Everton's Greatest Ever Premier League XI

The Struggle of Picking Everton’s Best Premier League Starting XI

It’s fair to say the Premier League period of Everton’s history hasn’t been anything to write home about so far. A grand total of - checks notes - one trophy back in 1995 is something me and millions of Evertonians hope gets rectified sooner rather than later, but in the meantime, we have had our fair share of quality players come and go from Goodison Park, and now Hill Dickinson Stadium.

As I still recover from the misery of the transfer window’s conclusion, I thought it best to look back at the years we have been in the Prem and distinguish what an all-time Everton Premier League XI would look like.

There are some ground rules. This is purely based on the player they were at Everton during the Premier League era. I don’t care what they did before 1992 or after they left us. If they went on to win the lot somewhere else, good for them, but it isn’t helping them here. I'm also trying to make the strongest actual team rather than just chucking the 11 biggest Everton names I can think of onto the pitch and hoping for the best.

Goalkeeper: Jordan Pickford

Not Neville Southall? Well, I thought we needed some sort of representation from the last 10 years. Of course, there is no denying the career and status Big Nev had at the club, especially during the 1980s, but he only spent a few of his years at Everton in the Premier League. If we are going purely off that basis, Jordan Pickford has served us better during his time.

Arriving from Sunderland in 2017, he has been a mainstay in goal ever since and at the crux of our backline during some crucial moments. Who can forget his remarkable double save against Chelsea in 2021/22? Many have said that without Pickford's saves Everton could be playing Championship football or even worse, and there is certainly a strong argument for that. It's also no wonder Pickford has been England’s number one since 2018, and even though that hasn’t produced any silverware just yet for the Mackem, it feels like it’s coming. Well, more likely than silverware at the Toffees, that’s for sure.

🗣️"I do think Everton would be in the Championship without him, he was that important for us." - Seamus Coleman on Jordan Pickford pic.twitter.com/p0Tj9DqnOy

— 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗲 𝗕𝗹𝘂𝗲𝘀 (@EvertonNewsFeed) September 8, 2026

Right-Back: Seamus Coleman

This was the easiest choice for me to make in the starting XI, bar one player. We have had some good right-backs, especially Tony Hibbert, who was such a loyal servant that his first goal in a testimonial caused a bloody pitch invasion, but there was never going to be anyone else but Seamus Coleman here.

His Everton career, which began in 2009, finally came to its conclusion this summer. At his peak, Coleman was arguably one of the best right-backs in the entire league. That 2013/14 season he was a cut above the rest, contributing goals while being part of a rock-solid defence that helped us finish fifth. He never seemed the same after his terrible leg break in 2017 whilst playing for the Republic of Ireland, but his mentality and leadership have to be commended, especially during a time when the club really struggled.

Centre-Back: Phil Jagielka

When Ainsley Maitland-Niles scored that whopper in the last minute against Manchester United, my mind instantly circulated back to Phil Jagielka at the Kop end at Anfield in 2014, saving a point with a strike even better than what we saw on Sunday. He wasn’t known for his goals was Jags, but he had some fantastic moments as a Blue. Scoring the winning penalty in the 2009 FA Cup semi-final shootout against United is an obvious highlight, before he unfortunately ruptured his ACL shortly afterwards and missed the final.

A stalwart at the back for more than a decade and eventually club captain, at his best Jagielka was quick, strong, brilliant in the tackle and incredibly reliable. For me, he will take a lot to be dethroned as one of the best centre-backs this club has seen in the last 20 years.

Phil Jagielka. Thank you so much for 12 years of service. What a defender! 💙 pic.twitter.com/pdpJkOA5sZ

— 𝐓𝐎𝐅𝐅𝐄𝐄 𝐓𝐕 (@ToffeeTVEFC) June 4, 2019

Centre-Back: Dave Watson

I am going to be completely honest with you here. I know considerably less about Dave Watson than I do Phil Jagielka, mainly because I wasn't even born for most of his Everton career. A lot of Watson's best years came before the Premier League began, so we aren’t counting those, but he remained a massive player afterwards. Most importantly, he was the captain who lifted the FA Cup in 1995, which, not that anyone needs reminding, remains the last time an Everton captain got his hands on a major trophy.

I've gone for him ahead of David Unsworth and Joleon Lescott because I think he complements Jagielka best. Jags alongside a big, experienced, no-nonsense captain who had already won silverware with Everton sounds pretty formidable. Plus, someone has to remind the rest of them what lifting a trophy actually feels like.

Left Back: Leighton Baines

My favourite Everton player of all time, there was no debate. Life as Vitalii Mykolenko must be hard. Not only are you not a great footballer, but you are standing where one of Everton’s best players of the modern era stood. Even though my football career never materialised after high school, I was a natural left-back purely because I wanted to be like Bainesy. As a left-footer myself, he was my ‘Everton’ idol growing up. Messi was my overall left-footed idol if you needed to know, nearly as good a player as Baines.

What made me love Baines is that he was a traditional left-back. None of this pacy wing-back who is great going forward but couldn’t defend. He was great in attack and great in defence. The way Baines hit a ball was majestic, from his crossing to some of the utterly outrageous goals and free-kicks he scored. Newcastle, Tottenham away and, of course, the double against West Ham that truly kick-started that 2013/14 campaign were something special. He was the first player I ever had on the back of my shirt, and he means a lot to me as a man and as a player. There was no other option.

Centre Midfield: Marouane Fellaini

What a beast this man was for us back in the day. He arrived from Standard Liège with a lot less hair than he ended up growing with us, and the more hair he had on his head, the better he seemed to become. Fellaini was strong, dominant, aggressive and had a great eye for goal, especially with that giant head of his. He was also a much better footballer technically than people sometimes give him credit for and could control practically anything with his chest.

For this team, I need him alongside Arteta because otherwise we might as well just give up defending altogether. He gives us physicality while still being able to get forward. Imagine being a defender and seeing Baines lining up a cross with Fellaini, Cahill and Lukaku all waiting in the box. Absolutely not.

Centre Midfield: Mikel Arteta

The latest Premier League-winning manager was also a bloody good player during his time at Everton Football Club. Arteta was completely different to Fellaini. His eye for the game was second to none, and his technical ability was brilliant too. He’s one player you look back at and realise, “yeah, you could tell he would be a good manager.”

Part of our late-noughties side that reached the cup final, Arteta gave us plenty of good memories. His brilliant goal against Fiorentina at Goodison immediately comes to mind, even if what happened in the penalty shootout afterwards is better left forgotten. Alongside Fellaini, I think the pair complement each other perfectly. Fellaini can be the physical monster while Arteta gets on the ball and actually makes us play football. Shame it all came to an end when he went to Arsenal, and we are still wondering where the Arteta money ended up going.

Right Wing: Andrei Kanchelskis

Once again, I am going to have to rely on people older than me because I was approximately minus seven years old when Andrei Kanchelskis was playing for Everton. But bloody hell, he must have been some player. His Everton career was short, but his first season was ridiculous. Kanchelskis scored 16 league goals from the wing in 1995/96 as Everton finished sixth, as well as scoring twice at Anfield in a 2-1 Merseyside derby victory.

If we were ranking the longest or most loyal Everton careers, he wouldn't get anywhere near some of the others. But we're building the strongest possible team based on how good these players were at Everton. At his peak, Kanchelskis was quick, direct and absolutely lethal in front of goal. Well, from what I’ve been told anyway.

Centre Attacking Midfield: Tim Cahill

Arguably the most iconic goal celebration Goodison Park has ever seen. Cahill got the club from the first day he arrived from Millwall. I always love seeing him on TV talking about Everton because he loved this club, you could tell, and we loved him. He helped us achieve Champions League football in his first season, only for Liverpool to win the whole thing and send us trying, and failing, to qualify for the goddamn competition.

Cahill always seemed to pop up when you needed him. He wasn't particularly tall yet somehow became one of the best players in the air I remember watching. Stick a cross into the box and there was a decent chance Cahill would somehow be on the end of it, and, of course, he loved scoring against Liverpool, which always helps. I remember him leaving in 2012 and being so distraught about it. Not since then have I really been that upset about a player leaving, although the corner flags at Goodison were probably relieved.

“Absolutely brilliant from @Tim_Cahill”#GoalOfTheDay pic.twitter.com/U8nx27UAhM

— Premier League (@premierleague) July 20, 2017

Left Wing: Steven Pienaar

There was no way I was going to include Baines at left-back and NOT include his partner-in-crime Steven Pienaar. To this day, I have never seen an Everton partnership so concerningly talked about by opposition supporters. If your team's right-back was not on it, they were quickly exposed by this duo.

Baines would overlap, Pienaar would come inside, they'd exchange passes and suddenly one was in behind. They just seemed to know where the other was going to be. It actually felt wrong when Pienaar went to Spurs in 2011. He probably had withdrawal symptoms from not having Baines with him, hence why he came back just a year later. Not the trickiest winger we've ever had, but very good with the ball, incredibly intelligent and, if we're building an actual team rather than choosing 11 individuals, recreating Baines and Pienaar was a no-brainer.

Striker: Romelu Lukaku

Say what you want, I think Big Rom has been one of, if not THE, best Premier League players Everton have ever had. His stint was relatively short, but he knew how to find the net, and his legacy gets even greater the more strikers come and go who are yet to fill the void he left in 2017. He scored 25 Premier League goals in his final season alone. Twenty-five. I'd do unspeakable things for an Everton striker to score that many nowadays.

With us, Lukaku had that combination of strength and pace that made him almost impossible to stop when he got going. I still think his wonder solo goal against Chelsea in the FA Cup was his greatest achievement in Royal Blue. The way he completely bullied his way through that defence before finishing was just peak Everton Lukaku. The fact we are STILL yet to properly replace him nearly a decade later goes to show how good he was. You dread to think where we would have ended up without his goals at that time, AKA having Neal Maupay or Salomon Rondon up top.

So, after more than three decades of Premier League football, this is my ultimate Everton XI:

There are obviously some massive names missing, and narrowing this down to just 11 was never going to please everyone. Tim Howard came incredibly close to taking Pickford's place in goal, while Joleon Lescott and David Unsworth were probably the two defenders I found hardest to leave out. Leon Osman might not have had the star power of some of the midfielders I've picked, but his longevity and consistency deserve a mention too.

Further forward, Richarlison, Kevin Campbell and Duncan Ferguson all had serious arguments. Richarlison gave us something to get behind during some pretty miserable years and was massive in keeping us up in 2021/22, while Campbell's nine goals in eight games after arriving on loan in 1999 helped rescue Everton from yet another relegation battle. Then there's Big Dunc, who probably embodies Premier League-era Everton better than just about anybody, but I'm still not starting him ahead of peak Romelu Lukaku. Sorry.

And those aren't even the biggest omissions. Neville Southall is one of the greatest players Everton have ever had, but most of his prime years came before 1992 unfortunately. Wayne Rooney is probably the most talented footballer Everton have produced in the Premier League era, but his best years happened at Manchester United, and that isn't what this list is about. Then you've got Tony Hibbert, Lee Carsley, Gareth Barry, Joseph Yobo, Gary Speed, Alan Stubbs, Yakubu and plenty more who could make a case for getting in.

Looking at the team as a whole, I think there is a bit of everything in there: leaders at the back, quality on the ball, physicality in midfield, two brilliant full-backs, genuine threat out wide and one of the best goalscorers Everton have had in the Premier League era leading the line.

Would it win the Premier League? No, we’re Everton after all. But I’d fancy this lot against pretty much any Everton team we've put out over the last 30-odd years, and considering the amount of money we've spent trying to build one better, that probably says quite a lot.