Everton’s 3-2 defeat at Phil Brown’s Hull City on Wednesday night was just the latest lacklustre showing of many by David Moyes’ side this season, beset as they are by injuries to and loss of form of an unusual amount of key players. So Sport.co.uk saw fit to remind everyone of the fine rebuilding job that the Scot has undertaken on the Blue half of Merseyside by listing his Top Ten Signings as a Premier League manager. If they can get the following ten (minus Lescott, of course) together on the same pitch again any time soon then things will, surely, only get better…
10. Yakubu Aiyegbini – Another Nigerian, the former Portsmouth and Middlesbrough forward dispelled initial concerns about his work rate by going on to score 21 goals in his first season at Goodison Park. Suggestions that goals is all he offers are wide of the mark; Yakubu is an effective fetcher and carrier, often dropping deep or out wide to collect the ball, and he has the vision to pick out a pass. And, of course, feed the Yak and he will score. However, after a long lay-off through injury, Moyes faces a challenge to get him fit, motivated and back to his best.
9. Tim Howard – The question of “How do you replace Neville Southall?” eventually became one of “How do you replace Nigel Martyn?”, and the latter question was answered much more quickly and decisively than the former. That’s because the answer was Tim Howard and not Paul Gerrard, Steve Simonsen or Richard Wright. Howard has been a steady presence since his move from Manchester United, where he was unlucky to fall out of the fold, and his excellent shot-stopping has won Everton many a point over the last few seasons. However, questions remain about his positioning on long-range shots.
8. Louis Saha – Quite simply, if it weren’t for all the injuries, he’d still be at Manchester United. Despite acknowledging his quality, Evertonians were non-plussed when Moyes brought in the French striker for an undisclosed – and, presumably, condition-loaded – fee but he made a moderate impact in what game time he had, scoring 8 goals, including the fastest FA Cup final goal in history (25 seconds against Chelsea). Over the summer, Moyes revealed that he had rejected an £8m bid for the player from Turkish club Besiktas, resulting in widespread suggestion that perhaps the Scotsman needed his head testing, but quite where Everton would be without Saha’s 10 goals this season is cause for some quite dreadful speculation.
7. Phil Neville – The £3.5m handed over for the Manchester United utility man looked like so much uninspiring squad-stocking at the time and, despite his ‘no-frills approach to the game’, Neville’s leadership, organisation and defensive qualities have been key to Everton’s impressive league showings. He’s not been without his wobbly moments, particularly concerning his less-than-effortless distribution, but he had his best season in a Blue shirt last time around and even won over many of the fans who refused to accept a Manc as their captain. The news that he will be out for another few weeks has come as yet another untimely blow but he will be back, pointing, screaming, issuing rallying cries and generally polarising opinion.
6. Leighton Baines – Former Wigan Athletic left-back Baines looked to be frozen out while Joleon Lescott was excelling in his position, but Moyes insisted that he would break through and be Everton’s number three for years. That prediction now looks as if it could one day extend to England as well, as £6m Baines has excelled, becoming an integral part of Everton both defensively and in attack. Positionally astute and a deceptively excellent last-ditch defender, Baines’ refreshing pass and move ethos has seen him strike up a highly effective left-sided axis with Steven Pienaar and, when this is properly back in tandem, Everton should begin to look more penetrating going forward. He can whip in a mean cross, can Baines.
5. Joleon Lescott – The nature of his summer move to Manchester City may have left a sour taste, but Everton and Moyes did very well out of the former Wolverhampton Wanderers defender. He was consistently one of the team’s best performers during his three-year stay – even winning both the Players’ and Fans’ Player of the Year awards after a campaign which he spent mostly at left-back – and the club eventually made a £19m profit on him. Everton’s defensive lapses of late indicate that he is a much-missed figure, but his legacy may depend on the success of the players that his £24m sale helped pay for.
4. Phil Jagielka – As with most of Moyes’ best signings, landing Jagielka for £4m from freshly-relegated Sheffield United was met with an overwhelmingly underwhelmed response. Early appearances at right-back and central midfield did little to dispel the notion that it was £4m misspent but, ever since his move to centre-back, he has been undroppable. Everton’s current back four is crying out for his uncanny knack of being on hand to clear the danger and the news that he will be out until after the New Year does not bode well. On a personal level, Jagielka will be gutted about not only missing last season’s FA Cup final – having himself scored the winning penalty in the semi-final shoot-out victory over Manchester united – but also about missing so much football in the lead up to a World Cup.
3. Tim Cahill – If one single player embodies Everton’s renaissance under Moyes then it is the Australian midfielder. The Toffees had just finished 17th, with a record low points total of 39, and were about to lose Wayne Rooney to Man United when Cahill arrived from Millwall for £1.5m to a distinct lack of fanfare. However, his 12 goals and Player of the Season-winning performances helped Everton to a fourth place finish and, last season, he stepped up admirably to lead the line when injuries deprived Everton of all of their recognised strikers. He has scored the most headed goals in the Premier League out of any current player (20) and has been captain in the absence of Phil Neville. His present lack of form could well be attributed to the fact that he is also running for Governor of Massachusetts.
2. Steven Pienaar – Full of running and tracking back, zippy and imaginative on the ball and now with added goals, Pienaar has so far proved to be one of the best value-for-money signings of the Premier League era, at just £2m from Borussia Dortmund. In the absence of Mikel Arteta, Pienaar has filled in admirably as the team’s ‘go to guy’ and, if Everton continue to struggle for possession, he could end up playing in the Spaniard’s central role. He performs, and stars, centrally for South Africa and Evertonians might be fearful of the likely scenario whereby he attracts a lot of attention at the World Cup for being the host nation’s best player.
1. Mikel Arteta – Drafted in on loan from Real Sociedad to replace the departed Thomas Gravesen, Arteta made his debut as a substitute at Southampton and immediately played a loose pass in midfield that led straight to a dangerous opposition attack. Evertonians must have rolled their eyes and sighed, unaware that they would soon be worshipping the ground this guy trod on. He evolved from a neat and tidy dead ball specialist into a mercurial right or left midfielder, but he eventually stagnated out wide through a combination of niggling injuries and the opposition crowding him out. Moyes moved him back into the middle for last season’s 1-0 win at Spurs and there he stayed, at least until the injury at Newcastle in February that has kept him out ever since. But, during that brief spell, Arteta was playing the best football of his career and the prospect of him eventually lining up in the same midfield as Steven Pienaar is enough to keep the Goodison faithful hoping and dreaming of better things ahead.
Honourable Mentions:
Nigel Martyn – There’s a very good argument for the former Crystal Palace and Leeds United goalkeeper being high up in the Top Ten proper, but I must confess to forgetting about him, despite mentioning him in the accompanying blurb for Tim Howard. Oh well. Let’s just say here and now that he was brilliant, and was once cited by Moyes himself as his best signing.
Joseph Yobo – Spells of error-strewn form aside, the Nigerian centre-back has been an important member of some solid Everton sides. He was Moyes’ first signing for the club, initially arriving on a year-long loan from Marseille before signing a £4m permanent deal. He played every minute of every league game when Everton finished 6th in the 2006/07 season, and he holds the club record for most appearances by an overseas player.
Andrew Johnson – Limited though he is, Johnson was the right signing at the right time, a valuable outlet with his pace and commitment as a lone striker and, finally, the right sale at the right time, with a few millions pounds’ profit to boot.
Marcus Bent – His selfless running was vitally important to Everton’s 4th place finish in 2004/05 and, although form soon deserted him, he was sold on at a very respectable profit.