Phil Jagielka names the former Everton player he thought was so underrated by fans

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Everton, at the moment, have had little to shout about.

They are wallowing around the relegation zone again, as they continue to succumb to struggles that this fanbase had previously become fortunately accustomed to avoiding.

Under David Moyes, the stability he sustained was admirable, even if a lack of ambition left many frustrated.

Then, in the years following his departure, there was hope of a resurgence that would awake the sleeping giant. However, if anything, their slumber has now been turned into a comatose state. Who knows when they will now wake up…

People like to draw comparisons between Moyes and Sean Dyche, the current Everton boss, for their no-nonsense and ‘old-school’ tactics; however their respective reigns could not be more different.

Whilst the former enjoyed an 11-year stint of relative positivity, forging plenty of cult heroes at Goodison Park too on the pitch, the latter has inherited a total mess, which he is still yet to fix.

What Phil Jagielka said about Tony Hibbert

Phil Jagielka was one such staple of the Moyes era, and even stuck around for a while after to feature under a few other managers.

He was an ever-dependable defender, who made up the foundation of a few formidable backlines.

And whilst his former teammates like Sylvain Distin or Leighton Baines might have stolen the headlines, there was another whom he felt was deserving of far more praise than he got.

Coming through the academy in 1991, the full-back would finish his career having made 329 appearances for the Toffees, the only club he ever played for.

Now, speaking to Everton’s official website, there was one element of the 43-year-old’s game which he felt needs lauding.

Jagielka claimed: ‘I think another thing to note is Hibbo with the cross. I think people didn’t appreciate how good Tony Hibbert was at delivering a ball.

‘He was in the team, majority 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 top full-backs

Whilst few would class Hibbert as a top full-back, the fact that he went under the radar for so long was indicative of his underrated talents.

He was likely so underappreciated due to the presence of Baines, who unsurprisingly commanded more attention given how he was revolutionising the left-back role with his creativity and goalscoring.

Even to this day, despite retiring in 2020, he remains fourth on the all-time Premier League goalscoring charts for defenders and third for assists.

Seamus Coleman was another who also shone during this period, but even as far back as David Unsworth were Everton blessed with fine wide defenders.

Whilst the options might have dwindled in Dyche’s current side, Vitaliy Mykolenko has made great strides forward to suggest he too may one day be a part of this elusive list of fine Everton full-backs.