Top 5 favourite Everton Centre Backs

[LinekersLegs]

Phil
Nikodem
Jags
Jagielka

All the rest

 

[Nymzee]

Kroldrup
Senderos
Li Weifeng
Matteo Ferrari
Alcaraz

 

[Jacob]

One of the best I ever saw in blue was Colin Todd a fantastic athlete as fast and agile as a cat he suffocated any striker who dared take him on. Not sure if we played him as CB thoughView attachment 188220

He didn't play centre half but half back/ midfield. He was a class act you're right, but like Bruce Rioch, one I wish we'd had earlier... in their prime.

 

[Ron manager]

He didn't play centre half but half back/ midfield. He was a class act you're right, but like Bruce Rioch, one I wish we'd had earlier... in their prime.

Thanks, Jacob, I sorta suspected as much but the old memory isn't as sure as it was. Fully endorse your views on him and Rioch in their prime they must have been imense

 

[blulouie]

Labone
Waggy
Distin
Ratters
Lescott

 

[Joey66]

They don't necessarily have to be the best - but who did you like to see as a centre half / centre back in say the last 50 years.

Mine are:-

1) Labone
2) Ratcliffe
3) Mountfield
4) Dave Watson
5) Jagielka

Lyons / Gough / Hurst / Mountfield honourable mentions.

Mountfield is listed no 3 mate - John Hurst was brilliant too.....

 

[Marius57]

That I've watched and had memory of.

Yobo,
Weir,
Distin,
Jagielka,
Lescott.

Specially shoutout to Hibbert and his showing there when he kept Dzeko in his back pocket.

 

[Marius57]

Kroldrup
Senderos
Li Weifeng
Matteo Ferrari
Alcaraz

Missing Ashley Williams there

 

[bigdunc1]

Missing Ashley Williams there

And Carl Tiler

 

[Bigduke1234]

And Carl Tiler

Mangala says hello

 

[Cork Evertonian]

I've gone for selections I really liked at the time that they played for us, whether i ended up still loving them or not.

1. Big Dave. A truly, inspirational figure, probably had at least 10 good to very good seasons with us. What the generation before me saw in Labby, was what me and many others saw in Dave- a great leader and a real tower of strength and dominance and basically our 'rock' for such a long period of the good and the bad (in the 1990s Big Nev said "Dave Watson IS Everton, which is the ultimate praise).

2. Kev The Rat. Our most successful captain and key to that side's excellence, led the line really well and was so quick and so difficult to get the better off in a one-on-one (for anyone not named Rush). Didn't start well really but once he partnered with Mark Higgins his game improved massively and could play with him, and Degsy and Dave (and even Pat) and not miss a beat.

3. Distin. I rated him really highly and thought Sylv & Jags (as well as Slyv and Stones) were an excellent defensive partnership, especially in that 2013/14 season. So strong and one of the quickest defenders we've ever had. Could comfortably play the high line, like Rats, due to his pace over 20-30 yards or so (he was like a rhino). Left many a speedster for dust over the longer distance.

4. Stones. I knew he wouldn't stay long and would end up having a trophy-laden career- as he had the hallmarks of a modern-day centre back. A class act for me but and not appreciated enough by the 'hit it long' type Everton fan (of which there are loads). The Stones/Distin/Jags partnership(s) were an excellent blend of pace, power and ability/intelligence on the ball. We only let in 2 more goals than the champions (Man City) in 2014 mainly because how good our centre back pairings were.

5. Jags. A fine captain and leader through some tough times, underrated at the time but now seems to be (rightly) appreciated. Still going strong at 40, which is no surprise to his determination to keep playing at a good level. Had a magnificent season in 2009, one of the all-time best single seasons i've seen at Everton, and if he (and Arteta) had fit for the Cup Final that year, things may have been different. Who knows?

Honorable mentions:
Gough: A short stay but his class shown through even while well past his prime, I remember a game vs Man Utd, where him and Dave (combined age of about 80) handled Utd's attack brilliantly.

Keown: I know he's a bit of a **** and all that, but at the time i always felt it was bad business getting rid of him, always thought he'd become a real top defender- and despite massive history revisionism, many were made up when he smacked Sheedy in the restaurant that time, especially 'When Skies Are Grey' (such was Sheeds' popularity at that time, which was on the wane).

Lyons: I saw Mick play live quite a few times but was too young to appreciate him and how much he'd give for the cause.

I read somewhere ( it could have been the book Everton in the 90's by Jim Keoghan) but with regards to the Sheeds and Martin Keown incident, Keown brought his brother along with him to that team outing, and Sheeds kind of starts taking the piss out of him.

Obviously Martin Keown would be fairly upset about that, so he decided to give Sheeds a nice sweet dig. I have great time for Sheeds he was a great player for us, but he was bang out of order with his conduct there. That smack that Keown gave him was well deserved really!

I'm pretty sure it was financial circumstances that lead to Keowns departure, i'm not sure that he actually wanted to leave at all. Colin Harvey just wasn't able to integrate the new players, in with the old guard who won us all those trophies. Both the older players and the newer ones just didn't seem to get along with each other, and that proved very costly indeed for both Everton and Colin Harvey.

 

[Cork Evertonian]

One of the best I ever saw in blue was Colin Todd a fantastic athlete as fast and agile as a cat he suffocated any striker who dared take him on. Not sure if we played him as CB thoughView attachment 188220

I think we played Colin more at right back, which wasn't his best position at all.

 

[4737carlin]

Tarkowski
Coady
Mina
Branthwaite
Philippe Senderos

Mina HAHAHA

 

[Cameron Manning]

One of the best I ever saw in blue was Colin Todd a fantastic athlete as fast and agile as a cat he suffocated any striker who dared take him on. Not sure if we played him as CB thoughView attachment 188220

Colin Todd was a fantastic footballer but he never played that well for Everton, he was played as a full back or wing half so maybe that was the reason, he wasn’t here very long and quickly moved on, perhaps his best days were behind him.

 

[voodoobloo]

For my era, that + 'Unsy' + Lescott (who did CB and admittedly LB, too).

Likin' the way Tarks and Coady shaping up and achieving what those guys did would be fine by me.

Yep, Rhino was boss when I needed a homegrown hero. Lescott was amazing too. Yobo for the first fast CB I saw play for us. Dave Watson for being hard and still associated to glory. Weir for longevity.