The Closing of the Doors
And so, just like that, we finally reached the last match which will be played by Everton at Goodison Park — well, by the men’s team, anyway. In and of itself, the actual contest meant not a lot, other than in the absolute requirement for the Blues to sign off at the ground which has been their home for almost 133 years, with a victory. The team’s 2-0 win over visitors Southampton was just the fifth at home this season, their lowest tally in Premier League history and matching the all-time low from the 1957-58 season. In fact, after that dreadful campaign, the Toffees managed double figure home wins in all but one season up to and including 1991-92.
Since, which will come as no surprise to anyone familiar with the travails the club has experienced in the Premier League era, Everton’s record at Goodison has been rather more patchy, showing notable improvement only during David Moyes’ first spell in charge, and in the first few years after the arrival of big-spending owner, Farhad Moshiri. Over the last six seasons, the team has failed to collect ten home wins each time, mirroring their last prolonged woeful stretch, between 1996-2002. It’s been a long time since Goodison could be considered anything resembling a fortress, on a consistent basis.
In recent decades it’s more often been a scene for mediocrity: embarrassing defeats to lacklustre outfits, and newly promoted sides, with just the occasional highlight — which tend to be memorable because they are so infrequent. I’m not someone who puts much store in nostalgia, or sentiment, though I can understand and empathize with those to whom Goodison means so much, a place which they’ve attended with family and friends over the years; a cathedral of football. But a move away is long overdue and hopefully the opportunity now presents for Everton to break free of the inertia which has weighed down the club for so long. So, goodbye to the past; hello to the future.
Everton FC v Southampton FC - Premier League Huge crowds of Blues fans assemble prior to the game to bid farewell to the old ground
Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images
A Match Happened!
Indeed, a game did take place, almost as an afterthought, and Everton did what was expected in starting fast and handily beating a frankly hapless Saints side on home turf. Iliman Ndiaye’s classy goal got the hosts off to a perfect, stress-relieving start, heralding what the club’s signing of the season could offer in an improved team next term. A dominant opening half ended with Ndiaye bagging an opportunistic second, with Beto twice scoring from (blatantly) offside positions, but plenty of chances created in that first half hour. The Blues went in at the interval having generated an xG of 2.35 and outshot the visitors by eight to nothing.
The second period started in similar fashion, with the Toffees on the front foot, adding five further unanswered efforts, and another 0.38 xG by the hour mark. But as substitutions were made, in particular when David Moyes switched to two up front with the introduction of Dominic Calvert-Lewin alongside Beto, cohesion was lost and Southampton were invited back into the game. Jordan Pickford was called into action to pull off a couple of good saves to preserve a clean sheet for the hosts and to ensure that the last goals scored at Goodison were by Everton players.
The End for Captain Coleman
Seamus Coleman has been a stalwart for the club for many years, and in recent seasons has embodied the fight that Everton have needed to stave off relegation on far too many occasions. The bond that he has with the fans has helped to preserve the connection between the club and its supporters, through some difficult times during the reign of Moshiri as owner, with an increasingly disconnected board and some tough to get behind managers. But watching the Irishman forced off the pitch with another injury a mere 18 minutes into the match last weekend should have made it crystal clear to everyone that his playing career has reached its natural conclusion. His contract ends next month and sentiment cannot come into it.
Everton FC v Southampton FC - Premier League I’d love to see Seamus transition into a behind the scenes role next season
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images
The 36-year-old has seen his availability decline precipitously in recent campaigns. His number of league starts has dropped from 30 in 2021/22, to 20, seven and finally three this term; in minutes this is 2656, 1656, 665 and 215. Since hurting his knee in May 2023, Coleman has been officially injured for 334 days, but even when apparently fit he is so fragile that Moyes had wrapped him in cotton wool ahead of the final game at Goodison — which everyone knew Seamus would start. Everton needs to have 25 registered first team players who can make it onto the pitch, and Coleman’s body sadly does not allow that anymore. By all means, bring him into the coaching setup, but he cannot be re-signed as a player for next season.
Doucouré, et al.
The futures of some of the out of contract players has already been revealed in stages, with the two most noteworthy announcing that they will be leaving the club so far being Ashley Young and Abdoulaye Doucouré. The fate of several others, including Idrissa Gueye, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Michael Keane and Coleman, remain to be decided — along with those currently on loan at the club. How many of these will be offered an extension, or a fresh deal, or signed permanently is hard to gauge, with so many unknown factors: the extent of Moyes’ influence, whether Everton is intent on driving wages down, and how far the transfer budget will stretch to, over the summer.
There has to be significant player churn ahead of the new season. Moyes has probably had the current team operating at close to its maximum level. Sensible, but ambitious acquisitions must be made, upgrading several areas of the squad. I’m less concerned with the potential impact of making a lot of changes than many. What do we really lose by letting go DCL, Keane, or Harrison? It was good to see the club have the confidence to let the managerial comfort blanket that Doucouré has become, depart, rather than give in to paying a high wage to player a couple of years past his best.
Everton FC v Southampton FC - Premier League Doucouré’s emotional exit at the weekend foreshadowed news of his departure days later
Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images
He’s been a great servant and scored a hugely important goal against Bournemouth two years ago, from out of nowhere, to salvage a match that then boss Sean Dyche had no idea how to win, ensuring Everton’s survival in the Premier League — and potentially averting a financial implosion, with administration a genuine possibility. The 32-year-old should honoured for that alone, and be leaving with universal goodwill from Blues fans, though sadly such unanimity is rarely the case. But the reality is that the Toffees cannot be handing out Champions League level wages to players of his calibre; it’s not a responsible way to run a club that aims to be competitive.
On to St. James’
What will occur on Sunday, on the final day of the season? Wolverhampton Wanderers’ loss to FA Cup winners Crystal Palace on Tuesday ensured the the Blues will finish in 13th position this term, on at least 45 points. Given how the team was flirting with disaster under the previous incumbent, Moyes has carried out a great job in “changing the story”, guiding Everton to a credible finish. All that’s left to do is to play out the remaining game in the schedule, which is a visit to the frozen North East (it’s actually fairly mild up here!) — where they’ll take on high-flying Newcastle United.
The Magpies have enjoyed a formidable home record in the league over the past three campaigns, winning 35 games against just nine defeats and are pushing hard to qualify for next season’s Champions League, having lost at Arsenal at the weekend. They’ll be motivated and backed by a noisy, enthusiastic, but probably nervy crowd, whilst Everton have not won at St. James’ Park since December 2019, when the hosts were a very different entity. It’s hard to make a case for the Toffees, but I hope they can at least put in a professional close to the campaign, even if they end up on the wrong side of the scoreline.
Everton’s future awaits
A New Chapter Begins
The Hill Dickinson Stadium it is, then. Cue the childish online jokes by some Reds fans, seemingly those more interested in taking shots at Everton’s brilliant new riverside stadium than in celebrating their own team’s title win; c’est la vie. On a personal note I’m happy with the naming rights arrangement secured by the Friedkins, which will bring an estimated £100m into the club’s accounts over the next decade. In context, that is £10m per season more than the non-existent deal the club had at Goodison; quite an achievement for a club with a relatively low global profile and which has rarely threatened to add any silverware for almost three decades.
So what if the name isn’t some instantly recognizable international brand? I’m puzzled that some think that Everton’s stadium becoming the ninth with the name Allianz attached to it would be some sort of big win, or agitated over the fact that the ground won’t be named after a Gulf State airline. Hill Dickinson are a reputable law firm, established in Liverpool 215 years ago, and have paid good money, which hopefully the club can use in an intelligent way. Many fans have sadly proclaimed that they’ll keep on referring to the stadium as Bramley-Moore — after the dock named in honour of the infamous 19th Century slave trader and former Lord Mayor of the city in a different age (1848), but I won’t be joining them.
Statistics provided courtesy offbref.com andtransfermarkt.com