Everton's men will play their final game at Goodison Park on Sunday
Everton's men will play their final game at Goodison Park on Sunday
Everton will bid an emotional farewell to Goodison Park tomorrow after 133 years at the iconic stadium.
The club’s men are moving to a £750million arena at Bramley-Moore Dock, on the banks of the River Mersey. And when they leave the ‘Grand Old Lady’ of Goodison, there will be tears in the surrounding terraced streets, where Everton FC is deeply embedded.
Formed in 1878, the club played early games on fields at the nearby Stanley Park and Priory Road, before moving to Anfield in 1884. Eight years later, after a rent row, the Blues set up home in Goodison Road and the switch led to one of the greatest football rivalries when a new team - Liverpool - emerged at Anfield.
Down the decades generations of families have stepped through Goodison’s turnstiles to watch legends of the game such as Dixie Dean, Alan Ball and Wayne Rooney. In his book “Farewell to Goodison. 100 Memories of a Grand Old Lady”, David Prentice has detailed some of the stadium’s greatest moments.
[
Everton reveal name of new Bramley-Moore Dock stadium as lucrative deal agreed](https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/breaking-everton-stadium-name-rights-35240452)
[
Everton fans slam 'terrible' new stadium name and come up with alternative](https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/everton-stadium-name-mocked-fans-35240569)
David is married to Dixie Dean’s grand daughter Melanie and says the legendary centre forward’s record breaking 60 league goals in the 1927-28 season is his highlight. He said: “Everyone talks about Bayern Munich (when Everton won the 1985 Uefa Cup Winners’ Cup semi-final 3-1) but for me the greatest moment is Dixie setting that record.”
Goodison is unique in having a church, St Luke the Evangelist, nestled between two of its stands and its rooftop has in the past provided a precarious perch for fans.
Paul Byrne outside St Luke the Evangelist church
Paul Byrne outside St Luke the Evangelist church
(
Image:
Andy Stenning/Daily Mirror)
My parents were married in St Luke’s on a match day in March 1959, when Everton played Aston Villa. Mum told me she walked down the aisle to a huge roar as the crowd greeted the teams onto the pitch. Everton won 2-1, helped by a goal from mum’s hero Dave Hickson.
All season fans have been flocking to Goodison to say farewell. Games have been sold out, as have guided tours of the stadium.
Sue Palmer, 70, and her husband Steven, 73, took a tour with their family, including two year old grand daughter Ivy. Sue worked for the club for 42 years, first in hospitality and then as a PA for Everton managers, including Howard Kendall, Walter Smith, David Moyes and Roberto Martinez.
Goodison Park means so much to so many people
Goodison Park means so much to so many people ( Image: Colin Lane/Liverpool Echo)
Her husband was a Goodison steward and her son and daughter, David, 37 and Laura, 39, both worked in the ticket office. Sue said: “We wanted to take our grand children on the tour because they are too young to go to a match.
“We wanted photographs of them with Goodison in the background. It is all about memories. All our family has been brought up as Evertonians.
“Everton is just a lovely club. It is a family club. Moving from Goodison will be a big loss and I’m sad it has to change. But I like to think the move won’t ruin that family feel.”
Everton legend admits one regret ahead of Goodison Park farewell
Sean Dyche says biggest achievement as Everton manager actually made more trouble
Dave Parker has lived in Gwladys Street, behind Goodison’s famous home end, for the past 34 years. The lifelong Blue previously lived in the shadow of Liverpool’s Anfield stadium but laughed: “I hated it.”
And when he and his wife Maureen were offered a move across Stanley Park, he jumped at the chance. “I said ‘where is it?’ They said ‘Gwladys Street’. I said ‘We’ll take it’. My wife said ‘we haven’t even seen it’ but I said ‘Don’t worry. It will be great’.”
Dave, who flies an Everton flag outside his home on match days, remembers going to the game as a child with his dad and later standing in the boys’ pen, after handing over a ‘thruppenny bit’ at the turnstile.
Everton fan Dave Parker, who lives on Gwladys Street (
Image:
Andy Stenning/Daily Mirror)
He recalls the excitement when Goodison hosted five matches during the 1966 World Cup, with stars including Brazil’s Pele and Portugal’s Eusebio gracing the turf.
“The atmosphere was electric. I was only ten and did not have tickets but they would open the gates at three quarter time and we would go in and try to catch a glimpse of the players” he said.
Like many fans, Dave, 69, can’t afford to attend games on a regular basis but his love for the club is undiminished and he will be devastated when the Blues move.
“A couple of people in the street have told me they are going to be broken-hearted and I know I am going to shed a tear” he said.
Janet Clark, landlady of the Top House pub (
Image:
Andy Stenning/Daily Mirror) Don't Miss
He is also worried about the impact on the local pubs, shops and takeaways. A short walk from the ground is the Top House, a popular watering hole for fans. It is a pub I knew well as a child, as my grandad ran it for 30 years until the late 60s.
Current landlady Janet Clark, 52, is concerned about the impact of Everton’s move but believes the cosy community pub will survive. And she has organised a mini bus to take regulars from the pub to the new stadium, with 32 fans signing-up for the service next season.
“A lot of them have been coming here for 35-40 years and they want to stay here. So they asked me if I could arrange transport” she said.
There were fears Goodison would be bulldozed after tomorrow’s final home game against Southampton. But Everton’s women will play there next season, maintaining the club’s vital presence in the community.
Goodison Park will be the home of Everton's women from next season (
Image:
PA)
The club also plans to expand the campus of its official charity, Everton in the Community (EitC), which each year supports 156,000 people. Most of its work is in the Kirkdale and County wards of north Liverpool, which are in the most deprived 1 per cent of UK neighbourhoods.
Its campus, just 500 metres from Goodison, includes a digital skills lab and The People’s Place, which promotes positive mental health and wellbeing. Last year Sam, 22, was invited onto its 12 week Imagine Your Goals (IYG) programme, which involves classroom and activity sessions, and he continues to receive support.
He said: “It really is something that has helped me along my mental health journey", adding: “EitC has given me a future. It really is a life-saver.”
Back in Gwladys Street Dave Parker says he understands the financial reasons for the club moving two miles across the city to the new 52,888 capacity riverside venue.
“We love Goodison and we will learn to love the new ground as well” he said. “Bring on Bramley-Moore, but God Bless Goodison Park.”
Join our new WhatsApp communityand receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read ourPrivacy Notice.
MORE ONHoward KendallDixie DeanRoberto MartinezWalter SmithWayne RooneyAlan Ball