A general exterior view of Goodison Park before the Premier League match between Everton and Newcastle United.
A general exterior view of Goodison Park before the Premier League match between Everton and Newcastle United.
If the best laid plans for Goodison Park's last-ever Merseyside derby were thrown in the air by the impact of Storm Darragh, they were in unusual company. Saturday morning social posts across the region saw reports of garden furniture, wheelie bins and even trampolines strewn across paths they shouldn't have been as the adverse weather continued to batter the city and its surrounding areas.
With forecasters at the Met Office placing the region under an amber-weather warning that predicted 70mph winds sweeping in, Merseyside Police issued a warning against all “non-essential” travel for Saturday, when the winds were expected to peak.
The knock-on effect was the postponement of the final derby at Goodison Park. The COVID-19 pause on all football aside, back in March 2020, this was the first time the fixture had been called off since a waterlogged pitch delayed the action in October 1996.
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Back then, referee Roger Dilkes abandoned the action with just 55 minutes to go until kick-off at Goodison Park but supporters were at least mercifully given a few more hours grace to halt travel plans and remain at home, firmly away from the bluster that was being whipped up across the Liverpool City Region.
For many, the announcement still came too late, with the ECHO learning of Irish Reds fans being left grounded on Merseyside until Monday at the earliest, as well some Blues followers who were halfway up the M6 when the news broke.
After a 7am inspection at Aintree Racecourse resulted in the cancellation of the day's Becher's Chase meeting, it looked inevitable that the derby would also fall foul of the weather and with disruption causing chaos across the Merseyrail services, the feeling that a postponement was imminent was only strengthened as football supporters started to wake up on Saturday morning.
“We apologise for the inconvenience caused and thank supporters for their understanding. Whilst we appreciate this will be deeply disappointing for supporters, the safety of fans, staff and players is of paramount importance," said Everton in a statement released around 9am.
Liverpool added: "We appreciate this will be deeply disappointing for supporters, but the safety of fans, staff and players is of paramount importance. Information relating to a rearranged date for the fixture, including ticketing, will be announced in due course."
The question, inevitably, now turns to when the Reds might be able to venture across Stanley Park for the final time before Everton move to their brand new home at Bramley-Moore Dock.
New Year's Day has been floated as an idea by some, with Liverpool not in action between December 29, when they travel to West Ham United and January 5, when they entertain Manchester United. Everton themselves play Nottingham Forest at home on December 29 before they travel to Bournemouth on January 4.
It presents the theoretical possibility of a first-ever January 1 meeting between the pair and at least gives visiting fans the shortest trip of the season at a time when more than one or two will be nursing their New Year's hangovers.
That blockbuster start to 2025 would provide supporters with the potential for a similarly morale-boosting week in the same manner as the one that has just passed, when Real Madrid and Manchester City were dispatched at Anfield. But so far, any dates and times for the rearrangement are still being speculated on.
Liverpool were perhaps quietly counting themselves fortunate that the 106th Goodison Park derby was set to be played in the often dreaded 12:30pm slot, which organically makes the whipping up of an atmosphere more difficult compared to fixtures that are played of an evening.
The moving of this game gives Everton the chance for it to kick off under the lights for one last time, which will no doubt energise those in the stands who will be hoping for a second successive victory over their arch-rivals at home.
On the flip side for Liverpool, there are more tangible benefits in that Alexis Mac Allister won't be suspended and they will likely have Alisson Becker, Ibrahima Konate, Kostas Tsimikas, Conor Bradley and Diogo Jota to choose from once more.
The opportunity for a rare break in play during the typically hectic December period is also a plus for Arne Slot, particularly on the back of a pulsating, yet taxing 3-3 draw with Newcastle, when some of his players looked like they were feeling the exertions of a titanic few days against Madrid and City at Anfield.
At a time when a genuine Premier League title challenge has emerged ahead of the second half of the campaign, Slot might just feel that he will take any boosts that come his way, even if the alternative is having to meet Everton for the first and final time at Goodison in a more atmospheric and intimidating setting at night.
The bad news for a Liverpool side hoping to bounce back from Wednesday's dropped points is that they will now have to wait another week to do so in the Premier League. The good news is that Storm Darragh has given them a trampoline somewhere to do just that.