Everton emotional farewell is about to really begin after new takeover twist
It was a nice surprise to see the Everton first-team squad training at Goodison Park on Friday and taking up some peculiar vantage points in the process. Sean Dyche watched on from the stands for spells, while Idrissa Gueye took some time to stretch out among the plastic blue seating.
Perhaps it’s the view of an Everton romanticist – maybe even a fantasist – but maybe they were grasping another opportunity to take it all in before the long goodbye to the stadium begins?
Ever since it was confirmed Everton would be moving from their home of 134 years, there has always been one eye on the Goodison countdown and the subsequent landmarks to tick off. In recent seasons supporters have speculated as to whether we’ve seen the last FA Cup game, the last derby under lights or the last Boxing Day match in L4.
Some of those questions have been answered already – there is no home Boxing Day fixture this year – and some will be answered in the coming months. But with a new season and a new fixture list comes some degree of certainty.
The Roma clash has provided one of those answers – the game will be the last ever friendly match played at Goodison Park. The Tony Hibbert free-kicks, the gorgeous retro shirts against Sevilla, the late Anderson Silva equaliser against Werder Bremen – well, it mattered to me – we’ll never see the likes again.
Of course, in the storied history of the stadium, these moments mean little. But Saturday signals the first of what will be many lasts for supporters as they bustle through the familiar turnstiles and into their seats over the coming months.
There is further context to this fixture that will bleed into these heightened emotions. The match had the potential to be a summit for key figures for the football club’s future. The Friedkin Group, who own Roma and were seemingly on their way to buying Everton, would’ve surely jetted in. Important meetings would’ve taken place. There would’ve been toasts to an exciting journey ahead and backslaps for a fine job done.
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