Is this the greatest Everton XI ever?

[The binman chronicles]

In my lifetime
Southall
Coleman
Watson
Jags
Baines

Ried
Cahill
Arteta

Kanchelskis,
Lukaku
Sheedy

I get the Rooney shouts and in his prime he was naturally better than anyone I've seen in a blue shirt - at his peak he was at the very top with the likes of Messi and Ronaldo - he just couldn't stay there... but as someone has already said we never had him in his prime. Rooney at 16 would still 100% be on my bench though and Rom was a goal machine so he's a no brainer and as much as I loved Pienaar, Sheedy's left peg was the best in the business.

Rooney's peak for me was while he was still an Everton player. Euro 2004 he was unplayable. Never felt that way thereafter. I'm not saying he didn't improve in certain aspects as a complete player, but he lost some of that machine like rawness and invincibility.

 

[roy vernon]

Yes, i've seen enough to have a good opinion of him Roy. He does go forward, for a full back of his day anyway, but hardly to the extent of say Krol, Suurbier or Brietner did just a few years later.

Bainesy also took free kicks, not just to shoot centrally, but to cross from an attacking position, Wilson hardly ever does on what I've seen (and i'm not talking the 'free kick from inside own half whacked up to Royle' type either).

All opinions, but, for me Wilson was the complete full back, tough, quick, great defender and creator of lots of gols for the Vision and Fred Pickering with his crosses on the overlap.

 

[Eggs]

I always preferred John Bailey when it came to playing football. Admittedly Psycho Pat was more, um, effective in the games where things got tasty.

…..VDH was a rolls Royce defender & hugely underrated. Let’s not forget, when we won the title in ‘87 he played almost the whole season at CB. He was actually a right footed LB but could cross & pass the ball superbly with his left. Supreme athlete, always in control of situations it’s a shame he’s given the Psycho tag. What a player he was.

I played with John Bailey a bit, he’s a lovely lad and a hugely enthusiastic footballer but in terms of ability he’s not in the same league as VDH.

Ray Wilson
VDH
Baines

 

[Bruce Wayne]

I see the merit in having Rooney if we're picking players at their peak at different clubs. But he wasn't good enough for a long enough period playing for us.

Eto was world class at one point too.

You could probably have an XI of players who were crap with us having had boss careers

Wright

Sansom
Materazzi
Kroldrup

James
Gazza
Riquelme
Blomqvuist
Ginola

Eto'o
Hughes

 

[Mikey_Fitzgerald]

Any “ best of team “ that doesn’t have Kanchelskis in, is just pointless.

I remember someone on here went on a rant once about how supporters who liked Kanchelskis weren't real supporters or some such nonsense

Considering he's the player that a lot of Generation Y supporters grew up loving, I saw it as a weird take

 

[Stuartisitc1878]

Rooney's peak for me was while he was still an Everton player. Euro 2004 he was unplayable. Never felt that way thereafter. I'm not saying he didn't improve in certain aspects as a complete player, but he lost some of that machine like rawness and invincibility.

Listening to a few of his interviews post retirement I think his willingness to play in different positions to accommodate the likes of Tevez did him no favours. He could, and probably should have been more selfish at that time.

 

[Stuartisitc1878]

You could probably have an XI of players who were crap with us having had boss careers

Wright

Sansom
Materazzi
Kroldrup

James
Gazza
Riquelme
Blomqvuist
Ginola

Eto'o
Hughes

Drenthe and Shandy van der Meyde on the bench. Both Dutch wonderkids before Everton touched them
lol

 

[Mikey_Fitzgerald]

I'm not educated enough to say of all-time

Of the Premier League Era, I'd probably go

Southall
Coleman, Jags, Lescott, Hinchcliffe
Kanchelskis, Gravesen, Carsley, Arteta
Lukaku, Rooney

Subs
Martyn, Stubbs, Baines, Watson, Pienaar, Cahill, Ferguson

 

[blue to the bone]

For me you cannot choose players that you have not seen play live. Your only goin on the opinions of others then

 

[blue to the bone]

I'm not educated enough to say of all-time

Of the Premier League Era, I'd probably go

Southall
Coleman, Jags, Lescott, Hinchcliffe
Kanchelskis, Gravesen, Carsley, Arteta
Lukaku, Rooney

Subs
Martyn, Stubbs, Baines, Watson, Pienaar, Cahill, Ferguson

Hinchcliffe ahead of baines?

 

[davies1878]

How are people not picking Lescott, he was fantastic.
Not much love for Richard Gough either

 

[edge]

Ones I have seen
Southall,
stevens Radcliffe labone VDH.
Tricky trev, Ball, Reid, Kanchelski
Latchford , lineker

 

[COYBL25]

I remember someone on here went on a rant once about how supporters who liked Kanchelskis weren't real supporters or some such nonsense

Considering he's the player that a lot of Generation Y supporters grew up loving, I saw it as a weird take

He was our last truly world class player.

How sad is that.

 

[Nyhus]

I know Dixie is holding our record for most goals scored, but in the current state of football, Id take Big Rom over him 100 out of a 100 times.

 

[Mikey_Fitzgerald]

He was our last truly world class player.

How sad is that.

Rooney I guess, although you can argue he wasn't World Class when he was with us