No matter how poor this Everton side has performed over the last few years, every fan has still managed to pick out at least one player as their favourite.
However, due to underperformance, that pool is often dramatically shortened.
And whilst they might be in a good moment at present, with Everton manager Sean Dyche having steadied the ship somewhat, there are still only a handful of names who Evertonians might pick out as their top player.
Michael Ball, who played for the Toffees for four years between 1997 and 2001, has now offered up his no-brainer selection.
Michael Ball names his favourite Everton player
Writing in his latest column for the Liverpool ECHO, Ball dedicated a large portion of it as a love letter to one Everton player.
And with good reason too, given how revered Iliman Ndiaye already is.
The former Everton player wrote: ‘Iliman Ndiaye broke the deadlock and he is my favourite player at this moment time. I’m just thinking ‘good luck’ to any players who woke up on Monday morning after a bad night’s sleep and have to try and mark him in training.
‘He’s one of those players who makes things happen and forces the opposition to commit themselves as he often has an opportunity to put the ball away or create opportunities for his team-mates – he’s just a threat – and I thought he played fantastically well again.
‘We’ve been crying out for a player like that. When I had the first couple of opportunities to see him play, I was asking myself: ‘Is he really this good?’
Was it just because he was something different that we hadn’t had from an Everton player for a long period of time? Over the last few weeks, he’s shown his worth and his talent though.
‘He doesn’t seem to be a typical Dyche player, but I think he’ll be one of the first on the team sheet now. We need to get the ball out to him as much as we can because he always tries to commit the defender and get half a yard on them.
‘As a defender, you don’t know what he’s going to do. If you go tight, he’ll spin you and if you let him off, he’s got the ability to find a pass or a cross to the strikers or to hit the target himself.
‘He keeps opponents guessing and it looks like he’s really enjoying wearing an Everton jersey so long may that continue.’
Iliman Ndiaye loves his new Everton chant
Having scored again at the weekend, thus further reinforcing his status as a fan favourite amongst Evertonians, a new chant rang around the concourse confessing their love for the Senegal international.
After all, with skill, speed and work ethic in abundance, it was never going to take long for him to win them over.
Ndiaye has even reacted to his new song, with his wife videoing him singing along the day after Everton’s win at Ipswich Town.
To further reiterate how well thought-of he already is around Goodison Park, Phil Jagielka even compared Ndiaye to Steven Pienaar, another trickster who remains revered by Evertonians.
If anyone deserved a chant, it was Ndiaye. Hopefully, this can be the start of a very profitable relationship between the player and his fanbase.
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