If only...

Romelu Lukaku!

Baarden
Hottiger
Krøldrup
Heitinga
Pistone
Nyarko
James
Van de Meyde
Jo
Niasse.

That is the team, not the subs bench, although we could add one with the likes of Matterazzi, Dacourt etc and a host of Scandinavians.

Michael calls out Lukaku, who we had before he was the finished article, but could still finish. Some didn't have the patience with him and I would add John Stones to that category. Materazzi as well; even in the one season we had with him, I sensed he would go on to great things. All down to opinions obviously.

Great first season – joint top scorer (with Cottee) with 14 goals, from I think about 28 appearances. Just a single appearance the next season and that was him done.

David Johnson came to us too late... as did Bruce Ricoh.

My best mate idolised "Big Norm". I was not a huge fan.

Wasn't sure if that was because I didn't rate him at the time (he was great in some of his time at United), or I was just still re-living that Cup Final goal every time he took to the pitch.

I honestly don't remember Whiteside scoring as many goals as Cottee.

Looks like Whiteside scored 9 in the League (26 starts) and 4 in the cups for a total of 13 (same as Sheedy, though; maybe that's what you remembered).

Cottee scored 13 in the League (25 starts) and 2 in the cups for a total of 15.

And talking of one-season wonders... is nobody going to mention a certain Gary Lineker?

As I've posted elsewhere, I had the good fortune to spend some time with Norman Whiteside in Hotel Football after the Old Trafford game. He talked fondly of his time at Goodison and as well as saying without hesitation, that Neville Southall was the best Everton player he played alongside, he referred to vying with Tony Cottee for top scorer.

He jokingly talked of Cottee nicking a goal from him by sliding in on the ball after it had already crossed the line! Colin Harvey apparently persuaded him to let Cottee have the goal as he was a striker! No dubious goals panel in those days to award the strike to Norman!

As for Lineker, he'd have been far more than a one-season wonder for us had he not moved on because of the Heysel induced European ban.

I've just looked at the TW profile of him which describes him to perfection. It lists strengths as tall, handsome blue eyed blonde and weaknesses as statuesque, ineffective and immobile. Couldn't have put it better myself!

Don't drop the Heysel grenade as you'll ruin my day off and that of my wife! Who knows, if he'd have known Everton could have offered him European football and in the top competition, he could have been a 5- or 6-season wonder.

Not a great footballer though. Poor touch, couldn't dribble, can't remember him being a great passer of the ball. But he could finish.

Sound familiar to someone more recent mentioned above?

That's a great story – and it would vindicate Matt @9 if Big Norm had one more and Cottee one less – both on 14!

EFC v Charlton

Player Records 89-90

Landon Donovan and who can forget Preki?

Spot on with Colin Todd – a great player totally wasted. I remember being very pleased with the signing only to see Gordon Lee and the player clearly at loggerheads. It was around this time that Gordon's first couple of promising seasons started to unravel as I recall, with both the football on offer and the league position falling rapidly.

Perhaps we should start another list of players signed who were excellent in their chosen role but who – annoyingly for supporters – the incumbent manager insisted on playing out of position.

Agree about ColinTodd.

No, okay then, I raise you all Ashley Williams.

Lineker done what he was good at and Howard changed our style to accommodate it. It very nearly came off and again, was testimony to Kendall's and Harvey's ability to adapt when you look at those 3 seasons.

John Collins. Now there was a tidy player, Dale. An Everton player who unfortunately joined Everton at the wrong time. The planets didn't align, as they say.

Duncan McKenzie had a little phrase about Mr Lee, which included a new bolt for Christmas.

Kevin Campbell
Alex Cleland
John Collins
John Goldman
Paul Power
Andy Gray
Don Hutchison
Mo Johnston
Brian Kidd
Anders Limpar
Paul Rideout
Vinny Samways
Alan Stubbs
Dave Thomas.

Andy Gray: League title, FA Cup winner and European trophy.
Paul Power: League title.
Anders Limpar: FA Cup winner
Paul Rideout: FA Cup winner & scored the goal that won it

Even Vinny Samways was part of that 95 FA Cup winning squad but didn't play, although he scored the goal that won us the Charity / Community Shield that followed.

Stubbs; interesting one. I wish he'd have gone to Everton sooner in his career.

He may have been edging towards the end of his career and therefore takes his place on Andy's list, but he was still a joy to watch in an Everton shirt, in my opinion.

You could see he was too good for the Everton team he played in. I never really used to hear the Goodison crowd criticise when one of his intelligent passes went amiss. It was more frustration at the players just not being on the same level and reading the game as he did. He was always one or two steps ahead in mind and thought process.

Very underrated player when we talk of English greats, in my opinion. But it's all about opinion, I suppose.

I was working in Liverpool when we signed him. I was walking back to the office from a meeting elsewhere, and saw the headline on the Echo. I did something I never normally did – bought it. As soon as I got into the lift at the office, with it draped over my arm and the headline visible, a Red saw it, and was apoplectic. "An absolute steal that" – at the £1M fee, even for a 30-year-old.

Sadly I saw our game at Anfield the following season when we lost 1-3 I think, and had the red hordes chanting "What a waste of talent".

I recall Kendall sold him at a 50% profit, as he was about the only sellable asset we had, and Kendall himself left a few months later when the Board blocked his attempts to sign Dion Dublin.

Dion Dublin; good enough for Alex Ferguson and rated by Howard Kendall. Okay, Ferguson moved on and got Cantona, so Dublin was surplus as well as suffering injury. I've used the phrase previously, Ferguson was "stepping stone" building towards success. But to have 2 winners, on the pitch (Kendall) and from the dugout (Kendall & Ferguson), rate a player, you listen right?

In some way, you want the board to listen to the football people. But as we've seen recently, if they do so blindly, it can go wrong. A balance as always, but the key point here is that with the Dublin & Flo scenarios, the board were being advised by league title winners. But then again, Ronald Koeman!!

Football. As much as we preach the School of Science, it's just not scientific!!

I've just looked it up: he was sold to Sunderland in the July for £2.5 million, and they sold him to West Ham, the following summer and doubled their money. Hutchison was sold because Everton wouldn't give their captain parity with the higher earners at the club.

Guess what: I looked up when Bill Kenwright purchased Everton, and wasn't surprised to see it wasn't long before Hutchison was sold.

Tony & Barry have probably taken me back to my darkest as an Evertonian! Thanks guys!!

Selling probably our best player at the time (Hutchison) and equally important, a leader on the pitch, to Sunderland. Sunderland? Fucking Sunderland?? Apologies for repeating and I'll go and say my Hail Marys for the language.

The Walter Smith years. It may have got bad and we sailed close to the wind with Kendall's 2nd & 3rd reigns along with Mike Walker, but Walter Smith. I've never known such a depressing cloud over the club. That Middlesborough FA Cup match, that I recall put the nail in the coffin, epitomised it for me. I don't think I ever had been or ever will be as low as I was that day watching Everton.

That's just my view obviously.

I guess a lot of the dross was signed when we no longer had the financial clout of Sir John Moores in control. I think the biggest "if only" is our lack of finding proper replacements of ownership when trying to replace him because, once we didn't have his financial backing, this club went downhill fast. Even now, we have a billionaire owner who, through his poor leadership, we have spent a fortune to go backwards, and have now fell foul to FFP.

Many of our fans are hoping that, when we have built our new stadium, things might change, given the added revenue it will bring. But, as we are seeing, where once it was the wish of fans to get a billionaire owner to take us to the next level, it hasn't happened; I don't believe that the new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock will be the panacea we all hope for.

One of the original advocators of the percentage game that plagued English football and set it back.

Why pick Peter Beardsley when you have Carlton Palmer?

As you say, we went downhill fast after Moores, although contrary to popular belief, he never gave EFC a single penny. He was an astute businessman who ran a tight ship who gave interest-free loans when necessary which were always paid back.

We went downhill under Kenwright who recently admitted “I haven't got a clue about business.” He reportedly turned down both Paul Gregg and Sheikh Mansour takeovers rather than give up the Chairmanship.

I sort of qualified that by stating that some had done very well for us. My contention was that we had most of them, trophies notwithstanding, when they had already peaked and in keeping with the subject of the post, it would have been nicer to have had them earlier. I think that goes for Rideout, Gray, Power, Limpar and Samways.

Hutchison was flogged when he was our Player of the Season, as was Speed… Everton that!

Neville Southall; Michael Ball, John Stones, Dave Watson, Leighton Baines; Paul Gascoigne, Peter Beardsley; Andrei Kanchelskis, Wayne Rooney, Romelu Lukaku, Anders Limpar.

How about Everton v Coventry, December 1983; 0-0, crowd at Goodison Park (on a Saturday afternoon)... 13,000!

I'll give you that, Nicholas. 1983, Kendall must go and the leaflets. My Uncle Patrick went on about that for years after. "Hold your nerve" he said!

I think I was blessed with youthful ignorance at the time as I knew (as much as any 12-year-old can) we were going to come good.

Fast forward to 2002 and the 30-year-old, more realistic Danny is sat watching in despair wondering when it will end!!

I might be 50 now, but I'm going to stick to youthful ignorance and blind faith!!

There are dark and even darker days... my darkest day was on Saturday 5 May 1951, when a point [0-0] at Hillsborough would have been enough to secure Everton's top-flight position. A 6-0 defeat resulted in relegation and Sheffield Wednesday despite their victory, accompanied us to the Second Division. Everton were bottom on goal average, below Sheffield Wednesday and Chelsea.

As a 12-year-old approaching 13 it was, despite many subsequent disappointments, the last time Everton made me cry, but they've come mighty close on occasion.

Apparently that was one of the attractions of Rangers, they were going to pay him a decent wedge.

The reply was "No!" To which my brother said "We have, so can you move!!!" Fair play to the copper, he started walking up and down.

When Rush got his 3rd goal, my brother shouted to the copper "For fuck's sake, come and stand in front of us please!!!" The copper burst out laughing.

So worst memory and obviously one of the funniest.

Even as a 15-year-old I had got the measure of what we were all about and done one after the second. The pain losing a derby to this day makes me sick.

Come on blues be generous.

I will agree with the Glen Keeley derby as my worst memory. I could not get a ticket but someone offered me one just before kick-off, for the Park End stand.

Stupidly I went in and my body still shakes in the memory of those hordes of crap singing "1,2,1-2-3,1-2-3-4, 5-0". I couldn't even get out until 10 minutes from time.

Always puzzled me why Kendall signed Keeley as we had Mike Walsh on the bench that day if memory served me right.

That day I was crying, John Senior, although in context and hindsight, it was on the back of narrowly missing out on a league and cup double, not relegation!

Everton in total cruise control, a goal to the good, the Red Shite arguing among themselves on the pitch, we had them on the ropes.

Then the dark forces kick in and Gary Stevens plays a stray pass... the rest is history.

In his book he details how he decided not to go to Everton or Inter after one of his mother's friends, named Nicole, got in touch both times to tell him about prophetic dreams she had had, warning that the moves would not give the striker the satisfaction he sought. Each time subsequent events suggested the advice had been good. Giroud values Nicole's visions.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/oct/12/a-sign-from-heaven-olivier-giroud-on-turning-down-everton-and-his-mbappe-feud?utm_term=10aca3ca7e33379a6a3dd32ef9569835&utm_campaign=TheFiver&utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&CMP=fiver_email

It's a pity that Mr Moshiri didn't consult Nicole before appointing Koeman. I suspect that Giroud was taking notice of the Nicole linked below?

Nicole

Your mention of Hillsborough reminded me of a recent conversation I had with a Sheffield Wednesday fan. Both of our fathers thought that Tony Kay was the best player they ever saw playing for our 2 clubs. Sadly I'm not old enough to have seen Tony play, but I wondered how high up the rankings you would place him?

On cue, Norman arrived through the door. He had handed round his FA Cup medal for those present to look at. He hadn't got it back, only discovering so when he had got back to his hotel.

I did try hard to look concerned, but could only visualize him coming up the wing knackered and putting in a flukey curved shot, knocking over the camera on the inside goal netting in the dying secs against Everton.

The same game that Kevin Moran was innocence personified, like Son the rat, when sent off for a really dirty over-the-ball professional foul.

I had the same feeling when he joined Everton, losing the ball continuously. A Man Utd reject bought by Everton. Everton have hopefully learned years later.

We all have favourite players. In my case, from the latter part of the 40s to the present day, and I find it impossible to pick the best player overall. If pushed, I would choose Alex Young.

With regard to Tony Kay, I would say that he was indeed an excellent wing-half and a possible captain of England. He was a leader, and a no-nonsense tackler, but I'm afraid that he and his peers wouldn't last long in today's game. It's true that he had a nasty side to his character, but it saddens me to say that football is on the verge of becoming a non-combat game.

As I have hinted, I believe that fans of every generation will have players that they favour, and I think that they will struggle to select an out-and-out favourite, so many players with different attributes.

The skies had cleared, the sun had come out, and all I can hear, even now, is the boom, boom, boom, intro and that prancing jackanapes Cliff Richard, belting out 'Congratulations'. Fuck off.

There are still only two songs I turn off the radio for; one is obvious... the other is that.

Martyn
Todd
Gough
Stones
Power
Limpar
Kanchelskis
James
Rideout
Lukaku
Rooney

A match I forget but I did bring it up!! I remember the defining moment as well. Sharpe's looping header that was going to make it 2-0?? But no, Brucie the Clown pulls off a save that an acrobatic gymnast would be proud of.

Alex Young, Jimmy Husband (I have never forgiven Dave Mackay for that tackle..) Dave Thomas, Roy Vernon for his penalties, Stracqualursi for his effort!

Peter Reid for his aggression, Albert Dunlop for saving a penalty (diving the wrong way, he caught the ball between his legs) at my first Everton game.

But who was the best one-on-one striker against a keeper we had?

Bearing down on a keeper in a true one-on-one sense, and it is in line with the thread "If only…" (as in "If only they had stayed longer / been with us sooner"), I'm going for Gary, Gary Lineker. Despite his footballing averageness, once he was in and behind the defence, you almost knew the net was going to bulge.

On Watson, not one of my favourites to be honest, but a great servant. And, to your late 30s point, it's why I never get over-excited about having players who are 30 or above, especially centre-backs.

Some seem to obsess about having a team of 20-year-olds who are "young and hungry". I played my last competitive fixture at my own level aged 40. I was as hungry then as I was when I was 20. A complete team will blend youth, potential and experience.

He was a complete midfielder, sure he could tackle, but he could also pass the ball beautifully, scored goals, some for representative teams. He read the game beautifully and, as said earlier, he was a competitor and leader.

He had just broken into the England team, and then the sky fell in.

He is in my all-time best Top 5 Everton players, and his efforts, alongside Gabriel and Stevens in that long run-in after the winter freeze, were one of the main drivers towards our 1963 Championship.

If only…

The worst for me though was when Distin did something very similar in that semi-final at Wembley, when Liverpool were there for the taking.

I knew loads of red cowards who never even went to Wembley that day because they didn't fancy their team, but none of them were bigger cowards than David Moyes, whose team had Liverpool where they really wanted them at half-time, and instead of expecting Liverpool to throw the kitchen sink at us during that second half (our captain Phillip Neville's words🤮), his team should have carried on playing on the front-foot, knowing they were better than the other crowd, and relishing how much joy they were about to bring us Evertonians by being brave.

This defeat left me feeling numb for about a week, and I'm sure I wasn't alone in feeling like this, with “Everton, you bastards” being my only thought.

Oh that semi-final. I was fuming. Talk about throwing the towel in when, like you say, we had them and just had to keep doing what we'd been doing and stay on the front foot.

I went to Wembley that day. I didn't have a ticket but went as I've done a few times to soak up the atmosphere, and watched it in the same bar I watched the Man Utd semi-final when I gave my ticket to my son.

I could say I was distraught, but I was just angry. To the point of arguing with bitter gloating reds on the way to the station. Something I don't usually do and am not proud of. And there was no escape. When I got back to Uxbridge to one of my locals to further console myself, there were more of them! At the end of the M40 and next to the Metropolitan Line direct to Wembley Park, we tend to be a cheap staging post for the North West and Midland teams. There was no escaping it.

I'm going to have to be careful. I'm in danger of hitting the 40 post limit on this one!!

However, the two greatest examples I've seen were Derek Temple in the 1966 FA Cup Final, and Trevor Steven against Bayern Munich, both taken with extraordinary composure and technique, particularly given the pressure of the moment.

One of our worst one-on-ones, in my humble opinion, was Cottee.

He said, "After seeing what happened to Alex Young and no penalty, I was always going to shoot; there was no way I was going anywhere near the 'keeper."

It wasn't the finish. It wasn't even the very instinctive awareness of Steven's position and first-time pass by Andy Gray.

It was the way Kevin Sheedy seemingly put the game into slow motion to wait for the right moment to feed Gray and the runners in front of him.

A cauldron of an atmosphere, no doubt incredible tension and pressure on the pitch. But I still see Sheedy humming to himself thinking about mowing the grass the next day as he took his time!! You'll have to forgive my love for all things Kevin Sheedy!!

I will raise you Stuart Barlow for Cottee, the two sub goals he scored in the 4-all cup game alone should certainly give Cottee some grace.

For me, it had to be Gary Lineker, for one-on-ones, although Jelavic (before his injury) was up there.

As I remember his TV interview, after Temple said that, he didn't know if he should take the ball up to Springett and go around him or draw him out and chip him, so he just hit it.

I agree that players like Tim Cahill contributed a hell of a lot more for what they cost and many of us will have fond memories of him and quite a few others who put their heart and souls into Everton Football Club.

Definitely Gareth Barry, Gascoigne, Ginola, Nigel Martyn and Saha.