Derek Mountfield, recently honoured as an ‘Everton Giant’ by Wolves’ next opponents, had already made his mark at Molineux prior to signing for Graham Turner in the early 1990s.
The epic Littlewoods Cup tie between Aston Villa and Wolves in 1989, a fiercely partisan two-legged affair which formed two-thirds of only three meetings between the two across 19 years, saw Mountfield notch a crucial goal in the second leg to put Villa 3-1 ahead in the tie.
Steve Bull would later grab an equaliser on the night, whilst being knocked unconscious in a collision with Villa’s colossus defender Paul McGrath and keeper Nigel Spink.
‘Brilliant,’ enthused commentator Martin Tyler. ‘Brave…and brilliant.”
Bull has never been able to recall anything about the goal, the game ended 1-1, and Wolves nobly exited the cup despite a positive showing against their Midlands rivals who were then occupying a division above.
But one fan for whom the night remains vividly etched in the memory bank is Bruce Harper.
Harper recently contacted Mountfield via ‘X’ to inform him of the role his Molineux moment played in being the catalyst to many years of matrimonial bliss.
‘I met my wife because of you,’ Harper told him.
‘After you scored and knocked us out of the cup, I went to a pub on the way home to commiserate and met my wife.
‘Best thing that happened to me – I owe you a debt of gratitude.’
“I told him ‘well done’ and wished him all the best,” Mountfield says with a chuckle.
“I think it’s really funny, one of those things that happens with fans and football.”
Mountfield not only represented Villa and Wolves, he pretty much rounded off his playing career with over a century of appearances at Walsall.
Not quite the full West Midlands set although, as the former defender explains, he can lay claim to it in one respect.
“I made my Everton debut at St Andrew’s against Birmingham, and scored my first goal against Albion at the Hawthorns,” he explains.
Mountfield loved his time in the Midlands. But, of course, Merseyside will always be top of the pile. And so it should be.
A lifelong Evertonian, who helped marshal the defence during the most successful time in the club’s long and illustrious history, just pulling on the Royal Blue shirt once would probably have been enough.
Let alone winning two league titles, an FA Cup and a Cup Winners Cup, during a mid-Eighties run under Howard Kendall that would probably have yielded more international honours without the ban imposed on English clubs following the tragedy at Heysel Stadium.
“People often ask me what was my proudest moment,” he reflects.
“And to be honest, it’s not winning the cups or the leagues, it was just signing for Everton.
“I’m an Evertonian, and so few people get the chance to sign for the club which they have supported all their life.
“When I went to sign the contract, it could have been a blank sheet of paper or said ‘Derek Mountfield owes Everton £2,000 every time he plays for them’, and I’d still have put pen to paper.
“I got the chance to live out all of my dreams, and the dreams of so many others as well.”
Mountfield can still recall the phonecall he received from Kendall telling him his performance in a testimonial which doubled up as a trial game had been sufficient to secure a permanent move from Tranmere, the club he had joined as an apprentice from school and for whom he made around 30 appearances in the first team.
He had spent a week charging down the stairs from his bedroom on the third storey of the family home in Wallasey every time the phone rang, hoping it would be the call.
“When it came, my Mum answered it, and she had no idea who Howard Kendall was,” he recalls.
“My Dad was the football one out of my parents!”
There followed the incredible story that saw Kendall mastermind those incredible few years, which included Mountfield breaking into the team to partner Kevin Ratcliffe and win an FA Cup final against Watford at the age of just 21.
Two league titles in three seasons followed, as well as the Cup Winners Cup, as Mountfield chalked up a total of 154 appearances, scoring 25 goals of which 14 came in the 1984/85 campaign alone. Not bad for the princely transfer fee of just £30,000.
Little wonder that the dominant and commanding defender joined his former team-mates Andy Gray, Kevin Sheedy and Paul Bracewell in being inducted into the ‘Everton Giants’ at the recent Premier League fixture against Manchester United.
“It was an incredible day, quite an emotional one, and we received a superb reception from the fans,” Mountfield explains.
“It was a fantastic afternoon of reminiscing and, for me, a former Everton season ticket holder, to now be called an Everton Giant is something I am very, very proud of.
“That team from the 80s was fantastic, and we are still very close, with five or six dinners coming up to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the league title, and it will be like we’ve never been apart.”
Mountfield’s move from running out to Z Cars in front of the Gwladys Street End, to Fanfare for the Common Man in front of the South Bank, was sandwiched either side of three years with Aston Villa.
- Express & Star subscribers can read the full feature here – https://www.expressandstar.com/sport/2025/03/06/derek-mountfield-the-everton-giant-who-made-his-wolves-mark-at-molineux/
