Mark Hughes Right To Chase Lescott

Just over 35 years ago, Everton broke the English transfer record when they secured the services of Bob Latchford from Birmingham City. The fee was the princely sum of £350,000 and it set a record that was to stand for the next 5 years. Was this a solid investment that would catapult the Toffees on to a successful run to rival Liverpool, Manchester City or Nottingham Forest? No, that period produced a solitary League Cup final appearence against Aston Villa in a 0-0 game deemed so boring that ITV declined to show highlights the day after.

Fast forward to 2009 and City covet a player on the books of another club, a player the management feel could be key to advancement in their quest for success. Bids have been lodged and turned down and the actual player has publicly stated that he would like to move on, much as Bob Latchford did more than 3 decades ago. David Moyes has criticised this perfectly legal approach for a member of his staff but let himself down badly by claiming that Everton did business in a more honourable Fashion.

Let's go back to 1990. Howard Kendall had just taken over the reins at City. One of his first managerial decisions was to sell England U21 full back Andy Hinchcliffe for a less than flattering fee to Everton. Kendall implied that Hinchcliffe wasn't good enough for City but the fans were dismayed. A few months later Everton poached Mr Kendall off City in mid-season, a move that left the club in some disarray. One of the few glimmers of hope was the thought that Kendall might sell Hinchcliffe back to City, where he was still highly thought of.

Of course, he didn't. Andy Hinchcliffe became a mainstay of Kendall's Everton as well as becoming an England regular before being sold on to Sheffield Wednesday for a huge profit. Conspiracy theorists of the day claimed that Kendall sold Hinchcliffe to Everton knowing full well that he would be shortly following him and saw the player as key player in his future Everton defence. I'm not one to comment on conspiracies but please don't try and tell me that Everton are an honourable club when it comes to doing business.

If Mark Hughes wishes to continue his dogged pursuit of Joleon Lescott, then he should do so with the full backing of our fans and without the pious protests of a club with a less than perfect past.


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