Graeme Sharp

Graeme Marshall Sharp(born 16 October 1960) is a Scottish former professionalfootballplayer andmanager.Sharp played as aforwardforDumbarton,Everton,Oldham AthleticandBangor City.He enjoyed great success with Everton, helping them winEnglish league championshipsin1985and1987,theFA Cupin1984and theEuropean Cup Winners' Cupin1985.He made 12 international appearances forScotland,and was selected in their1986 World Cupsquad.

Graeme Sharp

Sharp in 2018
Personal information
Full name	Graeme Marshall Sharp
Date of birth	(1960-10-16)16 October 1960
Place of birth	Glasgow,Scotland
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Position(s)	Forward
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1978–1980	Dumbarton	40	(17)
1980–1991	Everton	322	(111)
1991–1997	Oldham Athletic	107	(30)
1997	Bangor City	0	(0)
Total		469	(158)
International career
1982	Scotland U21	1	(1)
1985–1988	Scotland	12	(1)
Managerial career
1994–1997	Oldham Athletic(player-manager)
1997–1998	Bangor City
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Sharp moved toOldham Athleticin 1991, and helped the newly-promoted club stay in the top flight for three seasons. He was appointedplayer-managerof Oldham in November 1994, but he left the club in March 1997 with them on the verge of being relegated to the third tier. Sharp was then player-manager of Welsh clubBangor Cityfor a year. He has since worked in media coverage of football and as a club ambassador for Everton.

Club career

Everton

Sharp was born inGlasgow.He started his playing career atDumbartonbefore signing forEvertonfor £120,000 in 1980. He did not immediately become a first team player atGoodison Park,and by the end of the1980–81 seasonhad still made just six league appearances for the club. But new managerHoward Kendallsoon selected Sharp as a regular striker and was rewarded handsomely as Sharp netted 15 goals in 29 league games. The goals continued to flow over the next nine seasons.

Sharp's greatest achievements were as part of the Everton team which in 1984 won theFA Cup(he scored the first goal in the final), in 1985 and 1987 won theFootball League First Divisionand also in 1985 theEuropean Cup Winners' Cup.In October 1984, he scored the lone goal in Everton's first win atAnfieldsince 1970. He was on the losing side in the FA Cup finals of 1986 and 1989, with both of these finals being won by Everton's local rivalsLiverpool.His key role in this golden era led to his inclusion in Everton's "Greatest Ever Team", following a poll in the club's 125th anniversary.

After Gary Lineker's departure toFC Barcelonain the 1986 close season, Sharp had a succession of strike partners. First he played alongsidePaul Wilkinson,Adrian Heath(also a midfielder) and thenWayne Clarkebefore the arrival of £2millionTony Cotteefor the start of the1988–89 season.This was the season where Everton were on the losing side in two Wembley finals – first they lost 4–3 toNottingham Forestin theFull Members Cupfinal (in which Sharp scored a goal) and then they were beaten 3–2 by Liverpool inthe second all Merseyside FA Cup finalin four seasons.

Despite the arrival of another striker –Mike Newell– a year later, Sharp remained a regular player with 33 games and six goals in the1989–90 seasonin a three-man attack. For a while it looked as though Sharp could be on the verge of another title triumph with Everton as they went top of the league in late autumn 1989, but they failed to sustain their title challenge and finished sixth as Liverpool sealed their 18th league title. He remained a regular player in1990–91,though his 27 league appearances delivered just three goals. With speculation that manager Howard Kendall (who had returned in November 1990 more than three years after leaving Everton) was about to signDean Saunders,it appeared the Sharp's days at Goodison Park were numbered. Sharp did not appear to be part Kendall's future plans and he departed to Oldham Athletic (managed by former Everton playerJoe Royle) in July 1991, allowing new signingPeter Beardsley,along with Tony Cottee and Mike Newell, to start the1991–92 seasonas Everton's strikeforce.

Sharp was regarded as good in the air and able to hold the ball well and distribute it to provide more scoring opportunities for others than for himself. He formed successful scoring partnerships withAndy Gray,Adrian Heath andGary Lineker.In the 1984–85 season Sharp scored 30 goals in 54 matches. In 426 appearances for Everton (21 as substitute), Sharp scored 159 goals to set a post war goalscoring for Everton which has yet to be matched. OnlyDixie Dean(preSecond World War) has ever scored more goals for the club than Sharp did.As well as winning two league titles, a European Cup Winners' Cup and an FA Cup with Everton (and collecting three runners-up medals in the FA Cup and another in the League Cup), Sharp's exploits also included a four-goal yield in a 4–0 league win atSouthamptonin October 1987, his first Everton hat-trick in a 5–2 home win overNewcastle Unitedin December 1986, a hat-trick in an FA Cup fourth round win atSheffield Wednesdayin January 1988 and a hat-trick againstWrexhamin the League Cup during his final season onMerseyside.

Oldham Athletic

Oldham Athleticpaid £500,000 for Sharp just after their promotion to theFirst Divisionafter a 68-year exile. He helped them finish 17th in1991–92,ensuring that they would be members of the newPremier League.He helped them avoid relegation on goal difference in1992–93,and reach theFA Cupsemi-final a year later, although they were finally relegated to the new Division One at the end of the1993–94 season.

WhenJoe Roylequit as Oldham manager to take over at Everton in November 1994, Sharp took over as player-manager atBoundary Parkand they finished in midtable in1994–95– a disappointing showing for a side who had retained all but one of their key players (Mike Milligan) from the side that had been relegated from the Premier League and reached an FA Cup semi-final. Further disappointment came in1995–96when Oldham finished 18th, and Sharp finally walked in March of1996–97with Oldham on the verge of their imminent relegation toDivision Two.

Bangor City

After coaching Oldham Athletic, Sharp later served as manager ofBangor Cityin theLeague of Walesfor one season and led the club to aWelsh Cupvictory in May 1998.

International career

Sharp played 12 times for theScotland national teambetween 1985 and 1988.This included one appearance in the1986 World Cup,in a goalless draw againstUruguay.Sharp scored one international goal, in a 1–1 draw withMalta.

Style of play

In a 2018 interview withFourFourTwo,Robbie Fowlerdescribed Sharp as one of his heroes growing up, commenting: "Graeme Sharpe [sic] was a fantasticcentre-forward;he could hold up the ball, was good in the air and could finish with both feet. "He was also regarded as being a good distributor of the ball, who was capable of creating scoring opportunities for other players as well as himself.

Other activities

Sharp now works for the local press inLiverpooland radio forRadio Cityin the north-west of England and is one of the Everton Club Ambassadors alongside Ian Snodin and Graham Stuart.In January 2022, he was appointed as one of the club's directors.

Honours

Everton

• First Division:1984–85,1986–87
• FA Cup:1983–84
• FA Charity Shield:1984,1985,1986,1987
• European Cup Winners' Cup:1984–85

Individual

• PFA Team of the Year:1987–88 First Division
• Everton Top Goal Scorer:1981–82,1982–83,1984–85,1987–88
• Goal of the Season:1984–85vs.Liverpool(Division One)

External links

• Graeme Sharpat Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Transfer Database
• Scotland U21 statsat Fitbastats