Formed 14 years earlier than local rivals Liverpool, Everton Football Club are one of England’s oldest clubs and have been in the Premier League for 3 decades now. Today, we will be taking a look at some legends who did no harm to their reputation during their spell with Everton. Today, we will talk about 10 greatest players who donned the famous Blues of Everton.
Everton might not have won the League in a long time but the rich history of the Merseyside club is enough. The Toffees is one of the most prolific football clubs in the history of the sport.
The club is also among the Premier League clubs that have always competed in the major English league since its foundation in 1992. They have never been relegated from the Premier League and maybe that’s one of the reasons it is considered as one of the Premier League top clubs.
Although they have not been able to taste glory in recent times, they have had their fair share of major trophies – winning an impressive nine First Division titles, five FA Cups and even a European Cup Winners’ Cup.
Throughout its more than 140 years of history by the ranks of the Everton great footballers have passed who help to enlarge the legend of this club with their football. Let’s see who have been the best players who have defended the Blues shirt.
10) Ray Wilson
The quietly spoken boy from Shirebrook who became a 1966 World Cup winner; Ray Wilson was highly known for his calm demeanor and his composure to buckle under pressure.
Wilson was a visionary full-back whose dependable distribution and overlapping runs down the left flank helped make him a Huddersfield and Everton great.
He made his debut for Second Division Huddersfield Town, for manager Bill Shankly against Manchester United in 1955. Within two seasons he was an established first-team performer. Wilson spent twelve years at Town, making 266 appearances, before signing for Everton in 1964. The £40,000 fee paid was a record for a full-back at the time.
9) Roy Vernon
Roy Vernon joined Everton from Blackburn Rovers in 1960 and soon became the most valuable asset for the team. He shared a great camaraderie with ‘The Golden Vision’ Alex Young and Roy was the highest scorer with 24 goals in the Championship winning season in 1962-63.
Vernon featured in around 200 matches for the Blues, scoring 111 goals. He was known for his accuracy, consistency, and brilliant game sense and was someone who could completely take the game away from the opposition single-handedly. Roy captioned Everton on multiple occasions and won 32 caps for Wales.
In 1993, he sadly passed away, aged just 56, which was a huge shocker for the whole footballing world. Accepting Roy’s Everton Giant award on behalf of her late husband in 2017, Norma Vernon said: “It was a great team he played in. Roy always wanted to play for Everton”.
8) Tim Cahill
“Tiny Tim” was an absolute legend of the game. He performed spectacularly well at every club he played for, as well as his country. Cahill became recognized for his aggressive and positive intent and his wonderful ability to head the ball in the penalty area. He scored a lot of goals from a midfield position, and despite being short, was extremely good in the air.
In 2004, he got his first cap for Everton. Cahill has made 226 appearances and netted 56 goals for Everton in the Premier League. Tim holds the record for scoring 50 goals in just 108 matches between 2004 and 2018 for Australia. He was also the first-ever Australian to score at a FIFA World Cup.
7) Peter Reid
Peter was an excellent defensive midfielder and had a very successful long career. He built his reputation as one of England’s scintillating midfielder players of the time at ‘Everton’ with a career that lasted for around seven years. He made 167 appearances for Everton. In 2006, Reidy was awarded the ‘Everton Giant’ accolade.
Peter Reid is arguably one of the most versatile players in the footballing world, with time spent at Bolton, Everton, and Manchester City, Reid had a plethora of achievements in the field of football including appearing in two World Cup campaigns, winning the FA Cup with Everton and winning the Football League First Division trophy as manager of Sunderland on two instances. After giving some tremendous performances as a player he became an extremely popular football analyst.
6) Alan Ball
Alan’s performances in the 1966 World Cup-winning England team grabbed the attention of a lot of clubs bigger than Blackpool. He was also the youngest player of England’s World Cup-winning team. Bob was eventually sold to Everton for a fee of £112000 in 1966.
Born in Farnworth, Lancashire, the midfielder had a blistering career of 22 years where he scored more than 180 goals for several clubs. After retiring from football as a player, he had a brilliant 15 career as a manager which included spells in the top flight of English Football with Portsmouth, Southampton, and Manchester United.
5) Brian Labone
Labone was not just a legendary footballer and inspiring leader of the game, he was an amazing human being on and off the field as well. He was an elegant and formidable center-half player who won two league titles for Everton and the FA Cup once in 1966. He also holds the record for featuring in 534 matches at Everton as an outfield player.
He was the constant of the 1969 Everton team which went on to win the Club’s seventh English title. His abilities did not go unsung. ‘The Last Corinthian’, as the world of football calls him. He was given the first of 26 caps by ‘Alf Ramsay’, the greatest England manager, becoming – the first-ever Evertonian to play for England since the war.
4) Bob Latchford
A folk-hero center-forward was one of the leading goalscorers of his generation. He was blessed with some mind-boggling skills which often made his opponents guessing what he’ll do next to confuse them in the field. Latchford was capable of scoring from anywhere in the ground, brilliant in the air, ferociously smart, skillful, and was a gem of a player.
1977-78, was the year to be remembered for him. Bob scored consistently for Everton right up until he left for pastures new in Swansea in 1981. By then his total of 106 goals made him the post-war leading goalscorer for his club, an incredible record which he held until 1990 when it was overtaken by the veteran ‘Graeme Sharp’.
3) Graeme Sharp
Sharpey was the constant in Everton’s forward line. He was a man of pure class and integrity who earned a lot of love and respect from every football lover. The flamboyant striker has made 447 appearances and smashed 160 goals throughout his career. He cherished great success with Everton, helping them win the English League Championship in 1985 and 1987, the FA Cup in 1984, and European Cup in 1985.
One of the greatest moments in Sharpey’s career was definitely when he scored an unbelievable goal against Liverpool in 1984. It was not just the goal for Everton, it was something very special. It changed everything for the team as they started believing in themselves. The men in blue were finally convinced that they can compete with any team and conquer the world of football.
2) Howard Kendall
The Durham-born midfielder was a fabulous asset on the field of football, not only as a player but as a terrific coach as well. Howard won the 1969 First Division title as a player before becoming the manager of the club for almost ten years, helping the club win 2 First Division titles. He celebrated the sweetest moments of his life as the manager of the club.
He became the youngest player ever to play in a Wembley Final at just 17 years of age. In 1967, Kendall joined Everton where he played as a central midfielder alongside ‘Alan’ and ‘Harvey’, the trio attaining the nickname “The Holy Trinity”. They played the most important role in the team that made it to the Finals of the FA Cup in 1968. In 1972-73, he became the captain of Everton for three seasons. Although during Kendall’s leadership his team couldn’t perform to the best of their capabilities and struggled to win games. Later, he was sold to Birmingham City in 1974.
1) Neville Southall
There are Wales and Everton legends – then there is the great Neville Southall. He was arguably the most stunning goalkeeper in the history of football. He made 578 appearances for Everton and helped the blues become the top club in the country and perhaps Europe. During his phenomenal career, he acquired the League Championship, the FA Cup as well as the European Cup Winners Cup. In 1985, Southall was named the Player of the Year by the Football Writers Association. He holds a then-record for over 90 caps for Wales between 1982-97.
Neville was a mainstay in the Everton and Wales team for more than 10 years, before coming into management. After his outstanding playing career, he moved into coaching for a few years where he coached the Welsh national squad, Redbridge, Dever Athletic, Mosley, etc. before finally going into management at Hastings United in 2004.
