Graeme Sharp

Who is Graeme Sharp?

Graeme Marshall Sharp is a former footballer. He started his playing career at Dumbarton before signing for Everton for £120,000 in 1980.

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 with Andy Gray, Adrian Heath and Gary Lineker. In the 1984–85 season Sharp scored 30 goals in 54 matches.

In 426 appearances for Everton, Sharp scored 159 goals to set a post war goalscoring for Everton which has yet to be matched. Only Dixie Dean has ever scored more goals for the club than Sharp did.

He did not walk into the first team at Goodison Park, and by the end of the 1980–81 season had still made just six league appearances for the club. But then came new manager Howard Kendall, who soon 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 the FA Cup, in 1985 and 1987 won the Football League First Division and also in 1985 the European Cup Winners' Cup. In October 1984, he scored the lone goal in Everton's first win at Anfield since 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 rivals Liverpool. 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.