Andrei Kanchelskis joined Everton for £5.5 million from Manchester
United in July 1995 under somewhat of a cloud. After falling out with
Alex Ferguson over his role in the side, he had decided that the time
was right for a move. Joe Royle's team had just won the FA Cup and he
was joining a club where he could still demonstrate his skill and
blistering pace on the European stage. What was to become a short,
torrid love affair began at Goodison Park aginst Southampton with
Kanchelskis' influence instrumental in Everton's first win of the
season. He rapidly moved on to cult status after scoring his first two
goals for his new club against local rivals Liverpool in the Merseyside
derby.
The season proved to be the Ukrainian's most profitable of his
career from a personal perspective, scoring 16 goals in the Premier
League, his Midas touch in front of goal helping Everton to sixth place,
their best finish in years. It wasn't, though, enough to qualify for
the UEFA Cup and Kanchelskis would be denied the opportunity to
demonstrate his talents against the best sides in Europe. This alerted
many top continental clubs who saw Kanchelskis as a prime target,
established as one of the best attacking wingers around. However, no
deal materialized and he began the new season still at Goodison.
goals in a pre-season friendly against Wrexham led the Everton fans to
believe that he was back and better than ever before. It was not to be.
Despite a further six goals, Kanchelskis endured a dip in form,
suffering from the transfer speculation that followed him throughout the
first half of the season. The inevitable move came in January of 1997,
joining Fiorentina for £8 million, an Everton club record. His brief,
yet productive impact had seen Kanchelskis score a total of 22 goals in
only 60 appearances. (Chris Williams) |