I saw Everton play West Ham in the last match of the 1985/86 season. The game was effectively a 2nd place play off. Everton won and so finished runners up behind Liverpool. For younger readers, this was during Manchester United's 26 year run without a league title. Manchester City weren't quite half way through their 44 year drought and Chelsea were nearly 20 years away from ending their 50 year (yes, 50) run without winning the league. Even Arsenal hadn't won the league for 15 years and would have to wait another couple of seasons to become champions.
Indeed, this was in the middle of a 7 season spell when no team other than Liverpool or Everton won the league. And part of a run of 13 seasons when only 2 teams other than Liverpool and Everton won it (Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest - remember?)
Anyway, I was watching with my father-in-law, then a youthful 65 year old. West Ham had a good team, featuring Frank McAvennie and Tony Cottee up front. McAvennie was quick and West Ham tried quite a few balls in behind the Everton back four to exploit his pace. It looked like a standard tactic and it had worked big time for them that season. Except that at the time Everton had their most successful ever captain, Kevin Ratcliffe, at centre back. Every time McAvennie set off down the channels a chap sitting near us said "you won't beat him for pace, mate". And every time he was right. At his peak, Ratcliffe had pace to burn and good positional sense too.
I am reminded of Ratcliffe's pace by seeing posts on the Talksport website about the fastest players in the Premiership. So who is the quickest top flight player now? Well Talksport told us in June that the fastest sprints all season had been recorded by Anthony Martial and Jamie Vardy, at 35.44 kph. No surprise there. The Top 20 also included Jeffrey Schlupp and, slightly more surprisingly, Wes Morgan of Leicester. There are quite a few defenders in the list - you run faster without the ball, after all.
Now forgive me as the next bit is hardly topical, but it was new to me and it's the reason I was reminded of Ratcliffe. Who was the fastest player in the Premier League in the previous season, 2014/15? It was Phil Jagielka, the current Everton successor to Ratcliffe as centre back and captain, though unfortunately not as successful at lifting trophies. Talksport noted that he had recorded the fastest speed, at 35.99kph, of any player. (Probably in a sprint against Vardy!). So Jags' quickest sprint was faster than Raheem Sterling. And faster than Vardy or Alexis Sanchez. And it was quicker than Martial and Vardy recorded in the next season.
It's well known that Jagielka is multi-talented - after all he played in goal for his previous club, Sheffield United. He was so handy in goal that the manager, Neil Warnock, preferred to have no goalie on the bench, giving him an extra outfield substitute option. In a famous game against Arsenal, Jagielka played in goal for most of the second half after Paddy Kenny got injured. Jags put in a man of the match performance and, with a superb late save, kept the sheet clean for the Blades to beat the Gunners 1-0. But I didn't know that, as a youngster, Jags was originally a winger. So he was always fast, even if he didn't make it playing in that position.
Jagielka was first at Everton's academy, then Stoke and Manchester City before being signed by the Blades. Everton signed him for £4M in 2007: not as expensive as Man United bringing back Paul Pogba. David Moyes used him initially as a utility man and I saw one of his early games, filling in as a holding midfielder, but he looked a bit uncomfortable and I told my son he was really a centre back. The next game we went to, a European tie against Brann I think, Jagielka was given a run in that position. His first touch in the game wasn't a good one and some chap behind us kept saying things like "I don't fancy this guy there" and "ooh he makes me nervous" every time the ball came near Jags. I remember saying to my son, probably deliberately loudly, "I don't know what he's on, the guy is sound". Jags went on to get the man of the match and, of course, make the position his own.
So, Phil Jagielka, a worthy successor to Kevin Ratcliffe? It's not Jags' fault that he hasn't got Southall behind him and Reid, Sheedy, Steven, Sharp and Gray in front of him. And it's not his fault he hasn't (yet) got to lift a trophy.
Phil Jagielka has been a really good player for Everton. Respect.
Jagielka quickest in 2014/15 at http://talksport.com/football/really-top-10-fastest-players-premier-league-revealed-141028121279
2015/16 fastest at http://talksport.com/football/fastest-footballers-premier-league-according-201516-season-data-160626200973?p=20
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