Duncan Ferguson
David Weir has singled out two former Everton strikers for praise, saying that they would have been ‘unstoppable’ in their prime together. Six former Toffees and five Rangers teammates make up Weir’s 11, but the strike force is an all-Everton affair with Duncan Ferguson and Wayne Rooney. And the 50-year-old believes the pair would have been ‘unstoppable’ in their prime together.
David Weir said: “I still watch Rooney now at Derby and he’s still playing at an unbelievable level. You could play Wayne in any position and his technique and his quality are just consistency really good. He has a real confidence in himself. He’s definitely in the team. Although his [Ferguson’s] career was interrupted by injures, he could win a game on his own. On the pitch, he terrified centre-backs – some genuinely good centre-halves, you could see it in their eyes. Even in the tunnel, you would look across and see they didn’t fancy it. He had a real love for Everton, which gave him more. Him and Rooney on their day at their peak would have been unstoppable. The latter lines up at left back in the side despite plying his trade predominantly in central defence, but he was another to pick up big praise from his ex-teammate. He was primarily a centre-half, but in his early days, he played a lot at left-back. He was built like a centre-back, but he also had all the attributes of a full-back. He could get forward, he was quick, he had good quality with his passing and had a degree of aggression in him as well. He could play for anyone in that position. He could have fitted in a number of roles.”
The ex-defender spent eight years at Goodison Park after making the move to the Blues in February 1999, signing from Hearts. The central defender went on to captain Everton during his time at the club under two managers and make 269 appearances in all competitions. Mikel Arteta, Paul Gascoigne, Nick Barmby and Joleon Lescott are the other former Everton players to make their way onto Weir’s list.
