During the Walter Smith era, Everton became a place where stars go to die. Along with the likes of Gazza and Ginola, current Stoke City manager Mark Hughes spent one of his final seasons as a player at Goodison, as an illustrious career crawled towards it conclusion. Hughes proved a useful squad player at Everton, featuring 16 times over the course of two seasons and scoring once in the process, which came during a 4-2 home win over Watford. After parting company with the Toffees, the former Wales international still had another season or two in him and he spent them at Blackburn Rovers, dropping out of the top flight for the first time in his career. It was a good move for Hughes, who helped Rovers to promotion from Division 1 in 2001 and to League Cup glory the following year. Since breaking into management, Hughes has taken charge of Wales, Blackburn, Manchester City, Fulham, Queens Park Rangers, and most recently Stoke - but there arent too many who remember him as an Everton striker.
