Henry Winter has spoken to ECHO Everton reporter Chris Beesley about his memories of Goodison Park ahead of the Blues' move to their new stadium
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Henry Winter has shared his thoughts on Goodison Park with the ECHO ahead of Everton's move to their new stadium
Henry Winter has shared his thoughts on Goodison Park with the ECHO ahead of Everton's move to their new stadium
Leading football journalist Henry Winter has shared his Goodison Park memories ahead of Everton’s move to their new stadium this summer. Winter, who now produces his own podcast The Winter View and worked alongside Duncan Ferguson on his forthcoming autobiograpy Big Dunc, has been a regular visitor to the Blues’ long-time home, reporting on games since the 1980s for the Independent, the Daily Telegraph and the Times.
Howard Webb took charge of a World Cup final but admitted that for him Goodison was: “The hardest place to referee in the Premier League,” and in terms of being one of the most-intimidating grounds in the game to come to, Winter told the ECHO: “It is. I don’t think there’s any disputing that.
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“I’ve spoken to opposition players when they’ve come out shellshocked with their heads still ringing and their senses scrambled, having been in front of the Gwladys Street, which I have to say, it took me a couple of years to learn the spelling of! It’s one of those special places and I understand the sadness of moving.”
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However, The 62-year-old believes Everton can replicate the best elements of Goodison Park in their future home by the Mersey waterfront. He said: “I’m a big fan of Bramley-Moore Dock, I’ve been around it a couple of times, even before they started opening up and it is fantastic. The most important thing about it is that huge new stand.
“The rake of it is fantastic, because that’s what kills new stadiums, they’re often too shallow, whereas this will have a ravine-type feel to it. Ultimately, it’s flesh and blood plus lungs and hearts that make football grounds special and I can just see the Gwladys Street marching there en masse and making that into an instant success as a new stadium.”
In the full video interview on YouTube, Winter provides a selection of his own most-memorable games at Goodison Park and he believes that the first purpose-built football ground in England, that has also staged the most top flight matches, two FA Cup finals plus five World Cup games – including a semi-final – will always have a special place in the hearts of followers of the game given his prominent role it has played since it opened in 1892.
He said: “It will be difficult leaving your ancient home. It’s like leaving your childhood home, your family home where you’ve got so many memories wrapped up in there.
“Wherever you look, there is history seeping from within the walls. Whether you’re standing outside, looking at the murals walking around.
“I’ve been there on non-matchdays, covering pieces with the incredible Everton in the Community operation which is scattered in buildings around the place there’s a feel to it, a sense about it. I always feel the great homes of English, British, world football, they just have a resonance on non-matchdays.
“You just feel something there. It’s a special place and I’m not an Everton fan.
“I grew up in London, but I feel an attachment to it and a sadness that it’s going. So heaven knows what the hundreds of thousands, millions of Everton fans across the world think of stepping away from their spiritual home.”
Click here to watch Henry Winter's full interview on YouTube; or here to listen on Apple or here to listen on Spotify.