Toffeeweb - Talking Points - Best Everton side of the last 50 years

Best Everton side of the last 50 years

Hey all,

After talking to the arl fella - and trying to recall conversations with the late great arl fella's arl fella - I put together my greatest side of the last 50 years

The paucity of players in it from the last two and a bit decades is actually rather depressing...but thats another story.

Some of these lads started for us before 1963, but all appeared — in their prime — in the last 50 years.

What a team this would be:

{GK} Southall
{RB} Stevens
{CB} Labone (c)
{CB} Ratcliffe
{LB} Wilson
{RM} Harvey
{CM} Ball
{CM} Kendall
{LM} Sheedy
{CF} Royle
{CF} Lineker

SUBS : West, McKenzie, Sharp, Reid, Mountfield

Truly NSNO
David Cornmell, Australia Posted 01/03/2013 at 06:33:30

back Return to Talking Points index : Add your Comments

Reader Comments

Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer

Jay Harris
705 Posted 01/03/2013 at 21:32:38

David,
Alex Young and Roy Vernon had to be the best forward partnership outside of Law and Best.

At least 20 goals a season each.

And Alex Parker would rank ahead of Gary Stevens for me especially since Stevo gifted Rush the comeback goal in that infamous cup final.

No argument about big Nev though who at his peak was the best goalie I've ever seen including Lev Yashin and Gordon Banks.

Paul Andrews
709 Posted 01/03/2013 at 21:51:03

Latchford?

Andrew Presly
710 Posted 01/03/2013 at 21:50:11

Kanchelskis right midfield. Pace and goals.

Dennis Stevens
712 Posted 01/03/2013 at 21:45:44

Southall
Parker
Labone
Ratcliffe
Wilson
Steven
Bracewell
Ball
Thomas
Vernon
Young

Subs
West
Wright
Watson
Kay
Kendall
Sheedy
Collins
Lineker
Royle

too many but I couldn't whittle it down any further.

Gavin McGarvey
713 Posted 01/03/2013 at 21:40:19

Tried the same thing but limited it to players I'd actually gone to see and excluded those I'd only seen on the telly. Best I could come up with was:

Southall
Hibbert Watson Lescott Baines
Donovan Arteta Gravesen Hinchcliffe
Beardsley Yakubu

I think the first match I went to was in 1992, so hence the lack of legends. I can't help thinking there must have been a better right back than Hibbert that I saw. Also think I missed seeing Kanchelkis because I was skint that year.

Paul Ferry
734 Posted 02/03/2013 at 00:02:03

In answering this, peeps should begin as Gavin (713) does at the time they first started to watch Everton, leaving history to the older true blues who saw it with their own eyes.

My 1st match was 1975, so:

Nev Southall
Gary Stevens
Leighton Baines
Kev Ratcliffe
Lescott
Reidy
Tricky Trevor
Lineker
Big Bob Latch
Sheeds
Dave Thomas

Paul Ferry
735 Posted 02/03/2013 at 00:49:06

Or, alterntively:

J Arnold
R Attaveld
C Tiler
G Keely
T Thomas
G Nulty
P Degen
T Curran
B Angel
R Belfitt
E O’Keefe

Subs, not used:

D Brand
M Ward
K Lamgley
S Rehn
C Thomson
A Biley

Mike Goodwin
736 Posted 02/03/2013 at 00:44:58

Southall
Parker
Labone
Ratcliffe
Wilson
Kay
Ball
Collins
Young
Vernon
Latchford

Andy Crooks
738 Posted 02/03/2013 at 00:54:35

I was about to start battering the keyboard in outrage at the absence of Dixie Dean when I realized, ah 50 years. I fear I am forever stuck in the 70's because 50 years ago seems the 1920's.

I think that Ball, Southall and Lineker are obvious choices. I think Jimmy Husband was underrated as was Derek Mountfield.

Derek Thomas
741 Posted 02/03/2013 at 01:06:45

I have 2 ' Best 11's in a deadheat

The 11 that started the 69-70 season and the 11 that finished the 84-85 season in Rotterdam

To separate them would take a playoff ( best of say 43 frames like snooker)

I would give it, just to 84-85 22 'frames' to 21

The 69-70 11 would score more maximum breaks, but the 84-85 would win the close ones.

They had a bit of mongrel in them and were just that bit harder to beat, they did not believe in losing.

For the best player in each position there are many permutations

Take Fullbacks, in 63 Parker and Wilson were the best in the world ( like Yashin was the best keeper in the world and, in his time, Southall as well )

But fullbacking has changes since those days, you have to get forward, both Wilson and Parker didn't go much past the halfway line...it wasn't in the job discription, that was for winghalves, just like wingers didn't come back behind the halfway line

Alltime greats; Southall, Labone, Ball, Dean ( right down the middle ) are nailed on.

The rest can be mixed and matched from about 30 players at your whim, depending on what formation you play and how YOU saw 'A' over 'B'

Collins West Kay Gabriel Parker Wilson Stevens Wright Young Vernon Kendall Harvey Morrissey Husband Royle Latchford Thomas Ratcliffe Sheedy Steven Bracewell Reid Lineker Hinchcliffe Baines + others

You pays your money and you takes your chances...pick 7 from that lot to go with the 4 nailed on legends.

Alex Kociuba
743 Posted 02/03/2013 at 01:47:23

Gavin, I have been watching them for a similar amount of time. Its hard to disagree with Watson and Lescott at the back, but I reckon Distin & Richard Gough would be a formidable defence. But then it seems outrageous Weir hasn't got a mention.

Paul Ferry
747 Posted 02/03/2013 at 02:35:39

Andy, Jimmy Husband was my 1st idolized player, just the name, Jimmy Husband, can't explain, but he was like the coolest — if this can be — early 70s driving Jaguar Randolph and Hopkirk Deceased sort of guy; like, help me here, the next George Best who moved from Hibs to Arse, Peter Marinello??????

Keith Edmunds
762 Posted 02/03/2013 at 07:43:23

David when I first read this I thought wow he's got it exactly right! But since reading the other posts, well I used to be indecisive but now I'm not so sure!

Brian Hill
766 Posted 02/03/2013 at 08:30:05

Jay Harris, Alex Young only once scored over 20 goals in a season, for the 62-63 Championship side. His next best was 14 in the previous season, followed by 12 in 63-64. He never reached double figures in any other season. These stats apply to league games only.

This is not a criticism of either you or him, your post simply piqued my curiousity and I was very surprised to discover these numbers. In fact, he scored only 23 goals in 105 games in his last four seasons at Everton.

I never saw him play, but, as with so many others, was brought up on stories from my Dad about this living legend. There are lies, damned lies and statistics!!

Andy Meighan
769 Posted 02/03/2013 at 08:38:11

When I see the name Speedy on anyone's best ever side, I purr. I could never understand why anyone used to say he was lazy, couldn't tackle etc. That magic wand of a left foot brought us so much joy. But I can't see how anyone could put Lineker in their best ever. That creep was only here 5 minutes and seems to have erased Everton from his memory. But hey. It's all about opinions.

Paul Gladwell
772 Posted 02/03/2013 at 08:45:37

Been going since 78 so foul not comment on certain players, however I have not seen too many you would class as world class , Southall on of the rare few another was Kanchelskis, imagine him in that 84 side and throw in Beardsley just behind him.

Paul Gladwell
774 Posted 02/03/2013 at 08:48:38

Sorry about the spelling , however how many true world class players have we had? This got threw up in a pub debate last week, it's not many, Southall, Kanchelskis the rest that where mentioned were touch and go, mostly not good enough to be put in world class bracket

Mike Allison
781 Posted 02/03/2013 at 09:33:00

Leighton Baines is currently the best player in the world in his position. How often has that been true of an Everton player?

If Baines were put into any other team in the world, including Champions Man City, Champions-elect Man Utd, European Champions Chelsea, and European giants and Champions League front runners Real Madrid, Barcelona, AC Milan and Bayern Munich, all those teams would be improved. The only possible argument I can see is Chelsea and Ashley Cole, and he's way below his best.

My best XI would only really start around the early 90s, as we were fading badly, because anything I saw before then I was too young to appreciate, and the current side is easily the best team we've had since then.

Alan McGuffog
784 Posted 02/03/2013 at 09:39:12

Paul 735.....regarding your alternative eleven you put Arnold in goal. A little unfair I feel as he did a reasonable job whilst Nev was waiting for the call. It may be that you are too young to remember David Lawson !

Chris Williams
798 Posted 02/03/2013 at 10:05:03

It's always interesting to read these contributions, and the views of Evertonians from across the generations. Comparing across the years is difficult and football has changed it's true, but so have things like player size, fitness, conditioning, speed, stamina, diet, equipment, squad rotation, substitutes etc. etc.So I guess I'm of the view that a great player 'then' would still be a great player 'now', because he would have all the modern advances mentioned above.

My first game was a 6th birthday present from my dad when we went into the old paddock iin February 1954. We were then in the old second division. We played Blackburn and drew 1-1 (Hickson). We were promoted that season, and Liverpool were relegated to replace us, and languished there until Shankly worked his 'miracle'.

I still remember the party in our house in Walton to celebrate both events. But the team was shite for years, and it wasn't until Collins and Parker arrived that I began to see what 'good' looked like.

A couple of years later John Moores arrived, waved his chequebook and I began to see what 'better' looked like. Which turned into 'great' quite quickly, after the championship win in'63, when Catterick won with Carey's team,with one significant change. Tony Kay, who was a class above Howard Kendall in his short stay, in my view, but I understand why people might disagree.

Everton is a club which seems to have enjoyed sucess perhaps once a generation (the odd world war excepted), but even in fallow times we have managed to have good, even great players. And whether we like it or not we are currently in a fallow period. Whether in the modern game we will ever enjoy success again is in the lap of the gods.

Anyway, my team would be:-

Southall
Parker
Labone
Ratcliffe
Wilson

Ball
Kay
Harvey

Young
Latchford
Vernon

SUBS
West
Baines
Collins
Kendall
Thomas
Kanchelskis
Lineker

There seems to be a fair bit of unanimity in the posts about the back 5, but not so much further forward.

The last 20 years or so? (from 1990 ish)

Martin
Stevens
Watson
Keown
Baines

Arteta
Fellaini

Kanchelskis
Beardsley
Hinchcliffe

Yakubu

that one was harder, possibly because my long term memory is better than my shorter term.

Anyway there you go.

Robert Patterson
818 Posted 02/03/2013 at 12:54:22

Brian Hill, silly statement, pity you didn't see him.... cf Fred Pickering.

Jamie Barlow
819 Posted 02/03/2013 at 12:56:06

I never seen Ray Wilson play and find it hard to believe he was better than Baines.

Was he a better defender or better going forward or both?

Phil Bellis
823 Posted 02/03/2013 at 13:21:18

Jamie

I've had the privilege of speaking to George Cohen and Brian Labone and asked both about Ramon. Cohen said he was the best FULL back he'd ever seen. Labone, in his usual way, painted word pictures; he said whenever he got in any trouble he would simply give the ball to Ray and leave the rest to him

When I told Ray what Labone had said, he said in his best Yourshire "Aye, he were a reet buggar for that, were Labby."

Ray was built like a proper fullback, low centre of gravity, strong, fast as a whippet, great at overlapping and impossible to take the ball off him He's not been in the best of health for the last few years but when I last had the pleasure of spending a boozy night in his company, he told me a couple of things I'll always remember

"When I came to Everton, I were 29; I said to myself, this is where I belong; I wish Huddersfield had let me come here when I were 18 - it were so close to a deal"

"When I pop me clogs, I'm gonna have on me gravestone "Englishman, Yorkshireman, Evertonian"

Brian Hill (766) — I think form 66 onwards, Alex Young played on the right; I certainly remember Bally's reverse pass thingy he used to do to send Alex gliding down the wing

We used to call him the Golden Ghost. Danny Blanchflower came up with "..the view every Saturday that we have of a more perfect world, a world that has got a pattern and is finite. And that's Alex – the Golden Vision"

God, I love this football club.

Gerry Quinn
824 Posted 02/03/2013 at 13:44:18

If I were Moysie, I'd pick these as my best 11 for matches away.....

Southall
Parker Labone Ratcliffe Wilson
Wright Watson Kay
Harvey Ball Kendall

And then at home, I'd play Ball further up – in the oppositions half possibly! :)

Richard Tarleton
826 Posted 02/03/2013 at 13:53:44

Southall,
Parker, Labone, Ratcliffe,Wilson,
Steven, Collins (Bobby),Harvey Sheedy
Young, Vernon.

Jim Lloyd
827 Posted 02/03/2013 at 13:57:41

Got to have Young, Vernon and Collins in it for me. And Tommy Ring before a broken leg finished his career. Oh Aye, and Tony Kaye before the bastards banned him for life!

Alan McGuffog
829 Posted 02/03/2013 at 13:56:56

Phil Bellis, thanks for those comments. Ramon was, is, and will always be my personal all-time Everton hero. One word — CLASS.

Jamie... Baines is superb and one day may be as good as Ramon

Jim Lloyd
830 Posted 02/03/2013 at 14:00:20

Phil. Great post!

Paul Ferry
847 Posted 02/03/2013 at 15:17:24

Fair Alan (764), very fair, can we bring Drew Brand on from the bench after 3 mins, he apparently got decked by Le Fondre

Andy Crooks
848 Posted 02/03/2013 at 15:22:41

Jamie, Ray Wilson could pass and was an expert at the dead art of the tackle. Not forcing wingers wide or inside but actually taking the ball off them and playing it out of defence. I admire Baines but Ray Wilson was first a world class defender who could start an attack. Baines is a world class attacking wing back whose defensive work is average.

Dennis Stevens
849 Posted 02/03/2013 at 14:48:37

The comments Chris made about great players in fallow periods of the clubs history set me thinking of some of the best players not to have won anything at the club.

Martyn

Gidman
Gough
Keown
Baines

Kanchelskis
King
Speed
Thomas

Lineker
Beardsley

Bench from : Wood, Myhre, Weir, Lescott, Dobson, McKenzie, Latchford, etc

Mike Dolan
852 Posted 02/03/2013 at 15:43:56

The backbone of any Everton team just has to include Southhall, Labone, Wilson and Kay. Also Ball and Kendall. Players that I would love to see augmenting such a nucleus would be Alex Young and Mikal Arteta , I love to see the beautiful game played beautifully. A special mention might go to Johnny Morrissey who I always thought was hugely effective but vastly underrated . The rest you can mix and match.

Mike Allison
853 Posted 02/03/2013 at 16:52:40

I don't think "average" is fair Andy Crooks, especially if you look around at who's playing left back elsewhere.

Jay Harris
873 Posted 02/03/2013 at 14:53:40

My Dad just reminded me that the best Centre half we ever had was TG Jones.

He was also fortunate to see Dixie Dean and Tommy Lawton and while he raves on about Dixie he still maintains Tommy Lawton is the best number 9 ever to wear the Blue.

So based on his opinion and mine for the last 52 years I would go with:

Southall (indisputable)
Alex Parker TG Jones Labby Ray Wilson
Kendall Gabriel
Ball Harvey
Tommy Lawton

Dennis Stevens
925 Posted 02/03/2013 at 19:24:31

Jay, like Dixie, both Jones & Lawton had ceased to play for Everton long before the period in question. You've also selected 10 players for your team.

Jay Harris
943 Posted 02/03/2013 at 20:18:08

Dennis
those 10 would beat most 11s but thanks for pointing out the typo. I did mean to include Alex Young up front.

Colin Wainwright
950 Posted 02/03/2013 at 20:25:30

Purely in my time watching the blues.

Southall
Stevens
Baines
Rats
Watson
Reid
Fellaini
Mirallas
Sheedy
Sharp
Lineker

Colin Wainwright
965 Posted 02/03/2013 at 21:14:39

Arteta on for Reid after 65 minutes.

Mike Goodwin
973 Posted 02/03/2013 at 21:33:52

Alan 784. I agree with you about Jim Arnold. At the time he played in goal, he was better than Southall. He was a good solid keeper, much better in my opinion than most of the others who followed him. Of course, it wasn't too long before Neville stepped up to the mark and took over from him on the way to becoming the world's best.

Also Jay 873, there is another thread about the relative merits of Dean and Lawton. (My Dad preferred DIxie!)

Stephen Sulliven
020 Posted 03/03/2013 at 00:22:19

Aged 54 I have many to consider.....

Southall
Stevens Todd Ratcliffe Baines
Harvey Ball Kendall
McKenzie
Lineker Ferguson

Subs: Thetis and the toffee lady (in case things get sticky)

Steve Carter
029 Posted 03/03/2013 at 00:47:30

Nobody's given Tim Cahill at his fit prime a mention. Short memories. Across several seasons this fella was, more than any other individual, variously responsible for ensuring that we finished well up the table above our real weight or avoided being relegation candidates - in the EPL, not the old first division, mind you. Yes, not as skillful as some of those mentioned, but an amazing 90 minutes engine (pre-foot injury), and boy could we have done with some of his jack in the box headed goals lately.

Noel Early
032 Posted 03/03/2013 at 01:15:22

Best Players I've seen

Southall
Stevens Watson Ratcliffe Baines
Steven Bracewell Arteta Sheedy
Lineker Ferguson (in the mood).

Dennis Stevens
253 Posted 03/03/2013 at 19:29:57

Steve [029], I don't think it's so much a case of short memories more that, despite Cahill's great value to Everton in the Moyes era, we have had better outright strikers & much better midfielders over the last 50 years. Tbh, although Timmy the blue kangaroo was one of our best players of the last decade he wouldn't make the bench for my second team of the last 50 years.

Ray Said
256 Posted 03/03/2013 at 19:37:50

Southall is the best I have seen at the club and just a short a step behind Banks as the best British goalie ever.
That centre midfield would dominate and Kanch and Thomas flying down either wing to feed Big Bad Bob. Shivers down my spine just thinking about it.

Southall
Stevens Todd Labone Wilson
Kanchelskis Harvey Ball Kendall Thomas
Latchford

Subs;
Martyn
Mountfield
Reid
McKenzie
Morrisey
Sharpe

Colin Wainwright
259 Posted 03/03/2013 at 19:51:47

Southall was a freak of nature Ray. I think he was only 5'10", but he covered every inch of the goal. Never saw Westy live, but Big Nev was special. The saves from Varadi, Hazard and Barnes in the derby, stand out.

Ray Said
261 Posted 03/03/2013 at 19:59:47

He was a force of nature Colin. A real one off. If he was around now he would be worth 50 Million.

Graham Mockford
267 Posted 03/03/2013 at 20:26:10

Colin

Big Nev was 6ft-1in but without doubt the greatest keeper this club has ever seen. I still think his best and most important save was away at Spurs from a point-blank Mark Falco header when we were defending a 2 - 1 lead. That save and subsequent win were a turning point in making us Champions.

As for the other 10, I think only three others are nailed-on certs: Labone, Ball and Reid, therefore my team would be (with apologies to the early 60s team who I never saw):

Southall
Stevens
Labone
Ratcliffe
Baines
Ball
Reid
Dobson
Kanchelskis
Sharp
Gray

Brian Garside
299 Posted 03/03/2013 at 22:26:21

Has everyone forgotten about Kieth Newton and Mick Pejic at left back?
Both England internationals with very different qualities. Andy Hinchcliff worth a shout too.

Malcolm Dixon
309 Posted 03/03/2013 at 23:01:25

Southall
Stevens Labone Ratcliffe Baines
Steven Ball Reid Sheedy
McKenzie Lineker

Ball & Reid - surely an unbeatable combo. Such great competitors! Sheeds - the left foot of God made incarnate for us mortals to marvel at!

Add Your Comments

In order to post a comment, you need to be logged in as a registered user of the site.

» Log in now

Or Sign up as a ToffeeWeb Member — it's free, takes just a few minutes and will allow you to post your comments on articles and Talking Points submissions across the site.