BRIAN LABONE was one of three Wembley winning captains to be recruited for Everton s FA Cup 100: A Century of Glory and Drama. Along with Kevin Ratcliffe and Dave Watson, he was one of the surviving skippers of a proud Goodison history threaded with silver since the turn of the 20th Century. Sadly - as we now know - Brian no longer survives. For even as Everton's FA Cup 100 was going to press, Brian died suddenly at the early age of 66, leaving a gap in the lives of all those who knew and loved him. Now dedicated to the great man, this new history of Everton's cup exploits is filled with Brian's worship of the Blue. His warm recollections of days in the sun possess all his characteristic self-deprecating humour, all his appetite for a good story well told. As those of a certain age will recall, Brian skippered Everton to one of the most unforgettable victories in Wembley history - a 3-2 triumph over Sheffield Wednesday after being two goals down with only half an hour remaining. That was in 1966, the year of World Cup immortality for England and a young lad called Mike Trebilcock. Two years later, Brian was at Wembley again, but this time, in a twist of fate, Everton dominated proceedings, only to lose 1-0 to West Bromwich Albion in extra-time. Thankfully, Brian lived to celebrate two further Everton successes: in 1984 when Howard Kendall's favourites beat Watford and in 1995 when Joe Royle's underdogs of war defeated Manchester United. Five times Everton have lifted the famous old trophy, seven times they've been runners-up. All their adventures along the Wembley way are here in words and evocative pictures, from 1906 onwards when Crystal Palace hosted Everton's first triumph. A silver lining to history for every Evertonian. * Everton's FA Cup 100: A Century of Glory and Drama is published by Sport Media at £20. England bandwagon lumbers unconvincingly on toward Berlin >>> | 
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