Few of the generation today might remember Alan Whittle, a lively winger and massive talent of the 70’s league winning champions. Alan never really managed to establish him fully in the first team and despite playing 67 league games and scoring 21 goals over a period of five years from 1967 to 1972.
A tricky winger and at his best such a great player and hopes were high at Selhurst Park when he decided to leave Merseyside and sign for Crystal Palace. for a fee of £100.000. He had to see his career stall with injuries and lack of form, but still adding up a total of 108 league games scoring 19 goals. He dropped out of the top flight with Palace and then joined Leyton Orient and after a short while at Brisbane Road moving to Iran and top club Persopolis, he later returned to Orient and moved to Australia to try his luck “Down Under”, his career came to an end in 1982 playing his last games in non-league football.
We have seen Tom Davies for a number of seasons in the top flight with Everton, and still a very young man at the age of 21, and he has a massive amount of years in front of him in football, but will he progress by staying at Everton. Just as his uncle he needs to make a decision on his future and make the most of his football career.
To have played 94 Premier League games at the his age is not bad, but still he has not yet managed to establish him in the team and while certain managers have decided to give him a run others have put him on the bench or just left him out and that cannot continue if he wants to take the step into full England action and with his history in the England youth set ups he should soon be ready for his next step, but still not part of Gareth Southgate’s squad, so how can Tom Davies make the step and build on the learning from his uncle and build on the talent that you can see is massive.
He probably need to be patient with Carlo Ancelotti and hopefully get a good run of games as Everton climbs the table and again becomes a contender for a place in Europe and soon establish a team and structure that makes “Nephew Tom” a certainty in that set up. We are cheering on Tom Davies as we think about those great memories from Goodison Park when his uncle celebrating the league title of the 1969/70 season, and at that time in history only 20 years of age.
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