Don Hutchison on how he became Everton captain

[Louis]

So when I saw it suggested over the weekend that Alan Pardew was losing the dressing room at Newcastle United, I sat up and took notice.

 

Now I think if that accusation has been made because he has criticised the players publicly, then there has been a misunderstanding of the way a dressing room works.

 

In those minutes, hours and days after a bad defeat or a run of bad defeats there is a lot of things that are said and done and it is not all about protecting the players. Sometimes airing a few home truths, either privately or publicly, can have the opposite effect and galvanise players.

 

I speak from experience here. I was playing for Everton when I had one of the fiercest rows with a manager Id ever had, and to an outsider it would look like an example of a dressing room that was completely out of control and a boss who had lost control.

 

We were playing Leeds at Goodison Park and the game finished 0-0. I was playing well but Walter Smith, who was the manager, took me off in the second half and the fans booed the decision.

 

Afterwards, Walter went for me verbally in the dressing room. I knew Id played well but he was accusing me of all sorts, claiming Id not done my job and that I was responsible for us not winning the game.

 

I sat there thinking Stay cool, dont say anything because I knew as soon as I responded all hell would break loose.

 

But this rant went on and on and on and I couldnt hold my tongue. I snapped back at him telling him he was completely out of order and hed got it wrong. Walter who was a big man grabbed me and had me by my shirt up against the dressing room wall.

 

I told him where to go and his response was forthright. Get in the shower, get your stuff and go youll never play for me again, he yelled.

 

I was in the shower when his assistant Archie Knox poked his head around the corner and said the gaffer wanted to see me in the boot room. As I walked to the little room I prepared for a fight, to be honest. I was thinking, Ill let him have one punch because hes the manager, but if he punches me twice Ill have to react.

 

Walter sat me down and asked me if I was all right. No, I said. Then he asked me whether I thought Duncan Ferguson was a hard man. Yes, I replied.

 

He asked me the same about Dave Watson and David Unsworth. They might be hard men but they didnt stand up for you in there, he said. Im impressed you did stand up.

 

He decided to take the club captaincy off big Dunc that day and give it to me because he wanted to see a reaction: he wanted a character who stood his corner and fought. It didnt go down too well with Duncan but I walked away feeling like a million dollars. Sometimes you need that kind of thing to turn a corner.

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[Hafnia]

I just didn't like the smith and knox regime, pair of old bullies. Hutchison was a top player, badly treated by the club, some players were on a fortune and they quibbled over a few grand for him.

[pete0]

Didn't Walter lose the dressing room?

[Hafnia]

Didn't Walter lose the dressing room?

 

Guess it wouldn't help having Archie Knox and his baseball bat mentality.

[Dalziel Kane]

From being able to recall, Hutchison probably amassed more cautions and dismissals in his professional career than actual goals scored. He was captain for other clubs too, but some will argue maybe didn't warrant such a position. Only featured briefly at Everton but weighed in with one or two important strikes and became (regardless of Liverpool connections) something of a crowd favorite over time.

[Hafnia]

From being able to recall, Hutchison probably amassed more cautions and dismissals in his professional career than actual goals scored. He was captain for other clubs too, but some will argue maybe didn't warrant such a position. Only featured briefly at Everton but weighed in with one or two important strikes and became (regardless of Liverpool connections) something of a crowd favorite over time.

He was brilliant, a very underrated player. He got stuck in and could play. The club behaved disgracefully over his contract, he single handedly kept us in games by adding some necessary bite and quality in midfield.