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Everton: Ten best post war players part 4

By Matt Townsend

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - MARCH 17: Tim Cahill of Everton celebrates the equalising goal during the FA Cup Sixth Round match sponsored by Budweiser between Everton and Sunderland at Goodison Park on March 17, 2012 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - MARCH 17: Tim Cahill of Everton celebrates the equalising goal during the FA Cup Sixth Round match sponsored by Budweiser between Everton and Sunderland at Goodison Park on March 17, 2012 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images) /
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Everton’s English defender Leighton Baines misses this penalty in the shoot-out after the game finished 2-2, during the English League Cup quarter-final football match between Everton and Leicester City at Goodison Park in Liverpool, north west England on December 18, 2019. – Leicester won the penalty shoot-out 4-2 after the game finished 2-2. (Photo by Anthony Devlin / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or ‘live’ services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo by ANTHONY DEVLIN/AFP via Getty Images) /

My eighth choice is a player who is still at Goodison Park and has proved his worth and value over more than a decade at the club; Leighton Baines.

Scouser Baines was bought from Wigan in 2007 in what proved an important transfer window for Everton as manager David Moyes also added two other long-serving players in Steven Pienaar and Phil Jagielka.

Left-back Baines had actually been on Liverpool’s books as a youngster, but moved to Lancashire club Wigan for first-team football.

Moyes had been after Baines for a while before he finally secured his signature that summer and it proved one of the most astute buys the Scot made in his 11 years as Blues boss.

The left-back position had been a problem for Moyes for several seasons and getting Baines was a bit of a coup and important as it gave Everton real stability there while shoring up the defence.

But Baines was much more than just a quick and strong defender. He had a superb left-foot and it was soon apparent that the Blues had signed a player who epitomised the new, modern, attacking full-back that was emerging in the Premier League.

In addition, the young left-back would go on to strike up a terrific understanding with another player who had also signed that summer and who would play in front of him; Pienaar.

He dovetailed perfectly with Pienaar as the South African midfielder loved to cut inside from the left and so Baines could overlap and exploit the space he left on the flank.

His marauding runs and natural attacking instincts gave the Toffees a very effective outlet on the left and provided a rich source of assists too.

This flexibility also meant that the Blues could often boss the middle of the park with their numbers helping to overwhelm opponents and enable Everton to apply pressure further up the pitch than otherwise would be the case. That high-pressing was a key factor in the sides’ success.

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The left-back would deliver the excellent crosses and he was also deadly from the penalty spot becoming the Blues top spot-kick scorer.

Importantly Baines was also an extremely consistent player who could be relied upon to produce a rock solid performance almost every week, and rarely made an unforced error.

In fact Baines emerged as probably the best full-back in the Premier League and finally gained the intentional recognition he deserved when making his debut for England in 2010 against Egypt.

The veteran left-back is of course still a Toffees player, and is still performing well when he plays. Despite being 35 he doesn’t seem to be in significant decline, so much so that he has recently signed another one-year contract extension.

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