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Everton: Ten best post war players part 2

By Matt Townsend

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - MAY 18: Manchester United defender Paul McGrath (r) and Everton striker Graeme Sharp challenge for a loose ball during the 1985 FA Cup Final between Manchester United and Everton at Wembley Stadium on May 18, 1985 in London, England. (Photo by Bob Martin/Allsport/Getty Images)
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - MAY 18: Manchester United defender Paul McGrath (r) and Everton striker Graeme Sharp challenge for a loose ball during the 1985 FA Cup Final between Manchester United and Everton at Wembley Stadium on May 18, 1985 in London, England. (Photo by Bob Martin/Allsport/Getty Images) /
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LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – APRIL 08: Everton goalkeeper Neville Southall in action during a match circa 1989. (Photo by Pascal Rondeau/Allsport/Getty Images) /

My next player is another of Sharp’s team mates in the outstanding eighties team; Neville Southall.

The legendary Wales goalkeeper is one of Everton’s longest-serving players having played for the Blues through most of the eighties almost until the end of the nineties.

Southall arrived from Bury in 1981 as one of Kendall’s first significant signings. Like Sharp, his Blues career didn’t get off to a good start. He struggled to nail down a first team place and was at one point loaned out to Port Vale for a short time.

His place in the Toffees goal wasn’t secure until the ’83-’84 season. But having finally got back into the team, he quickly became the undisputed number one and began to produce those trademark performances that would make him the top goalkeeper in the game.

Southall’s best qualities were his magnificent reflexes and great ability to win one-on-one situations against a centre-forward who has broken through on goal.

In the title-winning campaign, 1984-’85, Southall probably saved Everton 10-12 points with his performances in goal. One match that perhaps best underlined this, was a game against Tottenham away at the beginning of April.

Spurs were having a fine season too, and were only a couple of points behind the Toffees in the league table. This game was seen as perhaps a defining one as to who would come out on top and win the championship eventually.

Everton went two up, but the Londoners replied with a great long-range strike and were pressing for the equaliser, when Southall pulled off a brilliant point-blank, instinctive save from Mark Falco to prevent what seemed a certain Spurs goal and secure the points.  The Toffees never looked back and romped to the title and also won the European Cup-Winners-Cup.

The Wales international himself won the Football Writers Player of The Year award as a recognition of how crucial he had been in the Blues great season.

Southall’s importance was perhaps underlined even more so in the following campaign.

In an aside, the club shirt manufacturer, Le Coq Sportif, had brought out a new kit this season, and it featured a broad white square across the front and top of the Royal Blue shirt. I actually quite liked it at the time, but many supporters weren’t happy and thought it was a bad omen to dilute the club’s famous colours.

And as the season unfolded, perhaps they were proved right. Everton began the campaign as badly as they had the previous one, with two straight league defeats. Meanwhile Manchester United got off to a flyer, were in great form and had soon built what seemed an insurmountable early lead.

Gradually though the Toffees reeled them in as they gained top spot. As the new year progressed They looked nailed on for another league title, especially after a superb 2-0 win at Anfield in February. The double was also still a possibility as the Blues kept winning in the FA Cup.

Then Southall was injured playing for Wales in March and was lost for the remainder of the season. His replacement was young Bobby Mimms, and although he didn’t really make any mistakes, losing Southall was a big blow for team morale.

Southall’s importance of course, was not just his brilliant acrobatic keeping, but the reassurance and huge confidence that his presence gave his team mates in front of him. They knew if they made an error, ‘big Nev’ was behind them anyway.

Soon after his injury came a game away at Oxford United that still frustrates me to this day! The Blues were leading the table with Liverpool their main challengers, as they travelled to the recently promoted side for a mid-week league game that looked fairly routine.

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Summer signing Gary Lineker had been banging goals in left, right and centre, but he had a terrible game, Everton couldn’t find the net and Oxford scored the only goal to win.

It was suitably ironic that this season-changing match was against Oxford, where Everton’s revival had began two years earlier. Liverpool took over top spot in the league and never relinquished it.

The Blues had reached the FA Cup final yet again, and faced Liverpool in the first all-Merseyside final in their last chance of an honour. Of course despite taking an early lead, that game finished 1-3 and Everton had been beaten to the double by their fiercest rivals. Would having Southall in goal have helped at all? Sadly we will never know.

After returning from injury, the Welshman won his second and last championship medal in 1986-87 and later on won the FA Cup again in 1995, the Toffees last major honour. He finally retired in 1998 having made almost 600 appearances for the Blues.

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