Book Review

A gentle 15-minute amble will take you across Stanley Park, between the Anfield and Goodison Park stadia. Although Everton and Liverpool FC share common DNA, dating back to the 1890s, less than 40 male footballers have crossed the great divide, either directly  - or with a spell elsewhere sandwiched in the middle. The phenomenon has become rarer in the past two decades, a reflection of the relative positions of the two clubs, and the increased toxicity in this social media age (in contrast, moves between the Everton and Liverpool women’s squads were commonplace in the 1990s and 2000s).

Peter Kenny Jones has produced a welcome study of the players and two managers to represent the Blues and Reds (in men’s football) in Crossing The Park, The Men Who Dared To Play For Both Liverpool and Everton (Pitch Publishing, 2023). Jones, a Liverpool supporter from Crosby, got into football writing when studying Liverpool Hope University and wrote an MA dissertation comparing and contrasting Everton and Liverpool in the Harry Catterick/Bill Shankly era. More recently he has written the biography of Billy Liddell and been employed by Empire of the Kop.

His latest book profiles the Everton/Liverpool players in chronological order of their switch (note that only players who represented the first teams at both clubs in peacetime are featured - hence no chapters on Jack Balmer and Alan Harper, for example). Andrew Hannah, Edgar Chadwick and Fred Geary were three notable Victorian Evertonians who spent a later part of their careers across the park - others featured, like Duncan McLean and John Whitehead will be less familiar to many.

The author recounts that winger Harold Uren would be the first player to move from Everton to their junior (in age) rivals - with Tom Gracie and Bll Lacey moving in the opposite direction in the same transaction, evidence of a thaw in relations after the great schism of 1892. Dick Forshaw was one of the more striking movers - a member of the famous Liverpool Invincibles side in the mid-1920s, the Lancastrian was transferred to Goodison Park in 1927, becoming a league champion alongside Dixie Dean in the following season. This prefaced his descent into a life of petty crime after hanging up his boots. Tommy ‘Tosh’ Johnson, meanwhile, surprised Blues by moving to Liverpool in search of regular football, having been an early 1930s league and cup winner with the Toffees.

Jones covers avowed Evertonians of the 1950s who spent later stages of their playing days at Anfield in Tony McNamara and Dave Hickson. In contrast, Johnny Morrissey, who had grown up idolising Billy Liddell, was taken to Goodison by Harry Catterick in 1962, under the nose of Bill Shankly - causing consternation for the Scot. The tough winger would enjoy a highly successful decade as a Blue (having a son briefly following in his footsteps at Goodison). The author is able to draw on a rare interview given by Morrissey, which gives the background to the surprise change in club affiliation. 

The recently departed David Johnson, who had a spell at Ipswich on leaving Everton (yes - he of the part-exchange deal with Rod Belfitt), before gaining England honours with the club he supported at a boy (followed by a less happy coda back at Goodison). Kevin Sheedy, Steve McMahon, Peter Beardsley and Gary Ablett follow in the book (the latter two carrying off the rare feat of being admired by both sets of supporters). 

The final player to feature is Conor Coady who, at the time of Jones writing the book, was on loan at Everton from Wolves, having come up through the ranks at Mellwood. On the administrative side, W.E. Barclay, who decided to remain at Anfield when Everton decamped to Goodison Park, and Rafa Benitez, are profiled.

The author does seek to address why some players have made the move - direct or indirect - with the little fuss (e.g. Xavier and Beardsley) while others have become reviled, in particular by Evertonians (Steve McMahon and Nick Barmby being two cases in point). Jones also puts forward his thoughts on why there is seemingly more toxicity between the fanbases in recent decades - making further direct moves a very remote possibility.

A quibble is that the book would, in my opinion, have benefited from a further copy edit. For example, the David Burrows interview could have been trimmed down, while one or two errors have slipped through the net (e.g. Johnny Holt was a centre-half, not a forward). Nonetheless, Jones’s book is an informative read. It should appeal to supporters of the clubs on either side of Stanley Park, bringing as it does, some of the less heralded players to wear both red and blue into the spotlight, alongside the more celebrated Morrissey, Beardsley, Sheedy et al. 

Crossing The Park, The Men Who Dared To Play For Both Liverpool and Everton is published by Pitch Publishing and is available through the unusual outlets.


Reader Responses

Selected thoughts from readers

Either no responses have been submitted so far to this article or previous submissions are being assessed for inclusion.

Add Your Thoughts

Only registered users of Evertonia can participate in discussions.

» Log in now

Or sign up as Evertonia Member — it takes just a few minutes and will allow you to post your thoughts on artices across the site.