As usual I've got the appetite for going to football matches late in the season as the games are running out. Which it looked as if they were for Everton. Their remarkable and unexpected 5-1 win at European hopefuls Brighton gave renewed hope. But the results some rivals have recorded since - draws mainly but as they say a point can be "massive" at this stage - have left the nerves jangling. Not for me as much as when the club were in similar positions in the 90s, but I suspect that age is lending me an air of resignation.
I enjoyed my two recent trips to Goodison Park, despite Everton losing to Fulham and Newcastle on those occasions. I always find that one notices things in the play watching in the stadium that you don't pick up on tv. Though mainly it's the nostalgia that gets me.
For the Fulham game I had a seat near the front of the Upper Gwladys Street stand. This stand dates back to 1938 when Goodison first had two-tiered stands on all four sides of the ground. This marked the start of Goodison's era as the best ground of any football club in England. This made it an automatic and unquestioned choice for hosting one of the 1966 world cup semi-finals, the other being at Wembley. Goodison's pre-eminent position among English club football stadia lasted until Old Trafford finally got developed around all four sides into the bowl-like arena it always looked as if it wanted to be when I first went there in the 1960s. (Further development of Old Trafford has lost the bowl like appearance and the status as the best English club stadium now belongs to Tottenham).
The Upper Gwladys Street* stand must be little changed since 1938, apart from the new roof and plastic rather than tip-up wooden seats. It offers some of the most panoramic views of the pitch while still being very close to the action. However, as with most parts of Goodison Park, many seats have views obstructed by roof pillars, like mine for the Fulham game:
Which meant a lot of bobbing from side to side to see the action, at least until the ground emptied with Fulham's third goal when I moved two seats to the right to sit in splendid isolation for an uninterrupted view of the dregs of the match. While this wasn't a great seat, trust me there are many views worse than this at Goodison. The Lower Gwladys Street stand basically had seats fixed to what was terracing when the stadium had to become all seater in the 90s. The rake of the terracing was never meant to take seats. But worse, if you are foolish enough to buy a ticket for a seat on the back row, the floor of the stand above interferes with your view of the pitch if you are standing up. Which you have to when the ball comes to the near end of the pitch and everyone stands up to see. Then it is only possible to see the nearer half of the pitch. So if the opposition make a quick break you only get to see them score if everyone sits down quickly. Even when you can see all the pitch from those seats you watch the ball disappear out of view on high kicks and wait for it to reappear below the ceiling. Not surprisingly these seats only sell for the biggest matches, which is why attendances at Goodison are usually a few hundred or so below capacity.
All of which is why Everton have to move from what many call a "proper football stadium" but which, in the modern era, is basically an ancient monument or, more prosaically, an old lady.
I love it of course, having first been taken there by my uncle in 1963. (See My First Match, 14 May 2022) and then starting to go regularly with friends in 1966. Which is approximately when this picture, which I came across recently, was taken:
The only reason I can date that picture of the entrance to the Church End of the Goodison Road terrace to the mid 60s is the admission price of 4 shillings, which is what I paid in 1966 and 1967. For season 67-68 I had a season ticket priced, for the 21 matches, at 4 guineas (of course).
The scallies can't get on to the top of St Luke's Church now because of measures like these:
As I walked down Gwladys Street before one of the matches, with a marching bagpiper playing Z Cars, the atmosphere was electric.
Though I couldn't help but think the stadium really doesn't look like a Premier League ground:
In the Bullens Road stand - which dates back further than Gwladys Street to 1926 - I had a better view for the Newcastle game:
As Goodison Park goes that isn't really an obstructed view! But it's quite tight underneath the tiered seating:
This was after the match - no point in me hurrying back to the car to wait in a queue for the Mersey tunnel - so the crowds had substantially cleared. There's not much space at half time going to the loo and getting a cuppa but surprisingly, if you get your skates on, you can stand up at the half time whistle, do the necessary, get your refreshments and get back to your seat for the start of the second half in this stand and the Gwladys Street stands. The last time I was in the main stand, built in 1970, that proved impossible and we missed out on our teas.
However, I did catch GRV (Goodison Respiratory Virus) after one of the matches having got covid at a match last year. It's more than cosy in those areas, lots of brushing past people. Of course, I might have got covid/GRV at the pub beforehand, which is equally packed. This is the beautiful reredos at the Barlow Arms in Kirkdale not far from the ground:
I know that term is usually used for a church or cathedral, but that's what these places are for many.
One upside of my visits is that my son bought me a lovely present a while ago which I had not been able to inspect personally because of the covid ground closures. It's our own personal brick on the Spellow Brick Road:
As you can see it took a bit of finding (this is only a small section of it). The "road" is adjacent to the Everton in the Community hub on Spellow Lane, one of the main thoroughfares leading to the ground and site of the Everton free school. Arguably Everton has by far the best and most ambitious community programme of any football club, not just in the UK.
As for the games, what did I pick up? The most obvious point was that Dyche tells his back four to play very narrow. Presumably he wants to reduce the risk of other teams playing through us and the centre backs being exposed for pace. But inviting teams to play around us leaves acres of space on the wings. For Fulham Willian, who I've always thought a 'good lad', was often in 30 yards of space on their left wing so switching the ball to him was easy. As he controlled it Godfrey, a centre back standing in for the injured Coleman at right back, scurried over to close him down. But the next shirt arriving was always in Fulham white giving them a 2 v 1 overlap time after time. The contrast when Everton's Demarai Gray, playing as a winger, got the ball was stark. He was always under immediate pressure from a defender and the next player arriving to support was, again, not in blue but in Fulham white.
Fulham took full advantage of the always available out ball to Willian and, while only one of their 3 goals came via him, their first goal came from just as much space being conceded on the other flank.
Twelve days later the freedom of the park was gifted to Newcastle's Joe Linton in the same way leading to Newcastle's first goal, though they had enough strength in their forwards to make the result more comprehensive. I remember the late 1970s team I played for lamenting how we needed to be more unpredictable because teams we only played twice a year had worked out how to counter us. How much more the case when they all have teams of analysts watching the videos, Sean!
The other thing I learned was that Eddie Howe's Newcastle are the true heirs to Don Revie's Leeds in terms of gamesmanship. I already knew that Newcastle have one of the lowest ball in play time per 90 minutes in the Premier League with a reputation for time wasting; that's been covered in the sports pages. A recently published 'definitive guide' to Premier League time wasting confirms it, with Newcastle's average for ball in play over the season more than a minute less than any other team at 51min 5sec. That source gives the full low down with league tables for the average time each team takes over goal kicks, free kicks, corners, penalties and more.
Newcastle's tactics are very deliberate. They are one of the quicker teams taking throw ins, in mid table for corners, the slowest taking free kicks ( nearly 10s slower on average than Liverpool) and by far the slowest at taking goal kicks - a full 3 seconds slower than, er, Everton at 36s. Liverpool are the quickest (22s).
The goal kick stat was no surprise having shared the Goodison crowd's frustration over the barstripes routine goal kick charade. Every kick the same: three of their big galoot defenders come short and stand in and around the box (the same positions each time) and look at the keeper who stands over the ball appearing to consider whether to play it to any of them. After a bit of discussion and gestulation they 'decide' to go long and the keeper waves them up the pitch. He then has to step back to take a run up, sometimes repositioning the ball, steadies himself, takes a breath and wellies it. Every time this happened the crowd groaned as Toon custodian** Nick Pope waved his loons up the pitch as everyone knew he was going to do. Newcastle presumably don't do this if they are losing but I didn't see that tested. They used it all the time it was 0-0, especially in the first 20 minutes when Everton were dominant and all the time they were winning.
This was not even their most irritating gambit. Callum Wilson is another 'good lad' in my book. I remember thinking when Newcastle signed him that maybe Everton should have. Though not as tall as the classic Goodison no 9 he's got a lot of upper body strength and had a really good tussle with Everton's bigger, heavier centre backs, Big Ears (come on, you must have noticed Tarkowski's jug ears) and Noddy, as I suppose I should call Michael Keane. But when Pickford caught a cross and attempted a quick clearance Wilson pulled him back by the arm from behind to stop him and waste time. The officials didn't notice but Jordan turned round and confronted Wilson. The bemused referee told them to calm down and Wilson suckered Pickford into doing a fist bump to make up, wasting more time. I'm sure Eddie Howe thinks Wilson is a really good lad and not just because between April and mid May his 10 Premier League goals, including a sniffer's finish and a good strike from outside the box against Everton, are more than any other player in any of Europe's major leagues. Even Haaland. Sorry, Callum, but you're also a bit of an arse.
The funniest time wasting incident, not that the Gwladys Street crowd thought so, came when a Newcastle defender shepherded the ball out for a goal kick with the score 3-1 in their favour***. As often happens the frustrated chasing attacker barged the lad over when it became clear the ball couldn't be kept in. Counter productive of course but you would, wouldn't you? The huge defender bounced straight back up to his feet, then remembered he should have stayed down and slowly capsized in stages, first to his knees and then in slow motion like a cartoon character to a prone position, then deciding which bit of his anatomy to pretend was hurt, choosing to hold his back. Pathetically unedifying.
Newcastle and Eddie Howe have understandably had a lot of good press but this systematised team behaviour must come from the manager, who has gone down in my estimation.
Talking of managers, I walked away from Goodison with the sound of another fan, fully 50 yards ahead of me down the road, repeatedly and very loudly asking "but why's he (Dyche) playing a f***ing centre back at right back when we've got one one the bench?" I'd been thinking the same myself. But then Pep Guardiola has been playing centre backs at full back this year and Newcastle's Dan Burn is another example. Godfrey had a bad day at the office - 3 of Newcastle's 4 goals came from his side of the pitch - but he wasn't the only one.
At least Anthony Gordon, who came on as a late sub when there was hardly anyone left to boo him, didn't score.
Two of their other subs, the talented Isak and suddenly prolific Murphy (yes, Newcastle could afford to leave two of their form players on the bench), did combine to score what neutrals probably thought a wonderful fourth goal for their team. Like the rest of the home crowd I found it embarrassingly cringeworthy. Isak tried to burn Godfrey for pace down the line. To his credit Godfrey kept up and, with assistance from Keane shepherded Isak towards the corner flag, sensibly dropping off to cover Keane and leaving Keane and Gana Gueye apparently in full control. From a position near the dead ball line with back to goal Isak pirouetted past Keane, eluded Gueye, beat Noddy again and walked past Godfrey, reaching the six yard box where he delicately lifted it over Pickford's brain dead feet first lunge for Murphy to tap in on the far post. Isak did 5 Everton defenders (counting Noddy Keane twice) in a space less than 20 yards long and three wide.
If you haven't seen this superb bit of skill/pathetic defending there's a youtube link below.
Thankfully Newcastle's draw with Leicester City means we go into the final round of games with it in Everton's hands as they say: beat Bournemouth and Everton definitely stay up. It's two from three to go and Everton have a two point advantage over both Leicester and Leeds and a better goal difference than Leeds by three but an inferior goal difference to Leicester.
This means that Everton have to win as a draw is very dangerous. That result plus a Leicester win is curtains. And as Leeds have scored far more goals than Everton, if Leeds beat Spurs by 3 goals - which could easily happen, Spurs have nothing to play for and have folded in matches a couple of times since February - then a draw for Everton would also see them relegated.
With the club's only competent striker crocked again and all its recognised and normal stand-in full backs injured, what could possibly go wrong?
Of course it's not the first time Everton have gone into the last game of a Premier League season in danger of going down. Before the famous 3-2 win against Wimbledon on the last day in 1994 Everton were in the bottom three, a point adrift. They won in a bizarre and controversial game while Sheffield United lost at Chelsea. Everton were dire that season though I remember it fondly as my older son came to quite a few matches with me. We were locked out of the Wimbledon game (not all ticket in those days) and he wanted to join the folk climbing trees in Stanley Park to watch. The Park End stand had been demolished for rebuilding and it was possible to see over the hoardings. I dissuaded him.
Then in 1998 Everton, at home to Coventry, needed to at least match Bolton's result at Chelsea to stay up. The unsung midfielder Gareth Farrelly put the blues ahead early, Nick Barmby missed a late penalty to seal it, Dion Dublin got an equaliser. Shredded nerves but Bolton lost and Everton were again safe. I listened to the last minutes of that match, including the missed pen and equaliser, on radio commentary. My wife, two (then young) children and parents in law stood impatiently in a car park waiting to be driven home from the North Weald airshow - I wasn't going to attempt driving while that was going on!
Notwithstanding the odd low finish, the Moyes era put an end to last day dramas and even last season when real danger returned Everton were safe before the last day.
I'm going on Sunday and it could get very nervous unless Everton are at least 2 goals up going into stoppage time. But then, as a friend says "all you have to do is beat Bournemouth, at home"....
Meanwhile the new Everton stadium at Bramley Moore dock which will replace Goodison is progressing apace. This picture is from about ten days ago:
The question is not only what division they'll be playing in when it's commissioned, due in August 2024 but also who will actually own it. Farhad Moshiri has been looking for investors to provide more capital, presumably to help fund the completion of the stadium, though we were told beforehand that the money was 'ring fenced'. (Costs have, of course, escalated though not as much as I feared). Another option would be to do a sale and lease back of the ground. Which would be very negative as the club would lose prospective income from non-football events. Worse it wouldn't own the ground if club got into difficulties. This is the road to administration trodden by Derby County and Coventry City.
So will it be the high road or the low road for Everton? And, if they survive, will things be any better next season? A rhetorical question, really. As I said a year ago after the last escape: why should they be?
*My dad told me that his uncle Louis lived on Gwladys Street. I never thought to ask on which side of the road: the row of terraced houses opposite the ground that still stand or the row that Everton bought and demolished in the 1930s to build the 'modern' extended stand. Before that it would have been a very shallow terrace behind the goal as the stand isn't very deep now
** this was a common term for a goalkeeper in newspaper match reports when I was a lad
*** I wait in vain for any Premier League referee to enforce the laws of the game and give a free kick against a defender shepherding a ball out when he lets the ball slip out of his playing reach, which they frequently do in my opinion, quite deliberately. Not the most important thing I'd badger Howard Webb on, but certainly one of them
The definitive guide to Premier League time wasting, 12 May 2023 is at https://theanalyst.com/eu/2023/05/guide-to-premier-league-time-wasting/
The Everton1 Newcastle 4 goals (or Noddy and Big Ears get in trouble) can be seen at
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=W6fk0xMSPQw
Love the brick:-)
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