kendall didn't disappoint.
The 1984/1985 Championship was won in comfort as well as style, the European Cup Winners' Cup was brought to Goodison after a memorable run through to the final, and a unique treble was only denied the team when tiredness caught up with them in extra-time at Wembley against Manchester United in a second successive FA Cup final.
Kendall was, quite rightly, the Manager of the Year, but Everton suffered double disappointment the following season, finishing second to Liverpool in both the title race and the FA Cup final.
The position of Merseyside 'top-dogs' was well and truly restored 12 months later when the title was bagged once again - the ninth Championship success in the Club's history.
Having conquered England, Kendall moved abroad to Athletic Bilbao during the summer of 1987. After a decent spell in Spain he came back to these shores to take the poisoned chalice that was the Manchester City hotseat. He was doing well at Maine Road but when The Toffees came calling, he simply couldn't resist.
His second tenure though, from November 1990 to December 1993, was one of frustration and he was some distance from rekindling the glory of the 80s. He left once again, but was destined to return for a third spell.
After the departure of Joe Royle in 1997, Kendall was tempted back yet again in what proved to be a one-season stay that came within a match of Everton losing their proud top-flight status - Gareth Farrelly famously netting in a dramatic final day at Goodison to seal top flight safety.
He may not have returned to the managerial hotseat following his departure in 1997, but he remained a true Blue Evertonian. In 1999 he was selected alongside the likes of Dixie Dean and Alan Ball as an inaugural Everton Giant. He rarely missed a game at Goodison Park and after stepping away from football management, he became a renowned pundit in the local media talking and writing about his beloved Toffees. In 2006 an award at the Everton End of Season Awards was named in his honour. The Howard Kendall Award celebrated excellence. A fitting tribute to a man who personified the Club's famous motto - Nil Satis Nisi Optimum.
As Howard himself said in one of his more famous quotations: "You can have love affairs with other football clubs. With Everton it's a marriage."
Stats and Honours Player (1966-1974 and 1981-1982)
Football League Champions: 1969/70
Charity Shield winner: 1970
FA Cup runner-up: 1967/68
Manager (1981-1987, 1990-1993 and 1997-1998)
Football League Champions: 1984/85 and 1986/87
FA Cup winner: 1983/84
European Cup Winners Cup winner: 1984/85
FA Cup runner-up: 1984/85 and 1985/86
Charity Shield winners: 1984, 1985, 1987, shared in 1986
Zenith Data Systems Cup runners-up: 1991
Manager of the Year: 1985 and 1987