Royal Blue

Martin Dobson, English football’s first £300,000 player, joins Chris Beesley as the latest guest on Goodison Park: My Home to relive Everton matters from the 1970s.  The 77-year-old, who has penned his own autobiography Dobo: For Club and Country, tells the story of how he went from being released by Bolton Wanderers as a teenager to an England international with Burnley and his record-breaking transfer to the Blues in 1974. The classy midfielder has a treasure trove of tails from an era when Everton had several near-misses: in the title race in Dobson’s first season, in an epic three-game League Cup final against Aston Villa and a notorious FA Cup semi-final against Liverpool when they were denied a Wembley trip by referee Clive Thomas’ controversial decision.  There are also plenty of more-enjoyable moments though as Dobo recalls captaining the Blues to victory in the ‘Andy King’ Merseyside Derby, the 6-0 romp against Chelsea when Bob Latchford reached 30 goals for the season and another Goodison game again