It’s been one of the worst kept secrets in English football, but it’s official now that Jermaine Beckford has completed his free transfer to Everton. Leeds had cancelled his contract on Friday which is an unusual step. Regardless of the fact a player has agreed to join another club, clubs usually keep the registration until the very last day of the contract. Often this runs until June 30th but both parties seemed to agree to part the ways earlier than required.

Questions are liable to raised in regards to Beckford’s abilities, as he’s jumped 2 divisions after firing the goals that helped return Leeds United to the Championship. Yet taking a risk on such a player who has scored 85 goals in the last 3 seasons for Leeds is hardly risky. There’s no fee involved and the wages that Everton will be paying him will be more than he earned at Leeds but nowhere near the top end of Premiership players.

Beckford’s star has certainly been rising over the last few years, he struggled at Leeds after joing the club from Wealdstone in 2006, but he’s quickly become one of the most feared strikers in England outside of the Premiership. His goal at Old Trafford certainly gave him column inches world wide and made sure that people outside of the U.K. became aware of his potential. By joining Everton, he’s at a club that will give him the support and guidance he’ll need.

Moyes has been searching for more striking talent to back up his current crop of attacking options. No-one doubts the abilities of Louis Saha and Ayegbeni Yakubu but both are not getting younger. Saha has developed a reputation of being injury prone but has managed 68 appearances for Everton in the two years he’s been on Merseyside. Yakubu, for all his early promise at Portsmouth has found goals hard to come by since he joined up with the Toffees.

I’ve always thought troubled Everton for the last few years is the lack of depth in the striking department. They would usually have two first choice strikers, but then the back up would fall away. Victor Anichebe has struggled for goals when he’s had the opportunity of being giving a chance for Everton and James Vaughan seemingly suffers from a rotating knee injury that have blighted his early promise. Both have simply had some bad luck.

One thing Beckford will bring to the club is pace, he is lightening fast and he gives the striking options more weight. Moyes will be delighted to have captured him in face of some healthy competition and it increases the clubs options. As I mentioned earlier, people will point to his lack of Premiership experience, but sometimes you’ve got to take a risk on players. Some will relish the opportunities that will come their way and of course it will take time for Beckford to settle in to the top flight, but that’s only natural.

Everton will be hoping to avoid another slow start to the season which derailed an excellent campaign from being even better. Surely they’ll get the breaks they need next season and with one or two additional signings, they’ll be back up there again. No doubt, they’ll be also hoping to avoid a repeat of the Joleon Lescott transfer saga and strengthen a side that can consistently push into the Europa Cup qualifying places.

How do you think Beckford will do? Leave me your comments and you can find me on twitter at http://www.twitter.com/paulbestall

David Moyes joined Everton following the sacking of Walter Smith in March 2002. He was regarded as one of the most promising young managers in the country when he arrived at Goodison Park and has justified that assessment ever since.

His transfer activity has been extremely impressive during his Everton tenure, uncovering gem after gem for extremely reasonable prices. So here are the top five signings by David Moyes during his time at Everton.

Mikel Arteta – 159 apps, January 2005 – present

Signed by Moyes in the January transfer window of 2005 initially on loan but with view to a permanent transfer, he excelled at Goodison Park and the loan was made permanent in July 2005 for £2 million, a paltry fee considering his impact. Awarded Everton Player of the Season in 2006 and 2007, plus Everton Player’s Player of the Season 2006, he has become a key component in Moyes’ Everton side.

Initially thought of as a defensive midfielder in the mould of Pep Guardiola, he has established himself on the right-wing, his close control and dribbling are among the best in the EPL and last season he was the most fouled player in the league.

Tim Cahill – 196 apps, July 2004 – present

A summer 2004 acquisition by Moyes and one of the best. Brought in from Championship club Millwall for a fee of £1.5 million and it has been one of the best pieces of business made by the Everton manager.

In his first season with the club he was top scorer with 12 goals and also won the clubs Player of the Season award. He is also the first Everton player since Dixie Dean in 1931 to score in three separate Merseyside derbies at Anfield.

Best known for his late runs into the box and ability to score with his head, he is a tremendous threat for Everton and carries the fight from the middle of the park.

Joleon Lescott – 143 apps, June 2006 – August 2009

Signed by Moyes in the summer of 2006 after a long career at Wolverhampton Wanderers for a sum of £5 million.

He was voted player’s Player of the Season in 2007 and 2008 due to his consistent performances and earned himself the nickname ‘Mr. Consistency’. A pillar of strength at the back for Everton he managed to work his way into the England squad with his impressive form.

His legacy at Everton will be soured by his departure to Manchester City, but even so, the fee of £22 million was a magnificent profit on the initial payout and a great piece of business by David Moyes.

Steven Pienaar – 102 apps, July 2007 – present

Brought in on loan from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2007, he was an instant hit at Goodison Park. His creativity was vital in a hardworking Toffees midfield, and Moyes eventually made the move permanent a year later for a fee of £2 million.

He learned his football at Ajax and was part of a successful side which contained the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, a move to Dortmund followed but he did not settle and thanks to Moyes his career has been reinvigorated.

His dynamic performances for Everton and South Africa have caught the eye of many top European clubs, so only time will tell if Moyes can hold onto one of his starlets.

Tim Howard – 178 apps, May 2006 – present

Arriving from rivals Manchester United in the summer of 2006, he had failed to make the grade at Old Trafford and was initially given a one year loan deal by Moyes. His performances were so impressive that the transfer was made permanent in February 2007 for a fee of around £3 million, another bargain by the Everton manager.

Ever reliable and regularly producing excellent saves, the keeper was one short of equalling Neville Southall’s record of 15 clean sheets in the league during the 2007/08 season.

On April 19, 2009, in the FA Cup semi final, he saved two penalties against his former club Manchester United in a penalty shoot-out to send Everton to the final against Chelsea.

Impressive stuff indeed, but do you agree? Leave a comment and let us know what you think.

Well it’s not been the best season for either of England’s first choice centre halves so far. Enough has been written about John Terry’s problems and Rio Ferdinand’s chronic back injury to have caused meltdown on Google through searching for both issues. Thankfully, Terry’s form seems to be picking up again and Manchester United seem to have cured Ferdinand through a calming spell of rehabilitation.

The issue for England would seem to be cover for both players with several high profile replacements injured, retired or bang out of form. Capello has already shown that he rates Matthew Upson, and for all his Premier League problems, Upson is clearly the first choice as a back up centre half for the Italian. He’s been dependable and reliable for England when called upon though and is clearly on the plane to South Africa.

The only question mark would be West Ham United’s struggle in the relegation battle they currently find themselves in. Could relegation leave a hangover that could affect him? It will be interesting to see, but Upson should be strong enough to deal with whatever happens to West Ham. After that though, it becomes a bit of a lottery with a major question mark over another player Capello clearly rates, Ledley King.

What can be said about Ledley King, he simply defies science and common sense. King has been suffering for 4 seasons with a chronic knee injury that he picked up in pre-season training back in 2006. Now with no cartilage in his left knee, it is simply bone grinding on bone every time he plays, King has to have at least 5 days rest to recover. The problem is that fluid builds up in the knee, swelling it up after any vigorous exercise but it’s incurable.

For a player in this day and age to be able still perform without any real training week to week is astounding. Harry Redknapp rightly calls him a freak for being able to still continue at the top level and this will probably be his last major tournament for England. Even at 29, the toil of the injury will surely bring an end to the career of surely one of English football’s brightest talents far too early. Fully fit, it wouldn’t have surprised me if King had become a regular starter for his country. Unfortunately, we will never know.

Of the other two outstanding centre halves of this generation, one is seemingly more injury ravaged than King and the other retired after being consistently overlooked by Steve Mclaren. Jonathan Woodgate must have run over several black cats in his career, which like Kings, promised so much but has petered out in to a continual battle to even make it on a treatment table, never mind a pitch. When fit, Woodgate was a superb ball playing defender who could score a couple now and again. Time is certainly against him and he has no chance of being fit for the World Cup and maybe even the beginning of next season.

Jamie Carragher has stuck to his decision made back in July 2007 after being consistently overlooked by Steve Mclaren and no amount of pleading has seen him make himself available for selection. I kind of understand why he’d had enough, but hells bells, World Cups don’t just grown on trees. Yet, regardless of that, Carragher along with Wayne Bridge seem certain to stick to their principles. It’s a shame and Carragher is certainly deserving of more caps than he won.

Of the remaining contenders, Joleon Lescott has had a terrible season by the standards he set whilst at Everton. Injuries and criticism over the way he handled his £23 million move to Manchester City have certainly seemed to weigh on Lescott’s mind this season. Of course, his career at City along with his relationship with Kolo Toure is still in it’s infancy and it should settle down eventually, question is, will it settle down in time for the World Cup?

Phil Jagielka is another high profile candidate only recently returning to playing after a 9 month lay off through injury. He’s certainly impressed since joining Everton in the summer of 2007, but it could be a little too soon for him. He’s another that has impressed with the chances available to him at international level and looks set to be involved with the England set up in the European Championship qualifying rounds when they begin in September 2010.

The outstanding English centre half who is not an England regular for me this season has been Michael Dawson. It’s ironic that if King and Woodgate were fit, Dawson wouldn’t be playing, never mind captaining the side in King’s absence. In fact over the last 18 months, Dawson has come on leaps and bounds and has been playing excellently all of this season. Strong in the air, reliable and passionate, Dawson in my opinion, clearly deserves to go to the World Cup.

I was amazed when Ryan Shawcross was called up but Dawson overlooked once again, because he’s simply a better player at the current time. I doubt Capello picked the Stoke defender to deflect the criticism over the Ramsey challenge, but it was still a surprise. A pointless one in the end as he didn’t even get on the pitch, but the experience will have stood him in good stead. Shawcross is definitely one for the future though, along with Jagielka.

So for me, the final choice comes down to John Terry and Rio Ferdinand as first choice centre halves,  Matthew Upson and Michael Dawson and Ledley King, dodgy knee as well to make up 5, taking my squad to 12 players so far. King, despite the knee issue, offers cover in both central defence and midfield and deserves his last chance after cruelly missing out in 2006. So who would you choose?

photo: Yiorgos Karahalis | Reuters

Dutch international right back, Johnny Heitinga, has accepted a transfer from Atletico Madrid to Everton, completing a physical just under the transfer window deadline which closed at 5pm yesterday.

It’s a loss for Atleti and a serious loss for the Champions League competition (Everton competes in the Europa League but Heitinga is cup-tied for even that). I was looking forward to the rebels — “Los Colchoneros” (“the Mattress-Makers”) — of Madrid making a strong showing this year. Perhaps not.

Heitinga — a product of Ajax — is one of the quality right backs who’s lithe movement reminds a little of Cafu in his nimbler days. A skilled handler of the ball who gives firm ball on the ground and who is capable of launching stinging balls early across the 18 from wide space. He is clever, unpredictable, not easily read and not prone to tendency. He’ll set you up going outside then, later in the match, kill you driving inside. Unlike Ashley Cole, for example, Heitinga is the kind of wide back who keeps his wide opponents busy in their own end.

Moyes brings in Heitinga to replace Joleon Lescott who was snatched by Mark Hughes & Manchester City near the deadline. Lescott is a strong player, but this is at least a fair swap for the Toffees if Johnny can stay fit.

Heitinga rejoins his old teammate, Steven Pienaar, alongside whom he played at Ajax for five years. Said Heitinga, “I am looking forward to linking up with him again because he is a good player.”

Apparently, Heitinga was on a high salary in Madrid which Everton could not match (yet he now supercedes Mikel Arteta as Everton highest paid player). Nor can Everton offer Champions League competition this year. Even with these deficiencies in the bargain, a fine Dutch footballer feels the pull of the Premiership and the aura of living in Liverpool & environs.

My guess is Heitinga will take Tony Hibbert’s position wide-right; in which case it is unclear who among Baines, Yobo or Jagielka and others are best suited to partner Sylvain Distin in the middle of the back. It’s the kind of signing the effects of which will ripple through a side having its difficulties not a few months after just tasting the Wembley stage of an FA Cup Final.

Towards the end of this month, the Premiership team of the year will be announced along with the PFA players’ player of the year. In anticipation of this, I have decided to select my own best eleven of the season and invite you to do likewise. So here goes:

Goalkeeper:

Edwin Van Der Sar

It’s difficult to look beyond someone who didn’t concede a goal for over three months of the season. At the age of 38, he has defied his years, proving that he still has the ability to be considered one of the top keepers in world football and the desire to win medals. Although he does have a remarkable defence in front of him, it is partly his concentration levels that are so commendable. The fact that he spends the majority of games with nothing to do, only to be called into action late on and oblige with both routine and magnificent saves is why he is still a major attribute to Manchester United. His meticulous preparation, years of experience and composure in nervy situations provide the platform for young players like Jonny Evans to come straight into the first team and look like he’s been there for years.

Defence:

Phil Jagielka

A superb season has seen him rewarded with an England call up. Everton pride themselves on having a solid core and while others have taken the plaudits, Jagielka quietly goes about his business, keeping many a top class striker firmly at bay. His ability on the ball is infallible has been consistently good under pressure. He too has that urgency and desire to not lose a goal and in the mould of John Terry and Jamie Carragher, will throw himself in front of anything to ensure that his side do not concede.

Nemanja Vidic

Vidic has been absolutely outstanding for the majority of the season. It will be highlighted that he had a shocker against Liverpool recently but that should not take away from the fact that he has been world class yet again. He is not only vital to United in a defensive sense but his goal threat is sensational. Important ones against Chelsea and Inter Milan have seen him become very much a potent threat from set pieces while his no nonsense attitude at the back makes him a striker’s worst nightmare.

Brede Hangeland

What a find by Roy Hodgson. From leaking goals left, right and centre to being the clean sheet specialists in the Premiership, Hangeland is very much the heart and soul of Fulham’s team. They have built a solid unit around his old school style of defending as he provides a presence that the West London club severely lacked. It is likely that he will move on to a bigger club in the summer and it is clear for all to see as to why he is so coveted.

Joleon Lescott

Another consistent season for the versatile defender who still remains potent in front of goal. He has followed up on his two previous impressive seasons for the Toffees with yet another, this time being more of a feature at centre back than left back. Nonetheless, he still seems to be a key member of Everton’s team and at 26, must only be scraping the surface of his talents and has his best years ahead of him.

Midfield:

Frank Lampard

This man doesn’t know how to have a mediocre season, even when all around him are. His knack for not just scoring but doing so at crucial times never ceases to amaze. Despite the addition of yet another ‘world class’ midfielder in the form of Deco, Lampard continues to remain Chelsea’s only undroppable, unstoppable midfielder and Ballack and the aforementioned Portuguese playmaker could take a leaf out of his book.  Another aspect of Lampard’s game that deserves the utmost respect is the fact that he is always available for selection, regardless of the competition. Whether it’s the league cup third round at home to a lower league side to the champions’ league final, Lampard wants to play. For me Lampard is the main reason why Chelsea are still in the title race.

Xabi Alonso

For a player who was supposedly surplus to requirements last summer, he has more than proved his importance and class. It’s no coincidence that his best form for probably two years now has coincided with Liverpool mounting their most serious title challenge for years. Alonso’s range of passing is undoubtedly breathtaking at times, while this season he has also chipped in with some vital goals, something that has been severely lacking in his game in previous campaigns. Another factor that has been impressive about Alonso is that he appears to have more resilience about him, not going missing in games that aren’t going according to plan.

Stephen Ireland

Considering all Manchester City’s money and their foreign imports, it has been Stephen Ireland who has been their most consistent performer over the season. He has responded to the influx of talent that surrounds him and puts some of them to shame with his tireless performances week in week out. Goals have been the most notable addition to his game but his overall influence on the team has been superb. At home, Man City have looked great more often than not and Ireland slots in nicely with assists and general midfield play that is easy on the eye. But it has been away from home, where City have struggled, that Ireland has come into his own. 
Whereas some players have shied away from a scrap and a battle on unfamiliar turf, Ireland has dug in and led by example with a never say die attitude that is starting to look like it might pay dividends for City. His game has matured this season and he has certainly risen to the challenge of the investors that want to make City a massive club. Judging by his performances, if the good times are just around the corner, Ireland definitely wants to be a part of it.

Ashley Young

He has been one of, if not the most exciting player to watch this season. He is a breath of fresh air and doesn’t know when to quit. Take the game versus Everton just before Christmas as a perfect example. Just when it looked as though Everton had salvaged a point courtesy of a ninetieth minute equaliser, Young literally goes up the other end of the pitch and scores a crucial winner.
His pace is electric, his skills and technique are sublime and his finishing is getting better by the chance. He is also one of the top providers of goals and delivers a dangerous set piece that no defenders find easy to deal with. Villa have played with no fear this season and he has been the personification of this bold approach that Martin O’Neill has endorsed.

Forwards:

Wayne Rooney

Finally, some consistency and a solid goal return has seen Rooney take a massive stride towards becoming the player we all knew he could be. For years I believe Rooney to have been overrated but this year he has added regular goals to his game, an attribute which was sorely missing. Last year he was over shadowed by Cristiano Ronaldo (although who wasn’t?) but now Rooney is starting to show why he is most effective at the top end of the pitch, providing the kind of goal return of a striker (almost one in two in all competitions). And his desire to get in the box more hasn’t deterred his work rate defensively as he still goes chasing back seventy yards when losing the ball. Also his skill and long range passing is now proving to be more productive rather than for show. By far his best season and at 23 has much more to come.

Kevin Davies

A somewhat controversial choice but he has had his best season in front of goal and has always in my opinion been underrated. He does the same job for Bolton that Emile Heskey does but includes goals in his game as well. The only reason Davies never receives international recognition is because he has never played for a fashionable club.  He has scored four times the amount of goals Heskey has this season and has been Bolton’s catalyst for years now. Davies has been this season’s highest scoring English forward in the Premiership and although he isn’t most people’s cup of tea, he is very effective.

It was fitting that a game between two of the oldest clubs in English football, Everton and Aston Villa, would exemplify the best parts of the old-fashioned English game on Sunday at Goodison Park.

In an unbelievable end to the match on Sunday, Everton equalized in the 93rd minute to make it 2-2 after Joleon Lescott scored for the Toffees. Then, with the game practically over, there was a mixup between two Everton players in midfield which opened up an opportunity for Ashley Young to score a late winner with the last kick of the match to make it 3-2, sending the Villa players and away supporters into hysterics.

This was the type of blood and thunder game that had you on the edge of your seat. Fingertip saves by Brad Friedel, off the goal line clearances, defensive blunders (the first one courtesy of Phil Jagielka) and expertly taken goals by Young and Lescott, both of which scored two each, and Sidwell who opened the scoring for Villa within 30 seconds of kickoff.

While Everton manager David Moyes has plenty of headaches up front trying to find a striker in the January transfer window to replace the injured James Vaughan and Yakubu, Moyes will want to tighten things up in the back at Everton who gifted this game to Aston Villa with two poor defensive mistakes.

The win for Villa was massive especially as it was front of an electrically charged Everton crowd — particularly in the Gwladys Street End behind the goal.

With the win, Aston Villa now moves in fifth position, just one point behind Arsenal. If Ashley Young can continue to put away his chances like he did on Sunday, Aston Villa has a wonderful rest of the season to look forward to. For Everton, it’s a different story.

The most impressive side I watched, by far, on Saturday was Middlesbrough. The link-up play between Tuncay, Alves, Downing, Aliadiere and, later, Mido was sensational. Wheater was also impressive. At times, it was like watching Brazil with all of the backheels and blistering attacks. Seriously.

While Spurs controlled a lot of the possession in this match and were doing a better job at passing the ball around, they were sloppy in front of goal and failed to create those pinpoint passes that could have led to goals.

The 2-1 win for Middlesbrough was deceiving. Wheater had a goal in the first half that was incorrectly disallowed, but even ignoring that, Boro was much more impressive than Spurs than the scoreline suggests. For Tottenham, it’s back to the drawing board.

Middlesbrough fans will probably be worrying that Boro will continue to do well against big opposition teams but poorly against weaker sides. Let’s hope Gareth Southgate can fix that because the initial signs from Boro this season are very encouraging. They look like a team reborn.

One more impressive thing about Middlesbrough: For the first time in ages, the Riverside sounded like a real football stadium with a cup final atmosphere and noise compared to the empty red seats and stone cold silence we’re accustomed to from Boro.

Here are my thoughts from the other matches:

• The deafening sound of boos that erupted around Goodison Park at the end of the 90 minutes against Blackburn should worry the club and its fans. They aren’t too many things to be happy with at Everton lately with the move to Kirkby on hold, no transfer signings, injury problems, boardroom problems and a dissatisfied David Moyes.

  At times, Everton’s defending was schoolboy as they let Blackburn run right through the middle of the park unopposed. The perfect example of that was David Dunn who had a lot of space to twist and turn past Phil Jagielka and slot his curving shot into the corner of the net. Joleon Lescott made a crucial mistake to let Roque Santa Cruz pass him to slot the ball into the goal. Even Jason Roberts, yes Jason Roberts, made Everton’s back four look weak by dribbling past three players and getting a shot on goal.

• New Blackburn manager Paul Ince should be impressed by the spirit shown by his side. If they can keep Santa Cruz in his side, they should do well this season up front.
• Sunderland‘s performance at their Stadium of Light against Liverpool was impressive. The team put in every morsel of energy into this match, winning many 50/50 balls and tormenting Rafa Benitez’s side. I wasn’t impressed by Liverpool’s performance at all. Too many sloppy mistakes. Hyypia looked awful. Plessis looked very unsure of himself in central midfield and his replacement Alonso played much better.This is going to be an awfully long season for Liverpool unless they can start making immediate improvement. They created more chances in the second half mostly thanks to Steven Gerrard, but what happens when Gerrard has a weak performance?
• Arsenal looked extremely comfortable and confident in their 1-0 win against West Bromwich Albion, but it was classic Arsenal who failed to find a second goal to put West Brom out of reach. Tony Mowbray’s side gave Arsenal a couple of scary moments with the very impressive Ishmael Miller coming close for West Brom. Samir Nasri did well on his first Premier League debut. Chris Brunt also played well for the Baggies, whose side became more comfortable toward the end of the first half. For the first 30 minutes, they couldn’t thread more than a few passes together.Meanwhile, Emmanuel Adebayor continued his frustrating streak of missing some clear-cut chances in front of goal. When he’s off form, the Gunners will be in jeopardy in crunch games.