Farewell to the Last Bear Pit
Goodbye, Goodison Park, and with it, farewell to the Premier League’s last bear pit. The blue smoke bombs have cleared, and the players have stopped punching each other in the riotous finale to the last Merseyside derby before the old girl gets bulldozed this summer. What a way to go… Goodison Park erupted after James Tarkowski’s last-gasp equaliser, leaving an indelible mark on the final moments of this storied ground. Everton’s ground is one of the last stadiums with an old school, traditional feel, a place where the stands seem to lean in, and the fans’ breath can be felt on the backs of the visiting players.
The End of an Era
In a few months, Everton will move barely a couple of miles from their ancestral home to a brand-new detached condo on the Liverpool waterfront. No more rickety wooden stands leaning over the touchline or Gwladys Street fans breathing down the necks of visiting players. Instead, shiny steel, gleaming glass, and concrete aggregate will overlook a sprawling fan plaza in a fully-equipped stadium fit for the 21st century. A world away from Wednesday night. As football ploughs along its path to total corporatization, new grounds are being built with the aim of accommodating high-end stakeholders in place of diehards. Where tourists in half-and-half scarves can sit mute, cling to biodegradable paper bags full of overpriced merchandise, and not know what to sing, or when.
The Charm of the Old
The architects behind the 52,000-capacity Bramley Moore Dock claim it will be a home ‘befitting a club with rich traditions, passionate fanbase, and ambitious future.’ That is what they all say. Everton is not alone in this transformation. The hothouses of The Dell, Upton Park, and Filbert Street are now dust, or even worse, modern metropolitan apartment blocks. Gentle curves of billion-pound multi-use arenas set back a safe distance from the pitch have largely replaced the spit-and-sawdust terraces shoehorned in between low-grade housing. Even those still occupying their original foundations seem purpose-built to diffuse atmosphere. The climactic nature of Everton’s last home game with Liverpool ahead of their relocation to Bramley Moore Dock was a 95-minute fuse for the explosive scenes after the final whistle. But there is no doubt that the decrepit structure of Goodison Park, with just over 39,000 seats crammed into its now-outdated form, played a huge role in adding nitro to the glycerine.
A Night to Remember
And it helped trigger the pantomime mayhem that brought the curtain down so fittingly on an inner-city cauldron of tribal passion. An old-fashioned tear-up between warring players, finger jabbing, fans in equal uproar, and euphoria from a goal that meant a draw. Four red cards and a report as long as your arm from Michael Oliver on its way to referees’ HQ, with further repercussions bound to come. And final, conclusive proof that the guff we are fed about the longest-running derby in English football being a friendly, neighbourly get-together is total cobblers. What fun. Watching from the TV commentary box, former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand was contractually obliged to declare, ‘nobody likes to see this.’ Meanwhile, the rest of us sat back and lapped it up as James Tarkowski volleyed home an injury-time equaliser that even got TV sets at home rocking… along with nine-tenths of Goodison Park.
The Passion Lives On
When Abdoulaye Doucoure goaded the pocket of Liverpool fans in the microscopic away end after Everton finished the night with their dignity intact, forget Ferdinand — it was exactly what everybody wanted to see. As was the reaction of Liverpool’s Curtis Jones, a born-and-bred Scouser and Anfield disciple since the age of nine, rightly outraged and hell-bent on landing a right-hander on his cocky opponent. Long may that and the ensuing pushing, shoving, and verbals between coaches, managers, staff, and officials continue. Former Chelsea captain John Terry and ex-West Ham team-mate Frank Lampard suffered dog’s abuse every time they played at the now-rubble-ised Upton Park. And when each of them scored the inevitable goals that won them the match, they gave it right back to the baying mobs of E13. Fists clenched, teeth gnashing. Revenge served and done so in close proximity.
The Future Awaits
Everton’s next home game against Liverpool will be played in far more comfortable surroundings on the docks. With a granite walkway leading up to a bigger home, clean concourse, and uninterrupted views, the capacity will have increased by 13,000 — but size isn’t everything. It won’t be easy to bring the Goodison atmosphere to their new stadium. The charm of the old, the closeness, the raw emotion, and the unpredictability of those final moments—these are the things that will be sorely missed. Nevertheless, the future beckons, and Everton will strive to carry forward the spirit of Goodison Park into their new, modern home.
