At just £30,000 Derek Mountfield proved to be an absolute bargain when Howard Kendall snapped
him up from Tranmere Rovers in the summer of 1982. Injury to Mark Higgins hurried his elevation
to first team duties but Derek did not disappoint and collected an FA Cup winners medal in the
1983/84 season. The following season Mountfield was a revelation, scoring no less than 14 goals -
remarkable for a defender - as the Toffees clinched the league title and the Cup Winners Cup.
He could, therefore, consider himself hugely unfortunate to find himself out of the side following
the arrival of Dave Watson in the summer of '85. He was never able to establish himself back in
the starting line-up and moved on to Aston Villa in June 1988.
