Everton waved farewell to Goodison Park earlier this month.
Everton beat Southampton 2-0 in the final ever game at Goodison Park and there weren’t many dry eyes in the stands.
Even Southampton fans were in awe of the special occasion at Goodison, despite suffering yet another defeat in what’s been a miserable season for them.
Romelu Lukaku has recently shared his love for Goodison, so too has Pep Guardiola, Mikel Arteta and many more.
Rio Ferdinand has now shared his thoughts on the emotional departure and says he finds one thing ‘ridiculous’ about Everton’s old home.
Photo by Nigel French/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images
Photo by Nigel French/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images
Rio Ferdinand finds one thing at Everton’s Goodison Park ‘ridiculous’
Everton will play their home games at the new Hill Dickinson Stadium from now on, which will house 52,000 fans.
The Friedkin Group are set to earn an extra £40m in revenue from the new stadium, but it’ll be hard to replicate that special feeling the Grand Old Lady gave us.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ferdinand echoed those thoughts and said that he finds the atmosphere ‘ridiculous’.
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“This stadium holds some great memories for me,” the former Manchester United defender said. “First and foremost, it’s a wonderful, old stadium.
“The atmosphere here is ridiculous, what an atmosphere they generate here. But most importantly, I’ve got to say, this is where I picked up my first ever Premier League title, we won it here for Man United, David Beckham scoring the last goal I think it was in the game, free-kick.”
Hill Dickinson Stadium will allow Everton to move forward as a club
Whilst Everton fans and even neutrals are sad about leaving Goodison Park, it’s ultimately for the benefit of the club.
As magical as Goodison was, it just wasn’t generating the kind of income needed to become a top-six club, with next to no money made from hospitality.
For the Toffees to progress and spend more in forthcoming transfer windows, it was almost a necessity to leave, as security costs were mounting at the Grand Old Lady.
PSR worries should be a thing of the past now, as the Hill Dickinson will see the club’s revenue dramatically increase.
Dan Friedkin has already agreed a £6m-a-year naming rights deal for Everton, so there’s plenty of reason to be optimistic about the future on the blue half of Merseyside.