ToffeeWeb - Season 2007-08

The Mail Bag

Why.....

...do people keep saying it will be so detrimental to the club living in its old stadium next to Liverpool's shiny new edifice? In the 60's Anfield was little better than prenton park, and it faced the finest stadium in the country across the park... and by some margin too!! Yet it didn't stop them going on to dominate footy did it?

Liverpool have recently been changing their stadium's design to make it reflect the existing one to give a traditional theme. We're literally living in one of the most traditional footy stadiums in the world. In fact the world's first truly purpose built footy stadium... and yet some are trying to justify dragging us off to the edge of our catchment via a handfull of bottlenecks 'cos they think we're getting something new for nowt. LFC couldn't afford theirs before this investment which is essentially a massive loan... who's to say that option isn't available to us, especially the way new investors are appearing left right and centre.

We CAN have our cake and eat it here, be it at our traditional home or at a new site nearer town... Let's not be railroaded into something that could have truly catastrophic effects on our future prospects... Would the Philharmonic/Empire move to Kirkby? Try getting to Kirkby during rush hour I did it for 6 years and at times it was a nightmare!
Tom Hughes, North Sea Posted 18/07/2007 at 00:35:15

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Comments

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Roy Coyne
1 Posted 18/07/2007 at 02:08:35

Good post Tom if only more felt like you

Barry Holder
2 Posted 18/07/2007 at 08:53:06

Goodison is a dump, the surrounding area is a dump. Lets move and the quicker the better.

Shaun Brennan
3 Posted 18/07/2007 at 09:48:28

Yeah lets move to the barron wasteground that is Kirkby. Now that is a realy shit hole. Is that what your proposing Barry? One shit hole for annother?

how about his fit the inside of Kirkby sports stadium out! bet that please Wyness.

Neil Pearse
4 Posted 18/07/2007 at 10:03:32

Can we finally face a brutal truth: Everton do not currently have enough money to build a new stadium of our own. That is why the Kirkby deal, funded by Tescos and Knowsley Council, is so attractive. We play, they pay.

It does not matter how many good sites there are within the city of Liverpool - we cannot afford to build a ground on any of them.

The only thing that could change matters is the appearance of a (very) rich new investor who, as with the RS, would build a new ground for us.

Since I wouldn’t bet on this, Wyness is basically correct that there is no alternative given our financial position to Kirkby. Apart from staying at Goodison and praying that an investor turns up before the ground collapses.

Duncan McDine
5 Posted 18/07/2007 at 10:03:08

Tom - Your question: ’why do people keep saying it will be so detrimental to the club living in its old stadium?’... has been answered a million times on this website alone! In the 60’s football was heavily influenced by money, nowadays money owns the game. Goodison is a spunge, soaking up money, not generating the stuff. Simple as that. I’d love to dream about a referbished Goodison, but it just isn’t an option - it’ll cost a bomb and cause huge problems if we want to still use the stadium while the building work is carried out.

I don’t like the situation, and I don’t like the thought of Everton being located in Kirkby... but I do UNDERSTAND why we must leave the Old Lady behind. Its all about the stuff that makes the world go round!

Peter Laing
6 Posted 18/07/2007 at 11:34:38

If sentiment ruled in today’s game Tom we would still have the likes of Nottingham Forest playing in the EPL and Everton retaining its position within the ’big 5’. However such a myopic view cannot compare the game of the 60’s to today’s animal, unfortunately the gulf continues to widen year on year, Everton have managed to cling onto the coat-tails but remain also-rans, god forbid a situation like Forest who may never come back from the abyss.

Brian Waring
7 Posted 18/07/2007 at 12:24:12

I was just wondering,if we do end up in Kirkby,(we now know it’s not in liverpool)can we still claim that the majority of our support come from the place where we play?I know it’s a stupid question,but,if most of our support is in Liverpool,they would then be classed as out of town.I know I’m being fucking stupid(so please no abuse)but do you know what I,m getting at?

will mitchell
8 Posted 18/07/2007 at 13:27:16

The culture of our club is inextricably linked to Goodison Park and Liverpool. A move to kirkby would break the primordial bonds that are the life blood and soul of our club. You Kirkby supporters will be sorry when we’re shacked up in the peripheral wasteland, estranged from our history, robbed of our sense of place.
Be in no doubt, the unique magic of the club will be no more in Kirkby.

tom Lynch
9 Posted 18/07/2007 at 13:57:16

anybody who will vote yes needs their fucking head examined. How the hell will we fill a 55,000 seater stadium and generate all this extra revenue when we have a core support of 33,000. Added to that we are moving away from our prime catchment area for support. Do you think in ten years time when a new line of young kids are deciding who they support they will choose the team from outside the city? will they hell. They will follow the red shite and we will slowly die a death. This might be the only option now financiaaly available but its far from agood one. We are not a global brand. To be successful we need an investor. Kenright has not succeded in finding one as promised so time to let somebody else try and forget this stupid idea and move on. Please vote no please please.

Colin Potter
10 Posted 18/07/2007 at 14:35:27

Well said Will Mitchell,I don,t think these pro Kirkbyites have thought that one out. I dont think they can see further than their noses,either that or they are too thick.

Tom Hughes
11 Posted 18/07/2007 at 18:00:26

I understand perfectly that footy these days is big business, and that the comparison with the 60’s only holds so much water. However, another comparison especially as regards the old stadium issue is that of baseball in the US, where money truly is the sacred cow. I’d urge anyone to read up on the example of Fenway, the home of the red sox, and/or wrigley field where the fans have urged the clubs to keep their aging structures after having seen what has happened to so many other clubs...... there are a lot of parrallels there. Personally, I’m not against moving per se, however, I urge caution in adopting the out of town option, especially in this 2 team city. This isn’t just based on sentiment. There is massive value in preserving the history of our club and Goodison is a major part of that. Only a truly outstanding new stadium on a more central site should really be enough to pull us away. Kirkby can never tick that box. As far as not having the money to rebuild or relocate on our own. How have ALL other clubs managed? Why is redevelopment still the most common solution sought by clubs? Every club is different of course, and the problems we face as neighbours to the most successfull club are probably further exacerbated. However, this is surely more reason why we should not marginalise ourselves at the edges of our main catchment area. The whole perception and image of the club will change massively. As far as Notts Forrest are concerned they won the European cup while in the worst ground in the top division. They did it by producing the best team. Meanwhile now they find themselves with one of the best grounds in the lower leagues. these things don’t always correlate. Also, contrary to some people’s opinions posted in this thread, Goodison will not fall down anytime soon. It is massively over-engineered, hence the obstructed views. To see what can be done with Leitch’s stands see what’s been done to ibrox’s mainstand. Ours may be problematic in this respect, but there are always options!!