The Man Between The Sticks

 

This is the start of a series I will be doing in which I will be talking about MY top three players in every position to have ever played for Everton Football Club; starting, of course, with the Goalkeeper.

 

There is a plethora of top class Goalkeepers that have walked through the doors and stood as custodian of Everton’s goal, of course there would be for the club with the most years in top flight football of any club in history.

 

Number Three – Tim Howard

Tim Howard could almost single-handedly define the David Moyes era at Goodison Park, bought for around £3 million in 2007 after a season-long loan the year before. Tim spent 10 years at the club in total and became the first name on Moyes’ team sheet. He was evergreen and dependable; he made some huge saves and was particularly proficient at stopping penalties, as would be showcased during the 2009 FA Cup Semi-Final against his former club, Manchester United.

 

Tim was also a mainstay with the US Men's National team and while at Everton Football Club he took part in 2 World Cups, making history in 2014 when he produced 16 saves against the Golden Generation team of Belgium in a 2-1 losing effort.

 

Back with Everton, by 2014 he was by far one of the most consistent goalkeepers in England, never mind in the Blues team. Statistically speaking, by the time Tim would leave Everton in 2016 to return to his homeland he was third on the All-time standings for clean sheets, with 133 in total.

 

Although his career on Merseyside ended trophy-less Tim Howard has to go down as the greatest Everton Goalkeeper I have seen with my own eyes, but I put him third in my All-Time list.

 

Number Two – Gordon West

This one is a pretty standard answer for most Evertonians, outside of number one, who by now may be becoming obvious to those in the know, Gordon West was an icon of 60s and  very early 70s Everton. The second most decorated Goalkeeper in our long history; “Westy” was an integral part of the title winning sides of 1963 and 1970, as well as the famous FA Cup comeback win of 1966 at old Wembley.

 

Gordon was a characterful Goalkeeper known for his reflexes and athleticism and bravery in the face of the old-school case balls and rough style of most 60s strikers, he could read the game and often saw moves from the opposition before they would occur and be ready to snuff out any testing crosses and clever through-balls.

 

An England international on 3 occasions, he is most known for turning down a chance to represent the Three Lions in 1970 to be with family. He was often overlooked by England in the eyes of Evertonians in his era although at the time England did have greats like Gordon Banks, Peter Bonetti and Peter Shilton between the sticks at the time.

 

I’m fairly certain I’m not upsetting anybody with his place as number two in my list as every Evertonian will know our history and most certainly know who Westy was, the partnership he had with Brian Labone, “The Last of the Corinthians” cements him as one of the best ever in any team.

 

Number One – Big Neville Southall

Well it had to be, didn’t it? Neville Southall is the yardstick against which every Everton Goalkeeper that came after him is measured. He was simply immense and thankfully he is one that I have seen in the flesh, albeit well past his best years.

 

Everton’s most decorated player in any position, Nev won the lot. 2 League titles, 2 FA Cups and a Cup Winners’ Cup as part of what many consider to be Everton’s greatest ever team. The titans that wore the blue jersey in the 80s knew they could rely on Neville to be there if, heaven forbid, they missed a ball going through them.

 

We all know his story, from bin man to ‘baller in an era when it was more common for players to be plucked from obscurity and thrust into the big time. Neville Southall never lost his grounding and never considered himself above anyone; if he wasn’t playing he would be in the stands with the rest of us. He is humanitarian who had a very safe pair of hands.

 

Neville Southall is every Everton fan’s Number One. If you know your history, Neville is the man. These days he throws himself to the front of the fight for social justice and the importance of acceptance of people from all walks of life and champions any person’s right to be and do whatever they want. He is a great Champion of the People and gives his time and energy to many charities and organisations throughout his community for the betterment of all.