Yakubu Ayegbeni — The first full Once a Blue conversation | OneFootball

(Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

ToffeeWeb sat down with Yakubu Ayegbeni last week for the first edition of our Once a Blue series. The former forward discussed David Moyes, summer transfers, and his Everton experiences.

Yakubu will be back later this month for another conversation, so feel free to drop questions in the comments. Below are the full comments from episode one, which is available to watch across our social media channels.

We've had a little bit of time to reflect on the season just gone. I think the overall feeling in the fan base is definitely one of disappointment that a promising position slipped away across the run-in. How would you assess Everton's season as a whole, and how it ended ultimately?

"I'm a big (Everton) fan, you know, I was there for four years, it’s like a home to me. Looking at last season, I think so far, so good. David Moyesie has been brilliant, and the team has been doing a lot to save us. We've been struggling for the past three years. For us to finish in that, maybe halfway, we didn't really struggle for relegation.

"I think we need to get a couple of players in, to build the team. Moyesie’s been there two years now and I think he’s the right man to do it. The board just need to support him and give him some money to spend, and then to build the team out to be more strong, and not struggling all the time, you know?"

One of the talking points, particularly amongst the fans, has been the two centre-forwards, and there's been talk that one, if not both, of Beto and Thierno Barry could be leaving this summer. How would you assess the two of them, and if one was to move on, who would you keep, and why?

"It's quite difficult when you look at Barry. He’s a young player, he's been there for a season now, he's been struggling scoring goals.

"He scored against Man City, so we said ‘Well, we're happy, buzzing’. He needs time. Many players take time in the Premier League, and in the Premier League you don’t have that time. You can see, he can run channels, we just need to keep the ball more. Sometimes when we’re in a difficult situation, we have to kick it long. When you look at the history of Everton Football Club, they always have a target man, you know? And Moyesie loves it.

"You just need to keep the ball, and he has to believe in himself to score goals. You see sometimes at the weekend, he looks sharp, and the other week it’s not the same. We need a striker who can be doing it every weekend, not scoring today, then the next week we’re struggling. But he’s a young player, don’t get me wrong, and he needs time. When you look at David Moyes, I think he gave him games, like five straight games in a row, just to build his confidence, and he didn’t take it.

"When you look at Beto, I swear, you know, he’s so big and he’s tall. I watched him when he was at Udinese, in Italy, and I was like ‘This guy will be so good in the Premier League’. Then, lucky for us we got him, but we expect more from him as a striker, you know?

"I expect him to keep the ball more, because sometimes he gives the ball away so easily. It’s frustrating for the players, you can see it in the players and the manager. Even me watching it! But a big lad like him, he can keep the ball. Sometimes you see him, he’s scoring goals, like I just said, scoring goals, every week, and then five, six, or seven games not scoring. You see the confidence in him just goes down. I think he’s not a bad striker.

"Some players, it takes them a long time to get used to the Premier League. I think he’s been in the Premier League for three years now. From the fans and supporters, as a striker when you’re not scoring goals, there’s a lot of pressure. We just need that striker who can deliver, week in, week out, for us.

We've seen a few names linked already this summer. Liam Delap's name keeps coming up, Troy Parrott, a few others. Are there any strikers out there that you think would suit Everton and David Moyes? You've played under Moyes, you know the demands Moyes sets for his forwards.

"Even me, I’ve been looking around and there are not too many strikers around in the world, you know? They’re all wingers. When you look at Delap, he did very well at Ipswich, scoring goals, and then moved to Chelsea. It’s a massive leap from Ipswich to Chelsea, you know? He’s found it difficult.

"To bring him from Chelsea to Everton, it’s not going to be easy. We’re just looking for a striker who can get the job done every weekend and he’s not a bad player to bring here. It would be a massive boost to the team, but can he do the same as he did at Ipswich? Who knows. He could come in and start scoring goals. He could come in and not score goals. The Premier League is one of the toughest leagues in the world.

"We just need a striker. I think we need a striker, a right-back, a midfielder as well who can deliver. We need three or four players. It’s a shame Coleman has retired, the captain, we need a right-back, we’ve been struggling for a right-back. A right-back, a midfielder, and I think if we have a striker who can score goals, we’ll be fine.

Hayden Hackney has arrived from another one of your former clubs. What do you make of Hackney as a fit for Everton and his ability to step up into the Premier League?

"I think he can do well. I think he can do very well. The way he plays, the style, the way he does things on the pitch. Moyesie loves that kind of player, he’ll fit into the team. We need to build a team and not every year be struggling for relegation. We’re lucky to have Moyesie, and if we can get three, four, or five players in, next year we’ll be talking about playing in Europe."

What kind of advice would you give him? What were your experiences of moving from Middlesbrough to Everton, and potentially different expectations, different fan bases?

"Just play well. When you play well, the fans will love you. That’s the only thing, just play well. As a new player, you have to start well. Your first game in training, everyone is looking at you, when you’re a new player coming to a new club. As players, we all speak around. Touches that go (bad), we all go ‘Oh, you didn’t pay that kind of money’. We make jokes, you know? I think he will be fine.

"He’s been playing in England, he understands the way we play football in England. He’s got great supporters who can give him support. Like I said, just play good, work hard, and they will love you. The supporters love any player who can do that."

The World Cup's obviously on at the moment, there's not a huge amount of Everton interest with just the four players going, but are there any players that you've seen in the tournament so far that you think would maybe be a good fit for Everton?

"I watched a little bit of Ivory Coast and I’d take one of the right-backs, Wilfried Singo, he’s not a bad player. I think he plays for Galatasaray. He’s a really, really solid right-back. Although he got injured, I’ve been watching him a little bit. I was like, ‘He’s not bad, let’s bring him to Everton’; then he got injured!

"I think he’s one of those guys that Moyesie really loves. He can run, he can tackle, he can fight for the ball. They can give 120% to the game. I think it’s a future one to see. Everyone has been trying to see where we can get a right-back to help the team."

I want to dive in with some Community Questions. Who was your best friend in the Everton squad when you were there, and who did you most enjoy playing with?

"Stevie Pienaar. Stevie Pienaar is my guy. A small, small magician, you know, really good guy, and we still communicate, and we spoke yesterday as well. He’s one of those guys I enjoy my time with on and off the pitch. We stay close, we still message once in a while.

"Bainesy was another one. Baines on the left side, and Steven Pienaar, and I love to play on the left side, you know, so I enjoyed playing with those guys. Then Micky Arteta was there too, the guys were all good to me, but Pienaar is my guy.

"Tim Cahill is a lovely lovely guy as well, and (Victor) Anichebe and Joseph Yobo. He's so nice, you know? Those guys with character, but Pienaar was a special guy to me."

What about the current squad? If you could play with one player in the current squad, who would you like to play with?

"He plays a bit like Steven Pienaar, Iliman. He plays exactly like another Steven Pienaar, I would enjoy playing with him in the same team because he has that vision, knows how to dribble, how to pass the ball forward.

"For me, as a striker, I just want those moves in the 18-yard box and I think he can really, really pass it to me, and I wish I was still young to go back there to play with him, and it will be nice. He's another good one."

Sticking with Iliman, he obviously came out recently and expressed his ambition to play in the Champions League. Do you think that's a concern for David Moyes? Or do you think that is more of a call for the club to show a little bit more ambition in the transfer market?

"For sure, when you play so well, and he’s been brilliant for us, a lot of interest will come. I just want the club to tie him down and give him another contract. For me, I don’t think it’s the right time for him to move, and we still need him.

"I know sometimes players want to move on, but he’s another one we need to keep. I think he helps the team a lot. He’s so good, good with the ball, good with his feet. We need to bring a couple of players to build (around him) and we can start thinking about Europe."

Just going back to your time with the club, what do you think could have been achieved in 2008-09 if yourself and Mkel Arteta hadn't got injured? Obviously, there was the FA Cup Final defeat, and you came close to Champions League qualification…

"I think we should have won the FA Cup that year. I remember, I got injured, and for more than nine months I didn't play. It was hard, you know, sitting down there at Wembley, watching the guys play. We scored first, with Saha, but we still lost the game.

"I think with the experience I had with the team, the team was built around me. I was scoring goals, and it’s a shame we got injured. I think if Mikel is fit and I’m fit, I swear, I think we can push a little bit to achieve something.”

How is the Achilles? We've had fans on the site saying they're struggling with their Achilles...

"Ha! For me, I’m fine now. It’s been more than 15 years now. I still play with friends every Wednesday. I feel good. Maybe with other players it’s different, but I remember it took months to stop thinking about it.

"When I came back, I was thinking about it in my head, you know? Then that sharpness wasn’t there like it used to be. People said, once you get an Achilles, you lose a bit. I don’t know (if that’s true) for me, but I think I lost a little bit of sharpness. The speed. But I feel good, I still feel good now.

"From the Achilles, I went to Leicester to get match fitness for six months, scoring goals. Then I went to Blackburn Rovers and I scored loads there! It’s just a shame I didn’t play for 10 to 11 months. Most players it takes them maybe six to eight months.

"For me, it took me 11 months, but I didn’t want to rush it. So it’s like a year I didn’t play, it was tough. I never got those injuries before, like knee or ankle injuries, and all of a sudden it happens. It happens in football. But for now, I’m fine, I still try and play a little bit. It’s not like before, but it’s good."

Do you think you maybe left Everton a little too soon because of that injury?

"Yes, I think so. I remember when I was about to leave for Leicester, Moyesie said to me ‘I don’t want you to go’. I was, like, 'I need to go somewhere to play. I don’t want to sit on the bench, play for 20 minutes, 40 minutes… It’s better for me to go to a place and get fitness.' When you play Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday, Tuesday, in the Championship there’s lots of games. It was a risky decision going to a Championship club.

"When you’re not playing well or not scoring goals, maybe no club wants to sign you anymore, but I took that risk. I said I’m going to go there, get fit, and score goals, and it paid off. I went back to Everton and Blackburn came in for me, and I left. I had a great time at Everton, but it was time for me to move on."

I've heard you speak really positively about David Moyes. There's definitely, in terms of the fan base, from what we see on ToffeeWeb, split opinion on the manager and whether he is the right man to take the team forward. Would you continue to argue that he's the right man for Everton at this time?

"If it’s not him, I think we’d be playing in the Championship. I’m telling you. When you look at the team, they’ve been struggling for like three years.

"He knows the club very well. He was there for years, then he came back, we’re lucky to have him. We’re so lucky to bring him back and save the team. We hope he can get four or five players, build the team, and start thinking about Europe for next season. That’s got to be the target. You don’t want to be struggling against relegation every year.

"We have a great stadium, it’s unbelievable, and we need European football there. Why not? The fans would love it. I enjoyed my time playing in Europe, you can see the passion. Playing (in Europe) there in the new stadium would be unbelievable. I wish we can do it and I hope next season can be better than last season."

That stadium is built for European nights, isn't it? The first European night there will be something.

"Oh, it's lovely. It's a lovely stadium, you know. I played there with the Legends against Roma. It's an unbelievable stadium. The pitch, the dressing room, you know, so good. I enjoyed my time in Goodison Park, don't get me wrong, it's like a traditional stadium, the fans connect to the players.

"It was so good, but you move on in football, you move on in life, and I hope we can bring in glorious days of playing in Europe in that stadium."