![]() ![]() So were old Everton team-mates Mark Higgins, Andy Gray, Roger Kenyon, John Hurst, Mike Pejic, Gary Jones, Cliff Marshall, Alan Ainscow, John Bailey, Cliff Marshall, George Telfer, Alan Irvine and David Jones. Gordon Lee, the manager who King enjoyed his best footballing days under, was there. The Church was filled with a Who’s Who of Evertonians. “But looking round today I can say, Andy, you had a hell of a lot of friends.”Īndy King celebrates scoring for Everton against Chelsea in 1978 “You know, in football we have acquaintances, we don’t have friends. “And you wouldn’t need to be in that room to know that Andy King was in there. “What can you say about Andy King? He’s a person who would light up a room. And he spoke about coming back to Liverpool to live. “Eventually we talked about the old times. “He later became my friend and while we never met that regularly, we spoke nearly every week, all about football, players we’d seen, matches we’d seen, and, of course Barbara who he worshipped. “I’ve never actually told him that, but I’m thanking him now. “But it made me stronger and I thank him for that Mickey taking and whatever else came with being an apprentice in those days. I first came across him at Everton Football Club when I signed apprentice forms and I was his designated boot boy,” he said. While Kevin Ratcliffe, the most successful captain in Everton’s history, stood to pay tribute to his former team-mate’s life. And his biggest love in the game was Everton Football Club.”Įverton chairman Bill Kenwright, who knew King as “My hero, my friend, my lad” sent a tribute to be read out which said: “He was a magical spirit who blessed Goodison every time I saw him.” “But on a serious note, anyone who knew Kingy well knew he didn’t have one bad bone in his body. “Kingy turned to me and said ‘make it two.’ “They were screaming ‘We’re going to kill you.’ so I said ‘Send your best three out.’ “Andy, my brother in law and myself ended up in a bit of scuffle, a bit of a scrap and we ended up outside looking in, with all the Sunderland fans baying for our blood. “Then there was the time I went with him to the Liverpool v Sunderland FA Cup final, we ended up in a pub in Maida Vale full of Sunderland fans. I separated them and Andy said ‘What did you do that for? It’s the only chance I’ll ever have of winning a fight!’ “So I let them tussle for a while and she started to get the better of him. ![]() “I said ‘But what have you got her on the floor for?’ “He replied: ‘She called me a bad manager.’ “I remember the day I walked into Andy’s office at Swindon Town to find Andy on the floor with his secretary in a headlock. ![]() But at the end of the day he was just having a laugh. “I relieved George of his minding duties and we ended up in many scuffles, many scrapes. “What that really meant was that he loved to start a fight - as his minder at Everton, George Wood, would testify. He said: “Kingy had a lot of sayings, but one of his favourites over the years was ‘Im a lover, not a fighter.’ Harford related a couple of anecdotes of the man he had known since December 1985. The funeral of former Everton FC player Andy King took place at St Lukes Church next to Goodison Park. “He could be sensitive, he could be nervous, emotional, very spontaneous, honest, reliable, proud, loving, caring, loyal, funny, witty, passionate, especially about Barbara and his friends and family. “Kingy probably had more facets to his personality than anyone I knew.” he said. The funeral of former Everton FC player Andy King took place at St Lukes Church next to Goodison Park.īut in a moving and humorous eulogy, former Luton striker Mick Harford revealed another side to Andy King. They all knew King the spectacular goalscorer.Īnd some of them knew a hint of the man from chirpy TV interviews and fans’ gatherings. They all knew King the carefree, effervescent footballer. Hundreds more stood silently outside until the coffin, carried amongst others by Peter Reid, Mick Harford and John Barton, emerged, when those silent mourners broke into spontaneous applause. St Luke’s Church, in the shadow of Goodison Park, was packed to the rafters. He left it to Elvis Presley’s In The Ghetto.Īnd in the 55 minutes inbetween – friends, family, ex-team-mates, rivals and hundreds and hundreds of heartbroken supporters celebrated the life of Andy King. In pictures: club legends including Howard Kendall and Peter Reid pay tribute to spectacular goalscorer in the shadow of Goodison Park Andy King funeral sees hundreds and hundreds of heartbroken supporters celebrate the life of an Everton FC hero ![]()
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