'Straight out of his Italia '90 repertoire' - Day Everton fans saw Paul Gascoigne back to his best

It was just a solitary display against fourth-tier opponents but for one glorious afternoon at least, Evertonians got the chance to witness Paul Gascoigne turn back the clock and provide them with a tantalising glimpse of the football he could produce back at his breath-taking best.

On January 26, 2002, a 34-year-old Gascoigne, who unbeknown to those watching at the time had shrugged off sickness to play, produced his most-memorable display in a royal blue jersey as he produced a hat-trick of assists as Everton defeated Leyton Orient 4-1 in an FA Cup fourth-round tie. In truth, the midfielder who had previously turned out for manager Walter Smith at Rangers was long past his best by the time he arrived at Goodison Park on a free transfer in July 2000 – he netted just once in 38 appearances for the club in a 2-2 draw at Bolton Wanderers – and had spells out of the side with an ongoing battle against depression and a spell in an alcohol rehabilitation clinic in Arizona.

Gascoigne’s downward trajectory both on and off the pitch had started with a self-inflicted cruciate ligament injury to his right knee that kept him out for over a year following a horror challenge on Nottingham Forest’s Gary Charles in the 1991 FA Cup final in what was always going to be his last game for Tottenham Hotspur after an £8.5million switch to Lazio had been agreed. However, during that post-Italia ’90 season, the Gateshead-born playmaker had been at his brilliant best.

Gascoigne netted 19 goals in all competitions that term and if you check out a highlights reel of them online, you can see just what a remarkable talent he was in his pomp. Left foot, right foot, a header, you’ve got the lot with many of the finishes coming after mesmerising