Seamus Coleman is set to make his 400th appearance for Everton when he leads his side out in Monday’s Merseyside Derby against Liverpool and while he is sure the player’s legacy is already secure, Sean Dyche, now his ninth manager at the club believes the demands his captain places upon his team-mates remain instrumental to setting the standards required when wearing the royal blue jersey.
Since first arriving at Goodison Park from Sligo Rovers in January 2009 for his fabled £60,000 fee which arguably makes him the biggest pound-for-pound bargain in Premier League history, Coleman’s longevity has ensured he has another couple of Everton appearance milestones within his sights after he becomes the 19th player to reach the 400-game mark. Playing at Anfield would put the man from Killybegs, County Donegal, on 343 Premier League appearances, just five behind Leighton Baines, nine shy of Leon Osman and within 11 of Tim Howard, the Blues’ all-time leader in the competition.
Dyche admits that after a hectic first fortnight in his job, acclimatising Everton’s players to his methods, the subject of new deals for players whose contracts expire this summer has not yet been discussed. Coleman is one of those squad members in such a bracket but if he’s still around next season then there is even the scope to move past the likes of the aforementioned Osman and Dixie Dean into Everton’s top 10 for appearances in all competitions.
Described by Dyche’s predecessor Frank Lampard as “the best man I’ve ever met”, there was a heart-warming moment only this week that exemplified Coleman’s place within the fabric of Everton when, following goalkeeper coach Alan Kelly’s liaising with the FA of Ireland, he presented Nicola McMahon, a Blues employee of over 40 years’ service, with a commemorative cap in acknowledgement of her late father Tommy Clinton’s three international appearances for the Emerald Isle while with the club.
Dyche said: “Seamus has been terrific and the word that is used a lot is model pro in my first experience of him. He’s an Everton legend and will be for many years after his years of service but also because of the way he is among the group.
“He has a very good and healthy demand, he has a good way of using his voice and his experience with the players. It’s not over the top, but he does demand.
“He has got a demanding way about him, he trains fantastically well and I thought he was excellent against Arsenal, the way he delivered that performance. And he still has got that edge.
“I have never really bothered about age (Coleman will be 35 in October). It is whether you have got that edge to go and play.
“He still has got that competitive edge and that is really important. That can keep players alive for a long time as long as they are fit and well.”
Carlo Ancelotti, who fielded the likes of Paolo Maldini and Alessandro Costacurta in defence for Milan beyond their 40th birthdays once proclaimed that Coleman could do something similar for Everton. Under the Italian, he skippered the Blues to their first win at Anfield for over two decades when they triumphed 2-0 two years ago next week.
Although the result remains entrenched in the record books, given that it came in the unprecedented conditions of being behind closed doors due to coronavirus restrictions, Evertonians have never been truly able to appreciate the long overdue victory. Coleman also remains the only Everton player to have beaten Liverpool in front of fans in a Merseyside Derby in another 2-0 success, way back on October 17, 2010 which is still the Blues’ last Goodison Park triumph against their neighbours.
The game predates even 51-year-old Dyche’s managerial career and responding to Ancelotti’s remark that Coleman could be at Everton for a lifetime, the new Blues boss said: “Well he more or less has, it’s 14 years or something. In football that sort of is a lifetime.”
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Indeed, it will be some 4503 days on Monday since Everton last defeated Liverpool in front of supporters. That’s more time than the longest-serving US president Franklin D. Roosevelt’s spell in the White House (4423 days from March 4 1933-April 12 1945) or the UK’s longest-serving Prime Minister of modern times, Margaret Thatcher’s tenure at 10 Downing Street (4227 days from May 4 1979-November 28 1990).
Curiously, Coleman actually played right midfield in both successes with Phil Neville (2010) and Mason Holgate (2021) behind him as right-back each time. Dyche is clear about what his longest-serving outfield player can offer him though.
He said: “The way we played last week he is a full back. I am not really worried about the tactical side of things.
“Seamus is a good player and the best players can adapt to everything. He is minimum a very good player and a very good professional.
“I am not bothered about his age. The question is, are you fit, are you lean, are you hungry, have you still got an edge, it doesn’t matter about age.
“He set the tone early (in the 1-0 win over Premier League leaders Arsenal) by being sharp and being around his wide player. Getting a foot in, getting clever tackles in.
“The modern game has changed. It is not just about flying into tackles, you have to stop their wide player at source very quickly.
“Seamus knows how to play the game. He knows different styles.
“He can pass when he needs to, if he needs to flip one over the top he can play that, he can play diagonals.
“He knows the game, he is a very thorough professional, but on the pitch as well, it’s not just his professionalism but his understanding of the game.”
Dyche reckons Coleman could make a fine coach himself in time but for now his captain remains very much needed on the pitch. He said: “It’s probably been difficult for him playing under so many managers, but you have so many styles that you learn the game. So for him as an individual being here during all those different managerial changes, I am sure it is very challenging in one way, but for his education of the game as a player and if he decides to go into the game as a coach, it is fantastic.
“That is down to an absolutely fantastic education. I am happy him playing at the minute but if he intends staying in the game he’d certainly have a lot to reflect on, that is for sure with Different styles, different managers and different ways of playing.”
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