League Details
Played |
Won |
Drawn |
Lost |
Goals For |
Goals Against |
Points |
|
| Home | 21 |
11 |
8 |
2 |
60 |
28 |
30 |
| Away | 21 |
9 |
5 |
7 |
42 |
38 |
23 |
| Total | 42 |
20 |
13 |
8 |
102 |
66 |
53 |
Top Scorers
- William Ralph Dean 60 goals - Alex Troup 10 goals
Highest Scores
- 7-0 v West Ham United at home - 7-1 v Leicester City at home - 5-3 v Burnley away
The team from left to right : Back row : T.H. McIntosh, J. Kelly, H. Hart, A.L. Davies, J. O'Donnell, A. Virr, H.E. Cooke. Front Row : Martin, W.R. Dean, W. Cresswell, A. Weldon, A. Troup.
Under the guidance of Thomas McIntosh and the care of trainer Harry Cooke, Everton started the 1927-28 season with a very impressive 4-0 home win over Sheffield Wednesday. However, one win in the next six games had the club’s followers thinking that another mediocre season was on the cards. Despite the indifferent start Dixie Dean was beginning to make everyone in the game take further notice of him as he scored 12 goals in the first eight games. As the teams fortunes changed for the better Dean helped himself to all five goals in a 5-2 win over Manchester United at Goodison Park. Everton were by no means a one man side and two games later they crush West Ham United 7-0 while Dean was representing England in Belfast.
Everton were by now in a great run of form and by Christmas they sat proudly on top of the Football League and Dean started the New Year with an amazing haul of 35 goals in just 22 games to his name. After the turn of the yYear Everton fortunes took a turn for the worse and they went a ten game run were they only won once and picked up just 6 points. By the end of March they had dropped to second place, behind double chasing Huddersfield Town, during this period, however, Dean had reached a personal milestone. On 25 February, having scored 40 goals, he faced Liverpool at Anfield and scored three time to equal Ted Harper’s two year First Division scoring record, but he had to wait a full month to make the record his own, scoring both in a 2-2 home draw against Derby County.
The game against Derby was to be the end of Everton’s winless streak and they went on to finish the season with an unbeaten eight game run. During this period they caught and over took Huddersfield and went into the last week of the season with a three point lead. Everton’s penultimate game was away to Burnley, who were fighting against relegation, a 5-3 victory was secured with the help of four from Dean. An anxious wait ensued to find out how Huddersfield had done at third placed Leicester City. When the news came through it was not what Evertonians had wanted, Huddersfield had won 2-1, so remained three points behind but had three games left to Everton’s one. Huddersfield’s games in hand were at home against Sheffield United and away to Aston Villa, and had to be played within 48 hours of one another. They lost the Sheffield game and went to Villa needing to win, it proved too much and the home side won 3-0.
An amazing turn around had been achieved by all at the club, from near relegation the season before to First Division champions this season, with one game left all attention turned to one person.
Dixie Dean had plundered 12 more goals during the seven games that had led to the title but while scoring the four against Burnley he sustained a sprained leg muscle and had limped off during the second half. The week leading up to the last game of the season saw Harry Cook spend the whole time with Dean, even staying with him at his Claughton home, in order to get him fit for the game. The whole of Merseyside was hypothesizing as to whether the scoring record could be equalled, could it be beaten or would Dean even play.
The opponents for the momentous occasion were Arsenal and official crowd of 48,715 were in attendance, unofficially a crowd of around 60,000 crammed into Goodison Park to see if Dixie could break the record, and also witness Everton received the championship trophy.
Dean’s first goal of the day was a typical stupendous header and came after just five minutes; it was needed as Arsenal had taken the lead two minutes earlier. Soon after the restart he had another chance to score when Dean himself was felled in the Arsenal penalty box. There was only going to be one player to take the spot kick, Dean mis-hit his shot but fortune was on his side as the ball crept through the Arsenal goalkeeper’s legs and into the net. George Camsell’s record had been equalled and there was still 83 minutes left for Dean to collect the record for himself.
Arsenal equalised, but really the actual score was irrelevant, the only thing that mattered was to get Dean to the 60 goal target. Time was running out and with just seven minutes left Everton were awarded a corner. Alec Troup, who had supplied many of Dean’s goals, delivered a superb out-swinger, Dean rose above the Arsenal defence to send the ball into the net at the Park End of the ground, the crowd erupted, and one fan actually ran onto the pitch. Dean was congratulated by all of the Everton players, and when they had a chance by the Arsenal players also, Dean marked the record breaking goal with a simple bow to the crowd. Arsenal drew level again and the game ended 3-3, Dean had finished the game early when it became clear that he would be mobbed at the final whistle.
William Ralph Dean had set an English goal scoring record that has never been in danger of being beaten. His 60 goals came in 39 games and consisted of 31 in away games, 29 at home, forty shots and twenty headers and included 5 hatricks, a four and a five goal haul.
Further photographs of the 1928 championship squad / side. All produced with kind permission of David France.
