Name the best Everton lineup you’ve seen in your lifetime

[The Trinity.]

But in the mid 70s, the likes of Buckley, David Smallman and Gary Jones looked like we had a bright future. The way it panned out sounds all too familiar to most of us.

I never saw him play at all but my uncle said Henry Newton looked like a world beater at Forest but sadly never recaptured that form at Everton.

A number of players never seem to recapture their form when they sign for Everton. Even up to the present day. The coaching at Everton usually gets a lot of stick for that. Although I don't hold with that view.
Let's hope that our four new summer signings don't go that way......

 

[Bwana]

Hibbert imo wasn't that bad. Solid enough at right-back. A very unglamourous position. If say John Bailey hadn't have played in a very good Everton team , but had played mainly through the 1990s. He also would have gone down as a poor player for us.
I'm not comparing G.Stevens with Hibbert. No comparison really . Stevens was the by far better player. But Hibbert would have looked ok also in that team.
I'd have many many players ahead of Hibbert as being our worse.

Eternally loved & cherished. Wore it again yesterday at the gym. Good shirts those Nikes.

 

[Debunkology]

Southall
Coleman
Jagielka
Lescott
Baines
Kanchelskis
Gueye
Arteta
Richarlison
Rooney
Ferguson

 

[Debunkology]

Pickford

Hibbert Alcaraz Kroldrup Martina

Iwobi Davies Klaasen Cleverly

Sandro Niasse

How dare you name Hibbert in that team.

 

[Kever10]

How dare you name Hibbert in that team.

To be fair, you put Gueye in your best 11. You also had Southall and Kanchelskis, so you must've been watching since at latest 97.

That's some claim that.

 

[mkrudden]

Southall

Coleman Jagielka Watson Baines

Arteta Cahill James

Kanchelskis Lukaku Rooney

Pretty much what SD has said here.

 

[rochdaleblue]

Southall
Stevens Watson Ratcliffe Baines
Steven Reid Sheedy
Kanchelsis Lineker James.

 

[Khalekan]

Adrian Heath is massively underrated. He didn't even make that Everton all-time greats team line-up that this site was flogging recently. Baffled by that. He is omitted and the likes of Seamus and Arteta gets in. Nah, sorry, not having that. He was a far more significant player in our history. That cup semi goal versus Southampton or the Kevin Brock special alone makes him an icon.

And think of what he would have gone on to become if it hadn’t been for Brian Marwood.

 

[Joe123451978]

To be fair, you put Gueye in your best 11. You also had Southall and Kanchelskis, so you must've been watching since at latest 97.

That's some claim that.

To be fair to him, name a better defensive midfielder we’ve had other than Gueye since then?

 

[Kever10]

To be fair to him, name a better defensive midfielder we’ve had other than Gueye since then?

Parkinson, Dacourt, Carsley, Fellaini, Barry, Mccarthy. I'd say Allan but it's early days.

I'd have Fernandes before Gueye, but it stings knowing what could've been.

 

[rochdaleblue]

...the decision to transfer Alan Ball has to be a major factor. Also, that team should’ve at least reached the European Cup Final, they were superior to Panathinaikos. I wonder had they got the final that season, it could’ve been a catalyst for major tilt at Europe.

I think they lost to the Greeks and then an FA Cup semi-final against the Reds in the same week or so.

My old fella said that week you refer to was the demise of that great side and the club as a whole. Losing out to Panathinaikos and the RS within a week was a body blow that we never recovered from.

 

[Kever10]

It's really tough, because im not sure whether to include players who I watched for a short period who maybe were not at their peak, or whether it's simply impact at the time I was watching. Assuming the later, and attempting some kind of balanced lineup (most of our better players seem to have been clumped together in 2 or 3 positions, so some have to miss out), I would say:

Southall

Coleman
Gough
Distin
Baines

Kanchelskis
Dacourt
Arteta
Pienaar

Rooney
Ferguson

Subs: Martyn, Materazzi, Speed, Hutchison, Fernandes, Yakubu, Lukaku

P. S. I technically haven't seen James live yet, so I'm using that loophole.

 

[StreetEndBlue]

Best side from the players I've seen...

1 Southall
2 Stevens
3 Van Den Hauwe
4 Ratcliffe
5 Watson
6 Reid
7 Steven
8 Lineker
9 Sharp
10 Bracewell
11 Sheedy.

 

[Eggs]

My old fella said that week you refer to was the demise of that great side and the club as a whole. Losing out to Panathinaikos and the RS within a week was a body blow that we never recovered from.

...like many others on here, I was at those definitive games. That semi-final was going well, Alan Ball put us ahead and that game probably turned on Brian Labone going off injured.

 

[Sharpies volley]

A number of players never seem to recapture their form when they sign for Everton. Even up to the present day. The coaching at Everton usually gets a lot of stick for that. Although I don't hold with that view.
Let's hope that our four new summer signings don't go that way......

I'm sure it was down to certain managers at times mate. For the most part we've had dour managers who haven't seemed to be able to get the best out of players. Howard was an exception. Even the Cat ruled by fear and never seemed to be able to bring the best out of players when it really mattered ie semi finals, cup finals. The 2 Cup finals under him we where awful. But somehow beat Wednesday but not West Brom but we should have been in a lot more finals than that under him. Hopefully the Don is a different animal.