David France
Relatively few academy graduates progress to enjoy long and distinguished careers at Everton. The club is not alone in discovering that the recruitment, development and culling of youngsters is complicated and imperfect. Some players are released or sold for a nominal fee without making a first-team appearance only to enjoy meaningful playing careers elsewhere – usually in the lower divisions.
The following academy graduates demonstrated that there is life after Everton and are listed by the number of league and cup appearances made for other clubs in England.
Gary Parkinson 558 apps
Middlesbrough, Southend United, Bolton Wanderers, Burnley, Preston North End, Blackpool
The Thornaby-born defender started his career as a seventeen-year-old junior at Everton in 1985. But months later, he departed to Middlesbrough, soon to be relegated to the Third Division. Despite his new club being on the verge of extinction, the marauding full-back aided its promotion to the Second Division and then the Premiership. Indeed, his sixteen-year professional career involved seven promotions and three relegations. Seven years after retiring, while working as a youth coach at Blackpool, Parkinson was diagnosed with locked-in syndrome, a disorder that left him cognitively aware, but unable to move any part of his body except blinking.
Anthony Gerrard 523 apps
Accrington Stanley, Walsall, Cardiff City, Hull City, Huddersfield Town, Oldham Athletic, Shrewsbury Town, Carlisle United, Chesterfield
Even though he had skippered the club’s second-team, the nineteen-year-old was released by manager David Moyes in 2005 without making a first-team outing. The Huyton-born defender came through the club’s youth system to turn professional, and while on the threshold of the senior squad, was loaned to Accrington Stanley, and then Walsall. Inexplicably, he was released at the end of the 2004/05 season to join Walsall where he won the League Two title in 2007. Immediately afterwards, Gerrard was sold for £250,000 to FL Championship Cardiff City, where he played in the 2012 League Cup final. Liverpool lifted the trophy after a penalty shoot-out during which both he and cousin Steven Gerrard missed spot-kicks.
Other men worthy of a mention are …
John Doolan (born 1974) 498 apps
Mansfield Town, Barnet, Doncaster Rovers, Blackpool, Rochdale.
Later returned to Finch Farm where Doolan helped to develop the likes of Shane Duffy, Tom Davies and Ross Barkley.
Steven Schumacher 461 apps
Bradford City, Crewe Alexandra, Bury, Fleetwood Town, Stevenage
Marcus Ebdon 427 apps
Peterborough United, Chesterfield, Leyton Orient
Keith Southern 422 apps
Blackpool, Huddersfield Town, Fleetwood Town, Shrewsbury Town
Jamie Jones* c 408 apps (still active)
Leyton Orient, Preston North End, Coventry City, Rochdale, Colchester United, Stevenage, Wigan Athletic, Salford City, Southampton
Sean O’Hanlon 384 apps
Swindon Town, Milton Keynes Dons, Carlisle United, Stockport County and Hibernian
Laurence Wilson 368 apps
Chester City, Morecambe, Rotherham United, Accrington Stanley
Chris Priest 356 apps
Chester City, Macclesfield Town
Carl Regan 347 apps
Barnsley, Hull City, Chester City, Macclesfield Town, Milton Keynes Dons, Bristol Rovers, Notts County, Shrewsbury Town, Bury
Ryan Valentine 344 apps
Darlington, Wrexham, Hereford United
Callum McManaman 314 apps
Wigan Athletic, Blackpool, West Bromwich Albion, Sheffield Wednesday,
Sunderland, Wigan Athletic, Luton Town, Tranmere Rovers and Melbourne Victory
Then there are the other youngsters who were released perhaps prematurely by Everton to make international appearances. The most distinguished were …
Antonee Robinson* (still active)
USA (61 caps), Wigan Athletic, Fulham
Robinson is one that got away. The future USA international full-back was blessed with terrific football abilities but cursed by terrible bad luck during his time at Everton. Born in Milton Keynes in 1997, the talented defender was side-lined by knee injuries in the 2015/16 season, but recovered to help the Under-23 team win the 2017 Premier League 2 title. During his impressive loan spells in the FL Championship at Bolton Wanderers and Wigan Athletic, Robinson was capped by his father’s homeland. Then after appearing in a pre-season friendly against Kariobangi Sharks in 2019, Robinson was sold to Wigan Athletic for £1.9 million and almost moved on immediately to AC Milan for £10.0 until his medical examination revealed heart irregularities. One year on, he joined Premier League Fulham for £2.0 million
Eric Dier * (still active)
England (49 caps), Sporting Lisbon, Tottenham Hotspur, Bayern Munich, Monaco
Without question, Dier is another youngster that got away. The Cheltenham-born defender, who emigrated to Portugal as a child, turned professional with Sporting Lisbon in 2010. Shortly afterwards, the teenage sensation, who was admired for his impeccably timed tackles, joined Everton on loan until mid-2012. During that two-year stint, he helped the club win the Under-18 Premier League in 2011. After three seasons back in Lisbon, Dier was traded to Tottenham Hotspur for £4.0 million and experienced a meteoric rise to international honours.
David Carney Australia 48 caps
Oldham Athletic, Sheffield United, Norwich City, Blackpool and Sydney United, Hamilton Academical, Sydney, Twente Enschede, Alcorcon, Bunyodkor, New York Red Bulls, Newcastle Jets
Released in 2003, the Australia star went on to play in Europe, North America, and Asia as well as his homeland. Raised in Sydney by his Merseyside-born and Everton-loving parents, the defender/midfielder was recruited by the club at age sixteen. At Everton, he advanced quickly to play alongside Wayne Rooney in all eight of the 2002 FA Youth Cup ties, which ended in a 4-2 aggregate defeat to Aston Villa in the final. Though athletic and hard-working, he was not offered a professional contract by Everton and dropped down a division to Oldham Athletic in 2003, Carney became a linchpin in his national team throughout the next fifteen years.
Other youngsters released by the Merseyside club to gain international honours are …
Stephen Duke-McKenna* (still active)
Guyana (28 caps), Queens Park Rangers, Leyton Orient, Sutton United, Harrogate Town, Crawley Town and St Johnstone
Ibou Touray* (still active)
Gambia (23 caps), Salford City, Stockport County, Bradford City
Shayne Lavery* (still active)
Northern Ireland (19 caps), Blackpool, Cambridge United + Linfield
Jindrich Stanek* (still active)
Czech Republic (14 caps), České Budějovice, Třebíč, Viktoria Plzeň, Slavia Prague, Al-Hazem
The teenage net-minder had few chances to shine at Everton. Born in Strakonice, South Bohemia in 1996, the 6 ft 4 in keeper was signed from Sparta Prague: for £1.0 million in early-2014. Although the seventeen-year-old had earned Czech Republic Under-19 caps, he had not appearedein the Czech National League. After a handful of outings for Everton’s Under-18 and Under-21 teams, Staněk joined Hyde United on a one-month loan deal in late-2015. Then just six months later, in the wake of two fixtures warming the first-team bench, he was released to team up with Dynamo České Budějovice. Later on, Staněk represented his country on fourteen occasions.
Nathangelo Marcello* (still active)
Curaçao (11 caps), Excelsior, Fortuna Sittard, Roda, Hebar Pazardzhik, Vitesse
Mackenzie Hunt* (still active)
United Arab Emirates (8 caps), Fleetwood Town and Baniyas
Eunan O’Kane
Republic of Ireland (7 caps), Torquay United, Bournemouth, Leeds United, Luton Town and Coleraine
Hallam Hope
Barbados (6 caps), Bury, Carlisle United, Swindon Town, Oldham Athletic
Adam Davies
Wales (6 caps), Barnsley, Stoke City, Sheffield United
The 2009/10 Academy Player of the Season was capped by Wales seven years after leaving Everton. At age nineteen, the young goalkeeper was included in the senior squad for the 2011 pre-season tour of the USA. Upon returning home, Davies became a mainstay of the second-string until released to Sheffield Wednesday in mid-2012. After spending two years at Hillsborough without making a senior appearance, the shot-stopper moved to Barnsley where he experienced the roller-coaster ride of promotion to FL Championship in 2016, relegation in 2018 and promotion at the end of the following season. Though born in Rinteln, Germany and raised in Warrington, Davies was capped by Wales just before his free transfer to Stoke City in mid-2019.
James Hall
Philippines (2 caps), Meralco Manila, Davao Aguilas, Stallion Laguna
Aristote Nsiala* (still active)
Congo (1 cap), Accrington Stanley, Southport, Grimsby Town, Hartlepool United, Shrewsbury Town, Ipswich Town, Bolton Wanderers, Fleetwood Town, Burton Albion
Aside from Robinson and Dier, who went on to achieve Premier League careers and international recognition, our aim is not to judge whether the others were capable of playing for Everton’s first team or were mistakenly released.
…………………………………………………………………..
Data on clubs, appearances and international caps were provided by enfa.com.
Caricatures taken from Dr Everton’s Toffeemen to be published in 2027.
