Victor Anichebe
Victor Anichebe, the Nigerian born, Liverpool raised Striker, often receives what I feel is undeserved criticism from the Everton faithful. Victor, or “Big Vic†as he’s referred to as by Evertonian’s, has had a hard time through injuries during his time at Goodison Park, and has not been given a good run in the first team.
In the early stages of his career, Victor was seen as a fantastic prospect for the future, the next Yakubu if you like. He’s often compared to Yakubu due to his physique, relaxed approach to the game, and of course, Nigerian nationality. In his first season after signing a professional contract at Everton, he was named Everton Reserve Player of the Season 2005/2006 season, which again had people thinking big things about him. In his second season as a pro, Victor scored a couple of Premier League goals, which led to an extension to his contract, keeping him at the club for another four years. This season Everton qualified for the UEFA Cup, and in the next season, Victor scored 4 goals in Europe for the blues. This resulted in him being named Everton’s Young Player of the Season.
Victor failed to score many goals, partly because he was predominantly a substitute and made the majority of his appearances from the substitute’s bench.
In February 2009, Victor was on the end of a horrific tackle from Kevin Nolan, who received a deserved red card, which kept Victor out for 11 months, halting his progress as a player.
Once he recovered, a few small injuries kept him out of the starting 11 for a long time, making the odd substitute appearance.
This season, Victor has been a talking point amongst Everton fans, some saying he should be offloaded for extra funds. He has made 5 starts, and come off the bench another 5 times this season in the league, scoring some important goals, most recently coming off the bench to score the winner against Newcastle at the Sports Direct Arena.
During his short time at Everton, he has managed to break the record of the legend that is Duncan Ferguson, by being the most used substitute in Everton history, beating Duncan’s 82.
I believe Victor is a fantastic squad player, who despite what people think, clearly has a lot of passion for the club, and should not be offloaded this January transfer window.
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