Hooker will need Smith’s permission - and Glasgow Warriors coach is not fussed for football
English football is probably not high on Franco Smith's list of priorities right now but Johnny Matthews is hoping the Glasgow Warriors coach will be sympathetic as he tries to fit in one last visit to Goodison Park.
Matthews, the Glasgow hooker, is a committed Evertonian and would dearly love to return to the old ground before it is consigned to history.
Everton are upping sticks; leaving their venerable home of 133 years and moving to Bramley-Moore Dock on the River Mersey.
Glasgow Warriors hooker Johnny Matthews is a big fan of Everton.Glasgow Warriors hooker Johnny Matthews is a big fan of Everton.
Glasgow Warriors hooker Johnny Matthews is a big fan of Everton. | SNS Group
For Matthews and thousands of other Toffees, the flit will be emotional. The Scotland international was a season ticket holder for ten years and some of his best sporting memories are wrapped up in Goodison but he sees the benefits of moving to the new 52,888-capacity home.
On a practical level, Matthews would love one last trip to the old ground, if Glasgow Warriors' fixture list allows.
“I was at the Palace game earlier in the year [Everton won 2-1], and I was trying to get tickets to the Southampton game, the last one at Goodison, but there were rumours that it would get moved to Monday night, which would be horrendous and I wouldn't be able to go,” explained Matthews.
“We’ve got Leinster last game of the [regular URC] season, on the Saturday, and then Everton are meant to be playing Southampton on the Sunday, so I was like, I could do it technically, but then we'd have the quarter-final.
“If it got moved to the Monday night - which I think would be a disgrace - but if that happened, I just wouldn't be able to go, logistically, unless Franco gave me a Tuesday off. I don't think he would.”
I support Everton - not Liverpool!
The Warriors coach isn’t hugely interested in football, as Matthews discovered recently - “he thought I supported Liverpool the other week - I was fuming!” - but Smith did enjoy Glasgow’s fleeting visit to Hampden before Christmas where they delivered a convincing win over Edinburgh.
Scotland’s national football stadium is rich in history, of course, but Goodison predates it by 11 years and Matthews will be sad to see it go.
Everton say goodbye to Goodison Park at the end of this season.Everton say goodbye to Goodison Park at the end of this season.
Everton say goodbye to Goodison Park at the end of this season. | Getty Images
“I had a season ticket for ten years, and I absolutely loved it. I took my wife to the Palace game, and that was the first win of the season, and it was pretty special.
“Knowing that was probably going to be the last time I was going to be there was emotional for me. But I don't know what it would be like for the likes of my dad, or the older generations who actually saw good Everton teams, teams that won things. But for the good of the club, I think they need to move on.”
Everton have a proud tradition of free-scoring centre forwards, many of whom have been Scots, and, in his own special way, Matthews has been as prolific for Glasgow as the likes of Alex Young, Graeme Sharp, Andy Gray and Duncan Ferguson.
The hooker has scored 48 tries in his time with the Warriors - level with Tommy Seymour - and only George Horne (55) and DTH van der Merwe (54) have scored more. Horne's try against the Lions at the weekend moved him into the lead and Matthews had nothing but praise for the scrum-half.
George Horne praise
“I'm absolutely delighted for George, I think he's been destined to break that record for quite some time,” said Matthews ahead of Glasgow's home match against Leicester Tigers in the last 16 of the Investec Champions Cup on Saturday.
“The form he was on long before I came in, he's been on absolute fire. Since the turn of the year as well, he's been unplayable at times, so to see him do it was brilliant, and hopefully I can close the gap, but if I don't, he's more than deserving of that record, and long may it continue for him.”