Kevin Campbell, the man who single-handedly rescued Everton from relegation. Yes he probably isn't on the tip of many Evertonians' tongues - although most of us, with prompting will acknowledge he saved the club from the brink of disaster; would we have ever recovered from relegation?

I always think Thomas Radsinski doesn't get the recognition he deserves for some very big and important goals and one season (can't remember when, 02-03 perhaps) when he was excellent throughout.

Scot Gemmill, Joe Parkinson, Barry Horne... not flashy, but dependable.

This is a really tough one actually. I mean I wouldn't say Kevin Campbell was "under the radar", but as others suggested on the other thread, as a signing may have evoked more than the odd "meh".

In terms of the "meh" reaction, who actually went on to have solid careers with us, I'd offer:
- Paul Rideout, we rescued him from playing centre back in OldCo reserves
- Kevin Kilbane, I definitely recall there was a "meh", even a "WTF" about his signing, but thought he was solid enough. Would only have a pint with him as long as he didn't burst into karaoke though.
- The late Gary Ablett, recall the reaction on a coach coming back from OT after a 1-0 defeat and it broke on the sports news. Solid player at CB or LB. Apart from that Wimbledon game maybe. RIP.
- Robert Warsycha? Had a bit of a cult status among fans, was solid, fast, but erratic.

Definitely not an easy one though!

Tony Hibbert?

Tony Hibbert or Tim Cahill — how much did he save us when we had players short?

Leighton Baines wasn't exactly a

Alan Harper, played in every postion bar goalie and never let us down. Scored a beauty in the semi final at villa park in 86 too.

What about Ian Snodin? I always thought he was a class act.

Paul Rideout, Kevin Kilbane and Tony Hibbert are good shouts.

Mark @ #677 - I definitely wouldn't have a pint with Radzinski given the way he stirred things up as he left the club.

Steve Watson was solid.......wasnt his fault he got put upfront when we were out of striking options.

Joe Parkinson wasn't nationally acclaimed but was loved by most Evertonians.

I'd agree with Mark, Radzinsky took a lot of pressure off the emerging Wayne Rooney and was an excellent player.

If we're looking at more recent times then I think every TW poster's favorite Leon Osman very rarely lets us down.......but I think I'm in the minority there.

Paul Power..

One of the greatest unsung heroes for me was, Dennis Stevens, a workhorse of undoubted quality. A true 110 percenter.

@Damascene Taylor

Before Makelele gave the Defensive Midfield position the credit it deserved in the modern game, Scott Gemmill was playing it as well as anybody.

He was the first name that prung to mind for me as well.

Kevin Richardson stood in all over midfield when needed. Very unsung was Richo and left well before he should have.

Graham Stuart, Everton Football Club owes this man a great deal! Very under rated player I think by other clubs. Could of done a job for England

Colin, 700. You have got to be of a certain age, to remember Dennis. He was the workhorse, of Harry's 1963 champions, much respected by his fellow team mates, Labby always mentioned him, when reminiscing old times.

We have a lot of fine players, who have come and gone over the past 10 seasons. Never winning any trophies, Let's hope that's about to change? It's about time we got our name on some silverware.

Kevin Campbell - I was lucky enough to meet him some years ago, he was sat in a coffee shop just chilling. I could not believe how young he looked, even though he had left us, his career was almost over and yet he was so self assured, welcoming the attention of a toffee fan who acknowledged his input for us. A real gent and what I would consider as a "mini-hero" for what he did for our club.

One I always think of is John Ebbrell.

Local lad, played his heart out, crippled McMahon ahead of the 4-4 (and his own shinpad allegedly went to hospital), kept the ball in play for a Kanchelskis goal vs them, played over 200 games, was basically knackered when he left us and only managed one more game in his career.

And after all that, he was dropped for the one Cup that we won in his time at the club.

Ohhh Johnny Johnny...

Dennis Stevens eh - would walk into this side. How about Jimmy Gabriel - do you remember when he was made into a amkeshift centre forward and scored aginst Leeds oin the FA cup.

The Scott Gemmill 'era' was prosaic as far as the midfield went. Hutchison, Pembridge, Alexanderson, Linderoth, Collins. Even Mark Hughes dropped back to the centre towards his retirement. Only the short lived Decourt stood out in probably the most forgetful period since the mid 80s.

I would have said Kevin Campbell until he said after the lost 4-1 to Arsenal that he would take 17th the next day.

We paid him off and we finished 4th. "If you were to offer me fourth from bottom now, I'd take it,", he said.

Steve Watson was a guilty pleasure of mine alnog with Zinedine Kilbane.

Jim Pearson, who played alongside Bob Latchford.

I agree with the Dennis Stevens shout, certainly a player from that era who would be just at home in this one, did he EVER stop running? Also John Hurst. A classy player who should have won many caps were it not for some of the media darlings around at the same time.

John Collins. Never gets mentioned on here but kept us ticking over nicely in midfield and was a touch of class.

In fact I've just noticed Nick failing to 'sing' him above.

Surprised Ossie and Hibbo haven't gotten as many shouts so I'm giving them one.

I second Dave Charles # 705

The perennial stand-in, Kevin Richardson was a very good player surrounded by some exceptional players.

Mick Lyons , blue through and through!!!

Marcus Bent was a WTF signing who won me over, agree with above posters about Joe Parkinson - could have been a brilliant player for us if it wasn't for injury.
For some strange reason i've got a soft-spot for Mikael Madar.
And Joe Max-Moore

Joe Parkinson was signed from obscurity and went on to be an excellent defensive mid.

According to Joe Royle he was on the verge of an England call up when he got injured.

He was Lee Carsley before Lee Carsley was.

Poor Joe had to retire at about 26yrs and now works as a forklift truck driver.

A real pity.

Besides him I think the likes of Barry Horne Matt Jackson deserve a mention.

Horne helped keep us up and we would NEVER have won the Cup with Earl Barrett at RB instead of Matt Jackson,who scored the winner in Round 4 away at Bristol City,scored the opener in the Semi-Final and played a massive part in Rideouts Wembley winner.

I would second Martin Scott (#699) with a shout for Paul Power.

Was going to mention him in the 'exciting signing' thread; not because I was that excited at signing a Citeh cast-off at the time, but because he made me hope that each 'twilight years' signing we have subsequently made could have the same impact (if that is the correct word for slipping effortlessly into a top team and making it just that little bit better). Some have failed abysmally, others have done very well, but none have actually surpassed Paul Power in my opinion.

That said, I am not sure if I would class all of the names on this thread as unsung heroes and Paul Power may fall into the same category. To my mind Kevin Campbell and Joe Parkinson were both greatly appreciated by both fans and management during their time as Everton players.

From what I heard Parkinson only became a FLT driver because he was bored sitting at home. I don't think he'd be short of a bob or two, so not that sad. He'd have been on about... £250k a year?

Rhino. A great Evertonian who started really really well (I think mark Hughes was still in his back pocket). Legend penalties, felt awful for him after that pass against Sheffield Wednesday.

Loved him.

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Graham Stuart so far.
A vital goal or two.

Joe Parkinson - the shout for gemill above being like Makele was fantastic. Fuck me

Davey Weir. A lot of a 'meh' factor when we signed him for next to nothing and had some iffy games at the start of his Everon career. But blossomed into a very dependable centre back for us and was an integral part of the top 4 finish team. Had an exemplerary attitude too.

Derek Mountfield, Alan Harper, Kevin Richardson, Joe Parkinson, Martin Dobson, Mike Lyons, Steve Watson, David Unsworth. And loads more!

I'd agree that Joe Parkinson was not 'unsung', everyone appreciated him at the time and missed him in the years after he'd been injured and eventually retired.

Denis Stevens, he could play a bit as well as work. I remember him having a MotM Vs United, despite scooping the ball over their bar from 3 or 4 feet out and laughing his head off at the absurdity of it.

There was a fad for man marking in the mid 60's and no doubt under orders from the Cat, he once followed Bryan Douglas around for 90 mins after Douglas had given us the run around the season before.

Brian Harris, who I think even played in goal when it was needed.

Sandy Brown, despite the OG never let us down...and last but not least...

Tommy Jackson, who played 17 times deputising for one or the other of the Holy Trinity...big boots to fill.

Derek, that's great shout for Tommy Jackson. I don't think people realise that in our Title winning season in 1969-70 the Holy Trinity played together for just over half of the games, missing some 18 matches between them, and Jacko filled in for them admirably. I also remember Gabriel marking Jimmy Greaves out of the game. He never got a sniff of goal.

Kevin Langley and Wayne Clarke, 1987.

And a shout for Bobby Mimms who played well in 1986 and was not to blame for our failure to win the double.

John Hurst. Tended to be in the giant shadow cast by Labby but nevertheless an excellent player in his own right.

Alan Whittle never gets a mention.

Does the name Tommy Ring mean anything to you youngsters?

A left winger, signed from East Sterling Clydebank for £12,000 at a fairly advanced age about 50 years ago, had the look of a real legend having played only a few games, and broke his leg at Chelsea. Come-back fizzled out.

After reading the OP re big Kev, my first thought was Scott Gemmill. Signed on the same day and instrumental in the relegation escape.

Alan Harper – a very underrated player in title teams of the 80s. I remember a game at Stamford Bridge in 87. He scored a screamer from 30 yards for the winner in the run in.

Other mentions: Richard Gough, Dave Watson, Derek Mountfield.

A number already mentioned.

John Hurst in the great 70's side

Alan Harper and Richo in the 80's

Joe Parkinson in the 90's and
Ossie in the 2000's

Ken Crowther I remember Tommy Ring - I think he would have been an Everton great but broken legs in those days were career ending - a tragedy for all Evertonians.

Gotta be Wayne Rooney?

Jimmy Husband - one of the heroes of 1970.

As a kid going the match I always remember Ebbrell being booed before k.o, why was this? was it just because he was shite?

Osman.

Bobby Collins was the man who made the most impact instantly, he began the transformation that Carey started and Catterick completed.

Andy Hinchcliffe swung a mean left foot.........

Bernie Wright , proper 70s legend!

For the uninitiated only played 11 games for us, got sacked for punching the coach when he was dropped but managed to break the foot of an opposing centre half with his head whilst undertaking a diving header!

Love the way these posts bring out the old timer's stories.. Could read them all night.

Bracewell (cut short), Li Tie (always played it simple), Stuart(underrated schemer/scorer), Matt Jackson(solid and boring), Hinchcliffe(beautiful left foot in the age and style of Stuart Pearce), Gough (cheap and reliable war horse and leader).. So many over the years.. Everton have been like a Who's Who of the underrated for the last 20 years.

Never thought Matteo Ferrari got a fair crack of the whip either, although that's slightly different..

Drew

Old timer maybe but will you ever feel the thrill of Rotterdam or Andy Grays diving header at Notts County in the QF in 84, I suspect not !

Like others I'm going with Paul Power.

I didn't rate him at all at City and thought Kendal had lost his marbles signing him - probably the most wrong I've ever been about a footballer.

He was brilliant for us and integral to us becoming champions.

As I read this down I had 2 names in mind and near the end a few like minded souls beat me to them:
1: Tommy Jackson...as said filled in where it were 'big boots to fill' in the 69/70 side. Colin Harvey went down with an eye infection when we were stuttering in Jan/Feb 1970 and Jackson filled the gap and steadied things well. Went on to play for Man Utd and won international caps
2:Sandy Brown...no one mentions the one he shot home against The Shite at the right end!!. Did everything that was ever asked of him. Better player than given credit for and a tough nut too
3; Mick Lyons..tragic he ever never got to win things with us. When you look at the medals the likes of Joey Jones/Phil Thompson/Alec Lindsay won over there at the same time and Mick never did...don't tell me they were any better than he was. Left just as we turned the corner. Go see that goal against Leeds at Goodison in 1974 in the Park End to see how brave this guy was.
4: Kevin Ricardson..never a fav of mine but..come on did this guy ever let us down?? like wise
5: Alan Harper...worth it for that tash. Do y know there was a fan group looking to promote the return of 'Footballers With Tash's'?? They were called "Sons Of Harper"
Soon as I go to bed I'll probably think of more unsung/reliable heroes

Rideout – won the cup, played midfield to secure 3 points for another relegation scrap, rode a motorbike across China. Unsung hero.

Does the name Tommy Ring mean anything to you youngsters?
My Dad used to say he would have been a world beater, destroyed Chelsea before he broke his leg in the same game. I think he only played a few games for us.
Orry's had him as guest of Honour before one of the home games a good few years ago.
As for Bernie Wright what a nutter, remember him putting Tony Book into the 4th or 5th row of the lower Bullens, and that was before the Paddock was seated!!
We bought him from Walsall after he had terrorised our defense when they knocked us out of the cup at Goodison.
Even in the good old days we did get beat by lower division teams but it didn't seem half as bad as it does now.
Here's one for you to remember
What about big Georgie Wood??

Great to see so many unsung heroes remembered. My contribution would be the almost unknown Mike Trebilcock for his goals in the 1966 F A Cup Final.

There were two great games at Wembley at the end of that season and I still feel privileged to have been at both of them.

Peter Reid for me. 60,000 for a player with a history of injuries.

Next to come to mind - Andy Gray. Supposedly at the end of his playing days but look what he brought to the team.

Kevin Sheedy, Pat Van Den Hauwe, Paul Bracewell, Ian Snodin, Paul Wilkinson - I could go on and on from our glory years

Defo another shout for Paul Power from me

Graham at 169

I meant 'Old Timers' in absolutely the most humble and respectful terms from the persective of a generation that look back in awe at the Bayern Goodison semi et al and can only wonder..