Column Finch Farm Ian Tunny 19/11/2007 10comments | Jump to last Reading an article in the Echo regarding Finch Farm and some of the other columns on ToffeeWeb about the impact of Cahill recently, it got me thinking. Aparently Cahill was the first to test the new facillities at Finch Farm after his injury. Perhaps these new more efficient facillities, with the combination of the buzz of a new environment, provide an incentive to do some extra fitness work. This may be responsible for that little bit of extra fitness, that 10% extra improvement that could make the difference in those final few minutes of a game. If all the players had the same small improvement on the field the difference would be massive overall. Off-the-field activities would also prove to be be invaluble. I read two young Irish players chose Everton over the likes of Man Utd and Celtic because of the facilities at Finch Farm as well as being one of the major reasons AJ signed his new contract. If this trend continues, Finch Farm will be the difference in bringing a lot of highly rated young talent and major signings. On top of that, the site is big enough for the youth Academy to train with the senior team. What better incentive for young players to sign and also players already signed to improve. It will give the Academy players the chance to rate and judge themselves in comparison to the first team players as well as learning a great deal of priceless knowledge from them and the manager. In turn it will give the manager a chance to observe their development for potential introductions to the first team more rapidly. Finch Farm could have an enormous impact. Exciting times! Reader Comments Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer James Elworthy 1 Posted 20/11/2007 at 08:39:03 Report abuse I live near Finch Farm it looks magnifcent, I have been to Bellefield many times the facilites are dated very 1960’s, it is cramped and well past it sell by date.It would be nice if the club had some open days to invite fans there, maybe at the end of the season. Mary Bergin. 2 Posted 20/11/2007 at 08:58:17 Report abuse Andy Johnson has also stated Finch Farm is one of the reasons he signed a new contract.My god Knowsley Council and Everton are responsible for Finch Farm and its on the outskirts of Liverpool in Halewood, Knowsley.That proves that Everton & Knowsley Council can work well together as the council moved heaven and earth for Everton on that site.Well done Everton and Knowsley Council. James Elworthy 3 Posted 20/11/2007 at 09:15:54 Report abuse Mary:I have lived in Halewood Village 25 yrs, 10 mins walk from Finch Farm.Knowsley Council are an extremely well run council always have been unlike their Liverpool counterparts who couldnt run a pissup in a brewery, the Matthew St festival, Everton’s ground move and next thing the 2008 Capital of Culture.However having said that I think the stadium should be within Liverpool not within Knowsley, though Knowsley would undoubtedly do a very good job.At night time Finch Farm illuminates all the surrounding area which is all farmland and looks very good and is a major asset in attracting the best players to now come to this club and hopefully in January might influence one or two big names to sign up. Tom Hughes 4 Posted 20/11/2007 at 09:49:39 Report abuse James/Mary,I believe Knowsley council do a better job in some respects, but not all, and I don’t think they are comparable. For a start for the most part they certainly haven’t inherited the same level of inner city problems, and aging housing/building stock, infrastructure and dereliction that the city council has, they essentially run a few housing estates. I don’t think they have suffered the same reductions in population. Liverpool was in relative decline for decades, when knowsley was only just getting built therefore the general fabric of the place is that much newer. I don’t beleive they can be blamed for Everton’s misgivings, they are under no obligation to bail them out, and couldn’t have done much more for them regarding the King’s Dock for instance. They have said throughout that they will work with the club regarding planning permission for redevelopment, and similarly as regards the Loop and other sites, but for the most part the club have not been interested. Also if you look at the levels of investment and the amount of redevelopment taking place in the city at the moment, there is nothing comparable in the whole of Knowsley put together, I should imagine that they have at least been partly responsible for some of that. Michael Newton 5 Posted 20/11/2007 at 10:12:06 Report abuse Tom are you a Liberal democrat councillor by any chance Mary Bergin 6 Posted 20/11/2007 at 12:53:38 Report abuse What do you mean by inherited the inner city problems. That makes me believe you are saying the current Liberal Dems inherited the problems from Labour. Tom Hughes 7 Posted 20/11/2007 at 12:56:35 Report abuse I’m not a liberal democrat of any description. I’m not political motivated/biased in any way, it’s really not my thing at all..... what I meant by inherited, would also apply to previous labour authorities...... Liverpool’s problems and decline/decay started long before the current council, and are completely different to these predominently more modern areas. There are massive areas of dereliction/decay North and South of the city centre (though I think its improving) that are not really with comparison in Knowsley. In fact these areas alone probably once had a bigger population than all of Knowsley put together..... Isn’t that where they all ended up? Mick Smith 8 Posted 21/11/2007 at 17:54:20 Report abuse Anyone seen any photos of Finch Farm? There is a overhead on wikipedia and thats it Peter Manning 9 Posted 21/11/2007 at 23:23:11 Report abuse Mike Smith. As a shareholder (smallholding) I had the privilege of a guided tour of Finch Farm after completion and before the first team moved in, all the equipment still had the plastic wrapping on it. The facility is magnificent and a credit to all concerned at the club for going the extra mile, something big clubs do. We were asked not to reveal too much to the likes of "ToffeeWeb" & " Bluekipper" and monitoring the sites, as we all do, the shareholders as members who made the visit have stuck to the rules. We all took lots of photos and to my knowledge none have appeared anywhere on the Everton sites but be assured it is state of the art and hopefully one day the boss will allow all through the front door to have a good look around so when the day arrives make sure you make time.Keep the faith. Ian Tunny 10 Posted 22/11/2007 at 18:23:46 Report abuse As predicted finch farm again is the deciding factor with 12 year old Ryan Read the youngest of the latest new signings picking Everton over other ?big clubs?. Now lets get showing the big money signings around the place in January. © ToffeeWeb