ToffeeWeb - Season 2007-08

The Mail Bag

Immacualte Conceptions?

With the stadium debate back into full swing, I would like to go over one or two things. I do have a couple of issues but my most confusing one from a fan's perspective is the constant comments about the next generation of fans from the city who will support Liverpool because Everton have left? WHY? Do these children have no fathers who support Everton? Is there going to be 30,000 immaculate conceptions and they're all going to be gobshites because weve left?

No. If you are an Evertonian, your son will be one and his son will be one; we are born not manufactured ? that is the way it is. I have a son who is 5 weeks old and he has been (without even knowing) an Evertonian for every second of it. I will take him to the match no matter where we play. Ideally at a new stadium in our current location but that's not very likely.

So please do not be fooled into beleiving that Evertonians from Liverpool will be outbred like some sort of ethnic cleansing ? it can just never happen. You never know... we might have a five-year spell of success and then there will be a generation of Everton fans from all over the country who don't even know were Liverpool is, never mind Kirkby!

Additional fans will be gained through success and I cannot imagine a day were an Evertonian's son becomes a 'poolie because we play in Kirkby.

ps: Another slightly baffling issue is why Wyness and the Board believe attendances will drop at Goodison unless we leave. Clearly that is just bollocks. Attendances will drop if we lack investment on the pitch and the football turns ugly. Not because the toilets look a bit shabby. Who does he thinks he trying to convince?
Andy Baker, Liverpool Posted 18/07/2007 at 08:54:57

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Tom Dooley
1 Posted 18/07/2007 at 14:14:46

He is saying that attendances will drop because we won’t be able to use parts of the ground because we won’t be able to get safety certificates for them, not because people will suddenly realise Goodison is not very nice!

Shaun Sparke
2 Posted 18/07/2007 at 08:58:13

Before the ballot paper lands on my welcome mat, I hope that I will be shown exactly what I am supposed to choose from. I am told that the choice wil be between staying at a crumbling old stadium that according to Wyness is in danger of being swallowed up into the bowels of hell at any minute. Or choose to move to Kirkby where the nice people of Tesco in partnership with the nice people from Knowsley Council are going to build us a nice stadium.

Come on, what the hell is a "nice" stadium? Show us some plans for god's sake! if you want my vote then have the decency to show me what I am voting for (or against as the case may be).

Dave Lynch
3 Posted 18/07/2007 at 14:23:53

Shaun. Whilst i am in your camp over the stadium issue. The bottom line is that our vote counts for Jack shit.
However we vote for or against, it will not matter one jot.
We are moving and thats that, they have said as much.

connor rohrer
4 Posted 18/07/2007 at 14:24:21

Have you never seen and evertonian turn to the red side? I have seen it from kids with both parents evertonians. Imagine 5 kids and four of those are liverpool fans and 1 supports everton what is that going to feel like. When they won the champions league what did we have to celebrate? We are losing fans because of lack of success and if we move out of Kirkby what are the next generation of evertonians going to identify with. A knowsley club? I am from Toxteth the south end of liverpool and it is quite a journey travelling to Kirkby. And we do have fans in south liverpool who will be turned because of this.

Danny Mullally
5 Posted 18/07/2007 at 14:25:09

Andy,

I cannot disagree more with your post. I have made my feelings clear under the ’Wyness’ thread, but just so you know, I too am a Father of a young child, and he also has been an Evertonian since the minute he was born.
I will also take him to the game wherever Everton play.
What you don’t seem to grasp is the fact that generations beyond my childrens one will not have the same affinity with Everton that we may have should the club leave the city due to this inept board.

You say that your father was an Evertonian, etc and your children will follow suit. Well let me tell you my journey.
My father was not an Evertonian, he did’nt even like football. His Dad was not an Evertonian, he was a red. My Mum was not an Evertonian. None of my childhood friends were Evertonians. In fact I was the only kid in my street who was an Evertonian. I don’t know why but I just was one, since I can remember. Through all the ridicule and laugh at the expense of my mates, I was a proud blue and I am still glad to this day I had the choice of two teams from my home city.
I remember feeling a sense of pride when watching the parade’s of the mid eighties coming down the drive. And when I was older, in 95 coming ’home’ triumphantly from Wembley stadium on the fans coach with my Daniel Amokachi "Nigerian Magic" top on. God knows how many kids were cheering and felt proud supporting Everton like I did years before.
The kids a couple of generations on from us in the city may only see one team from this city bring anything home, and that concerns me a lot. Knowsley just does not have the fan base there and we will only decline into oblivion once that goes.

Sean Rothwell
6 Posted 18/07/2007 at 14:59:06

A good post Andy. I too cannot grasp this argument at all. What people seem to be saying is that if we move three miles away from Goodison (to Gilmoss - in ’the City’ of Liverpool) our fan base is secured, but if we move the extra mile (if that) to Kirkby then we are screwed. How can this make sense. Before this argument came about nobody other than politicians knew where Liverpool ended and Knowsley started. It’s not about moving out of Liverpool - we’re not doing that as far as I’m concerned - it’s about people either not wanting change or not wanting to back anything Bill Kenwright proposes.

Brian Waring
7 Posted 18/07/2007 at 16:08:33

Because your a blue it doesn’t mean your kids will automatically follow suit.I come from a family of all reds.So the chain of thought is that I should have been a red.But,I’m a proud blue.If you look at the bigger picture,how attractive are we going to be to a kid growing up in Liverpool whose mum or dad is not into football?he has the choice of us in Kirkby(he probalby wouldn’t even know where it was) or the shite playing champions league footy,winning things,with top players and a state of the art stadium in the great city of Liverpool.I think you know the answer.As people have stated they are the generation of kids we need to be trying to attract.My other half said "What difference would it make if you did stay in liverpool?because you would still have competition for them kids"I agreed with her.But,we would still be in the city, in clear view of them kids,in the shites faces.Not in some small town on the outskirts,with some fans being happy with our top 10 season finishes and averaging 36,000 attendances in our 55,000 seater stadium.It is just something else to mull over,before we have to make our vote.I,m going to wash my mouth out now,after saying what I did about the shite!