Phil Jagielka selects the former Everton player he thought was so underappreciated by fans.
Everton, at the moment, have had little to scream about.
They are wallowing in the relegation zone again, as they continue to succumb to hardships that this fanbase had previously gotten fortunately accustomed to avoiding.
Under David Moyes, the steadiness he sustained was admirable, even if a lack of ambition left many unsatisfied.
Then, in the years after his departure, there was hope of a comeback that would awake the sleeping giant. However, if anything, their slumber has now been converted into a comatose state. Who knows when they will now wake up…
People like to draw analogies between Moyes and Sean Dyche, the current Everton coach, for their no-nonsense and ‘old-school’ methods; although their respective reigns could not be more different.
Whilst the former enjoyed an 11-year reign of relative positivity, generating lots of cult heroes at Goodison Park also on the pitch, the later has inherited a terrible mess, which he has still yet to mend.
What Phil Jagielka said about Tony Hibbert
Phil Jagielka was one such fixture of the Moyes era, and even lingered around for a while after to feature under a few other managers.
He was an ever-dependable defender, who made up the backbone of a few powerful backlines.
And if his former teammates like Sylvain Distin or Leighton Baines might have stolen the limelight, there was another whom he believed was deserved of far more recognition than he got.
Coming through the academy in 1991, the full-back would conclude his career having made 329 appearances for the Toffees, the only club he ever played for.
Now, according to Everton’s official website, there was one part of the 43-year-old’s game which he believed deserves lauding.
Jagielka claimed: ‘I suppose another item to observe is Hibbo with the cross. I think people didn’t recognize how brilliant Tony Hibbert was at delivering a ball.
‘He was in the team, bulk of the time, because he was so good defensively, but I think Ossie will back me on that, his crossing ability was second-to-none.’
Everton have been blessed with quality full-backs
Whilst few would regard Hibbert as a top full-back, the fact that he slipped under the radar for so long was symptomatic of his underestimated qualities.
He was likely so underrated due to the presence of Baines, who naturally grabbed more attention given how he was revolutionising the left-back role with his flair and goalscoring.
Even to this day, after retiring in 2020, he remains fourth on the all-time Premier League goalscoring lists for defenders and third for assists.
Seamus Coleman was another who also flourished during this period, but even as far back as David Unsworth were Everton gifted with outstanding wide defenders.
Whilst the alternatives might have reduced in Dyche’s current side, Vitaliy Mykolenko has made excellent strides forward to suggest he too may one day be a part of this elusive list of fine Everton full-backs.
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