DERBY day is one of the highlights of the fixture list every season – after all, the games that every Red tends to look for first of all are Manchester United and Everton, wondering how the teams will shape up at the particular stage in the season that the fixture falls.
Passions are high, bragging rights are paramount, and the result on the day is everything.
With such an intense, long-standing rivalry, it’s easy to understand why there are only a dozen or so players that have ever played on both sides of the divide, pulling off the rare feat of turning out for the red of Liverpool and the blue of Everton in their careers.
Who are these brave men, who swapped their colours and allegiances across the great city of Liverpool, and turned out for ‘the other side’? And how successful were they once they had crossed the line? They include relatively big names such as Kevin Sheedy, Sander Westerveld, Don Hutchinson and Dave Watson – as well as players from further back in history such as Andrew Hannah, Bill Lacey, Duncan McLean, Dave Hickson and Johnny Morrissey. In this article though, we look at the top five most famous players to cross the red / blue divide in recent years, and see how the switch worked out for them.
Nicky Barmby
Everton career – 133 appearances, 24 goals
Liverpool career – 58 appearances, 8 goals
A versatile and classy midfielder who could play on either flank or through the middle, Barmby made his name at Tottenham as part of their ‘Famous Five’ attacking unit under Ossie Ardiles. Although he struggled with injuries at various points of his Everton career, his final season at Goodison saw him score nine goals from midfield on his way to becoming an England regular.
After moving to Liverpool in July 2000 for £6m, he actually scored in his first Merseyside derby at Anfield, starring in a 3-1 win. He went on to score eight goals in his first season at Liverpool, playing an important part in the famous treble winning run. He never quite recaptured that form in his second season though, ending up blighted by injury and inconsistency, he was eventually sold to Leeds United in August 2002.
Gary Ablett
Liverpool career – 147 appearances, 1 goal
Everton career – 156 appearances, 6 goals
Gary Ablett joined Liverpool as an apprentice in 1982, eventually making his debut in 1986. By the end of the 1987/88 season, Ablett was firmly established as the club’s first choice left back. He collected two league title winners’ medals and an FA Cup winners’ medal in his Liverpool career, but the emergence of a young left-back called Steve Staunton meant that Ablett fell back in the pecking order before being sold in January 1992.
Ablett remained as steady and as consistent a performer for Everton as he had been for Liverpool. The highlight of his Goodison career was another FA Cup winners’ medal in 1995, with Ablett becoming the first and only player to win the FA Cup with both Merseyside clubs.
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Abel Xavier
Everton career – 48 appearances, 0 goals
Liverpool career – 21 appearances, 2 goals
The most recent player to move between the two clubs, and probably the most eccentric, Abel Xavier failed to score for Everton in almost 50 appearances for the club over a three year period. After making what was a surprise move across Stanley Park for £800,000, he managed to find the net after just 16 minutes of his Liverpool debut, against Ipswich Town.
Though he had starred at Euro 2000 and proven a capable operator for Everton, in red he was an inconsistent right full-back with some question marks over his defensive effectiveness. Xavier is mainly remembered by Liverpool fans for his shocking bleached hair and outlandish appearance, rather than any heroics on the field.
Steve McMahon
Everton career – 120 appearances, 14 goals
Liverpool career – 279 appearances, 50 goals
Steve McMahon began as an apprentice at Everton, spending four seasons in blue and making a reputation for himself as a dynamic, all-action midfielder. Blessed with riches in midfield at the time, Everton sold him to Aston Villa in 1983, where further strong performances caught the eye of Kenny Dalglish, who made McMahon his first signing as Liverpool manager in September 1985.
McMahon became a popular figure at Anfield, his tough tackling, box to box style and ability to contribute with eye catching goals drawing comparisons with the legendary Graeme Souness. Ironically, it was the arrival of Souness as Liverpool manager in 1991 that hastened McMahon’s departure from Anfield. He left for Manchester City having won three league titles and two FA Cups in an impressive Anfield career.
Peter Beardsley
Liverpool career – 162 appearances, 59 goals
Everton career – 95 appearances, 32 goals
Signed from Newcastle United for a then national record fee of £1.9m in 1987, Peter Beardsley arrived at Anfield with high expectations. Already an England international, Beardsley was the first player to inherit the legendary number seven shirt on a permanent basis from Kenny Dalglish, the man who signed him and the man that had inherited the same number from Kevin Keegan. In his own words, Beardsley got off to a slow start in his first few months at Anfield, before developing into one of the key players in what many consider to be Liverpool’s greatest ever team – the 1987/88 side went 29 games unbeaten from the start of the league season, and amazed supporters everywhere with their style, flair and ability to entertain.
Beardsley became a fan favourite, loved by the Kop for his intelligence, creativity and ability to create chances for Barnes, Aldridge and others, as well as find the net himself. Graeme Souness made a lot of quick and drastic decisions on his arrival in 1991, but most fans agree to this day that selling Beardsley to Everton was one of the worst.
Ever the professional, Beardsley went on to work hard, score and create plenty of goals in blue as he had done in red, before he eventually returned to his beloved North East to form one final deadly strike partnership with Andy Cole. A player with genuine class on and off the pitch, he will always be regarded by Liverpool fans as the one player that they wished had never crossed Stanley Park….
Find me on twitter @rossco1981
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