For years the silhouette of a 'bird' has sparked intrigue at Goodison Park. Now it has gone, prompting even more questions. During an admittedly quiet international break, the ECHO looked into matters...
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For years it has cast a shadow over a section of Goodison Park. The silhouette of what had the appearance of the skeleton of a bird was a familiar sight to regulars in the Upper Bullens.
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Standing in a window in the historic corner of the stadium, it sparked speculation. Was it the remnants of a trapped bird? Or was it, as some suggested, a cursed object that explained the trouble of recent years on and off the pitch? Maybe it was both.
It was a source of mystery.
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And then it was gone.
After the dust settled on Everton’s last game before the international break, when Jake O’Brien rescued a late point for the Blues, attention turned from the match to the stands. The ‘bird’ was gone. Even stranger was that it had been replaced. By a blue question mark. The original mystery had given birth to a new one, this time about its disappearance.
Well, the ECHO can now offer an update.
The bird was, in fact, more than it seemed. Created by a staff member at the stadium - some posit as long as 15 years ago - it was an object largely crafted from wire and left in the window frame all those years ago.
What started, perhaps as a joke, then turned into legend. Questions and comments about it have been shared on social media for years - ranging from claims it is the symbol of a wicked spell cast over the club, to requests to buy it. Even club photographers have trained their lenses in its direction.
The legend is such that, with the final days of Goodison Park now truly on the horizon, the attention of some supporters has started to drift to the memories they would like to retain of the Grand Old Lady.
And believe it or not, this has led to some enquiries to the club about the future of the haunting object that has become one of the more unusual features of a stadium cloaked in history.
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As a result, the creator of the object was asked whether, before anyone else laid claim to it, they sought its return. And they did. So now it is in a box in the bowels of Goodison, waiting for collection.