Pienaar hangs up his boots

Good luck lad and thanks for getting me off me seat with Bainesy.

Loved the way he took the hits and his guile and cleverness to play Baines in as he was in top flight. I remember a game at home to Newcastle at the end of the season and those two ripped them to shreds.

Harry thought it would be the same with Bale but it never happened for some reason. I loved Stevie P.

The Bainaar, what a left side that was!!!!!

Ultimately being kicked constantly caught up with him.

Goal v Arsenal at a snowy Emirates was the stuff of PlayStation. That day we deserved the points.

He should never have gone to Spurs – Redknapp didn't need him. He just wanted to fuck Everton up, which he did. Our left side has never been the same, even when he came back.

He will always be welcome at Goodison or wherever we end up.

Good luck, Steven – you were a pleasure to watch wearing our Blue Shirt.

All the best in the years to come.

I've fondness for him, but he'll never reach "ultimate respect" level due to that move to Spurs. Still, I like the guy and wish him well.

Good luck for the future, Stevie, oh how I wish Bolasie was half as good as you!

I agree with John, the best football we've played for a long time was when Arteta, Pienaar and Baines were in the team.

And although Arteta was seen as our top player at that time – and he was outstanding for a couple of season before his injury – I always felt that Pienaar was actually the one that made us play. More then Arteta, he was the one that set the tone.

I reckon he was the best player we had under Bavid Moyes. And, my God, the Baines - Pienaar combination was an absolute joy two watch. Two great, great players in their prime and they had this unique understanding.

That goal at the Emirates, when it looked like we were actually going to win there (!), still gives me goosebumps. He had to run all the way from that halfway line and ended it with that finish. In the snow, at the Emirates, to go 2-1 up with minutes to go. Fan-tas-tic.

Baia Dankie, Steven

This guy along with Arteta, was completely responsible for anything resembling football that we played during that period and was a classic example of what real bravery is on a football pitch.

Stevie P always made himself available for the ball, regardless of how many opposition were around him and never lost possession. Where his team mates would concentrate on simply controlling the ball, Stevie's first touch would consist of a drop of the shoulder or a feint of some sort, accompanied with a cushioned first touch with any part of his foot and always in the opposite direction of the nearest opposition player.

I always used to say, if we had 10 Steven Pienaars on the pitch, the opposition would never touch the ball and we'd win every game. I think Pep Guardiola's Barcelona team later proved that philosophy was achievable.

We've long been a country that's been obsessed with scouting players that are technically and athletically better than the rest, yet have completely disregarded footballing intelligence. This, as with any subject matter in life, either comes naturally to you or it doesn't and Stevie P had it in abundance.

Personally, it is this attribute in a footballer that I get the most satisfaction from viewing; unfortunately at this club, they've been few and far between.

Why our coaches did not provide adequate cover for this duo amazes me. Baines was the assist king of defenders and Pienaar was a real work trojan.

Best of luck Peanuts for your future projects, you were a large part of the few happy memories we have experienced during this past decade and a half.

When he came back to Goodison from Spurs, Levy made sure he was cup tied, that almost certainly, cost us the semi-final win against Liverpool. Good luck and good health in your retirement, Stevie.

How could that be? I keep reading that we only ever played crap football under Moyes!

How we could do with some of his signings to brighten up the dross we're being served these days in what must, surely, be the worst football we have witnessed in decades.

Pienaar and Baines have been as good a partnership as we have seen in the Premier League era. And I don't just mean Everton. Wonderful little player. But have you heard him speak? He sounds like Bryn Terfel with laryngitis.

Unfortunately he slightly ruined it by doing a strange wobbly dance as a celebration plus we conceded a typically bastard equaliser late on. We were excellent that day though – one of the few times a Moyes Everton team really had a crack at a top team away from home.

I remember when he arrived thinking 'er who?' but, given the price, he turned out to be one of Moyes's best signings.

I think it was the last game of his loan spell from Spurs (should never have left in the first place!) and at the end of the match while still on the pitch, an interviewer asked him whether he'd like to return to us permanently, and he started welling up, saying he'd love to. Brought a lump to my throat.

Even looked to be a key player in Martinez's first season; a midfield of McCarthy, Barry & Barkley flanked by Pienaar and Mirallas looked like it'd be great.

Another player we haven't really replaced, as well as Distin from that side.

That was when Pienaar, Arteta, Cahill, Osman and the Yak up front played football that would have arguably put any opponent to the sword.

A really clever player who brought the best out of Baines when Leighton was probably our most potent attacking option.

Shame he couldn't wait to jump ship once Spurs came calling though.

Opposition teams had a fear factor of their play. How times have changed at Goodison Park. Good luck and health, Peanuts, for the future.

It did prove the old adage about not going back the second time around as I think lots of the earlier memories were wiped away.

I do think he would have made a great coach for the young players but, whatever he gets involved in, I wish him luck.

However, the Pienaar who was bullish about wanting to leave to go to Tottenham and forced his way out does not sit well with me. Furthermore, we bought him back 18 months later when his London sojourn didn't turn out like he hoped it would and it ended up costing us about ٢m more than we sold him. This, at a time when we were cash strapped. I can't forgive him for that. Also, on his return he wasn't half the player we sold, with him constantly injured and collecting a wage.

I will file him under Moyes's true statement that "the grass isn't always greener when you leave Everton" and state that he left us in the lurch when we needed him so he could move to our rivals, Tottenham, and we shouldn't have gave him the satisfaction of a return. Good riddance.

I also think it is easy to forget what a fantastic midfield we had with Pienaar, Osman, Arteta, Cahill, Fellaini and a couple of years before with Carsley and Gravesen. How we didn't win a trophy with them is amazing.

Moyes in charge with his rock solid defence, and the midfield I mentioned, all we needed was a real proper striker and we really could have competed.

I'd take Moyes over Fat Sam any day.

"Furthermore, we bought him back 18 months later when his London sojourn didn't turn out like he hoped it would and it ended up costing us about ٢m more than we sold him."

Bang on. I cannot forgive those shops I have bought crap from for 58 years. Especially in those years when I was skint! Bastards.

Remember Pienaar's debut at Bolton. He played on the right, had a hand in Yakubu's first goal, but I wasn't sure he could make it in England, because he wasn't particularly fast or strong. (Klaassen?) Although some of Pienaar's best games came when he played inside.

How wrong I was, and what an absolute pleasure it was to watch this little fella, when he was on form. I consider a player to be brave, when he constantly wants the ball, so in that respect Pienaar had the heart of a little lion.

Watching Pienaar, constantly coming towards the ball, often used to make me think about the difference in the coaching, between the English and the foreign footballer. The English run away from the ball whilst the foreigners do the complete opposite, but that's only my opinion, and is probably why I've enjoyed watching Steven Pienaar play for Everton, more than most of the others I've seen in my 43 years watching Everton. Always a pleasure!

Trust me, mate, 3 games for the U23s and you're guaranteed "legend" status these days. He only has to call Uncle Bill and he'll be offered a job for life.

Look at the way he constantly came towards the ball, was it a gift, or was it down to the coaching he received when he was a young kid, possibly at Ajax?

I'd put a man like this in charge of the coaching side of the academy, especially considering that football is well on the way to becoming a non-contact sport.

The one thing I always remember about 'nuts is his performance against Arsenal. No, not that one. The one where they smashed us at home when Lescott was on the brink of leaving. With 10 minutes to go we were well behind and you saw the players just give up. Pienaar did the opposite and was chasing players down. Plenty of character that lad.

Best of luck in retirement!

He went to Tottenham to improve his chances of winning trophies. That's ambition, that's what footballers dream of. That's what fans want, hopefully that's what Everton can achieve in the next few years.

Happy he came back but injuries to both him and Baines meant the left side partnership never got back to their best.

Compare it to the last few years of non-football and it was still one of the best combos.

If only Mirallas, McGeady, Bolasie (more skillful players) had his brain and desire.