On the 65th birthday of Neville Southall, ECHO Everton correspondent Chris Beesley calls on the club to erect a statue of their former goalie when they move to their new stadium.
Many happy returns to Neville Southall on his 65th birthday, and this momentous occasion is surely as good as any to request that he finally have the Everton statue he so richly deserves when the club moves into their new stadium.
Farhad Moshiri agreed to sell his 94.1% stake in Everton to 777 Partners on Friday, with the transaction expected to close before the end of the year, subject to regulatory approval.
Insiders at Goodison Park are urging both Evertonians and the media to give 777 a chance, but these multi-club owners, who are relatively newcomers to the sport, have so far struggled to win the public relations game as well as matches in their various ports of call.
While it will take far more than token gestures or gimmicks to persuade the beleaguered Blues that the Miami-based private investment firm is the right people to lead Everton forward, surely one prudent step in the right direction by whoever is in charge of the club by the time the relocation to Bramley-Moore Dock occurs would be a monument to Southall.
Back in July, Blues superfan David France demanded that the club honor ‘the greatest living Evertonian’ Colin Harvey during their final season at Goodison Park. While Dr France was unsure what form this tribute to a deserving recipient would take, 78-year-old Harvey, the last surviving member of the fabled ‘Holy Trinity’ midfield trio, already has a statue outside the ground alongside teammates Alan Ball and Howard Kendall, whose names now also adorn the Gwladys Street End.
Scouser Harvey, who declared on the 1988 BBC video, The Official History of Everton FC, “Basically, you’re talking about Everton being my life really,” has been a Blue from birth and went on to serve the club as both coach and manager. Ball, who was named man-of-the-match in the 1966 World Cup final despite Geoff Hurst’s hat-trick in England’s 4-2 extra-time victory over West Germany, is widely regarded as the Blues’ greatest outfield player since the Second World War, while Kendall is, of course, Everton’s most successful manager.
But what about the Blues’ most illustrious team under Kendall? The Blues won their seventh League Championship in 1984/85, finishing 13 points ahead of runners-up Liverpool (both records at the time). They also won the European Cup-Winners’ Cup, and in an era when English clubs had won the European Cup in seven of the previous eight seasons, they were poised for continental dominance if not for the post-Heysel ban.
Southall was still their standout player, winning the FWA Footballer of the Year award and remaining the last goalkeeper to do so 38 years later. As his captain and Wales international teammate Kevin Ratcliffe recalled on Match of the Eighties: “When you’ve got a keeper like that, you can gain an extra 14 points.”
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Perhaps Everton should erect a statue of the club’s all-time appearance leader at their new stadium?
Perhaps they should construct one for the club’s most decorated player?
Perhaps they should construct one for a player who was the best in the world at the pinnacle of his powers?
All three of those accomplishments should be enough to earn you such an honor from the banks of the ‘Royal Blue’ Mersey, but eventually only one statue would be required because they were all accomplished by Southall. Llandudno’s greatest son played 751 times for Everton, 217 more than his nearest opponent in terms of games played, renowned captain and one-club man Brian Labone, dubbed ‘The Last of the Corinthians.’
How many Everton players can legitimately claim to be the best in their position on the planet?
Probably Dixie Dean during the inter-war years, but it was before European competition and before England even considered entering the World Cup. Furthermore, after the age of 22, England’s record-breaking marksman was virtually overlooked by his national team selectors in a rather random manner.
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