Joseph Yobo

Squad number	4
Position	Centre Back
Joined	9 July 2002
Joined from	Marseilles (Fra)
Signed by	David Moyes
Transfer fee	£1M rising to £4.5M
Full debut	v Fulham (h) 28 September 2002
Contract duration	4 + 4 years
Contract expires	June 2010
Born	Kano, Nigeria
Date of birth	9 June 1980
Height	6' 2"
Nickname(s)	Jo-Yo
Honours	Nigerian international

STRENGTHS

Electric acceleration and pace

Heading ability

Reading of the game

WEAKNESSES

Prone to the odd glaring error

Soccerbase Datafile

In the summer of 2002 Joseph Yobo became the first signing (albeit on loan) made by then new Everton manager, David Moyes, nearly four months into the Scotsman's reign in the Goodison hotseat.  Snatching the 21 year-old defender away from the clutches of Italian Champions, Juventus, and from the jealous gaze of Champions League contenders, Arsenal and Newcastle, demonstrated the depth and magnitude of this vitally important Moyes coup.

And it was nice to see the Everton manager capitalizing on the spotlight thrown by the World Cup in Japan and Korea, where Yobo had shone in a somewhat lacklustre Nigerian squad that failed to win a game in the much-hyped "Group of Death".  Yobo had pretty much kept Michael Owen in his pocket during the game against England.

The deal that Moyes painstakingly forged appeared to signal a sea-change in the way modern transfers might be conducted. Working within a very strict budget and cautious not to spend too much on one foreign player with guarantee that he would settle in England, Moyes initially bought his registration for the relatively modest sum of £1M, and the short time-frame of 12 months.  But it was long enough for David Moyes to ascertain that the young Nigerian was going to make the grade for him in the Premiership, and he tried to finalize the deal in December 2002.  

Unfortunately, Yobo had a falling out with his agent, and it turned out that a severance payment from Marseille was in doubt.  Uncertainty over this definitely affected Yobo's play at times during the season, but he demonstrated enough for the Blues to know that he was a "keeper". 

Everton had first option on securing his services for another four years, at a fixed additional fee of £4M.  If someone else came in for him, there was an agreed sell-on fee of £9M in his contract, no matter what, meaning that Everton would make £4M straight off.  Alternatively, he could return to Marseilles, with Everton collecting a Bosman-related fee as he would still have been under 24.

It was an acknowledged risk — but a potentially exciting one, as many Evertonians still fondly remember the last Super Eagle in a Blue shirt, Daniel Amokachi.

After further negotiations with Marseilles in May 2003, in which Everton got involved, all the fuss was resolved and Yobo finally signed a four-year contract with Everton, a substantial fee being paid in return as David Moyes started to build his own team at Everton.

At 21, Yobo already had the composure to play anywhere in the back four and he was often deployed at right back in his early days at Goodison. It soon became abundantly clear, though, that central defence was to be his best position.

As Everton's 100th top-flight season developed and Yobo recovered from an early injury, he was to play an increasingly effective role alongside Stubbs. It became clear that he was the player Marco Materazzi could have been for Everton, if only the mad Italian had been able to tame his wild side. 

Throughout the depressing 2003-04 season, Joseph showed himself to be a very classy and competent player and an excellent find by Moyes. He enjoyed a superb African Nations Cup in Mali and continued to mature alongside the likes of Celestine Babayaro.

Hopes that Yobo would be in it at Goodison for the long haul were shaken in September 2004 after a dubious article appeared claiming to be an interview with the defender, in which he said that his commitment to playing for Nigeria had precluded a move to a "big club", and that he would just play out his contract at Everton for another three years.

Yobo vigorously rubbished the interview, suggesting that it had been deliberately fabricated to unsettle him.  He went on to play a very significant role in Everton's campaign that lead to Champions League qualification. 

As his Everton career has progressed, Yobo has only strengthened the impression that he is one of the best defenders in the Premier League and, after eventually breaking up the Alan Stubbs-David Weir partnership, he became the automatic choice in central defence.

Supremely athletic and incredibly agile, he is strong, quick, and composed. Attackers struggle to beat him off the ball, he never looks troubled in the air, and he looks equally comfortable slotting passes through to team-mates further up the field. He is as capable of a no-nonsense hoof into the stands as he is of moments of brilliance, whether it be an overhead kick under pressure or Cruyff-like inside his own box. 

If there's a hint as to why he isn't regarded as one of a handful of the finest players in the top flight — apart from Everton's low profile in comparison with the "big four" — it's that Joseph is prone to the odd blunder that sometimes cost a goal.  A classic case in point came just 29 seconds into the second half of the inaugural 2005-06 league game against Manchester United, when under no pressure at all, he rolled the ball into Wayne Rooney's path to give away one of the most sickening goals ever seen at Goodison Park. 

But those kinds of lapses are a rare blemish these days for one of the Blues' most consistent performers and after he signed a new contract in 2006 he was paired with new signing Joleon Lescott. The two went on to strike up a superb central-defensive partnership that was intermittently broken up only by Lescott's abilities at left back. 

As Lescott proved himself more and more as Everton's left-back, Yobo was partnered more frequently by Jagielka as the 2008-09 season progressed, and that too proved effective.  When Jagielka got injured, Yobo had op adapt to Lescott moving inside, with Baines finally getting regular games at left-back.

By Michael Kenrick and Lyndon Lloyd
Last updated September 2009