A round-up of how the national media reported on Goodison Park's final Premier League fixture as Everton defeated Southampton 2-0
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11:44, 19 May 2025
While it was imperative that Everton bowed out with a win – which they duly did by despatching rock bottom Southampton 2-0 – the football on the pitch was in many ways secondary to the magnitude of the occasion as Goodison Park hosted its final men’s first team fixture after being the Blues’ home for the past 133 years.
And here is a round-up of how the national media reported on the historic day.
In the Guardian, Andy Hunter wrote: “The La’s song There She Goes captured the mood perfectly, sparking a mass sing‑along before the Second World War siren kicked in and Everton’s men emerged to the sound of the Z-Cars theme for one last time at Goodison Park.
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“Then the PA system cut out and Z‑Cars spluttered to a halt. Not now, please not now. A sign from the stadium gods? A little reminder that this iconic feature of English football is 133 years old and all the affection in the world can not hide the wrinkles? Perhaps, but it can still say goodbye in style.
“On a beautiful day in L4 4EL, under pale blue skies darkened by plumes of royal blue smoke from the flares outside, Everton delivered as its history demanded and departed with a win. Iliman Ndiaye danced through the Southampton defence twice and etched his name into Goodison folklore as the final goalscorer in the stadium’s Premier League history.
“Nottingham Forest’s Horace Pike had the honour of scoring the first league goal here, in 1892. Legends, glory, torment, passion, misery, the School of Science, Dogs of War and so much more have filled the years in between.
“The history is inescapable and Everton – club, team and fans alike – staged the perfect sendoff on a poignant and emotional afternoon.
“Ndiaye took the match ball home after delivering victory for David Moyes’s team. He didn’t get a hat‑trick but no one cared. It was some achievement by the Everton team to get inside the stadium and perform at all.
“The call to greet the team coach as it made its way along Walton Lane and Goodison Road was answered by tens of thousands of Evertonians. The area around Spellow Lane and Goodison Road, where the statue of Dixie Dean stands, was impassable by 9.30am.
“After the final, final whistle there was a 15-minute delay while club staff put seats and stages in place for 'Operation Farewell Goodison.' It was a moment to reflect on what it has taken for Everton to get to a point where leaving its cherished home for a new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock is met with excitement more than regret.
“Goodison would get one last rendition of Z-Cars after all. In the penalty area where Dean scored his record‑breaking and still unmatched 60th league goal in 1928, a lone violinist played a heart‑wrenching version of the club’s adopted anthem.
“Bill Ryder-Jones, co-founder of the Coral, closed proceedings with a moving version of In My Life. ‘There are places I remember, All my life...’ Evertonians could not have loved Goodison more.”
Paul Joyce wrote in the Times: “Tears flowed in the stands and some cradled their heads in their hands before a final, lusty rendition of Spirit of the Blues reverberated out. Goodison Park’s long goodbye is complete.
“That supporters said their farewells in their own ways illustrated just how this famous old ground means different things to different people, albeit each and every one is bonded by all things blue. Everton’s final men’s game could have turned into a wake but, instead, became a celebration, an outpouring of emotion that appeared to leave some drained by the enormity of it all. That was no surprise. “From early morning a blue army had mobilised to swarm around the tight streets that make Goodison feel different. At 8am they were already queueing around the corner to gain entry to The Winslow, which is within staggering distance of the Main Stand.
“Plumes of acrid blue smoke billowed upwards, leaving some fans looking like Smurfs as they spluttered in between singing about 60 Grand Seamus Coleman or launching into a throaty chant in homage to Jordan Pickford and never-to-be-forgotten Super Kevin Campbell.
“For as far as the eye could see, a sea of blue spilt out in every direction. It turned the ten-minute walk from Stanley Park into a glorious 50-minute struggle through the crowds and an impromptu chance to bump into friends and strangers and reminisce misty-eyed.
“The planned welcome of David Moyes and his squad had to be cancelled, with the team bus rerouted to another entrance point because of the sheer volume of supporters blocking the way.
“If Richard Masters, the chief executive of the Premier League, wished he could have sneaked in through a back entrance too, he did not show it. He had found himself booed and showered with invective as he made his way past the Church of St Luke the Evangelist before belatedly being escorted by police to the front entrance of the stadium. “The separate points deductions meted out to Everton in 2023-24, for breaching the Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules, still rankle in these parts, a part of the club’s modern fabric but something that can now be considered a footnote after the takeover in December by The Friedkin Group.
“The shrill blast of the final whistle brought another release. A brief, guttural roar from an official attendance of 39,201, a handful of whom would later sneak on to the roof of the Bullens Road and plant an Everton flag. Tens of thousands remained outside.
“Of course, with the women’s team now moving into Goodison next season, it will remain at the heart of the community.
“Perhaps, as Peter Reid had eloquently stated in the build-up, the sentiment should not have been goodbye. This was a thank you.”
In the Daily Mail, Ian Herbert wrote: “An azure sky for a blue, blue day and amid the flares, the fireworks and the fervour, there was an unmistakeable sense of loss for many, amid Goodison Park's drawing down of blinds.
“‘Goodbye. Thankyou for your custom over the years,’ stated the banner above the tea hut on Gwladys Street run by Eddie and Elaine, for whom life will not be quite the same. The bustling upstairs room at St Luke's Church, where the matchday programme and memorabilia sale has become its own community, will fall quiet now.
“The prevailing mood for the stadium's last competitive men's game was triumphant, though, because for a very long time it seemed that this stadium might be needed for a yet another Premier League survival support act, when Southampton's visit came round.
“David Moyes has delivered, so it was without jeopardy that they could hang up the blue and white bunting on redbrick Oxton Road, remember beloved fans who had never lived to see this day and, 15 minutes before kick-off, deliver a rendition of 'The Spirit of the Blues' anthem, the likes of which we have never heard before. 'We never shone so brightly' runs one of its lyrics. And some.
“They squeezed in their thousands into Goodison Road, where the blue mist of the flares drifted on the faint morning breeze. That street was so packed that the team bus had to deposit the players on Bullens Road instead.
“How very 'Everton' it would be, to lose to the Premier League's bottom team, a few reflected. Southampton had already beaten them this season, in the league and Carabao Cup. But there was no meaningful opposition to send clouds across Everton's peerless sky. Southampton brought such an aimless passing game that their own fans were chanting 'ole' to every pointless ball by half-time.
“It left Goodison looking for different ways of manufacturing the raw energy which has helped the team through formidable challenges down the years. Departing players were cheered to the rafters as Moyes made his substitutions. Spontaneous renditions of Z Cars and 'It's a Grand Old Team' broke out of temporary moments of silence. “The onlookers included a few who had not even imagined they would be here. In one of the day's random acts of kindness, an American pressed an envelope into the hands of Dave Kelly, who for years has helped run the foodbank at the top of Goodison Road. Two precious tickets for the game were tucked inside, for volunteers.
“It was Kelly who led the fight against Everton's move to Kirkby a decade back. Without him, the long-anticipated move to a stadium by the banks of the Mersey would not be happening.”
Chris Bascombe wrote in the Telegraph: “In its 133 year history, Goodison Park has never experienced a day like this. How could it?
“Thousands took the final journey to their cathedral, seats taken an hour before kick-off and no doubt many more after the final whistle blew time on this stadium’s Premier League status, despite the club’s warnings against such souvenirs leaving the premises.
“The Everton legends lined-up pre-match as the club anthems, old and new, stirred the soul. None felt more profound than a rendition of The La’s classic There She Goes – an inspirational choice by the resident DJ capturing the mood; half-party, half memorial.
“The match? Oh yes, a game of football was taking place here too, relegated to a sideshow, in truth, aside from the yearning for Everton’s modern incarnation not to let down the greats so synonymous with this arena.
“Iliman Ndiaye duly delivered after six minutes, a goal worthy of conjuring memories of Trevor Steven, Kevin Sheedy or Johnny Morrissey in their heyday, dancing through Southampton’s defenders before picking his spot.
“He followed up on the stroke of half-time, timing his run to dribble past Aaron Ramsdale and guarantee Everton’s grand farewell would be triumphant. Beyond the result, it was always going to be a celebration.
“They have shed tears of jubilation here during the years when trophy collecting was a habit, and of relief when Goodison Park’s ferocity was the means of Premier League salvation. The emotions here were of a euphoric sadness as the final whistle blew on top-flight football.
“In truth, it is au revoir more than goodbye – the women’s team will make this their home soon. But for Everton, matchdays will never be the same.”
And in the ECHO, our own Joe Thomas wrote: “The party started some 10 minutes before the end. For 80 minutes, for days, for years, a fanbase had been building up to this moment. And they did not disappoint. Emotions that had bubbled for an eternity burst in the hallowed stands of Goodison Park.
“It began when Jordan Pickford pulled off a superb reflex save to deny Cameron Archer a consolation that would have been a frustrating footnote to 133 years of football heritage. Everton had been coasting to victory before England’s number one kept Archer’s close-range effort at bay and his latest act of heroism was the trigger for what followed.
“Sensing the end was nigh, the Gwladys Street broke into a rendition of Z-Cars. The Park End responded with ‘If you know your history’.
“With that, the farewell had lift-off. Nearly 40,000 men, women and children ran through the classics - Spirit of the Blues, Goodison Gang, ‘Super Kevin Campbell’. When referee Michael Oliver blew the final whistle it prompted heartfelt scenes. Grown men wiped tears from their eyes, strangers hugged, commemorative scarves twirled in the early summer sunshine.
“On the pitch, players embraced. David Moyes waved to the faithful in the Main Stand, TV camera crews chased down Pickford and match-winner Iliman Ndiaye, the departing Ashley Young took in the scenes of joy and heartache that surrounded him.
“This was always more than a match. It was an occasion that was only barely about football. Family and friends, past and present, lay at the forefront on this most special of days. Goodison will still be here for years to come but it will exist in a different guise, with Everton Women writing the next chapter of history. Generations of shared memories haunt this wonderful monument to the beautiful game and, for many, the final Premier League game was a sign-off on at least one stage of their own personal journey through Everton.”