Neville Southall: 'You don’t expect loose cannons to take over your own country'

Big Nev - only history will show how much our success through the eighties depended on this guy - he was an Everton Giant in every way and still is.

Seems a bit sad that such an icon has little involvement with the club currently I guess because he's not a yes man. Saw him a few years ago at a Blue Kipper evening and he was such an honest straightforward guy.

Politically incorrect, Big Never doesn't give a stuff about himself, his goal these days is helping marginalised groups have a voice, and learning as much as he can about their issues.

The groups vary from sex workers, to trans, to special needs kids, trying to raise awareness as much as he can. He says it as he sees it, as he has always done, from Everton to the government. He genuinely cares. It's not lip service. Would probably scare the pants off EitC but goodness, you have to admire him.

I've never really been one for heroes, but Nev the Save is as close as I'm likely to find. A world class keeper in his prime, always a bit of a maverick. I've always admired Southall's independence & individuality & his commitment to what he believes is right.

A unique character, which is a shame as we could do with many more like him.

There is no escape from this right on virtue signalling culture. Is he really lecturing Rowling on her reaction to trans rights cutting across those of women? Is he really sure he isn't just a teensy bit out of his depth...

Having read that article, I can predict with absolute certainty what Nev now thinks about anything and everything. It's not radical, its fucking boring. He's swallowed the woke pill and that's that.

Any help he offers to any individual is to be applauded and the fact he puts a lot of effort into helping those who feel marginalised is commendable.

But his views on football are quite radical and I tend not to agree with most of them.

@ Dennis. You put it perfectly.

Had he transitioned straight into the Everton managerial role, its widely acknowledged that this was his wish. Would he have been a success?

If Big Nev wants to talk about our new signings, upcoming talent within our ranks or a recent performance I am all ears. For anything else, he is all over Twitter.

Can we not separate a footballing legend from his non-football related opinions if only on these pages?

I prefer to remember him for his football career. For a time, he really was the best keeper in the world. Irreplaceable.

This site is about all things Everton and as such not always about the football but about life as an Evertonian in general. To follow your view would mean there should be no mention of EitC on the site, no comment on the politics regarding the delays to the stadium or any other non-football item that relates to the club.

I cannot agree. Political life in general impacts on the running of the club, its future and ability to function and thereby has to be part of any discussion. Its what makes ToffeeWeb better than most fan sites in my opinion.

"In 2014 Southall started working as a teaching assistant at Canolfan Yr Afon, the Pupil Referral Unit for Blaenau Gwent, based in Ebbw Vale, helping pupils with their job seeking and soft skills, and liaising with local businesses to arrange work placements. He had previously worked in a similar role in London. He is a member of the trade union UNISON and serves as an international officer for his branch"

I'd say he has put his time and efforts into supporting others. With respect to JK Rowling, her views are all over the media in general with some supportive of her views and others not so, it's not just the BBC or The Guardian!

I don't find his views boring, I find them refreshing that he want to learn more and offer a platform for those affected.

I appreciate your perspective and you have a point to an extent. However, if this article was celebrating his achievements and efforts for the marginalised singularly it would fit your characterisation and I would more than likely support it as such. My disappointment is with the bile regarding politicians he has a personal distaste for.

That separates itself utterly from EitC and our other extensions of the on the pitch achievements we are here to discuss. It is unrelated to the piece and an opportunity to vent about severe personal political bias. Even though those leanings may be the motivation behind his actions that is not made clear so appears as a very personal rant.

Admittedly, my observation wasn't precise in that but I would be as upset if Tim Cahill were extensively pouring scorn on Kier Starmer and the article linked on here (not that I have the slightest idea of Tim's political leanings and rightly so – that was merely to demonstrate my point).

So I guess I view it as him giving people who are impacted by life a voice rather than extolling his views on the Conservative Party, or any party for that matter.

He's got a problem with everything but unfortunately no solutions. I recall a while ago him saying that Everton should be winning the league titles and that nothing else is acceptable. While I can get behind the sentiment, there happens to be 19 other clubs in the league all striving to win every game. It's not as simple as flicking a switch and activating a ‘winning mentality'.

I had an Everton ‘Season Review' video that I watched over and over as a kid. It must have been from around ‘95. They interviewed Nev and showed a highlights reel of all his great outstretched saves. The interviewer remarked upon the brilliance. Nev pretty much turned his nose up and said that he put a higher value on the saves he'd made with his feet over the years – “That, to me, is a better save”, was the quote. Even as a 10-year-old it struck me that this was a man who could not be pleased.

He's a contrarian, if ever there was one.

It's very easy for most of us to ignore the real issues that real people face, but for those that do the same as Nev and defend the 'others' in society they don't have the platform that he does, so it would be remiss of him to fail to express his views. We can disagree with Nev's standpoint if we so wish, but we should play the ball and not the man.

For me Phil Salmon (18) has utterly nailed this and that by no means indicates a resistance to the obvious fantastic work raising awareness and help for the marginalised. To infer such is pretty insulting at best.

I would agree with that If the big fella was only talking the talk

I met Nev at a function about 14 years ago and in the brief conversation we had with him he seemed to take a contrary stance to whatever we said.

In my opinion he is the greatest goalkeeper of all time though which is all that counts.

Now I commend his community work, if he's found a vocation good luck with it, I hope it helps people but I'll take my politics elsewhere if that's okay.

Great goalie like.

I'll take my politics elsewhere tough luck mate politics is all around you and you will have to take it from wherever it comes. Some think Nev's comments are a rant. But it's a rant I would be happy to listen to because anybody who doesn't like to hear criticism of Trump and Johnson on this site probably wouldn't want to hear it from anywhere else either. And that says more about them than it does about Nev.

And similarly, those who have a problem with wokeness probably have that problem because they lack the empathy to at least understand its origins and its agenda.

I say well done, Nev, for supporting those who have difficulty supporting themselves. If that upsets some people who cannot understand that then I thank you further because that is precisely the point.

The best goalkeeper in the world in his day has a commendable social conscience. Great, well done Nev, I find both entirely admirable.

Reading the piece, he comes over as a fella who holds court among a cabal of bellends at his local, spouting bombastic cliches as pearls of wisdom.

Undoubtedly a marvellous keeper but, like most footballers, utterly vacuous.