January 2nd 2025 marked the 60th anniversary of the first Everton game I “watched” at Goodison Park against Burnley (who were a top team at the time). I say “watched” because, in reality, as a small boy, I saw very little from my perch on the Goodison Road standing terrace in 1965 unless the ball went high in the air! My 16 year old brother took me to the game to quell any unlikely family rebellion as I had (apparently) murmured about defecting to the Red side of the city! So I do count it as my first but the only thing I remember was the noise and the passion which has stayed with me forever. For the record, Derek Temple and Fred Pickering scored in a 2-1 win.
The start of my real Goodison experience came actually 12 months later when the Blues were at home to Sunderland in the FA Cup 3rd Round and, as a bigger 11 year old, I sat on a crush bar in Gwladys Street and actually saw all 3 goals, one from Temple and two from “Big Fred” Pickering. I was hooked. It started my love affair with Goodison Park and from 1967/68 season I was a regular at The Old Lady (though nobody called it that then, our ground was cutting edge).
Having flirted with sitting in the old Park End stand, I settled as a regular in The Paddock which remains my preferred view to this day. My first years in the standing area of the paddock were perched on top of an upturned (and suitably-adorned) blue-painted metal waste paper bin. Right against the wall, just towards the Park End side, perfection to see Kendall, Ball, Harvey etc., show the opposition how the game should be played.
Longstanding pre-match traditions from when I first attended Goodison included the traditionally dressed Toffee Lady with umbrella and basket full of Barker & Dobson “Everton mints” touring the ground throwing sweets into the grateful crowd.
Everton FC One of the ‘60s Toffee Ladies
Photo by Charlie Owens/Mirrorpix/Getty Images
Another little tradition in the late ‘60s was a feature in the popular pink Liverpool Football Echo whereby a photographer circled the ground before kick off to take photos of the crowd. The idea was, when published, if you were the “chosen face” you received a £10 prize which was a lot in those days, especially for a 14 year old! I famously appeared twice in the same edition of the Echo in different parts of the ground but sadly did not make my fortune!
During the late ‘60s and early ‘70s there were many structural changes I witnessed such as the removal of the semi circular area behind each goal to increase capacity. This had been designed in the ‘50s to protect visiting players from aerial bombardment by the nearest spectators. Don’t misunderstand, it was nothing more sinister than the throwing of toilet roll streamers or verbal volleys from spectators questioning an opposition player’s parentage! The Everton supporters, in my experience, have long appreciated football first and foremost regardless of the opposition but they have had their moments! The beauty of an all-standing ground was that, if you unfortunately stood by someone that was going to spoil your view or your hearing, you simply moved!
World Cup 1966: Brazil versus Hungary The old semi circular crowd restraint behind each goal as seen at the 1966 World Cup
Photo by Daily Mirror/Mirrorpix via Getty Images
Standout “weird” memories for me were in 1972, as the fantastic 1970 title-winning team had rapidly fallen apart, being able to sit on the paddock terracing (pre-seat installation) to watch a very substandard performance in a crowd of less than 10,000. I saw bleak days as well as the great ones!
Goodison Park Not me, but this balancing act was commonplace if you weren’t quite tall enough to see
Photo by Stephen Shakeshaft/Mirrorpix/Getty Images
Another weird crowd-related one was, oddly enough in the “Latchford 30 goal” season of 1977-78 when, during a winter evening game that had not gone according to plan, an avalanche of seat cushions came hurtling down from the Bullens Road stand above me. One hit me bang in the face. Although they were blue vinyl-covered foam cushions to compensate for the old hard wooden seats, they had a plywood base which made them ideal to throw (if you were crazy enough). Trust me, it hurt, but didn’t deter me.
It’s hard to believe nowadays, but until certainly 30 years ago, there was always a cash at the turnstile option as well as matchday tickets. That particular now-out-moded method caused me to miss out on the famous 1994 Wimbledon relegation battle. I still shudder to this day that we, and thousands of others, saw the turnstile gates shut and were told to leave the area by the mounted Police. I drove home at breakneck speed to listen to the radio, no live match streaming in those days!
Lesson learned, season tickets in The Paddock followed for me and I was lucky enough to see a few great sides and experience great nights especially. I’ve not been a season ticket holder for the past 20 years now (post-Rooney sale) but have been to about 80% of the home games.
Everton v Liverpool - Premier League Photo by Matthew Ashton - AMA/Getty Images
Some things don’t change of course. For years, I took my son Dan to the game and our Saturday tradition was to skip lunch so we had appetite for a steak pie before the game. I say “before the game” because it’s a bit of a standing joke that the pies were and still are as hot as the core of the sun when served to you. Ideal for a winter’s day when they do double-duty as a handwarmer while they finish cooking in your coat pocket but, if you don’t know, you’ll end up watching the game with a very different roof to your mouth!
The only area of the ground (old stand or replacement stand) I never went in was the fabled “Boys’ pen”. I’m not disappointed by that fact. I’ve sat behind more obstructed views in the stands than I care for in recent years and that will be one aspect I won’t miss, but there won’t be many. I learned what to do with the pies and I’m sure Bramley Moore Dock will be better in the catering aspect!
My abiding memory will be of me, in the late 1960s, stood up against the old Paddock wall, teetering on an upturned waste paper bin, my chin in line with the action and seeing full backs Tommy Wright, Ray Wilson or Sandy Brown coming to take throw-ins. Also, hearing some surprisingly “agricultural language” from the “Golden Vision” Alex Young who had been cast as a Goodison angel!
Everton FC v Southampton FC - Premier League Photo by Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Offside via Getty Images
The Future?
During my long time at Goodison Park, structurally, the immediate dismantling of the original Goodison Road stand following the 1970 title win and the bulldozing of the original Park End stand in 1994 saw an unexpected downturn in fortunes on the pitch.
I think, this time, with the move to Bramley Moore Dock, the club under its new stewardship and new head coach, we will instead see an upturn in fortune. Whilst I will have very glazed old eyes in May 2025, I will say a fond farewell to the Old Lady and welcome to our new home. COYB.
New Everton Stadium Holds First Test Event Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images