Not a dry eye or glass in sight as Everton say farewell to Goodison
Peter Reid was not alone in admitting before kick-off that he 'had a shandy.' Queues were forming outside local pubs by around 8.30am as the mood vacillated between wild celebration and wake.
There was big Duncan Ferguson, a man who never met a fight he didn't relish and who epitomised their club's grit and working class work ethic for a generation of Evertonians, performing TV duties on the touchline.
And while the Scotsman may not normally be associated with wearing his heart on his sleeve, by the time the traditional 'Z-Cars' anthem was played as the teams walked out before kick-off, there were plenty of grown men openly weeping in the stands.
Goodison had been a hive of activity since 7am, fans queuing outside for a vantage point on Goodison Road. By 9am car parks were nearly full and by 10am, the terraced streets around the stadium were gridlocked, the air thick with blue smoke. Forty minutes before kick-off, most fans were in their seats.
The day had been weeks, months, in the planning, and it showed. David Moyes had told veteran club captain Seamus Coleman a month ago that he would start for the first time since Boxing Day.
It was the Irishman's 430th appearance for the club, and lasted just 17 minutes before injury forced him off, although that was one of the rare events that did not go according to plan on the day.
'Just to step onto this pitch once was a massive achievement for myself,' said Coleman, 16 years on from his arrival from Sligo.
And Southampton were the perfect visitors, their thoughts long since diverted towards the beach. Iliman Ndiaye scored twice, early and late in the first half, and Everton thoughts had long since been diverted towards the post-match festivities well before the final whistle sounded on the last ever men's fixture at the stadium.
It started with an eclectic collection of video messages, ranging from Dame Judi Dench to Gary Neville - no prizes for guessing who received the biggest boos of the day.
And there followed a parade of 80 legends; the likes of Bob Latchford and Joe Royle no longer as robust as they once were, but every bit as beloved. So they should be; Royle is the last manager to win a trophy for the club, the 1995 FA Cup.
From the successful side of the 1980's, out came Trevor Steven, Graeme Sharp and, of course, Andy Gray; goalscorers, all, on that unforgettable night in 1985 when Everton blew aside mighty Bayern Munich 3-1 at this ground, to reach the European Cup Winners' Cup Final.
'That was the greatest night of my life,' said Gray to the fans. 'We may all be leaving Goodison, but Goodison will never leave us.' There were familiar faces of a more recent vintage, too, none more so than a beaming Wayne Rooney, whose defection to Manchester United has long since been forgiven and forgotten, and Ferguson, standing on the stage together.
'I know we're had our ups and downs,' said Rooney as he paid his own tribute to the ground and fans. But that is the thing about families, they may fall out, but the love still runs deep.
Speaking of families, those of the late, great Howard Kendall and Walter Smith were also there - the former forever adored for his efforts as a player in Everton glories in the late 1960's, and as their manager in the mid-1980s.
Those days seem a long time in the distant past, although the prospect of moving to a state-of-the-art new stadium under new owners the Friedkin Group has optimism at an all-time high. The decision to retain Goodison as a home for the women's team has already proved a PR masterstroke.
Much of the positivity is due to David Moyes, who has done such an exceptional job in steering the club out of the relegation zone. His dad, David senior, was at Goodison, enjoying a pint in the Winslow on Goodison Road, as he has done so many times over the 20-plus years his son has been associated with the club.
'I was worried today, everyone had been talking about this for so long,' said Moyes junior.
'The scenes outside the stadium were incredible and it felt like a club which has needed some big days and some big things in the future so let's hope this is the start of it.
'When I got back here, this club looked broken, felt broken. It doesn't feel like that any more.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Examiner
9 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Nmecha penalty secures Leeds victory after Tarkowski handball
Premier League: Leeds 1 Everton 0 It was all set up for Jack Grealish to ride to the rescue, to inject some much-needed life into proceedings but in fairness to Everton's high-profile new arrival, a moribund contest looked to have long-since gone past the point of 'do not resuscitate'. That was until, with a little over five minutes remaining, James Tarkowski rather unwisely - given his position deep in his own area - attempted to block a shot from Anton Stach with a diving block that saw the ball strike the Everton defender's arm. Elland Road erupted, VAR confirmed referee Chris Kavanagh's decision to award a penalty and amidst the chaos substitute Lukas Nmecha, with virtually his first touch, beat Jordan Pickford with a confident spot-kick low to the keeper's left. Grealish was given a little over 20 minutes to conjure up something memorable, but was understandably rusty given the way he has drifted out of the picture at Manchester City over the past 18 months, and was duly unable to salvage something from a game Everton didn't really deserve anything from in any case given their ultra-cautious approach. For 70 minutes Everton were seemingly just waiting, allowing Daniel Farke's ever-willing side, rope-a-dope style, to slowly but surely empty the fuel tank in the vain effort to break the deadlock as they kept banging their heads against a wall of blue. All the time, Grealish sat and watched from the visitors' bench, occasionally donning an orange bib to stretch his legs and run the gauntlet of abuse from home fans along the main stand touchline as he waited for his chance to sprinkle a bit of stardust on what in every other aspect was very much a workmanlike contest. Everton had lost their three most recent season curtain-raisers and after making a woeful start to last season, David Moyes' men travelled across the Pennines not to lose rather than aiming to win. They came close to achieving that rather unambitious aim but ultimately fell short. It wasn't pretty but it was perhaps a back-handed compliment to their opponents who scurried and hurried and hassled and snapped but seemed to lose all sense of purpose and lack any semblance of quality when they made their way into the Everton box - until the late favour from the hapless Tarkowski. Leeds made progressively more productive forays towards goal, Willy Gnonto by some distance their main source of threat. The Italian gradually found his range with a stinging first-half effort narrowly over from 20 yards, a rare effort on target, albeit one easily saved, shortly after the break, before he had Pickford scrambling to cover his near post by firing into the side-netting. Even given the late surge in form following the return of the Scot to Goodison Park at the start of the year, Everton scored just 25 goals from open play in the entirety of the season, a paltry figure all but two of the three relegated teams in the top flight failed to better. That quarter of a century might be an ambitious target on the evidence of this safety-first approach, one that will surely be met by short shrift by 50,000 Evertonians every other week at their pristine new home on the banks of the Mersey. Everton were forced to weather an early storm as Leeds' players attempted to channel on the pitch the predictably febrile passion from the stands as Elland Road staged its first Premier League fixture for well in excess of two years. It was a high-octane opening from the hosts more reminiscent of the end of their Championship title-winning season when they would overwhelm opponents from the first whistle. The main difference on this occasion was that against wilting second-tier sides they were often two goals to the good inside 20 minutes but to their credit Everton are made of far sterner stuff. A steadfast wall of blue if not happily then relatively comfortably soaked up the waves of pressure to ensure Pickford remained largely unemployed, in fact both goalkeepers had the most comfortable of introductions to the new season with much of the action concentrated between halfway and the Everton penalty area. The decibel level from home supporters proved to be inversely proportional to the growing realisation that the hosts would struggle to unlock their opening game visitors, let alone repeat the steamrolling of most of the hapless visitors to Elland Road last season. For all their territorial dominance the hosts had singularly failed to carve-out a presentable opening and half-time was just a couple of minutes away when Pickford was concerned momentarily, only for from an Ethan Ampadu long throw, Gnonto's well-struck 20-yard effort to rise harmlessly over the bar. That such a tame effort even merits mention underlines the lack of any discernible goalmouth action at either end. The cursory four seconds of first-half stoppage-time added by Kavanagh perhaps hinted at the general sense of futility of the men in white's efforts to crack what was proving to be a largely immovable object. The pattern continued into the second-half and Leeds at least made a modicum of progress with a shot on target from the ever-willing, albeit one that was straight at Pickford and comfortably gathered. The England goalkeeper looked almost happy to have something to occupy himself with. The upward curve of the ball's proximity to Everton's goal continued when shortly before the hour Gonto turned and shot in an instant to have the Everton keeper scrambling towards his near post as the ball crashed into the side-netting. It was accompanied by a brief but erroneous goal celebration from thousands of supporters desperate for their side who had lost just one of their previous 28 matches to stretch that impressive record. Given his growing influence, Gonto was rather surprisingly withdrawn in favour of Brenden Aaronson for the final 25 minutes, shortly before Grealish entered the fray but by that point the game was beyond saving as a spectacle. Ao Tanaka fired narrowly over from the edge of the area before Tarkowski unwittingly provided the evening's defining moment to literally hand the hosts a perfect start to the campaign. LEEDS (4-2-3-1): Perri 7; Bogle 7, Rodon 7, Struijk 7, Gudmundsson 7; Stach 6, Ampadu 8 (Gruev 78, 6); James 6 (Harrison 78, 6), Tanaka 6, Gnonto 7 (Aaronson 66, 6); Piroe 6 (Nmecha 78, 7). Booked: Tanaka. EVERTON (4-2-3-1): Pickford 7; O'Brien 7, Tarkowski 5, Keane 7, Garner; Iroegbunam 6 (Grealish 71, ), Gueye 6; Alcaraz 7 (Barry 86, 6), Dewsbury-Hall 7, N-Diaye 6; Beto 6. Booked: Alcaraz, Iroegbunam. Referee: Chris Kavanagh
RTÉ News
9 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Lukas Nmecha scores as Leeds beat Everton to make winning Premier League return
Lukas Nmecha converted a controversial late penalty on his debut as Leeds made a winning return to the Premier League by beating Everton 1-0 at Elland Road. Second-half substitute Nmecha held his nerve to fire home an 84th-minute winner from the spot and seal Leeds a deserved win after Everton captain James Tarkowski was adjudged to have handled. Leeds debutant Anton Stach's thumping shot struck Tarkowski on the arm and although referee Chris Kavanagh's penalty decision appeared harsh, it was upheld by VAR. After a minute's silence in tribute to former Liverpool forward Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva, Leeds, back in the top flight after a two-year absence, made their customary feverish start. They forced five corners inside the opening 14 minutes and Jordan Pickford denied them an early breakthrough after Joel Piroe had pounced on Tarkowski's mistake. Piroe's shot was blocked as Everton tried to ride out the storm, but the visitors doggedly held their shape and after 33 minutes, Pickford's save from Piroe's early shot was Leeds' only effort on target. Pascal Struijk's header from another of Stach's excellent corners was brilliantly cleared at the back post by Everton defender Jake O'Brien and Willy Gnonto fired over the crossbar. Leeds dominated the first period, having 12 shots in total to Everton's none, and visiting boss David Moyes will have been glad of the half-time whistle. Gnonto threatened again when shooting straight at Pickford soon after the restart and after Idrissa Gueye had lashed Everton's first shot over, the Italy forward drilled into the side-netting. Everton midfielder Tim Iroegbunam was booked for a late challenge on Ethan Ampadu, which left the Leeds skipper in a crumpled heap before the visitors began to eke out more possession. After Gnonto had made way for substitute Brenden Aaronson, England midfielder Jack Grealish stepped off the bench for his first Everton appearance as a replacement for Iroegbunam. Everton's first effort on target, from Charly Alcaraz, was saved by Leeds debutant Lucas Perri at his near post before Ao Tanaka volleyed over as the home side looked to regain momentum. And fortune favoured Daniel Farke's side when they were on the right side of Kavanagh's penalty decision. Tarkowski leant into Stach's fierce drive and after Kavanagh pointed to the spot, his decision was backed up by VAR and Nmecha, a free summer signing from Wolfsburg, buried his spot-kick, six minutes after replacing Piroe. Everton, who lost only three of their last 18 league games last season following the return of Moyes for his second spell in charge in January, rarely threatened and slipped to their first defeat at Elland Road in six league matches, stretching back to 2001.
The Irish Sun
10 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Leeds 1 Everton 0: Lukas Nmecha penalty hands Whites controversial victory on Premier League return
Jack Grealish became the pantomime villain after his introduction LEEDS UNITED are back in the big time - and boy are they back with a bang. A night that started with huge optimism threatened to turn into frustration before new boy Lukas Nmecha blew the roof off Elland Road late on. 5 Lukas Nmecha was the Leeds hero on their return to the Premier League Credit: Reuters 5 Nmecha climbed off the bench to net from 12 yards after a handball Credit: PA Advertisement 5 James Tarkowski was adamant he could not position his arm anywhere else Credit: Getty 5 Leeds largely dominated but struggled to find a breakthrough until late on Credit: Getty 5 Jack Grealish also made his Everton debut Credit: Reuters Daniel Farke's side looked set to come up short in their quest to reward a white-hot atmosphere with a winner. Advertisement But debutant Nmecha was spot-on as he sealed a dream debut by converting a penalty to get Leeds off to a winning start back on their return to the Premier League. The crowd were raucous and there was a feeling that Everton, with just one new signing in their XI, a makeshift left-back in James Garner and best defender Jarrad Branthwaite out with a hamstring issue, were there for the taking. Farke also knew it was a big night for him personally. READ MORE IN FOOTBALL Highway to Ell Leeds to build one of England's biggest stadiums as plans are revealed Despite chairman Paraag Marathe's public backing in the summer, he's wise enough to know that'll soon change if points aren't picked up quickly. Advertisement But he silenced any doubters as he racked up just the seventh victory on what was his half century of Prem matches here. It was clearly evident his players were fighting for him as they chased and hunted Everton down like a pack of wild dogs. It's exactly what he was looking for. His summer recruitment, bringing in seven players over 6ft and the other standing 5ft 11in, is evidence enough of how physically imposing he wants his side to be. BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK And his new-look Land of the Giants, particularly the towering £17m German international midfielder Anton Stach, were the dominant force here from the off. Advertisement The noise intensified as Joel Piroe forced Jordan Pickford into an early save and the adrenaline continued to pump through the place as they won five corners inside the first quarter of an hour. Ex-Prem ref says there was no foul on Man Utd's goalkeeper by William Saliba during Arsenal loss The electric atmosphere could also have been helped by the free pints provided at the nearby Moot Hall Arms boozer by Jack Harrison. But even a beer doesn't look like healing his relationship with the Leeds faithful any time soon. The 28-year-old has spent the past two years on loan at Everton following the Whites' relegation and he has received a frosty reception since returning in pre-season. And the winger, who received the same reception when he came on late on, was greeted by boos despite picking up the pre-game tab, when he came out to warm-up - although he did himself no favours as he greeted his old team-mates in Blue one-on-one along the touchline. Advertisement Everton were creaking by this point, and they had Pickford to thank as he just nudged a cross away from Pascal Struijk's head. Jayden Bogle and Daniel James were causing Garner all sorts of problems as the Toffees desperately tried to weather the storm. They were struggling to even get out of their half, and had to wait until the half hour mark before they managed to get a touch in the Leeds box. It was wave after wave of attacks as Jake O'Brien's clearance prevented Daniel James from prodding home. You could see the anger in David Moyes, who was in deep discussion with assistant Billy McKinlay, at his side's lack of intensity. Advertisement The fiery Scot has already made it clear he still wants more additions and they desperately needed something here. It looked like the perfect time for Jack Grealish, hoping to rebuild his career on-loan from Manchester City, to step up but Moyes opted for a verbal rocket instead. He only had two new boys in his XI, and by naming two goalkeepers on the bench, he sent another clear message to the board he needs more bodies in. Eye of the Tiger greeted the players as they came back out for the restart and that's exactly what Leeds needed - though the big question was whether they could keep up the onslaught. They started as they left off, but these fans are all too used to heartbreak, and you could feel the tension mounting as the hosts continued to fail and turn their dominance into a goal. Advertisement They thought they had it when the lively Wilfried Gnonto turned and shot into the side-netting. But, agonisingly, the wait for a breakthrough went on. Meanwhile, Moyes had seen enough. His men had failed to land a glove on the Whites and with twenty to go it was time for the introduction of Grealish, who quickly became the pantomime villain. Suddenly, Leeds were finding it tough going and they had new goalie Lucas Perri to thank for denying Carlos Alcaraz at the near post. But maybe things are different now as Leeds had Luk on their side. Advertisement Stach's long-ranger deflected off a defender and was turned wide by the arm of Everton skipper James Tarkowski. German international Nmecha, only on the pitch six minutes, placed the ball and drilled past Pickford to give Leeds the lift-off.
