10 Worst Players to Be on Winning Side in a Manchester United-Everton EPL Game
As Louis van Gaal's Manchester United prepare to to take on Roberto Martinez's Everton, many very fine players will be on show.
Radamel Falcao and Angel Di Maria are likely to start for United, and Everton have plenty of exciting talent. Romelu Lukaku will offer a great deal of threat, while Phil Jagielka's goal at Liverpool in their most recent outing showed there was more to his game than just solid defending.
But what of those less salubrious signings and academy products? Who are the players who have been on the winning side but did not go on to cut the mustard?
It is important to note that not a single one of these players is a bad player, and in some cases they had fine purple patches away from Old Trafford and Goodison Park. Almost by definition, featuring for a Premier League team requires a base level of quality.
However, for Everton and United, these 10 did not meet the required grade.
There are more United players than Everton, indicative of the Red Devils' stellar Premier League-era record against the Toffeemen. With United having won 30, drawn seven and lost seven, it is no surprise they dominate this list. Not many of Everton's worst players have featured in wins over United.
So, without further ado—but with the requisite apologies to any family members of these players who should happen to stumble upon this article—here are the 10 worst players to end a clash between United and Everton on the winning side in the Premier League era, in chronological order.
Darren Ferguson
1 of 10
The boss' son, Darren Ferguson never managed to prove he warranted a long-term place at United on merit.
Having the stigma of nepotism cannot have been easy for the youngster, and he went on to enjoy a fine career in the lower leagues.
A midfielder, he featured in United's 2-0 defeat of Everton in September 1992. Covering for the injured Bryan Robson, the 15-game spell in which he featured in United's starting XI that season was the only time he had an extended run in the first team.
Ferguson is now following in his father's footsteps in management, and he is currently in charge of Peterborough United.
Stuart Barlow
2 of 10
Known affectionately as "Barn Door" among the Goodison faithful, Stuart Barlow was a striker for whom goals were hard to come by.
He played when Everton beat United 1-0 in February 1995.
He spent five years at the club, but his 10 goals in 71 league appearances were not sufficient. He got more prolific as he moved down the leagues, but anyone with a nickname based on not being able to hit a barn door from ten paces would probably not argue too much with his place on this list.
Kevin Pilkington
3 of 10
One of Kevin Pilkington's rare first-team appearances for United came as they beat Everton 2-0 in December 1997.
Pilkington was signed as a youngster from the non-league Harrowby United and spent five years at Old Trafford. However, he never found a regular starting place at United. Nor, indeed, did he find another Premier League club interested in his services.
He eventually made his home in the East Midlands, with long spells at Mansfield Town and Notts County.
Mark Bosnich
4 of 10
One of Mark Bosnich's 23 first-team league appearances during his second spell at United came in a thumping 5-1 victory over Everton in December 1999.
Peter Schmeichel famously left United at the end of the treble-winning 1998/99 season, and Sir Alex Ferguson's first, ill-fated attempt to adequately replace him came in the form of the Australian.
In truth, Bosnich was not a bad 'keeper, having spent seven years as Aston Villa's first-choice stopper.
However he was a bad Manchester United goalkeeper, whose name is synonymous with Ferguson's goalkeeping struggles between the Schmeichel and Edwin van der Sar eras.
Luke Chadwick
5 of 10
On the winning side for United against Everton twice, in February and December of 2001, Luke Chadwick was a player in whom plenty of United fans had high hopes.
A product of the club's youth system, Chadwick was a winger who had plenty of talent—just not quite enough to make it at Old Trafford.
He went on to spend much of his career at MK Dons, following spells at West Ham United, Stoke City and Norwich. He currently plies his trade as a midfielder for Cambridge United in League Two.
Roy Carroll
6 of 10
Roy Carroll kept goal for two United victories over Everton—a 2-1 win in May 2003 and a 2-0 win in February 2005.
Carroll alternated in the United first team with Tim Howard, a man who, of course, went on to and still currently enjoys a fine career keeping Everton's goal.
That Carroll is one of three goalkeepers on this list is indicative of just how difficult a time Sir Alex had in solving the problem left by Peter Schmeichel's departure. Like Bosnich, Carroll was not a bad 'keeper, he just did not meet United's needs.
Carroll left the club in the summer of 2005 and has had a varied career ever since, playing in England, Scotland, Denmark and Greece. In 2014, he returned to England to play for Notts County.
Kleberson
7 of 10
When United beat Everton 3-2 on Boxing Day 2003, two of the players in this list were in the starting line-up. If substitutes were included, perhaps a third could have featured, as Eric Djemba-Djemba replaced Mikael Silvestre after 72 minutes.
However, they are not, so it is only a duo of players who make the unfortunate cut. Both men scored that day, as if to prove that worst, in the sense of this list, is a distinctly relative term.
The first is Kleberson. Unquestionably not a bad player, Kleberson's United career began a year after his excellent 2002 World Cup performances for Brazil.
However, he never managed to make much of an impact at United, playing just 20 league games in his two seasons at the club. His goal against Everton came in one of his better games for United.
He went on to play for Besiktas and Flamengo, among other clubs, and he is currently on the books of Indy Eleven in the North American Soccer League.
David Bellion
8 of 10
David Bellion played 24 times in the league for United and scored four goals, including once against Everton in the aforementioned Boxing Day game in 2003.
A pacey winger who could also play up front, Bellion never made the grade at Old Trafford. Following a brief loan spell at West Ham United, Bellion returned to France, where he has played ever since.
He joined third-tier side Red Star in the summer of 2014, following a seven-year spell at Bordeaux.
Darron Gibson
9 of 10
Darron Gibson is unique on this list in that he has appeared on the winning side for both clubs. He featured for United in their 1-0 win in April 2011 and for Everton in their 1-0 win in August 2012.
Gibson is a perfectly functional midfielder, with a famously impressive long-range shot. However, he appears here because of the limitations that saw him move away from Old Trafford in the direction of Goodison Park.
It is the Manchester United version of Gibson who really belongs on the list; since his arrival at Everton, he has been a useful squad player. However, that he was deemed surplus to requirements in United's struggling midfield tells a tale about his relative quality.
Tom Cleverley
10 of 10
Speaking of players deemed surplus to requirements in United's struggling midfield...
Featuring in United's 2-0 victory over Everton in February 2013, Tom Cleverley has now left on loan for Aston Villa, and the exciting, promising young talent who emerged in 2011 after developmental loan spells at Watford and Wigan Athletic has not realised his potential.
By 2013, Cleverley was already struggling, and he has rarely impressed since. Another player who is not necessarily bad, but rather a poor match for the club he is at, perhaps Cleverley will regain his confidence and form at Villa and build a better career away from United.
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