Everton have cultivated plenty of cult heroes over the years, but in recent years they have been in far shorter supply.
After all, under David Moyes’ tenure, and then briefly under Roberto Martinez, there remained a squad full of likeable hard-working players who embodied everything that the club was about.
Arguably the apex of that archetype was Steven Naismith, with the Scotsman one of the most relentless forwards Goodison Park has seen this century.
Evertonians loved him, and in turn, his affection for them was evident.
However, in speaking after his retirement from professional football, where he is now managing Hearts in Scotland, it was another Everton teammate that left him stunned at the time.
Steven Naismith was left stunned by one Everton player
There were plenty of quality operators who Naismith would have shared the dressing room with during his four-year spell on Merseyside, but this one clearly caught his eye.
And whilst he first referenced Leighton Baines, suggesting his quality was ‘a joke’, it was Gareth Barry who actually captured his attention.
He told The Athletic: ‘I used to watch Gareth Barry for England and wondered why he played every game. But then when I played with him… wow.
‘He was a forward’s dream: always on the half-turn, could see a pass. Not fast, but his positioning got him into the right areas.’
He would then go on to suggest that this kind of signing is what the current Everton side are missing, noting: ‘The biggest thing is recruitment. They’ve let a lot of that 15-20 years of building roots, all the people that are underappreciated at the club who let you know the expectations, that’s drifted.
‘One of Moyes’ best things was his recruitment. Picking players from the Championship – (Leighton) Baines, (Phil) Jagielka. Or players from top clubs like Tim Howard and getting more out of them, like Martinez did with Gareth Barry.’
Everton would love a Gareth Barry figure now
As Naismith notes, Everton used to get so much mileage out of underrated and forgotten players like Barry.
Snagging them on much cheaper deals and trusting in their quality, to give such underappreciated talent another chance to shine often provoked sparkling results.
The Toffees would certainly benefit from a player like the 43-year-old now, and Sean Dyche’s system would thrive from it.
After all, the former Manchester City midfielder had everything you would want in a defensive midfielder. He could screen a back four single-handedly despite his age, yet had the intelligence to conserve his energy and utilise it in key moments.
And then, when he got on the ball, he was even more impressive.
Everton sorely lack a midfield enforcer to dictate the tempo of games, and whilst Amadou Onana often threatens to be, he does not have nearly as much consistency as Barry had.
Perhaps Dyche and Kevin Thelwell might benefit from returning to this cut-price transfer strategy, both to return this club to its last successful period and to ease their mounting PSR woes.