Steve Simonsen - Goalkeeper | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]()
|
There some raised eyebrows when Steve Simonsen signed for Everton in 1998 and supposedly became the most expensive goalkeeper in British football history. It was a complicated and somewhat controversial deal that could ultimately be worth £3.3M for Tranmere Rovers. Simonsen's contract was structured to take into account the number of Premiership and England appearances the youngster would make for the club. Simonsen's move to the bigtime came on a staggering rise to prominence — he had played less than 40 league games for Tranmere Rovers. He forced his way into John Aldridge's side at the age of 18 and instantly set a new club record of seven consecutive clean sheets. That form took him into the U-18 and U-21 England set-ups, and he was firmly tipped as the player to eventually become England's regular goalkeeper. At 6ft 2ins, he won a reputation for bravery and the ability to command his area. Meanwhile, back at Prenton Park, the Tranmere fans were up in arms because they felt the deal between buddies Frank Corfe and Tranmere ex-Chairman Peter Johnson dubious, to say the least. The fee breakdown reads like this:
Many people expected Simonsen to waltz into the Everton first-team
unimpeded but until the 2001-02 season he always found either Paul
Gerrard or Thomas Myhre in his way.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Skip to Main Content