Left Wing/Left Midfield - The Other Half of the Wide Picture

 

From the gate, left wing/left midfield is going to be difficult because we all know who number one is; so this is an exercise in deciding the other spots on the podium, really.

 

Here we go then, my top three Left Wing/Midfielders to have ever put on the royal blue jersey.

 

Number Three – Steven Pienaar

In at number three, for me it’s got to be Peanuts. He has to go down as one of David Moyes’ best bits of business in the transfer market to have signed him for relatively naff-all at a time when clubs in the “Big Four” were spending double and triple that. Pienaar was blessed with pace and a bottomless bag of tricks that immediately gave Everton a new edge, we had a player that could do the hard yards without the ball but when he got it, could dazzle and pop up with a goal or two when needed. Add to that the fact he was a full international for South Africa, a product of Ajax and Borussia Dortmund, two of the most prolific promoters of young talent in world football, there was no surprise really when some of the richer teams came calling for his signature. Steven played in an FA Cup final in 2009 and semi-finalist on two occasions; he also played a significant role in Everton’s run to the last 16 in the 2007-08 UEFA Cup, which was eventually won by Zenit Saint Petersburg, a team Everton beat in the group stage.

 

Steven Pienaar has to be one of the most technically gifted players to ever play for Everton.

 

Number Two – Kevin Sheedy

This one was tough, choosing between putting Kevin Sheedy here or at number one but I think I’m justified in my thinking. Kevin’s left foot was an absolute wand and it was almost inevitable he would score from free kicks within a certain distance and could find a striker in the box from orbit from a corner or cross. Like every other 1980s player I’ve picked so far, Kevin Sheedy won just about everything with Everton in his time at Goodison which is especially pleasing considering he was signed by Howard Kendall from Liverpool, who thought he wasn’t good enough for them.

 

He scored nearly 100 goals in all competitions for the Blues and lifted the league title twice, the FA Cup and European Cup Winners’ Cup in a ten year career.

 

He re-joined Everton later in life as a youth coach. Kevin Sheedy is the measuring stick for most of our dads when it comes to left midfielders because he did the simple part of the game with incredible easy and efficiency.

 

Number One – Alex Young

When you have a nickname like “The Golden Vision” you have to be special and Alex Young does not disappoint. I’ve only ever seen video of him playing and heard what his contemporaries say about him, as well as my dad, but you cannot deny his influence. He was a monster of a player with skills to burn in the same era as other trick wingers like George Best. Alex was a blur of blond hair and blue jersey skipping passed defenders again and again, seemingly toying with his opponent before finally rushing in on goal and sticking it past the goalkeeper as well.

 

Everton fans got to enjoy Alex Young in his prime years. He’s the only Everton player that I know of that had a film named after him and apart from The Holy Trinity, arguably he is remembered with the best nickname of all.

 

Alex won the league title in 1962-63 as well as the FA Cup in 1966 and probably would have gone on to win a lot more had his career not been plagued by injuries later on; missing out on the 1970 league title win by just two years, being sold to Glentoran in Ireland in 1968.