Moments missed from Goodison Park's final Premier League fixture as Everton defeated Southampton 2-0
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Premier League CEO Richard Masters arrives at Goodison Park for Everton's game with Southampton
Premier League CEO Richard Masters arrives at Goodison Park for Everton's game with Southampton
After 133 years at the first purpose-built football ground in England, Everton bid farewell to Goodison Park with a 2-0 win over Southampton in the final Premier League fixture at the venue that has staged the most top flight matches. Here’s a look at some potential moments missed from an historic day for the global game...
They might have been crowing that they’d avoided finishing level with Derby County’s 2007/08 team as being statistically the worst side in Premier League history, trolling the Rams the previous weekend with a “Sorry if we got your hopes up” post on X after a goalless draw with Manchester City took them to a dozen points for the season.
But despite defeating Everton twice in what has been an otherwise miserable campaign, having triumphed on penalties at Goodison Park in the Carabao Cup back in September, Southampton were never going to gatecrash the party here.
READ MORE: 'This was a thank you' - How the national media reported on Everton's emotional Goodison Park farewellREAD MORE: Tim Cahill writes heartfelt Goodison Park tribute after emotional Everton return
The same cannot be said for ‘unwelcome guest’ Richard Masters, the CEO of the Premier League. The Premier League anthem is still booed by Everton supporters before every fixture given that last season, the club received an unprecedented two separate points deductions (totalling eight points). The Premier League had actually recommended the Blues be docked a whopping 17 points.
Masters himself was also forced to backtrack on remarks in which he seemingly referred to Everton and Nottingham Forest as “small clubs” when answering a question at a Culture, Media and Sport Committee hearing last year.
Despite all this, the 48-year-old decided to attend Goodison Park’s final fixture and received an unsurprisingly hostile reception from home supporters.
A video on social media platform Bluesky shows Masters being heckled as he runs the gauntlet of angry Evertonians while receiving a police escort to the main reception on Goodison Road, with fan uppergwladysblue adding the caption: “And the ‘Brass Neck of Eternity’ Award goes to...”
Soundtrack of our lives
There was plenty of musical accompaniment to Goodison Park’s goodbye, alongside hearty renditions of all the old favourites when it comes to Everton terrace tunes. A song usually reserved for the end of gatherings, Frank Sinatra’s ‘My Way’ came early in the day before kick-off but it was another pre-match number that many Blues took to their hearts.
Lee Mavers, frontman of Liverpool group The La’s is quoted as once saying: “Supporting Everton is the most Scouse thing you can do,” and as they said goodbye to the Grand Old Lady, the crowd enjoyed belting out his biggest hit ‘There She Goes’. Some have even suggested it now be added to the tracklist next season when the club move to their new home on the Mersey waterfront.
In addition to that, there was a DJ with decks, belting out club classics for partying fans by the County Road end of Eton Street, in what was dubbed ‘The Brick Festival,’ and even a bagpiper playing Z-Cars in the Gwladys Street during the game.
Saints marching out
Spare a thought for Southampton’s players who had to skulk out of Goodison Park by the Park End touchline and into the car park while Everton’s players were parading around the ground. At least having made the 500-mile round trip from Hampshire, many of their travelling fans who have endured a miserable Premier League return, stayed to watch the post-match show, which will have brought back memories of when they departed the Dell for St Mary’s Stadium some 24 years ago.
Despite filling their allocation, if ever a set of away supporters were silenced at Goodison, this was it as any noise that they did make was drowned out by their hosts.
Their goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale demonstrated his sportsmanship though by applauding the Everton players when they came out and doing the same for captain Seamus Coleman when he was forced off through injury.
Old soldiers on parade
Some of them shuffled or hobbled along, demonstrating the ravages of time on the bodies they had put on the line for the royal blue cause, but many an old soldier was on parade for Goodison Park’s farewell.
The ageing but proud warriors that graced Everton teams of yesteryear all entered their old gladiator’s arena through Turnstile 6 of the Main Stand and as such, had to walk pass thousands of fans who were lining the concourses.
Unlike with Masters, the surreal sight was greeted warmly by starstruck supporters with many of the former stars being stopped for photographs and shaking hands.
For the visitors themselves, this was also an opportunity to catch up with old comrades and Martin Dobson’s face lit up as he greeted Bob Latchford, who now lives in Germany, while out on the pitch itself, Tim Cahill embraced with manager David Moyes.
Up on the roof
Evertonians get everywhere – one of their flags was referenced in a news item on the HS2 tunnel breakthrough earlier this month. But while a ring of steel from Merseyside Police around the perimeter of the playing surface helped prevent a major pitch invasion until after the post-match show, the constables’ entrance from the opposite end of Goodison to the Blues legends was almost as dramatic and their bright yellow and black uniforms clashed with Southampton’s away kit, some cheeky fans still managed to get themselves a unique vantage point.
As the ceremony started to wind down, a group of at least 10 supporters, including one flying a large flag, were spotted on the roof of the Bullens Road Stand, having seemingly climbed the entrance to the television commentary gantry.
Up on the roof, eh, they'd give the Drifters a run for their money and you’d certainly get a good view from up there, perhaps you could even see over to Everton’s future home, the Hill Dickinson Stadium, at Bramley-Moore Dock?