When angry Everton fans confronted him in the street back earlier this year, Yerry Mina proclaimed: “I will give my life for this club” but while nobody would obviously take him literally in that respect, a parting gift could prove priceless.
Such remarks brought echoes of sentiments offered by Blues legend Dave Hickson who famously declared: “I’d break every bone in my body for any club I play for but I’d die for Everton.” This of course was the same ‘Cannonball Kid’ who came back on to the pitch with stiches in his head and blood gushing from his wound, to nod in the winner in an FA Cup tie against Manchester United at Goodison Park on Valentine’s Day 1953.
Following the 2-1 home defeat to Southampton on January 14 – a game in which the Colombian had been an unused substitute, frustrated supporters became involved in a heated conversation with him outside his car. Following the initial exchange, Mina was told: “Show us a bit of heart then. Be a leader. Speak out. All we want is passion. Show us a bit of passion. Start speaking up lad, show them you’re the man. Be our captain lad, you could be our captain if you speak up. Wear the armband. Speak up.”
