It’s often said that football is a game of opinions and Colin Chong’s announcement on Everton’s new stadium has sparked a lively debate among Blues fans.
Chong, Everton’s chief stadium officer, who is also currently serving as interim chief executive after Denise Barrett-Baxendale’s resignation earlier this month, declared in his latest stadium update blog that the club are confident their future home at Bramley-Moore Dock will be completed “in the final months” of next year. He said: “If the project remains on schedule, it raises the question as to whether the club moves in mid-season or alternatively, do we wait and give the Grand Old Lady a fitting send-off before commencing competitive league games for the senior men’s team at the start of the 2025/26 season.”
Providing there are no delays – the build has not been unduly hampered by adverse weather conditions but still has another winter yet to negotiate – then as he admits himself, Chong’s words present a potential dilemma for the club. Following Wednesday’s statement, opinions over when the move should take place were split among Evertonians online.
Some believe the financial realities over a project that Everton majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri claimed in January was costing £760million and the increased revenue it will bring the club through a larger capacity (52,888 as opposed to Goodison Park’s 39,572) and enhanced corporate facilities ensure it would be sheer financial folly to sit and wait on a facility for up to eight months. Even though Tottenham Hotspur have already set a precedent, moving into their new stadium for the last five Premier League matches of the 2018/19 season, others have questioned the logistics of a mid-season move and even ethics in the case of Everton’s official statistician and regular guest on the ECHO’s Royal Blue podcast, Gavin Buckland who has spoken about the integrity of the fixture list when teams can play at two different grounds in the same season, adding: “I have a problem with it generally.”
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In contrast, Peter McPartland (PED), the co-founder of Toffee TV, said: “The minute the stadium is ready, Everton has to be in it. Forget sentiment. This comes down to cold, hard business.” His thoughts were echoed by the County Road Bobblers account which tweeted: “It'll 100% happen, and 13 investors will be calling for a return on what will eventually be a substantial investment. Six months probably the difference of £30million with the new stadium, not a chance they right that off.”
Baz (@Barry1878) who regularly tweets drone-taken aerial views of the new stadium build, simply replied: “Without a doubt.” One Blue called Geof said: “I don't know why this is even a debate. As soon as the stadium is ready we should be playing in it. The income from increased capacity and corporate seating will be a huge benefit for our club. We have thrown enough money away already haven't we?”
Lloyd Roberts stated: “I want to be in it as soon as possible don't know what all the fuss is about,” while Alastair Hume remarked: “Exactly, you don’t leave a new stadium sat there empty!”
Some have pondered what the impact on the team might be from a mid-season move but an Evertonian named Michael said: “Forget finances for a minute. No matter how we are playing or where we sit in the league it’d be the biggest midseason bounce we could create. Pick the right team to start off against and the crowd will make it unplayable for visitors for the rest of the season.”
Others were not so sure though. Blueboy525 said: “Absolutely no chance do we move in halfway through a season. Nonsensical decision. Clearly we should wait until the start of 25/26. It's a no brainer.”
Upper Gwladys Blue responded to PED’s statement by saying: “Totally disagree, for many reasons. The biggest being this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to relaunch/rebrand the club. I want the 1st PL game there to be in August in the summer with a carnival atmosphere. Not January in the rain, snow, ice, blowing a gale by the Mersey.”
A Blue called Darren commented: “It's impossible mid-season surely because of season tickets,” while Stephen Tansley said: “I'd wait until August, it’s up to the new bored and owner to make/generate money. We only get one chance to say goodbye to Goodison forever, might as well do it right. Gives more time to put extra bells and whistles on the new stadium we can have a final Goodison retro kit.”
Everton aren’t putting the decision whether to move or not to move mid-season directly into the hands of their fanbase, it’s part of a consultation process, not a referendum and for all the fan power demonstrated by Evertonians in recent times, John Blain, the former chairman of the Everton Shareholders Association, stated that he believes this is a decision of such magnitude that club bosses need to make the call themselves rather than placing it in the hands of supporters. He said: “I’d be fascinated to understand why the board needs to consult fans about when? There’s a time to consult and there’s a time to inform and for me the people to decide what’s best should be the board. We need a decisive board not one that kicks major decisions down the road.”
One thing that we can surely all agree upon though is the need for Everton to still be a Premier League team when they move to the banks of the Mersey that will enable them to play in front of the biggest average crowds in the club’s history. While funds are being ploughed into the new stadium and the investment from US-based MSP Sports Capital should help significantly on that score, the team on the pitch remains the most important element at any football club.
The Blues have just survived a couple of warning shots in the shape of two near-misses from what could have been their first relegation since 1951. In the 2021/22 season they posted the joint lowest equivalent points total and then broke the record outright with an even lower tally last term.
It’s obvious that Sean Dyche’s squad needs strengthening but transfer funds are understood to be tight even though the club have raked in almost £70million from the sales of Anthony Gordon and Moise Kean this year. Whether it’s a mid-season move or one at the start of a campaign, Everton needs to have a team worthy of their magnificent future home.
