Joleon Lescott, the best player in Everton’s glorious season, is yet another example of a shrewd investment by David Moyes. They call the stock market the world’s largest casino, but the gambling that goes on in the world of football rivals that.

Bad signings can see millions ebb away from a club’s coffers whilst a shrewd lower league acquisition can inflate his value beyond all recognition. Lescott is one of those gambles.

When Moyes signed him from Wolves he was a player that a great many ‘big’ teams knew about but were unwilling to take a gamble on because of a serious double knee injury that meant Lescott would miss Wolves' entire Premier League excursion, only returning when Wolves were back down in the Championship.

'The Everton of this season can boast a record-breaking points tally'


Moyes was willing to take that risk though, something that he also did in buying Tim Cahill from Millwall, and the deal that took Lescott to Everton set the Goodison club back a total of £5m – but his value has grown like a violently aggressive weed since.

 "Mr Consistency", as Lescott is known in some Goodison quarters, has truly been a revelation this past season, registering the best shot to goal ratio in the entire Premier League (42.1%) and scoring a whopping 10 goals in the process.

However, the double figures goal tally is just the icing on the cake as Lescott played out of his skin in defence, and coped with being shunted over to the left-back position on many an occasion. The fact that Lescott forced his way into England recognition from a position that he isn’t 100% comfortable with (he much prefers playing at centre back) also shows how well he has played this season.

It also bodes well for next season, when Lescott, Joseph Yobo and Phil Jagielka will all have to vie for two central defensive positions. Whisper it quietly, but with Lescott and Jagielka both hovering around the England squad – as well as Yobo – one of the most consistent top-flight defenders – Everton could have their best defensive line-up since the 1980s.

The Everton of this season can boast a record-breaking points tally; never before have they got so many points in the Premier League and this season they awoke for their hunt for fourth place like startled dogs – harrying and chasing Liverpool for three quarters of the season, until their challenge slid away towards the end.

Throughout this remarkable fifth-placed run, Joleon Patrick Lescott has played both out of position and out of his skin and stood out as Everton’s best. The Birmingham-born star is currently having a post season “tune-up” of his knees.  Let’s hope they hold out for a few more seasons to come!