I voted yes

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This is not a factual arguement for the pros and cons of the vote, this is purely my feelings of why I voted Yes. I suspect that many people will have exactly the same feelings.

I have been going to Goodison Park for nearly 50 years, firstly with my father and now latterly as a season ticket holder with my son and daughter. My very first memories of Goodison were of standing on the Street end next to the old boys pen with my father, uncle and their friends. In those days and even now I feel it a privilege to go. I have visted many other grounds since, but they never have the same feel as Goodison. I know from the letters, articles etc, you see on this website and other sites on the internet that many many people have the same memories and feelings for Goodison.

As soon as the ballot was announced my immediate thought was I will vote No. Why No? Ffor many reasons, not least the memories but also the feeling of moving from Liverpool. Although born in Liverpool, I left the city when I was three and now live 40 miles away, but I still have a strong attachment to the city. However, over the weeks, I have, like all Evertonians spent many hours debating with myself the pros and cons of the prospective move out of the city.

In the end I decided to vote Yes. The reasons being that life moves on. The football world has changed beyond all recognition even from the 80's when Everton had a very strong team. Everton as a club have effectively stood still since even before the Kings Dock project fell through. It is sad to say that money rules this game that we all love, it is a fact and however much we would like to go back to the old days, it is not going to happen. Standing still as we have done for these last five to ten years is no longer an option. We would all love to stay at Goodison, but we can all see that the cost, time and disruption of developing the ground will last for many years, in other words, more years of just standing still. The other schemes are just pie in the sky.

Some may say that the new ground will not have the same feel as Goodison. However, my experience of Everton fans and their knowledge and passion for football makes me feel absolutely certain that, if and when we move, the new ground will soon be a proper football ground with a renewed atmosphere, new memories and new victories and hopefully championships and cups to celebrate.

I will not argue with the "no" voters, they have their opinion and we must respect that opinion. But for me, I have already cast my Yes vote.
David Owens, Altrincham     Posted 18/08/2007 at 09:23:01

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