Supporter organisation the 1878s have big plans for the south stand on Monday night
Everton supporters decked out the lower half of the south stand in flags ahead of the game with Leeds United last month. Against Manchester United, the 1878s group is planning a display for the entire stand. Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images
Everton supporters decked out the lower half of the south stand in flags ahead of the game with Leeds United last month. Against Manchester United, the 1878s group is planning a display for the entire stand. Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images
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More than 400 banners will greet Everton’s players when they emerge onto the pitch against Manchester United in the biggest south stand flag display held at the club’s new stadium. Supporter organisation the 1878s will have the huge stand decked out to create another stunning pre-match scene inside Hill Dickinson Stadium.
The latest display will follow the incredible stadium-height tifo that was unfurled in the build-up to the Arsenal game and the recent flag greeting held in the lower half of the south stand ahead of the draw with Leeds United. Everton will be under the lights once more on Monday and preparations to create an incredible atmosphere are well advanced.
The 1878s and their army of volunteers will be laying out the flags over the weekend ready for the visit of the Red Devils. Supporters in the south stand are asked to wave any flags they find on their seats once the club songs begin around 15 minutes before kick-off and then continue until the players run towards them after entering the pitch.
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Katie Carter, a key figure in the 1878s, said the plan is to use the huge south stand to the advantage of the club and generate an atmosphere that supports those beneath it in Royal Blue.
She told the ECHO: “It's one of the steepest stands in Europe, it can be intimidating if we make it that way, so let's decorate it with flags and let's fill it with noise and get it going. Monday night is the perfect opportunity for that.
"Whether you know the person next to you or you don't, sing along with them, like get right behind them – make sure that everyone is stood-up, all singing and getting that atmosphere going in that ground. We've got it all there, ready, waiting for us. The stand itself is set up ready. We just need to make it feel like a cauldron of noise to help the players on the pitch.”
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The display will be ready upon arrival for supporters after volunteers answered the 1878s’ call for help setting everything up. No-one who does not want to, or feels unable to hold a flag will be made to, with organisers simply asking that, if that is the case, flags are just moved to the next seat. Fans are urged not to take the flags home so they can be used in future displays.
The occasion will be the latest showpiece event for the stunning stadium as supporters attempt to make the ground hostile for visiting sides - as they did so successfully at Goodison Park. Home form has dipped after a positive start to life on the Liverpool waterfront and the hope is Monday will be the catalyst for that to change and Everton to get a surge of belief at home.
Katie added: “We know what Goodison was like. For more than 100 years we generated noise in there. It's time that this new place generated the same, if not better. It's built for it, that's why it was built in the way it was, to generate an atmosphere, and we'd love nothing more than for Monday to be the game where we get that pop.
"That's when you want it to bang, on Monday night, underneath the lights. Let's go for it – we're doing this for the right reasons now, we're not doing [displays] to pull us out of a mess and keep us up. We are doing it to push for Europe. It's what everybody should be striving for, to push the club forward, and we can do that on Monday night. We can do it vocally and visually and that's what we're really pushing our fans to be doing, especially in that south stand. Let's get it bouncing.”
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