Hackett View: Leaving ‘spectacular’ Goodison Park will be a sad day for Everton
We’re delighted to welcome former Premier League referee Keith Hackett as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at Everton.
Keith Hackett has reflected on his memories of refereeing at Goodison Park following recent news regarding Everton’s planned new stadium.
Earlier this week Everton finally received the go-ahead to begin construction of their 52,000-capacity stadium on the Bramley-Moore Docks.
The Liverpool City Council had given their approval for construction to commence in February, however, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government had asked for more time to consider the proposal.
Now though the government review has concluded and Everton have been given the official green light to begin the process that will see them finally leave Goodison Park. [BBC News]
The Grand Old Lady has been Everton’s home since 1892, and though it is still very much beloved by Everton supporters it is undeniably dated, and Everton feel they need a bigger and more modern home for them to continue to grow.
Talking exclusively to Goodison News, former referee Hackett believes it will be difficult for Everton to replicate the same atmosphere at their new stadium, while he also touched upon the passion of football fans from Merseyside.
Hackett said: “I think it’s what we would term an old-fashioned football ground.
“The stands are almost raised vertical and the fans feel like they’re on top of you. But it’s not a massive sized pitch like Anfield, they’re not big playing surfaces.
“The fans on Merseyside, when [Bill] Shankly said football is more than a matter of life and death, I think in that part of the world the passion is like you see in the North East.
“There’s a level of additional passion that comes with these fans, it’s escapism I think to some degree. I’m always amazed that a few hours plus before the game there are people already hanging around the stadium getting ready to go to the match – it’s part of their build-up.
“But this is like a reflection of Wembley Stadium, the game moves on and in order to compete clubs like Everton need these big stadiums to generate a lot of income.
“In a way it’s sad to see these go, stadiums like Highbury. The problems for these clubs then is how are you going to generate the same sort of atmosphere?
“You do lose something because these old buildings really are spectacular.”
Having been with Goodison Park for over a century it is obviously going to feel alien once the Toffees first line-up in their new home ground.
It will be tough to generate the same atmosphere because initially, it won’t feel like home, it will feel like a shiny but empty shell that has no history built into the walls or seeped into the turf.
But that atmosphere will be down the fans to bring with them, and new history will need to be made by the players.
What helps Everton is the unilateral belief that leaving Goodison, while sad, is the right decision. With everyone on the same page, we’re confident it won’t be long before Bramley-Moore begins to feel like home.
In other Everton news, Carlo Ancelotti is ‘intent’ on signing Robin Olsen on a permanent basis this summer.