Name: Michael Lyons
Country:
EnglandClub: Everton F.C.
Position: *CB, DMF, CF
Side: RF/BS
Age: 25-28 years (08/12/1951)
Height: 185 cm
Weight: 83 kg
Attack: 74
Defence: 83
Balance: 90
Stamina: 82
Top Speed: 76
Acceleration: 77
Response: 80
Agility: 72
Dribble Accuracy: 68
Dribble Speed: 69
Short Pass Accuracy: 72
Short Pass Speed: 75
Long Pass Accuracy: 70
Long Pass Speed: 75
Shot Accuracy: 74
Shot Power: 84
Shot Technique: 69
Free Kick Accuracy: 60
Curling: 62
Header: 87
Jump: 90
Technique: 68
Aggression: 84
Mentality: 95
Goalkeeper Skills: 50
Team Work: 72
Injury Tolerance: B
Condition: 7
Weak Foot Accuracy: 5
Weak Foot Frequency: 5
Consistency: 7
Growth type: Standard/Lasting
CARDS:
P16 - Extra Attacker
S07 - Man Marking
S10 - DF Leader
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Marking - D-Line Control
Attack/Defence Awareness Card: Balanced
INFO:
If any player personified ‘True Blue ‘, Mick Lyons was that man. He was 100% blue played as center half and as center forward when required always gave 100%. Big, strong, fit, a warrior who’d run through a brick wall for Everton, very effective in both boxes practically unbeatable in the air.
A strong and determined centre back, Mick Lyons was not considered the most technically gifted defender (and admitted as much himself), but more than made up for it by his desire to play for Everton, the club he supported when he was a boy, for which he played for 12 years. The fact was, he knew no different than being committed to Everton. He was a local man, born in Liverpool, and spent much of his childhood on the terraces at Goodison Park. As one of the lucky few, his dreams of playing among his heroes came true, as he joined Everton and went through the junior ranks and into the reserves as a centre-forward. The club also had David Johnson on their books in that position, and the progress of Johnson limited Lyons's opportunities and prompted his conversion into a centre-half. He was ideally built for either role – tall and muscular, and despite his technical shortcomings played well enough in the middle of the Everton defence to gain England recognition, if only at U-23 and 'B' level. His experience as a striker proved useful, though. Usually if Everton were a goal down he would go forward from defence and join the attack for the final ten minutes – a tactic still known locally as "doing a Mick Lyons". He sometimes started the match there too, both Billy Bingham and Gordon Lee deploying him as an emergency centre-forward; and he even finished the 1973-74 season as leading scorer with nine goals. It allowed him to score 59 times during his 473 appearances. As a central defender he was perhaps underestimated. Often he appeared to be beaten, yet somehow managed to find some way of thwarting his opponent with a despairing lunge. In the air he was incredibly competitive, and brave enough to dive in head-first among the flailing studs.
He captained the side from 1976 to 1982 and was inducted into the Gwladys Street’s Hall of Fame. In 1982, though, he lost his first-team place to Billy Wright, and he moved to Sheffield Wednesday in 1982, where he scored 12 goals in 129 games helping side win promotion to the First Division.
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