Everton have yet to make any real inroads into the transfer market this summer with just Ashley Young arriving so far but his signing has drawn parallels with Rangers legend Richard Gough.
The veteran utility player might not be the dynamic winger that he once was, however, he has been tipped to have the same impact as a Rangers legend had at Goodison Park.
Ex Rangers defender Michael Ball, writing in the Liverpool Echo, hopes that Everton could get from Ashley Young what he did from Richard Gough as a youngster making his name.
Every Rangers fan knows that Richard Gough was the player who ran the dressing room.
He was a leader both on and off the pitch.
Rangers legend Richard Gough could be inspiration for Ashley Young
It was a surprise to see Gough return to England’s top flight heading into his 40s, and yet, Ball couldn’t speak highly enough of his impact.
When reacting to the signing of Ashley Young, the ex-Gers left-back couldn’t help but be reminded of the time a veteran pointed him in the right direction:
“We all knew he was Walter Smith’s teacher’s pet but you could see why and he’d been the captain of a huge football club in Rangers.
“He was still one of the fittest people at the football club alongside Dave Watson and was always at the front of the running drills, showing us youngsters what you could do.
“Archie Knox used to give Goughy stick about him doing press-ups and sit-ups during the adverts in Coronation Street but he’d never sit around and ensured he was a strong as he physically could be.
“We’d absorb that like a sponge and want to add it to our game. We were never told to look at what Goughy was doing, you could just see it.”
Ball also revealed the influence that former Rangers skipper Richard Gough had on his playing days with regards to defending and how he communicated with teammates.
The Gers legend was more than just a great player and a consummate professional.
Walter Smith did something similar when he came back to Rangers, he brought David Weir up with him at 37-years old and few would have expected him to lead us to three league titles in a row and a European final.
There is a reason why players like Ashley Young are still capable of performing at the highest level at such an age.
Like Gough and Weir, he is a manager’s dream in how he conducts himself.
But Everton will need more than a guiding hand if they are to beat the drop again.
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