Everton have a top goalkeeper between the sticks in Jordan Pickford, but for many Neville Southall is still the best stopper in the club’s history.
It is 45 years to the day since Everton signed Southall, with the club paying Bury a fee of £150,000 in the summer of 1981.
Surely it’s high time for a Neville Southall statue to be erected at the Hill Dickinson Stadium?
Jamie Carragher, who ranked Southall 8th in his top 10 list of PL goalkeepers, reckons so… 🗿
Evertonians didn’t know it at the time, but Llandudno-born Southall would go on to become a bona fide club legend, making a club-record 751 appearances for the club, with 578 of those coming in the league.
He also remains Everton’s most decorated player, winning five major trophies (including two league titles) and three FA Charity Shields.
So on the 45-year anniversary of his signing by the club, we look back at his Toffees career with a particular focus on that remarkable mid-80s period.
Revisiting Neville Southall’s remarkable Everton career
Southall spent several years as a semi-professional and amateur player before turning professional in his early 20s.
He had worked as a binman, waiter and hod carrier, but turned his back on that once it became apparent he was a seriously promising goalkeeper.
He transferred to Everton in 1981 from Bury for £150,000, with Howard Kendall the club’s manager at the time and after a couple of years at the club, following a loan spell at Port Vale, he established himself as the number one at Goodison Park.
Southall would go on to spend an incredible 17 years at the club, and in the mid-80s he was widely regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the world.
Southall became known for his dominance in the air and his cat-like reflexes, allowing him to save shots most others could not. Kendall even felt able to compare him to the great Gordon Banks.
| Neville Southall for Everton |
| Years – 1981 to 1997 |
| Appearances – 751 |
| Clean sheets – 269 |
| Club honours – 5 (+ 3 Charity Shields) |
| Individual honours – 1985 FWA Football of the Year, 4x PFA Team of the Year |
His unmatched physical presence came in clutch many times, and he was nearly impossible to beat in one-vs-one situations. Southall also had a marvellous work ethic, which was infectious to his teammates.
His qualities also saw him feature prominently for the Wales national team, for whom he made 92 appearances.
In the mid to late 80s, Southall was at the top of his game, helping Everton to two First Division titles in the space of three years and in 1985 he was voted Footballer of the Year by the Football Writers’ Association. He remains the last goalkeeper to win this award, and is one of only four men ever to do so, the others being Bert Trautmann, Banks and Pat Jennings.
There was talk of retirement in the early 90s. But Southall defied the critics and continued to play. He surpassed Ted Sagar’s appearance record, and made his 700th appearance for the club in the first game of 1996/97 against Newcastle United.
In 1994/95, Southall helped Everton to a record seven consecutive clean sheets in the Premiership, and played a huge part in the club’s FA Cup triumph with a top performance in the final against Manchester United. That, of course, remains Everton’s last trophy.
Southall’s last Everton appearance came in 1997/98 against Tottenham Hotspur and after a couple of loans to Southend and then Stoke City, he then left the Toffees aged 39, bringing the curtain down on an incredible 17-year spell.
Everton fans have been keen for Southall to be honoured with a statue at Hill Dickinson Stadium. Many feel the new stadium needs some ‘Evertonisation’, and a tribute to one of the greatest goalkeepers this country has ever seen and a true club legend would be just the ticket.
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