Naismith: The Making Of A Fan Favourite

The Steven Naismith transfer has been greeted with sadness by Evertonians. His attitude and off the field activities have endeared him the Goodison faithful after a difficult start which saw the humble Scot become somewhat of a cult hero. The comments seem to indicate that the man will be missed more than the player. It is always a positive to have humble, hardworking players at the club and Naismith embodied how fans want players to act on and off the pitch.

Players who give their all are always seen in a positive light. The likes of James Vaughan and Andy Johnson may not have been the most prolific of strikers but their effort was always commendable and could never be accused of laziness or not trying. Steven Naismith was much the same, but it’s not all that’s needed to be a fan favourite. Running around aimlessly is not enough and there has to be some substance to the effort. In his first year at the club there was little substance from Naismith and the fans had little tolerance for effort when there is no production. Since that first year Naismith started contributing and in part saved us from an even worse season in the last campaign. When things weren’t going well he seemed to be the one to help us out and get the big goal. While never truly taking his chance in the first team, his selection was no longer treated with such load groans from the fans.

It’s not just effort that makes a player a fan favourite however, especially with Everton fans. We love seeing aggression on the football pitch, a player who will literally fight for the cause. Naismith never took a backwards steps and his kind nature and charity work off the pitch belied the man who would play with fire on it, much like Duncan Ferguson. Duncan Ferguson is the ultimate fan favourite, especially with the generation who didn’t get to see the glory years of the 1980’s. Ferguson had all the ingredients for hero status: a great player, hardworking, aggressive, loyal, inspirational, relatable and a good man.

Where Naismith doesn’t match up there most clearly is that he isn’t a great player, by no means a bad player, but not great. Muhammed Besic is well on his way to being a fan favourite and if he’s here for the next five years you can see him becoming a cult hero. Reason being is that Besic has the potential to be a great player for the club. His selection is met with cheers, not groans. Naismith got to a stage this time last season where he would have made many fans first XI but that dried up when the goals dried up. When he came on vs Chelsea there was a clear frustration that it wasn’t Kevin Mirallas’ number shown to replace the injured Besic. Three goals later and it was a very loud reminder of how effective he can be, and why he is a great signing for Norwich. The following games showed why he wasn’t good enough to start, even if given a straight choice many fans would have wanted to see him ahead of Kone.He leaves Everton fans with a heavy heart. Respected on the pitch and even more loved off it. Whether it was giving away free tickets or sorting out free meals, he was always helping the homeless amongst other charities. It was always warming to hear that and warming that those such stories were about one of our players. A man of the people in the peoples club.

£8.5m was just too much money for a man frustrated with playing time in a team full of attacking talent. A few fans were suggesting that they wish it was Kone sold instead, but Kone isn’t the player Norwich wanted. If Naismith played in our team of the mid 90’s he would have been idolised, he’s the perfect player for a team wanting to establish Premier League status. The fee is insignificant to Norwich if he helps keep them up, and I wouldn’t bet against it. It may have seemed very unlikely at one point but Goodison ended up loving Steven Naismith, and will continue to do so. Unless he kisses the Norwich badge when playing against us of course…