Trevor Steven

Trevor McGregor Steven (born 21 September 1963) is an English former professional footballer who played as a right-sided midfielder.

He became known as a member of the successful Everton side of the 1980s and went on to be part of the Rangers '9-in-a-row' team.

Steven was also successful with France's Marseille and gained 36 international caps for England.

He works as a presenter for RTÉ Sport in Ireland.

He progressed through the ranks at Burnley, making his debut in 1981 regularly scoring over the next two seasons.

Everton boss Howard Kendall, who was building a new team based on youth, decided to make a bid for him.

Steven began his career with Burnley upon leaving school in the summer of 1980, and broke into the first team on 14 April 1981 when he made his debut as substitute in a 4–2 win over Huddersfield Town at Turf Moor.

During the 1981–82 season, whilst still a teenager, his first appearance in the starting XI came at Bristol Rovers in September.

Steven then went on to score three goals in 36 league games to help Burnley win promotion to the Second Division as Third Division champions.

He managed eight goals in the 1982–83 season, but was unable to prevent Burnley from going straight back down to the Third Division.

Burnley accepted £300,000 for the 19-year-old Steven who joined Everton in the summer of 1983.

He made his debut at the beginning of the following season, which proved a watershed campaign for Kendall's men.

Despite finishing in 7th position in the Football League Championship, the season – and Kendall's job – was saved by two excellent cup runs.

Steven was not selected by Kendall for the 1984 Football League Cup Final (a defeat to local rivals Liverpool after a replay), but by the time Everton lined back up at Wembley for the 1984 FA Cup Final two months later, he was in the team.

Watford were the opponents, and Steven played his part in the second goal of Everton's 2–0 success.

As he ventured down the flank, Steven sent in an early, high and very awkward ball towards the Watford penalty area, which Everton centre forward Andy Gray and Watford goalkeeper Steve Sherwood challenged for together.

Though Sherwood seemed to get two hands on the ball, Gray's challenge certainly involved contact with his head and the goal was given.

Steven had played his part and an FA Cup medal was his.

The following season, Steven further established his right-flank partnership with full back Gary Stevens, which was a strong and creative link-up.

Kendall had completed his team-building process and Everton went from strength to strength, winning the First Division title for the first time in 15 years and reaching the FA Cup final again.

Steven established himself as one of the best midfield players in Europe with his ability to take players on with his attacking skills combined with defensive duties when needed.

The domestic "double" chances evaporated when Manchester United, despite being down to ten men, won at Wembley in extra time, but there was consolation for Everton when they defeated Rapid Vienna 3–1 in the final of the European Cup Winners' Cup in Rotterdam.

Steven scored the second goal with a close-range volley after Rapid failed to clear a corner.

He had also scored a crucial goal in the semi-final against Bayern Munich.

In the league, he managed 12 goals from 40 games and was among their top scorers.

Next season, Everton again challenged for First Division and FA Cup honours but were unable to compete in Europe due to the post-Heysel Stadium disaster ban on English clubs.

Everton ended the season without a trophy – they lost the League title to Liverpool on the last day of the season, and then Steven suffered FA Cup heartbreak for the second season in a row when Liverpool beat Everton 3–1 at Wembley.

A year later he enjoyed another title triumph as Everton finished as champions with Steven scoring 14 goals – the most league goals he scored in a season for the club.

In 1988 his right flank partner Stevens left Everton to join Rangers in Scotland and Steven struggled to form a similar telepathy with replacement Neil McDonald.

Everton ended the season without a trophy – losing the 1989 FA Cup Final to Liverpool.

Graeme Souness, then manager of Rangers, offered Steven the chance to pair up with his friend Gary Stevens and reform their partnership down the right.

Offers came in from other big clubs, including Manchester United, where Alex Ferguson was rebuilding his midfield around Bryan Robson, but Steven chose Ibrox when he exited Goodison Park in the 1989 close season.

His main reason for doing so seemed to be the attraction of European football, as the ban on English clubs was ongoing and Steven had been denied the chance to play in the European Cup with Everton as a consequence.

So, after 299 appearances and 60 goals, he left Everton in a £1.5 million deal and went to Glasgow.

Despite being the latest in a sequence of high-profile England internationals signed by Souness, Steven's arrival at Ibrox was relatively low-key, principally because it coincided with the controversial signing of Mo Johnston – the first high-profile, established Roman Catholic player to be signed by Rangers in the post-war period.

Steven rapidly became a solid member of the Rangers squad, securing a league championship in his first season, and another title plus the Scottish League Cup in the second.

In August 1991, Steven moved for £5.5 million – the joint-highest fee involving a British player at the time, shared with David Platt of Aston Villa, who had been transferred to Italian club Bari for the same amount a month earlier – to Olympique Marseille where he stayed for one season, winning the French league title.

However, his future in the south of France had looked uncertain within months of his arrival.

In December 1991, it was reported that the financially troubled club were prepared to sell Steven back to Rangers to cut their heavy losses.

However, he stayed with the club until the end of the season.