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A Different Way? The Everton Way?

Everton, the ?People?s Club?, supposedly has a ?different way? of doing things. We know our history, we are passionate fans, we like our Match Day routines, we want to see ?Nil Satis Nisi Optimum? reflected in all things Everton, and, above all, we expect the Board and Manager to deliver high quality of football that reflects our motto.

So there is no way that we can turn down £50 million of ?free money?! If we want the club to develop, then let?s ensure that we grab opportunities like this ? because there are very few opportunities that will ?give? us such a parcel of land and stadium, without us being dogged by massive debt, as other clubs have discovered.

However, let?s keep Goodison as well! We like to think that we are unique as a club and band of supporters ? let the Board prove this. The figures that we are seeing in the press suggest that Everton are going to have to find £20 million to fund the new stadium and are likely to get £15 million for Goodison. The new stadium is also going to increase our ?revenue streams? to the tune of £10 million a year and Moyes is going to be handed a significant transfer kitty to deliver the Champions League football that is a prerequisite of having a new stadium?

What if, we keep Goodison? Think about the following suggestions:-

1. Keep the Goodison pitch for reserve and youth teams to play on.
2. Keep the Main Stand for supporters for the above games, more or less as it is.
3. Put a hotel under one of the other stands with conference facilities etc that would increase further those precious revenue streams. What an experience for a non-Liverpudlian to be able to stay at Goodison the night of a match ? giving the club more revenue!
4. Adapt one of the stands for local school initiatives such as ?Playing for Success?, offering community facilities that keeps the ?Everton Brand? to the forefront of the people of the City of Liverpool.
5. House an Everton Museum, including the David France Collection in one of the stands.
6. Use Goodison as a transport hub on match days ? offer free buses from Goodison to the new stadium on match days, maintaining the ?authentic Everton match day experience?. The buses could leave from behind the Park End and reduce congestion at the new ground.
7. What a place to show prospective signings around! Two grounds? how attractive as a potential Academy signing to be able to play at somewhere so steeped in tradition and history?

I?m sure that there are many other ways in which Goodison could be used to increase the revenue streams that we hear so much about and that are so vital in the current football world. I can understand that the Club needs the ?free money? that is being offered by Tesco, and I can therefore support the move? but if we are getting that much ?free? then surely the Board can stretch themselves a little bit in the short term to maintain Goodison as a complex that promotes all things Everton?

Once Goodison has been demolished, it will have gone forever ? but those increased revenue streams of £10 million per year will mean that it will only take 18 months to earn the same amount of money that we would get from selling the Goodison site! Let the Board show that the Everton Way is different and that we respect our history by maintaining what we have. Bill: you don?t have to sell off the family silver to finance a new stadium, just display it in a different way!

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