Ex-Liverpool and Everton star says Goodison Park atmosphere '10 times better' than Anfield

Daily Mirror

05-05-2025

Don Hutchison played for Everton and Liverpool during his career and believes that Goodison Park stands out above Anfield when it comes to generating a hostile atmosphere
Former Everton captain Don Hutchison is convinced that Goodison Park is streets ahead of Anfield in terms of atmosphere. Hutchison played for both clubs during his career and feels like Everton will miss Goodison when they move to their new stadium for next season.
Everton have just one more match left at their home stadium, against Southampton on May 18, before they move to Bramley-Moore Dock for the 2025/26 campaign. The Toffees have played at Goodison since 1892, but are moving to their new 52,888 capacity home over the summer.
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Rivals Liverpool secured the Premier League title with their 5-1 win over Tottenham last weekend amid jubilant scenes at Anfield. The game saw a magnitude 1.74 seismic event recorded by scientists amid a rocking atmosphere, but Hutchison thinks Goodison is better because it has an edge to it.
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'The difference is I think it's Everton that's more hostile. I think it's more chaotic,' he told goldenpanda.com. 'I think if you go back 2-2 a couple of months back, I was there inside the stadium for the last ever game, Merseyside Derby at Goodison, and there was an underlying sense of 'This could kick off at any given time.'
'It was just that edge, that feeling in the air because it was the last ever game, and obviously it's their arch rivals. It was such a huge game at the time anyway. The games at Anfield, are not quite as mad because I think Liverpool's record over the years, they feel as though they're dominant over Everton.
'I mean, before COVID, I was the last Everton captain to take Everton to Anfield and win, when Kevin Campbell scored the goal. So it shows you how many times in the last few years that Everton actually go to Anfield and do well.
'But the Goodison atmosphere is like, it's 10 times better, and that's the atmosphere you want to play in, because it is hostile. Like, so noisy, so atmospheric and so much hatred.
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'It's always just so mad and so noisy and such a game full of hatred for the 90, and then they go back to their families, because you could be in a family of four, with two red and two blue. It's just the way it is. That's how you are in Merseyside. So it's completely different.'
Everton boss David Moyes has admitted he was annoyed after being told he couldn't take his players to train at Bramley-Moore Dock because the pitch has been ripped up. 'The modern player nowadays play in stadiums all over, so it shouldn't be something completely strange to them, going into a new stadium, but the point is to turn it into your home, and get comfortable and familiar with your surroundings,' he said.
"So I would have liked to have had a couple of training sessions on it, but that's been kiboshed."