Great article Paul. I was lucky enough to find a job as a 'steward' on one of the many flights leaving the old Speke Airport from Liverpool,courtesy of my Uncle George, who worked for the club in the 80's, so a short flight really on the day.

Chaos coming back at the airport though, we were herded into a giant marquee on the outskirts of the runway, and waited hours to get on 'any' aircraft home.

Similar memories of the day really, didn't see any trouble before or after the game (although my hazy memory tells me both sets of fans were kept in separate parts of Rotterdam.

For the record, I still haven't been able to identify you amongst the group in front of the bus!!

Thought the stadium itself was quite poor, it was difficult to see the trophy being presented to the team, in the

Ooopps, looks like a couple of lines missing from my response.

Cheers Steve. Just to the right of the open bus door, you'll see the longer-haired grey t-shirt wearing 21 year old version of me.

Looking back, that old stadium was a lovable dump, but well-used. That same year my Dutch wife saw Bowie play there.

Thanks for the article, Paul. The 40th anniversary of our greatest European trip has perhaps been overshadowed by the last game at Goodison but the memories of 15th May 1985 will never fade away for those of us who were there.

Our coach left St John’s Lane at 11.30 pm on Tuesday 14th. Three bin bags of empties were dumped on the side of the carriageway just before we reached Dover. The ill-fated Herald of Free Enterprise took us across to Calais. The coach journey to Amsterdam took for ever. We were told the hotel had ‘fallen though’, so we were given a refund of £20 and told we would easily find a place to stay near Dam Square. We did. Back on the coach at 5.30 pm for the journey back to Rotterdam. The whole coach was singing ‘Here We Go’ as we approached the stadium with thousands upon thousands of Blues gathered on the side of the road.

The match was wonderfully one-sided. You always worry until you get the first goal but once Andy Gray scored we could relax and enjoy the whole spectacle. The goal from Rapid did very briefly raise a flutter but Sheedy’s goal quickly settled any doubts.

Back to Amsterdam for a late night and early morning rise for the long haul back to Calais. In between watching Faulty Towers we discussed who we might meet in the following season’s European Cup and what trips we would like to take. Little did we know…

Steve (1) I remember your Uncle George. There is a piece of footage of him escorting the 1987 title winners around the pitch at Goodison after the championship trophy had been presented.

Hi John (4)
That's the guy, he loved Everton, his son George junior, made it as far as Everton reserves,before being released by the club.

I last saw my cousin George, and his younger brother Nick, coming out of BMD at the last test event.

Ironically, my Dad,Uncle George's elder brother, didn't like football,but our family were all blues anyway.

Paul (3)
that look's suspiciously like a perm your wearing there. Can you confirm or otherwise?