Legends

Everton legends.

The names written into folklore, passed down from grandparents who saw records broken, the talismanic forwards, mercurial wingers, tenacious midfielders, towering centre-halves, Jan Mucha.

Ok, so a “legend’s game” with Roma did require a goalie, and the legendary ones like Big Nev probably don’t fancy a run out. And he did keep a clean sheet.

But as we leave behind a Goodison that has witnessed a whole host of iconic players, who amongst the current crop have the potential to write their names as legends in our new era on the banks of the Royal Blue Mersey?

All joking aside, the Legends squad on Sunday showcased some big names from our recent past. Gareth Barry was a wonderful signing who took our midfield to a whole new level. Leighton Baines is a bona fide modern-day legend, and seeing him link up again with Steven Pienaar brought back memories of European nights at the Old Lady. And seeing Peter Reid — one of the greatest and most decorated midfielders in our history — step out for a five-minute cameo was a real treat.

Many of the other players on show ticked the box of cult heroes (Tony Hibbert and Oumar Niasse being obvious examples, albeit for different reasons). And it is these types of players we as fans have gravitated towards over recent years, as the glorious eighties gave way to the turbulent nineties, the untapped promise of Moyes’ first spell at the club and the increasingly bonkers years that followed.

No wonder that our contemporary legends look very different from those whose memorials line up outside Everton Way. Alex Sandy Young, The Holy Trinity, Dixie Dean, Bob Latchford, Brian Labone, Kevin Sheedy: for blues like me, they’re the heroes in stories handed down, or fuzzy VHS footage to ensure I really did know my history. What will my stories be? Denis Stracqualursi? Doucoure’s goal against Bournemouth squeezing us towards survival? The Just Stop Oil protestor?

Our recent financial struggles and the resulting impact on recruitment have made this task increasingly tricky. Injuries may have cost us some of Yakubu’s goalscoring prowess, but wasn’t it a treat to have a centre-forward near the top of the charts? Phil Jagielka may not have lifted silverware as an Everton captain, but he took us tantalisingly close.

Following years of managerial and squad upheavals, and the more recent frugal, fun-sapping years of Bentiez and Dyche, our perspective on heroes and legends has adjusted. We’ve had big moments from inconsistent players like Doucoure and Dominic Calvert-Lewin, even Michael Keane and Demarai Gray. We’ve been fortunate to have a world-class keeper, but our over-reliance on Pickford producing a moment like that save against Chelsea is hardly a joyful jaunt down memory lane. Matchwinners like Lukaku and Richarlison have left the club, and we’re also yet to recruit a new right back to take the reins from our heroic but ageing club captain.

Who, if any, out of the current squad that prepares for a first season at the Hill-Dickinson Stadium has what it takes to cement their undisputed status as Everton legends? Although we may have hit some dead ends with recruitment, surely this has to be the way we sell our club to new signings. You will be a history-maker in this maiden campaign away from Goodison Park. The stage is set to make your mark.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall looked the most likely based on the very, very early evidence of the final pre-season fixture against Roma. His running, willingness to look forward, and signs of real quality look promising. He sounds excited to be here, as all of us were in these unfamiliar surroundings. Jarrard Branthwaite has demonstrated his high ceiling, and convincing him to commit his future was a real statement: perhaps he could be a mainstay at the heart of defence like a Ratcliffe or Dave Watson…if he can overcome those fitness issues (cue “Everton, that” claxon).

We love our goal scorers, particularly if they put themselves about, so hopefully Thierno Barry can develop into the next Joe Royle or Duncan Ferguson. Beto has a dash of some of those other hardworking frontmen on show from yesteryear — Marcus Bent and Niasse — but there have also been patches when he can be as clinical as the Yak. With the media spotlight back on the club for positive reasons, and a fanbase desperate to bring the noise of Goodison into new surroundings, an in-form centre-forward could be the poster boy for the new era.

What was the other position I mentioned — mercurial wingers? Much of the onus would have fallen on our brightest attacker from last season, Iliman Ndiaye. His trickery, dribbling ability and eye for goal brought some of the best moments in our last season at Goodison, and it was fitting that he was our last player to score at both the Gwladys Street and at the Grand Old Lady full stop on the final day against Southampton.

But having started this piece with the sense that maybe we’d be pinning all our hopes for flair, invention and unpredictability on the Senegalese forward once again, Jack Grealish came into view.

They say never fall in love with a loan player, but hey, it worked for Pienaar (and another midfield maestro, Mikel Arteta). If he can make the same kind of impact as those contemporary icons in our new home, with the renewed vim and vigour coming from our ambitious owners and Moyes 2.0, it might just be the right player, in the right place, at the right time. You’d be hard-pressed to find another player with the character, talent, and sense of fun that make him seem like such a natural fit with Evertonians before he’s even kicked a ball for the Blues.

And if it doesn’t work out, he’ll be welcome back for a future edition of the not-so-legendary legends, playing just ahead of a returning Cuco Martina, trying to find either Enner Valencia or Anwar El Ghazi in the middle.