Jose Baxter joins Memphis team in USL

Michael Kenrick Friday, 21 February, 2020 7comments | Jump to most recent

Former Everton player Jose Baxter has joined Memphis 901 FC, a club from Tennessee in the USL Championship where Tim Howard is the Sporting Director.

Baxter has been a free agent since parting ways with Plymouth Argyle last November after only 4 months. He's joined them after being released at the end of a 1-year contract by Oldham Athletic, the club who took him on in 2018 after Everton helped the troubled player get rehabilitated into the professional game the season before.

Baxter had suffered two drug bans with Sheffield United, who terminated his contract as a result in 2016. Bill Kenwright was instrumental in first finding him work with Everton in the Community, then securing for him a 1-year contract with the Under-23s to help him get him back in shape once his playing ban was over.

Since 2011, the United Socer League (USL) Championship has been the second tier of professional football in the United States, under the MSL. Founded in 2018, 901 FC made its debut in the USL Championship in 2019. Tim Howard looks only on the positives, saying of his former clubmate:

“Jose is a generational talent. His technical ability and toughness are unquestioned at the highest levels of world football. With experience in the English Premier League and Championship, we're excited to have him be an integral part of our midfield.”

Reader Comments (7)

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Dave Abrahams
1 Posted 21/02/2020 at 09:36:39

A couple of times I saw him with Everton U23s the season before last, he just didn't look fit enough or good enough, to be honest. Unfortunately, he wasted a potentially good career, but I hope he takes this chance in America.

Steve Carter
2 Posted 21/02/2020 at 18:52:21

Now, there's hyperbole and then there's Tim Howard. Jose a “generational talentâ€, whose “ability...[is] unquestioned at the highest levels of world footballâ€ðŸ¤ª. How could the likes of Oldham and Plymouth have got it so wrong?

Mike Gaynes
3 Posted 22/02/2020 at 07:29:25

Welcome to 'Merica, Jose!! Glad to have ya. Give me a call and I can recommend some serious Memphis barbeque. Trust me, you'll never go home.

Steve Ferns
4 Posted 23/02/2020 at 01:01:08

Steve, he was that talented though. That's the problem. The lad has wasted it all. He could have been a player who won trophies and should have had 50+ caps by now. It's a real shame. I hope he does well in America. He can never recover what he lost but he can still perform at that level.

Ed Prytherch
5 Posted 23/02/2020 at 01:27:22

There are a lot of worse places to live than Memphis TN, the birthplace of Rock and Roll.

Ron Marr
6 Posted 23/02/2020 at 02:53:53

It's a long time since I've been there but the Rendezvous was really good for dry rub barbecue.

Ajay Gopal
7 Posted 23/02/2020 at 08:31:11

Respect to Bill Kenwright for helping out a former Blue to find his feet again. Jose's life could have gone the way of many footballers and sportsmen who wasted their god-given talent, but credit to the Everton family for giving him a second chance.

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