ToffeeWeb - Season 2007-08

The Mail Bag

Wrong road

Having read the MBE/Bully interview, can I make one obvious observation:

'Attendances have only recovered over the last 11 years after we won the FA Cup in 1995.' We won something and this had a positive effect on attendances.

'Compare all this to the period 1960-1970 when we had only one season with an average less than 40,000 ? 1966, the year we won the FA Cup.' An era when we regularly had successful and entertaining teams.

'After the last great years of 1984 through 1987 (2 league championships, 1 FA Cup, 1 FA Cup Final, 1 European Cup Winners Cup) we had seven straight years with average gates below 30,000. These were our worst average attendances since the 1930s.' We had unsuccessful teams who did not entertain by playing great football.

When we have successful teams and play good football more people want to watch us.

Even when we are successful and have entertaining football to watch, we don't achieve averages much higher than 40,000.

For me this means two obvious things:

1. We need to spend money on better players to help us push on and win things and subequently push up our average crowds above 40,000.

2. Why do we need to move at all when we don't have averages above the current Goodison maximum crowds. Why not just redevelop Goodison?

Or is there an ulterior motive for moving?
Russ Kavanagh, Ellesmere Port Posted 25/07/2007 at 09:55:49

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Ryan Crest
1 Posted 25/07/2007 at 17:39:33

Evertonians worldwide are rightly proud of the club's tradition. It is what we cling to in times of adversity. It is what defines us and keeps us together. But times change. Things that worked well in the past, might fail us in the future.

Do we want to be like the old man, clinging to his home, his pride, in the face of the rising flood? Preferring to perish rather than abandon the home that served him so well. Or do we want to move on, and take with us that which can be salvaged?

Tom Hughes
2 Posted 25/07/2007 at 19:11:05

Jeez, we’re being flooded out too now. Don’t tell me Stanley park lake is about to burst its banks too?

Incidentally, didn’t someone just say the River Alt is on a flood plain in the Kirkby area?

Please tell me what we can salvage in Kirkby.....? Identity? Traditions? I suppose we can still play in blue..... the rest? Gone forever!!

Russ Kavanagh
3 Posted 25/07/2007 at 20:08:20

Ryan, you miss the point.

The fact is that if we are successful and win things we will draw in the crowds. However, on past evidence we will rarely exceed 40000 as an average so we don’t need to move to increase attendance as Bully says.

With this in mid - we need to spend on players and be successful before we move. Did Southampton average 30000+ last year? I bet not. How about Coventry?

The secret lies in success not on how big your ground is.